this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2026
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I struggle with the term "Tankie". Who is a Tankie? What makes them a Tankie? What makes them so frustrating? This term feels so vague that it just makes it easy lump all leftists into the term.
As far as I can tell, you're a leftist if you're not unpleasant to deal with and you're a Tankie if I find you unpleasant.
It sounds like some Boogeyman I've never seen or spoken to but I'm obligated to dismiss everything they say even tho I've never seen one.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tankie
If they have a god damn wiki definition, I'm not sure where you think its vauge. You just literally never looked.
The term originally comes from a divide amongst Anglo communists between those who supported the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary, and those who were critical. The tankies were the ones who supported “sending in the tanks.” These days it’s a disparaging term for any authoritarian socialists.
The tankies were correct.
https://www.joewrote.com/p/jfk-files-reveal-the-cia-role-in
Not all leftists blindly support Russia or China just because they're anti-western. Tankies seem to ignore all the evil shit Russia does just because they're not the U.S./E.U/Israel.
Ok but we all agree that the US/Israel is the greatest evil on Earth right? Like sure Russia does bad stuff, but like the US is worse.
The point is it's not a contest, and we should be opposed to it no matter which country is doing it.
Yeah but if your goal is to bring the most good to the world, you'll get closer to your goal by fighting against the US than you will fighting against Russia.
"Lesser evil!"
"No! Not like that!"
That's only true if a stronger Russia somehow would be a better country than a strong USA. There's absolutely FUCK ALL to suggest that's remotely true.
It also a false dichotomy. You can hate Russias imperialism AND USAs imperialism.
Again, you're making this into a two-sided contest between two huge turds. I don't choose either of them. I choose to fight the bad ideas and behaviors they're known for, at all scales and in all walks of life, regardless of comparisons between them.
They're both guilty of imperialism on a world wide scale and all the evils that includes, but aside from it's early days the US has generally been a better neighbour by pointing their evil overseas, Russia has largely been a menace to it's neighbours in every era of history. I would say that's the biggest difference.
Meanwhile, non-tankies blindly ignore the evil shit the west does on a much larger global scale and blindly accept the western narratives about Russia and China just because they’re too propagandized to realize they’re being lied to and misinformed. Not sure who the “blind” ones in this scenario are.
Keep coping.
A Tankie is anyone who self-identifies as a Tankie.
I don't apply the term to folks as insult, I'm just acknowledging people who choose to identify as such.