• nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    8 months ago

    You ever see Tankies outside of Lemmy or old CTH on reddit? Because Ive been organizing since my 20s and met just one in real life. I would be flabbergasted if there were more than 1% of the figures you pointed out were tankies, let alone 10%. Also tankies don’t believe in voting and are still dwarfed by other sources of misinformation. The tankies make themselves nice and loud, they’re very easy to ignore. Unlike the types of propaganda that get injected into Meta platforms and Twitter. I still think you’re swinging at ghosts because its easy to do.

    Lets say tomorrow there are no more tankies, they magically never existed in the english speaking world, what actually changes for the US?

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2018/04/04/only-two-thirds-of-american-millennials-believe-the-earth-is-round/?sh=e7dd4067ec66

    Theres more flat earther Millennials than tankies by either estimation we use too. Can’t wait for them to influence foreign policy.

    • commie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      8 months ago

      Ive been organizing since my 20s and met just one in real life.

      they’re taking over my local organizing scene.

      • grozzle@lemm.ee
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        8 months ago

        same. I stopped being active in my trade union because my local’s case officer has had his brain rotted by Grayzone and Dore etc, he harassed me for months with late night messages that “no Russia doesn’t target civilians on purpose” “Bucha was maybe a Ukrainian false-flag”, and publicly accused me of being a Nazi supporter for donating to a Ukrainian medical charity.

        no help from the rest of the union because he always had plenty of fucking Glen Greenwald, David Sacks, etc tweets to “prove there are questions, he’s just asking questions and unconvinced by NATO CIA affiliated narratives”

        Tankies are poison.

        • commie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          8 months ago

          I want everyone to get along, so I try to work with them, but it’s hard sometimes because they seem more focused on building the party than doing the work

    • PugJesus@lemmy.worldOP
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      8 months ago

      Can’t wait for them to influence foreign policy.

      Luckily, flat earth has few foreign policy implications yet. But general hostility to science, the root of flat eartherism, is definitely something that has had noticeable effects on our society and politics.

    • PugJesus@lemmy.worldOP
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      8 months ago

      I would be flabbergasted if there were more than 1% of the figures you pointed out were tankies, let alone 10%.

      I said ‘buy into tankie talking points’. The point isn’t that the 10% (itself just a random number, of course) are tankies, but that 10% are influenced by the shite that tankies spread.

      Although I would emphasize that there is a certain percentage of people who are batshit insane on any given issue, and some 10% of Americans are tolerant of fascism. 10% of Gen Z going tankie instead doesn’t seem that far-fetched to me.

      Also tankies don’t believe in voting

      This is true, but as mentioned, it’s not even about them, specifically - but what effects they have on discourse.

      and are still dwarfed by other sources of misinformation.

      Yeah, if I was in charge of a NGO dedicated to combating misinformation or something I wouldn’t be dedicating many resources to tankies specifically.

      Lets say tomorrow there are no more tankies, they magically never existed in the english speaking world, what actually changes for the US?

      Support for Ukraine increases by 2%-3% points as a very loud (as you note) minority is no longer amplifying misinformation and propaganda under the guise of combating the absolutely fucked state of our society.

        • PugJesus@lemmy.worldOP
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          8 months ago

          I’m glad my posting offers you some relief! I like to remind myself now and again that most people on here are sensible sorts.