• DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    Okay so they were protesting to get Free Speech, and to keep China communist.

    You’re saying what they were protesting for (Free Speech and Communism) isn’t important…

    …only Free Speech (one of the things they were protesting for) is important… Not Free Speech (one of the things they were protesting for).

    A bit of anti-communist blindness is happening here. It’s really okay for Chinese communists to want a more democratic Communism.

    [EDIT: On that much we are agreeing. I’m just also adding US pro-Capitalist massacres on too.]

    • copingwithelmons@lemmy.world
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      2 hours ago

      Yeah I agree with the idea of a more democratic communist country. But meme is about how tankies suck chinese and Russian assholes with blind adherence.

      • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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        2 hours ago

        Yes, and I doubt American Communism would be that way.

        It’s often overlooked that Communism isn’t a singlular unbending set of rules or type of government - every single instance of Communism has come with its own modifications and differences.

        I imagine American Communism (which is extraordinarily unlikely to ever come about) would involve Free Speech, the right to bear arms, and Religious freedoms.

        Ideally it would retain a multi-party system, and be open to being voted out (with a smooth transition of government garanteed).

        It would have totally new and American qualities to it - for better and for worse. That’s what history has shown to occur. Each Communism has been different. Vietnamese Communism isn’t like Chinese Communism isn’t like Russian Communism, and frankly the new versions tend to be better.

        • copingwithelmons@lemmy.world
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          2 hours ago

          Ideally it would retain a multi-party system, and be open to being voted out (with a smooth transition of government garanteed).

          It seems like such an important and obvious forethought. I can’t imagine how any of these communist countries missed on that.

          I keep thinking back to animal farm. The temptation of power must be very intoxicating.

          It would have totally new and American qualities to it - for better and for worse.

          Communism with American characteristics.

          • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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            1 hour ago

            Not sure if you were being sarcastic, but I think communist societies do have thier own conceptions of democracy… It’s very complicated though (from what I can tell).

            Having lived under Capitalism my whole life, I feel under cooked on this myself. I couldn’t tell you much other than I know the Chinese have the five year Plenary session, opposition parties within the communism party, and systems of local provential governments that compete on resolving social problems.

            Vietnam has a shit load of unions.

            So there’s mass participation in these systems… Maybe that’s part of why they’re still around. Idk… I have to plead ignorance on the topic.

            • copingwithelmons@lemmy.world
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              1 hour ago

              To be fair parties themselves aren’t monoliths. I like Hu jintao’s politics a lot more than I like Xi pings. Factionalist abound. But as far I’ve seen with any communist state, they’ve always banned other parties defacto or dejure and they usually did that in the initial years of the state.

              USSR, PRC, PRV, DPRK.

              Having multiple parties allows for two important things: accountability and representation. Despite me disagreeing with someone’s politics I’d still want them to have some sort of representation. But it’s accountability that matters more to me.

              The aforementioned governments do have accountability in whether the keys of power and people support them or not. But it’s a far less direct form than in an actual democracy and usually very proportionally disbalanced in the favor of the keys (ministers, army, or corporations).

              Unions are good, but not enough in my opinion. But this is from my own rudimentary understanding of how it.

              • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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                26 minutes ago

                Yeah, governments and democratic structures are a little over my head. I think ultimately it’s a question of participation, belonging, and empowerment.

                But I have no idea how to design a system that guarantees those things… And the education system has enough trouble getting people to understand democracy, let alone going beyond that.

                I’m very confused on whether the keys to power system comes from the representative part of it being a representative democracy (single representatives needing key allies along the way), or whether it comes from the Capitalist self-interested parts, money in government, or whether it should be formalized into the system… Or whether eradicating it via looking at a direct participatory government run by a rotation of volunteers anyone could join would be better… Or some sort of block chain encrypted system… It all gets complicated pretty quick.

                Not to mention it’s really NOT up for discussion/change at the best of times. So it seems we’re just locked into this slow moving system until it breaks down too much, and the cracks are showing as corporations get bigger and bigger.

                Oh well, maybe someone will release a meaningful patch soon.

    • FiredFloridaCop@lemmy.world
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      2 hours ago

      What in the mental gymnastics is your comment meant to be?

      Your edit comes across as, “Oops, looks like I was trying to rage against someone without realizing we agree; better edit to add a subtle retraction. Oh, and I’d better add a whataboutism out of nowhere too.”

      • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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        2 hours ago

        It’s a bit of that… Arguing on the internet is just easy to fall into so sorry if you feel hard done by in my figuring out we’re agreeing.

        I’m also spread a bit thin because I’ve put a lot of comments out under this post, as I have strong opinions on being anti-tankie and anti-communist under American Capitalist Fascism/Trumpism.

        • FiredFloridaCop@lemmy.world
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          1 hour ago

          But you do understand it makes you and yours look ridiculous - and is thus counterproductive - when you can’t help yourself (due to your stated strong opinions) but to participate in such bad faith, right?

          Between that and the suspicion I have that you were implying the massacres would be more acceptable if they weren’t pro-communist protestors and it’s just one more anecdote of tankies having bizarre and unconscionable stances.

          • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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            1 hour ago

            Okay - I’m not a tankie. I’m not even a communist, and no I wasn’t saying that.

            Your assumptions are your own.

            • FiredFloridaCop@lemmy.world
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              1 hour ago

              Fair enough, but you do see that you’ve quacked like a duck here, right?

              Especially in the context of a post that’s bound to draw tankies to run to the defense of fellow tankies, as you can see elsewhere in the comments.

              • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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                51 minutes ago

                I could say the same about you quacking like a Capitalist and fascist… But one of us has better social diplomacy skills.

                “All this crony Capitalist billionaire stuff going on - time to go on the attack against a nich communist sect”

                Okay, you can go lick boot and stop bothering me now.

                • FiredFloridaCop@lemmy.world
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                  33 minutes ago

                  Not that I expect a good faith reply from you, but mostly just to signal to anyone reading that I’m unwilling to return the disrespect you started:

                  What exactly have I said that’s capitalist or fascist?

                  • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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                    28 seconds ago

                    There’s a wide variety and storied history of anti-communist organization that acted as fronts or ways to recruit fascists. George Lincoln Rockwell was part of an anti-communist organization, lots of Ayn Randians fell into fascism, groups like the John Birch Society, or Willis Carto’s Liberty Lobby, the heritage foundation.

                    They are closely associated, I have every right to joke about it after you’ve misidentified me as a communist.

                    The choosing to complain about Tankies in the current era of Capitalist corruption and Trump style fascism can its self be interpreted as fascist leaning (contextually) or at the very least, tone def to the actual proportions of the world’s problems right now.

                    (tankies are proportionally invisible in all democracies).

                    The truth is anti-communism and fascism have a long and storied history - hell look at who the Nazis went after.

                    Pressing on after I apologized as if it’s a police investigation was its self a dick move. You wanted total demoralization by begging that I comceed further “see you were quacking like a Communist” after I clarified that I wasn’t one… and now you’re still here? We’re ONLY here because you couldn’t stop and let it go.

                    But there’s always an opportunity to let it go.