I'm not one to post often. I'm not really one to rant to strangers online often, even. But, after migrating from r*ddit to lemmy, I've had this on my mind and this seemed like the place to vent.
I see discourse about tankies constantly on Lemmy. This struck me as odd. Why are these so called tankies such a threat? Why do I see people calling themselves left-wing and attacking tankies more voraciously than neoliberals and, sometimes, even fascists?
I think I know the answer, just as well as most people who will read this. These are the Zizeks of the world: people who do indeed think in a left-wing oriented way, but fail to recognise that they're also Western to the core and the biases that come with that.
I sincerely care about this much less than the actual reason I'm making this post. That is: why don't these people notice that their talking points, left-oriented as they may seem, always end up supporting US allies or attacking US enemies? I mean, do these people not see that Ukraine winning the war is a boon to the US, regardless of who is "right" in that conflict? Many other such cases, but I think I've made my point, or, rather, my confusion, clear.
That's it. That's the post.
There's no doubt they recognize this. What's happening is they still truly believe the US is a lesser evil vis a vis it's enemies (namely China, Russia, Iran, DPRK, Venezuela, Cuba). They think that while the US is a "flawed democracy," its enemies are hopeless authoritarian dystopias, and if they push back too hard against the US, "authoritarianism" will spread across the globe like barbarian hordes. These are the same people who will argue "real communism has never been tried."
They are illiterate chauvanists, basically. Unreformed idealists who cast judgment based on what would be right in principle instead of material reality.
I didn't recognize it in myself until the last few months. I largely blame brainwashing from birth and cognitive dissonance.