Remembering to look for and ignore folks with that telltale indicator has made the fediverse so much more enjoyable.

    • calcopiritus@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Ah yes. Telling Ukraine that they should “stop fighting so people stop dieing” is being left of AOC and not Russian propaganda. We at ml are just peace absolutists, it’s just a coincidence that our peace absolutism somehow involves just giving everything to Russia.

      • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
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        3 months ago

        I’m curious how you envision Ukraine winning. From where I’m standing, I cannot see any remotely realistic pathway for them to regain any significant amount of territory. There may have been (probably was) a time when more/different weapons would have made a real difference, but at this point it’s a matter of manpower. Do you think anyone is going to send troops?

        Believe it or not, I don’t think Russia is well-run, or a good place for workers. I don’t like their foreign policy either. However, I also don’t think it’s useful or accurate to reduce them to “Putin bad”. Of course he’s bad, but that doesn’t explain major Russian foreign policy anymore than “Trump bad” explains major US foreign policy. Not saying that nuance is an excuse, but you can’t make any real analysis without it.

        • ThirdConsul@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          However, I also don’t think it’s useful or accurate to reduce them to “Putin bad"

          As their neighbour, I totally agree. It’s not Putin bad. It’s everyone from fucking Russia. There’s nothing that came from Russia and wasn’t made into an abomination.

          (* Except Russian people who left Russia because they could see how god damn awful that place and everyone in it is; Pretending otherwise is literally dismissing their culture).

      • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
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        3 months ago

        You’re making things up to be mad about. Nobody pretends that those countries are flawless. You just can’t seem to handle the idea that none of those countries are 1/10 the threat to the world that the US is.

          • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
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            3 months ago

            Defending them isn’t the same as saying they are flawless. What is the point of criticizing North Korea? Especially from a country like the US who does far more harm to the world than either NK or Russia.

              • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
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                3 months ago

                When I say “defend” I don’t mean a blanket defense. There are good criticisms to make, some of which you’ve highlighted. Unfortunately, such criticisms are too often used as excuses to write off those countries entirely, and to justify any and all attacks on them. For example, I often hear it said that I shouldn’t defend Palestinians, because they are anti gay. This is meant to distract us from the even greater evil occurring. You can do this with literally any country, which would mean that it isn’t “remotely acceptable to defend” any of them.

                  • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
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                    3 months ago

                    Agree with them or not, there are justifications and defenses for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Again, you don’t have to like those reasons but you should understand what they are, and why people might honestly use them. And no, .ml isn’t immune to circlejerking anymore than .world is, but there is genuine discussion there if you care to engage in good faith with radically different points of view.

    • Aljernon@lemmy.today
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      3 months ago

      Pretending that Marxist-Leninists have Leftist beliefs is cute. That workers have no self-determination and have to tow the party line under threat of violence is the dead giveaway

        • Aljernon@lemmy.today
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          3 months ago

          Here’s one of the bootlickers now. Bro, you’re a right winger obsessed with collectivization. Quit stinking up the revolution with your nonsense.

          • Socialism_Everyday@reddthat.comBanned
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            3 months ago

            Quit stinking up the revolution with your CIA indoctrinated understanding of “authoritarianism” and your non materialist way of understanding history. To you, European social-democracy isn’t authoritarian because you happen not to live in the lands affected by neocolonialism.

      • ModCen@feddit.uk
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        3 months ago

        Related to your post: I’ve seen people from Lemmy.ml defend imperialist behaviour from Russia and China. Surely the left is supposed to oppose imperialism - whether it’s from the US, Europe, Russia, China, or anywhere else.

      • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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        3 months ago

        The communist party is run by the working classes and derives its power from popular support. The people oppressed by communist parties were overwhelmingly fascists, landlords, and capitalists.

        • Aljernon@lemmy.today
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          3 months ago

          Out right lies. The communist parties (the ones that have existed, not the the theoretical ones) derive their power from threat of violence against workers. They’re a non-hereditary nobility that oppress workers (except North Korea which is now a hereditary monarchy).

          • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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            3 months ago

            Incorrect, on all counts. Communist parties derive their power from popular support from the working classes, as they themselves are working class. State violence is used against fascists, sabateurs, capitalists, and landlords. If they truly were a nobility concerned only with oppressing workers, then you have to prove why there was such dramatic improvements in social welfare, poverty eradication, key life metrics, studied Marxism and taught it in universities, and more. Certainly these would have been of no importance to a new ruling class?

            You’re dramatically incorrect here.

            • Aljernon@lemmy.today
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              1 month ago

              Communist parties derive their power from popular support from the working classes

              Political power flows from the barrel of a gun, not popular support. But of course strict control of News, Education, public discourse, and suppression of criticism really helps with the popular support.

              State violence is used against fascists, sabateurs, capitalists, and landlords

              as well as the workers

              why there was such dramatic improvements

              A phenomena that has occurred in plenty of other countries

              studied Marxism and taught it in universities, and more

              Priests, much like Bolshevik party officials, exist to maintain the system of control over the working class on behalf of their rulers and religion is widely taught in universities just like Marxist-Leninism was.

              Marx has some interesting things to say, he should definitely be required reading, but Marxists treat Das Kapital like Christians treat the Bible.

              • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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                1 month ago

                Political power does flow from the barrel of a gun, but a revolution is doomed to fail without popular support, including a socialist government. The working classes were not oppressed by socialist states but instead uplifted, dramatically more than capitalist peer countries. The only countries that supercede socialist ones are ones that rely on imperialism.

                The implication that Marxism-Leninism is a religion is baseless, the purpose of Marxism-Leninism is to abolish classes, not to maintain a ruling class like liberalism is.

                Why are you going through old comments of mine to reply to?

                • Aljernon@lemmy.today
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                  1 month ago

                  but a revolution is doomed to fail without popular support

                  Which is why almost all of them ultimately collapsed. East Germany famously got to a point where they were spending more money on the Secret Police than on the military.

                  the purpose of Marxism-Leninism is to abolish classes

                  Todays home work assignment is to look up “Defacto and Dejure”

                  Why are you going through old comments of mine to reply to?

                  Don’t flatter yourself. You churn out comments at an incredible rate and you’re on half the Posts I look at.

                  • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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                    1 month ago

                    Sure, so in instances where socialism continues we can tell that it enjoys popular support. The soviet union dissolved, but we have billions living in socialism happily. I’m aware that one can say something and not mean it, but the fact that that’s possible does not mean that it’s always the case. You in particular never make any meaningful points, you cast a silly phrase or two and then act like everyone else is unreasonable.

        • IndieGoblin@lemmy.4d2.org
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          3 months ago

          Communists are rich people who are privileged enough to not work and spend all day larping. They dont know working class people they’ve never met any.

          • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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            3 months ago

            I’m a communist and that’s false for me and every communist I know IRL that I work with, and is also false on an international scale. Communist parties are working class parties.

            • IndieGoblin@lemmy.4d2.org
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              3 months ago

              Communists love to wear working class struggle as a disguise. They aren’t working class and once they get power they use and abuse them just like every other rich cunt.

              • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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                3 months ago

                This is nonsense. Communists seek collectivization of production and distribution to satisfy the needs of all, and when communists take power the first things they do is implement measures like land reform, literacy campaigns, and expropriate property from landlords and capitalists to better serve the interests of the people.

                • IndieGoblin@lemmy.4d2.org
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                  3 months ago

                  First thing they do is strip rights away from people. Second thing they do is start erasing history. Third is increasing police forces to crack down on any dissent.

                  Communists serve the communist party not the people.

                  • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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                    3 months ago

                    Again, untrue. In Russia, for example, life expectancies doubled, literacy rates went from 20-30% to full literacy, working hours dropped while real wages rose, healthcare and education were free and high quality, the economy was democratized and the country went from a feudal backward to space in less than a century, beating the Nazis along the way.

                    They dramatically expand rights, teach history, and cracked down on the fascists, capitalists, and landlords.

                • Aljernon@lemmy.today
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                  3 months ago

                  That problem is that not all communists were made equal. I’ve heard plenty of communists talk that I can respect but MLs aren’t the ones. Bolsheviks always managed to get their needs especially met and before anyone elses needs.

                  • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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                    3 months ago

                    Marxism-Leninism is the only branch of communism that has actually successfully implemented socialism. I’m not sure what communists you spoke with that you can respect if you don’t respect any that have actually succeeded. The point about MLs ensuring their needs are met before anyone elses is just nonsense considering everywhere socialism has been implemented by MLs has come with dramatic improvements in the lives of the working classes.

            • Aljernon@lemmy.today
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              3 months ago

              Most of my friends are some flavor of Anarchist or Socialist. Of the two outright Commies that I’ve known (who described themselves as such) one was a man of the people and the other was a lazy spoiled phony who’s communism expressed itself mainly as sharing memes on facebook.