this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2025
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Lefty Memes

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An international (English speaking) socialist Lemmy community free of the "ML" influence of instances like lemmy.ml and lemmygrad. This is a place for undogmatic shitposting and memes from a progressive, anti-capitalist and truly anti-imperialist perspective, regardless of specific ideology.

Serious posts, news, and discussion go in c/Socialism.

If you are new to socialism, you can ask questions and find resources over on c/Socialism101.

Please don't forget to help keep this community clean by reporting rule violations, updooting good contributions and downdooting those of low-quality!

Rules

Version without spoilers

0. Only post socialist memes


That refers to funny image macros and means that generally videos and screenshots are not allowed. Exceptions include explicitly humorous and short videos, as well as (social media) screenshots depicting a funny situation, joke, or joke picture relating to socialist movements, theory, societal issues, or political opponents. Examples would be the classic case of humorous Tumblr or Twitter posts/threads. (and no, agitprop text does not count as a meme)


1. Socialist Unity in the form of mutual respect and good faith interactions is enforced here


Try to keep an open mind, other schools of thought may offer points of view and analyses you haven't considered yet. Also: This is not a place for the Idealism vs. Materialism or rather Anarchism vs. Marxism debate(s), for that please visit c/AnarchismVsMarxism.


2. Anti-Imperialism means recognizing capitalist states like Russia and China as such


That means condemning (their) imperialism, even if it is of the "anti-USA" flavor.


3. No liberalism, (right-wing) revisionism or reactionaries.


That includes so called: Social Democracy, Democratic Socialism, Dengism, Market Socialism, Patriotic Socialism, National Bolshevism, Anarcho-Capitalism etc. . Anti-Socialist people and content have no place here, as well as the variety of "Marxist"-"Leninists" seen on lemmygrad and more specifically GenZedong (actual ML's are welcome as long as they agree to the rules and don't just copy paste/larp about stuff from a hundred years ago).


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The only dangerous minority is the rich.


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We must constructively learn from their mistakes, while acknowledging their achievements and recognizing when they have strayed away from socialist principles.

(if you are reading the rules to apply for modding this community, mention "Mantic Minotaur" when answering question 2)


6. Don't idolize/glorify previous and current socialist experiments or (leading) individuals.


Notable achievements in all spheres of society were made by various socialist/people's/democratic republics around the world. Mistakes, however, were made as well: bureaucratic castes of parasitic elites - as well as reactionary cults of personality - were established, many things were mismanaged and prejudice and bigotry sometimes replaced internationalism and progressiveness.



  1. Absolutely no posts or comments meant to relativize(/apologize for), advocate, promote or defend:

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submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 28 points 21 hours ago (3 children)

All representation is positive. Honestly this just feels of privilege from people who have never had to live in a world where their real identity would get them fired or worse.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 19 hours ago (3 children)

Corporations feeling comfortable enough to support LGBT+ people is a good barometer of how we stand in society as a population.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

It demonstrates profits from performative diversity outweighs losses from bigots.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 hours ago

Yes, and while that doesn't mean things are dandy, that's still better than the alternative.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 14 hours ago

To state the unstated, "comfortable" for a corporation is defined as what stakeholders believe will not damage them financially, boycott vs marketing.

If they think the boycott outweighs the positive sentiment, they don't print the ad.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 19 hours ago
  • how much the government likes us combined with how much they have promised to corporations.
[–] [email protected] 10 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

Not necessarily, these same companies will turn around and fire trans or queer people the moment they come out or allow homo/trans phobia to happen.

So no, not if it leads to exactly 0 material improvement to people's actual lives and is just a cynical way to make more money (which 9/10 times it is).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 18 hours ago

And it is people more like the comrade in this meme than the capitalist wearing a rainbow token who got us here, and there is still work to do.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 23 hours ago (5 children)

Have more queers and non-whites finally started picking up guns too? Under Trump it just might become necessary.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 19 hours ago

Plenty of them do.

They just don’t fetishize them, treat them like fashion accessories, or wear them like an identity badge on their sleeves the way right-wingers do.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 20 hours ago

"Finally?" Organizing and taking up arms has happened for a long, long time. The Black Panther Party is an easy and recognizable example.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Guns are safer and more powerful when you don't flaunt them around like a personality trait. This is why many states that allow conceal carry won't allow you to open carry, you make yourself an early target and your weapon becomes someone else's.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

That's awesome. I never understood concealed carry being illegal if open carry was not.

One time back in HS I got stopped by the cops for being out past curfew and allowed them to search my bag (mistake) and they found a pocket knife I had forgotten was in there. They said they could confiscate it and give me a citation for carrying a concealed weapon and I was like "what do you want me to do, walk around holding it?" They said "leave it home" which is obviously not helpful if you actually need a knife.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 19 hours ago

Next time I buy a knife I'll be carrying it home like a serial killer ready to stab someone.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 22 hours ago

Ok, just don't repeat the whole "storm the capitol" thing. It just made them look silly.

And also remember that just shooting a president doesn't do a whole lot on it's own. You'll need more of his cabinet as well to actually have an impact.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 23 hours ago (7 children)

I really really hope that won’t be happening, there is just no way you could fight off the military in an armed uprising! Though it would be funny if the republicans banned guns, after throwing a continuous hissy fit for it in the last many decades…

[–] [email protected] 22 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

I was decidedly anti gun until I moved to a solid red town. Population of 400 and yet there’s probably 1,000 guns in this town, maybe more

Pandora’s box has been open. Until regulation occurs (aka never) it’s the only way to protect yourself. Many of the people in this town are okay but there are a some very paranoid people itching for something to do vigilante shit over. What am I gonna do when one of them googles me, finds out that I provide trans affirming care to pediatric clients, and then puts me in their sights? Karate? Guns beat karate every time.

I have cameras and motion activated floodlights all over my property and I have a gun. I’ll call the cops but they won’t come quick out here. Plus im not trying to get my dog shot.

I’m not going to die and become a footnote news article that’s glossed over and forgotten after 20 minutes. And I’m not going to move because this town has queer people that need services, whether they’re adults that just built their life here or kids that are trapped. Plus a ton of non queer people that need services too, towns like this in general desperately need mental health services. Fuck the culture of fear they’ve created and fuck not doing whatever you can to protect yourself

[–] [email protected] 6 points 20 hours ago

The fact y'all are living like this is INSANE to the rest of us, but also I understand your conundrum.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

less about fighting the military and more about fighting off lynch mobs, goon squads, militia types or police.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 18 hours ago

Who can definitely be defeated with numbers and organization

[–] [email protected] 16 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

The Vietnamese and Afghans sure did a good job fighting against the US military with small arms and guerilla tactics. Don't expect that the US military is invincible.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 19 hours ago

The Vietnamese had a fuck lot more than small arms. They had all sorts of modern Soviet weapons, including Soviet jets with Soviet pilots.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (3 children)

They were also fighting the US outside of its home soil, where there was no risk of America falling to the enemy.

They certainly did not face the full force of the US military.

Still Syria shows it can be done. But it’s not easy.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 19 hours ago

The US fighting at home is not a benefit to the US its a benefit for the gurellia fighters. The guy who flys the drones or drives the tanks has to live here, so does their family. This is always what civil uprising looks like as well as why its a last resort.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Do you guys think the US military would, by and large, turn its guns inward on US soil?

Personally I’m a bit skeptical—they’re our brothers and sisters after all. I think a good 60% of the military would quit if they were asked to fire on US citizens.

Even if it was a civil war roughly along party lines and no military quit on either side, the distribution of of military seems like it would be closer to a 60/40 or a 50/50 distribution than it would be 100% of the military on the conservative side vs a civilian army on the other.

Military by state

[–] [email protected] 1 points 13 hours ago

Yes, 100%.

America has already used its military to kill students protesting at university in the past. Everyday it has “police” that regularly devalue the lives of citizens and murder them abruptly and without punishment.

Add to that so many on the right would take absolute glee in the killings.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 21 hours ago

The full force of the military like nuke bombs and aircraft carriers?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 19 hours ago

The US army has proven to be very good at fighting conventional wars but utterly incompetent in fights against guerrillas.

Also they can't bomb infrastructure to starve the rebels out without fucking themselves over too, since they need that infrastructure themselves.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 17 hours ago

You have to think about contradictions that occur, not like static things, when analyzing conflicts like this. The US military is strong, but they aren't like completely cold blooded thugs. Some are, you'll have that anywhere, but how revolutions are often won is the military breaks in half, and one side goes over to the revolutionary forces. See the people with the most like conscience (sorry its not very scientific here, but its the best word to describe), will defect first and early, which creates problems in the ranks with disunity and lowering morale. The generals and leaders will become extremely harsh on the military which just causes more defections as people start to escape their declining conditions, along with their conscience, which makes the leaders crack down harder -- it creates a feedback loop that can fracture the entire military. Its happened many times. Turning a military against their own people is dangerous. It takes decades of otherizing and conditioning of the population to overwrite peoples basic humanity. Some people can be monstrous but some can't resist their own conscience.

You never know what could happen, especially in the core. And as other people have said, the US military actually losing is always possible. Talk to anyone in the military with logistical or admin or leadership jobs, and a lot of times you won't find the hyper jingoistic patriotism of the suburbs, you'll find healthy skepticism and tactical flexibility. In other words, the military are always aware that they could lose, so why should we think any different?

It all comes down to organization, tactics, and strategy.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 20 hours ago

In most revolutions, there isn't an outright war, usually the millitary gives in and small cells remain. In some, there is a protracted war, but the Leftists usually have nothing to lose and the millitary is only in it for the paycheck so desertion becomes incredibly common. It's worth reading the real histories of revolutions.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 22 hours ago

You don't need to fight off the military, but the peons who voted for Trump. They will most likely be the ones that start something stupid.