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Are you a "tankie"? (2025 edition)
(lemmy.ml)
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this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2025
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Using "tankie" as a self-identifier has the same effect as calling oneself a "commie," it signals that being accused of being a communist isn't anything to take offense to. If I am going to be called a "commie, pinko, red, tankie, etc" then it is best to call it out for what it is: Accurate insofar as it describes me as a communist. I'm not going to deny those who call me by such pejoratives, rather I'm just going to explain why I'm a communist. Using it as a self-identifier blunts the pejorative and makes it less effective in public discourse to shut down communist speech.
Except Communism is the ideology and "Tankie" isn't really anything anyone can define.
Using it as a self-identifier makes it so people are less willing to engage and you're fighting on an opponents terms.
Reappropriation is a thing.
That's why you point out the irrationality of the term "tankie," and make it so that your opponent's terms are meaningless.