23
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by kittenzrulz123@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/onehundredninetysix@lemmy.blahaj.zone

MY FINAL MESSAGE TO THE 196 COMMUNITY

07/28/2026

Today I leave the 196 community and chat, both as a moderator and as a user. It has become overwhelmingly clear that I am no longer welcome here. I would like to preface this message with a request not to harass the current mods of this community. This is a difficult time with all the drama going on, and I do not intend to start another. The following message is not made to accuse anyone in particular nor to place blame. I simply wish to explain my side of the story and be done; consider this closure to the community that I have worked so hard to build up.

This started, well actually, months ago. I slowly began reading more theory, spending more time with other leftists I strongly disagree with, and finding myself having conversations with people that some in this community would consider off limits. I had overwhelmingly positive conversations with them because I was not outright hostile to them. I slowly began to realize that anarchists have much more in common with other leftists than libs.

Then the tesseract situation happened, and that truly opened my eyes. They did not see any difference between Anarchists, Communists, general leftists, or even just Queer people and minorities. It became clear to me that people like them view all of us through the same lens of hostility and anger. So I asked the question: if they see us all as the same, then why must we keep fighting? Just as we were all attacked on that day, the communists made noise to defend the anarchists. Despite how hostile we have been to them, they were more than willing to forgive and forget (I suspect they still are).

What broke the camel's back here was my open call in the 196 community that we should simply have a discussion. I called for a public discussion there, and I will call for a public discussion here as well. All I asked for is that we should discuss the possibility of not being hostile. I ask not that people here agree with the communists, I ask not even that people here accept them, I simply request that people here not be hostile or at least consider the possibility of not being hostile.

I understand and respect the decision made by the mods here; this will be my final message in this community. After this point, I will no longer engage in the chat or here. If anyone here agrees with what I have said so far, then I urge you to join my community. It's not a splinter of 196 nor is it a replacement; it is simply a different community with a different goal. I thank you all for the memories here. Goodbye.

Links: https://matrix.to/#/#FURF:catgirl.cloud

  • Kittenzrulz123
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top new old
[-] A404@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 10 hours ago
[-] eugenevdebs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 8 hours ago

Kitten got upset for being called out. Then tried to take over a community on Blahaj in retaliation while claiming it's unrelated. Got removed as Admin. Ran away to hexbear because that's better for her.

Because Kitten is a tankie, and that's what they do. Attempt to grab power, run away when questioned.

[-] Cethin@lemmy.zip 25 points 1 day ago

I want to say that I agree with you that Anarchists are more aligned with other leftists, which should be obvious to everyone. I want to push back on the idea we should be aligned with Authoritarians though. Even if they say they're leftist, if they aren't advocating for the people over the elites, they aren't leftist. Modern day Russia, in particular, is an incredibly conservative authoritarian oligarchy. They do not align with the left. People defending them are not on our side. As nice as some of those defending it may be, they're not being honest if you think they're leftist. This doesn't mean they're always wrong (no one is), but everything should be viewed critically first.

[-] QuinnyCoded@sh.itjust.works 36 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

For context to those confused

this is a reply post to this post:
https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/45960248

here's a snippet

Why demote Kittenzrulz123? Kittenzrulz has consistently been opposed to the condemnation of tankies and has made several worrying statements that show that there's a deep ideological gulf between her and 196.

Furthermore it should be noted that kittenzrulz has not taken part in moderation decisions on lemmy for months, while she is only somewhat active on the matrix (as a mod). This will not be a major change in that sense.

to me, this just seems like a very respectful split between spaces that have different goals

[-] mathemachristian@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

Then the tesseract situation happened, and that truly opened my eyes. They did not see any difference between Anarchists, Communists, general leftists, or even just Queer people and minorities. It became clear to me that people like them view all of us through the same lens of hostility and anger. So I asked the question: if they see us all as the same, then why must we keep fighting? Just as we were all attacked on that day, the communists made noise to defend the anarchists. Despite how hostile we have been to them, they were more than willing to forgive and forget (I suspect they still are).

Hah just want to add that this argument is what made me go vegan lol. They were using techniques and machinery from animal ag during the holocaust in the work camps for instance. To the capitalists keeping us alive is just an expenditure that needs to be minimised, human or non-human matters only insofar as what they can use. If a disabled person is less useful to them than a chicken then guess who goes into the gas chamber? They don't make a distinction between profit from a human or profit from a non-human so why should I? I recognise this line of thinking very well because of that, finding yourself lumped in with others as the designated enemy makes one look at those who are also considered enemies in a completely different light.

[-] eugenevdebs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 18 hours ago
  • Called out for being a Tankie
  • "No I'm not being one"
  • Immediately does things Tankies do
  • Gets called out
  • Leaves to Tankie space and makes Hexbear their main
  • "yeah being called out made me go Tankie"

Once again, it's reactionaries screaming how the left made them leave their morals and standards behind. Shocking.

[-] cloudskater@piefed.blahaj.zone 14 points 1 day ago

Holy shit, what a mess. I'm sorry you're dealing with that over there. Wtf.

[-] SingularEye@lemmy.blahaj.zone 30 points 1 day ago
[-] seathru@quokk.au 35 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Same here. I'm fairly anarchist leaning and I've never seen anything that came across as hostile towards anarchists in this community. Usually the opposite.

More tesseract fallout/drama, I'm guessing.

[-] eugenevdebs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 1 day ago

It's because Kitten supports the USSR and thinks she's somehow an anarchist for supporting states pretending to be socialist.

[-] GalacticSushi@lemmy.blahaj.zone 27 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Extremism should not be tolerated nor allowed to infect legitimate discourse.

Anyone who is supporting or defending authoritarianism and dictatorships is an extremist in my eyes. Authoritarian apologists and those who downplay or handwave away acts of genocide and tyranny are extremist in my eyes.

Stating that it's "hostile" to exclude such viewpoints is not a good faith position to take in my opinion. I'm tired of extremists on both ends of the spectrum insisting that their viewpoints must be tolerated in a given community's discourse, and I'd prefer that 196 continue to keep those voices out.

If anyone considers that a "hostile" position then they're not someone I care to interact with. This isn't something I care to debate, either, so don't expect me to engage with any replies.

[-] audrbox@beehaw.org 13 points 1 day ago

As an anti-authoritarian, this is way too oversimplified of a reason to be against authoritarianism. 'Extremism' is a practically meaningless word that tends to translate to "this person's methods for enacting political change scare me, therefore they are Bad" and is usually used to incarcerate black and brown people who don't perform acceptability for white people. If you genuinely consider yourself for collective liberation, I implore you to think with more nuance here. There are plenty of reasons to dislike tankies that aren't just vague liberal sentiments

[-] cloudskater@piefed.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 day ago

I agree that the word "extremist" is misused here, though I still agree with the points themselves. That said, please elaborate on the other reasons you mentioned!

[-] audrbox@beehaw.org 9 points 1 day ago

Authoritarian communism is predicated on the contradictory idea that their government--which, being a state, is legitimized by its monopoly on violence--is able to accurately reflect the mechanics of dialectical materialism in its decision-making and attempts to serve the working class. I don't believe those two things can work together. You are inherently restricting the revolution by deciding that certain groups are allowed to use force while others are not.

[-] Cethin@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 day ago

Extremism should not be tolerated nor allowed to infect legitimate discourse.

We're on Lemmy. By some definition we're all extremists. This language is bad.

Anyone who is supporting or defending authoritarianism and dictatorships is an extremist in my eyes. Authoritarian apologists and those who downplay or handwave away acts of genocide and tyranny are extremist in my eyes.

This is correct. This post is about Anarchists being more aligned with other leftists, which is true. However, Anarchists must be against Authoritarians, and I'd argue leftists in general should be. I don't consider tankies to be leftists, because they aren't advocating to protect the people over the elites/owners.

load more comments (21 replies)
[-] craftrabbit@lemmy.zip 13 points 1 day ago

I've not been here for very long and I don't intend to voice my opinion on anything, but I want to say this: The way you and the other mods are handling this drama is so refreshingly mature for an online space. With the Tesseract thing and the various tantrums being thrown in its wake still fresh on our minds, the way you're leaving is incredibly graceful. So, all the best to you, kind stranger.

[-] Tonuka@feddit.org 14 points 1 day ago

Hey, I don't know you and I don't know how much you depend on the Internet for your social safety net, but it might be good to take this as a cue to step back from social media a bit, at least the discussion of politics

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Caketaco@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 1 day ago

MY FINAL MESSAGE TO THE 196 COMMUNITY

Buuuuuuuuuuuurp 🫢 Excuse me. 😅

also btw i just saw the other post, explaining the reasoning. uhm i feel like i should say something about it for some reason. first of all i'm really sorry for you. i know how it feels like to be kicked out of a community that you thought were your friends all of a sudden (has happened to me. sucked). i just really want to give you a hug rn. also, don't take the ideological differences too serious. we're all humans and that's what matters. i hope that you can find a way forward in life that makes you stay human. that's all.

[-] Starski@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I don't really have time to read all of the screenshots, so were they actually defending tankies? Or was it just defending communism? Because I'm generally fine with many communist ideals, but supporting the actions of authoritarian regimes is a nono in my book.

[-] ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

It's full-on defense of tankies, I'm afraid. They unfortunately completely drank the coolaid :(

As a theory on why that may have happened; Marxist-Leninist groups can offer a feeling of belonging, friendship, a comforting worldview, and the belief that if we just follow the directions of long dead prophet-like historical figures (Lenin, Stalin, etc), then we will someday have heaven on earth. These are extremely appealing aspects to someone who may be very lonely, or who may have suffered a severe trauma and may not have their basic needs met (which may also be what leads to some people being attracted to the MAGA cult)

To someone well versed in history and a desire to find multiple viewpoints for a historical event to avoid propaganda bubbles, the true nature of ML/Stalinism and its authoritarianism becomes self-evident. But for those who never went down that path and are in a vulnerable state, a 'scientific' cult offering you hope, meaning, and companionship is very easy to fall into, and thus willingly self-delude themselves to attain in-group status.

Just like with normal religions/cults, once they are deep inside it, they are heavily encouraged by the in-group to suspect any outside information that challenges their narratives or isn't approved by the group, and thus the cognitive dissonance they could create if looked at more objectively can mostly be avoided.

[-] CombatWombat@feddit.online 7 points 1 day ago

From an outsider’s perspective, this all seems like it was handled in a very reasonable and adult manner, which I very much appreciate. For folks (like me) on other instances, the link !libertyhub@lemmy.dbzer0.com should make it easier to join your new community.

[-] TwiddleTwaddle@lemmy.blahaj.zone 17 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Excuse me, but as a moderator of the original c/libertyhub, I have to disagree.

See this post.

https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/73031377

Edit: here's a link to the original LibertyHub community !libertyhub@lemmy.blahaj.zone

[-] CombatWombat@feddit.online 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Ah, my bad, I wasn't subbed to the original libertyhub; I meant as a subscriber here. Sorry I diminished the unpleasantness this brought to your community.

No apology necessary ❤️🖤

oh, i'm a bit surprised honestly and i remember having good discussions with you. sure, we might not agree on everything, but i think at least you're trying to build a better world, and i can honor and respect that.

i'm not gonna join your matrix chat group mostly because i don't have the mental energy to take on another massive project (which i guess it will be). my advice for you is to remember your own situation and make sure that you don't burn more resources than you have, in other words: that you don't burn yourself out.

goodbye, farewell~ (for now)

[-] carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 day ago

thank you for all your work here still 🧡

that 196 explicitly puts marxism-leninism on the same level of badness as nazism and white supremacy is ridiculous and shameful. i hope the mods here can come to their senses eventually and i hope your interactions with them weren't too hostile...

good luck with your new community! i've subscribed 🧡

[-] eugenevdebs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 day ago

that 196 explicitly puts marxism-leninism on the same level of badness as nazism and white supremacy is ridiculous and shameful.

Stalin wasn't kind to queer folk. It's weird that queer folk support the man who would have had them killed.

But I guess if there's Argentinan Nazis, there's queer Stalinists. Slugs for salt.

[-] carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

marxism-leninism itself is not queerphobic.. and i don’t really see what stalin has to do with this anyway, marxism-leninism is named after two people and, as you can see, none of them are stalin!

nazism, meanwhile, is explicitly queerphobic (and antisemitic, racist, ableist, mysoginistic… you don’t need me to write the whole list). so no, the two aren’t comparable, even if some MLs (like stalin) were bigots. sorry.

[-] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 points 16 minutes ago

Modern day Russia is queerphobic though, and is not leftist. The defence of modern Russia is the biggest part of the issue. They're a right-wing authoritarian oligarchy who gets support by appealing to a past that was on the left, but has little to do with them today. It does not represent the workers.

[-] eugenevdebs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 day ago

Sure, just ask the ghost of a dead dictator to change how he handled queer people.

If the biggest states that support the ideology are hateful to queers, what does that say about the ideology?

[-] carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 day ago

that these states are bigoted and hypocritical

many (most!) electoral democracies are racist and queerphobic too. is electoral democracy inherently racist and queerphobic?

[-] eugenevdebs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 21 hours ago

When systems in place are queerphobic, they are queerphobic. Not a hard thing to grasp.

I think what you're saying is disingenuous, Stalin wasn't simply "some ML" he's the creator of this ideology.

marxism-leninism is named after two people and, as you can see, none of them are stalin!

Marxism-Leninism is literally otherwise known as Stalinism

[-] fushuan@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 points 22 hours ago

It doesn't, it puts some fanboys of the actual faulty implementations of said idea on the same level, given that they would have killed queers. It's you who is equating Marxism-Leninism with tankies. It's not their ideology on socialism that is the issue, it's their love for countries at times where queer people would be killed for being so.

Where does this community equate nazism and marxism-leninism (and derivatives) except that neither is welcome?

Like, battery and murder are both bad, but one is clearly worse than the other. Condoning neither does not equate them.

[-] Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 day ago

As an outsider looking in I’m sad something seems to have broken down inside Blahaj but I’m proud (? might be the wrong word) with how it’s been handled by all parties.

Good luck, everyone.

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2026
23 points (73.5% liked)

196

6574 readers
1042 users here now

Community Rules

You must post before you leave

Be nice. Assume others have good intent (within reason).

Block or ignore posts, comments, and users that irritate you in some way rather than engaging. Report if they are actually breaking community rules.

Use content warnings and/or mark as NSFW when appropriate. Most posts with content warnings likely need to be marked NSFW.

Most 196 posts are memes, shitposts, cute images, or even just recent things that happened, etc. There is no real theme, but try to avoid posts that are very inflammatory, offensive, very low quality, or very "off topic".

Bigotry is not allowed, this includes (but is not limited to): Homophobia, Transphobia, Racism, Sexism, Abelism, Classism, or discrimination based on things like Ethnicity, Nationality, Language, or Religion.

Avoid shilling for corporations, posting advertisements, or promoting exploitation of workers.

Proselytization, support, or defense of authoritarianism is not welcome. This includes but is not limited to: imperialism, nationalism, genocide denial, ethnic or racial supremacy, fascism, Nazism, Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, etc.

Avoid AI generated content.

Avoid misinformation.

Avoid incomprehensible posts.

No threats or personal attacks.

No spam.

Moderator Guidelines

Moderator Guidelines

  • Don’t be mean to users. Be gentle or neutral.
  • Most moderator actions which have a modlog message should include your username.
  • When in doubt about whether or not a user is problematic, send them a DM.
  • Don’t waste time debating/arguing with problematic users.
  • Assume the best, but don’t tolerate sealioning/just asking questions/concern trolling.
  • Ask another mod to take over cases you struggle with, if you get tired, or when things get personal.
  • Ask the other mods for advice when things get complicated.
  • Share everything you do in the mod matrix, both so several mods aren't unknowingly handling the same issues, but also so you can receive feedback on what you intend to do.
  • Don't rush mod actions. If a case doesn't need to be handled right away, consider taking a short break before getting to it. This is to say, cool down and make room for feedback.
  • Don’t perform too much moderation in the comments, except if you want a verdict to be public or to ask people to dial a convo down/stop. Single comment warnings are okay.
  • Send users concise DMs about verdicts about them, such as bans etc, except in cases where it is clear we don’t want them at all, such as obvious transphobes. No need to notify someone they haven’t been banned of course.
  • Explain to a user why their behavior is problematic and how it is distressing others rather than engage with whatever they are saying. Ask them to avoid this in the future and send them packing if they do not comply.
  • First warn users, then temp ban them, then finally perma ban them when they break the rules or act inappropriately. Skip steps if necessary.
  • Use neutral statements like “this statement can be considered transphobic” rather than “you are being transphobic”.
  • No large decisions or actions without community input (polls or meta posts f.ex.).
  • Large internal decisions (such as ousting a mod) might require a vote, needing more than 50% of the votes to pass. Also consider asking the community for feedback.
  • Remember you are a voluntary moderator. You don’t get paid. Take a break when you need one. Perhaps ask another moderator to step in if necessary.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS