u/SSR_Id_prefer_not_to - originally from r/GenZhou
In essence, it is the modern slang version of the word “Stalinist”, but that has a modern context to it that makes it more relevant to many of those who use it.
This is concise and very good; excellent comparison.
I think this is a great explainer (the whole post). And just as “Stalinist” tries to sully the ideology of MLism by playing into Western fear and bias, “Tankie” both emphasizes “authoritarianism”/violence (never mind the fact that the “tankie” shtick originated because the soviet army went in to stop a fascist coup against the people’s government) and infantalizes Marxist-Leninists, as if to say, look at all of these LARPING Tankies who wish they could live in the violent and backwards USSR (eg “bad Stalin does bad things”; “bad tankies do bad things”). It distills and exaggerates Western anti-communist talking points.
u/SSR_Id_prefer_not_to - originally from r/GenZhouThis is concise and very good; excellent comparison.
I think this is a great explainer (the whole post). And just as “Stalinist” tries to sully the ideology of MLism by playing into Western fear and bias, “Tankie” both emphasizes “authoritarianism”/violence (never mind the fact that the “tankie” shtick originated because the soviet army went in to stop a fascist coup against the people’s government) and infantalizes Marxist-Leninists, as if to say, look at all of these LARPING Tankies who wish they could live in the violent and backwards USSR (eg “bad Stalin does bad things”; “bad tankies do bad things”). It distills and exaggerates Western anti-communist talking points.