this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2024
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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, upvoting good contributions and downvoting those of low-quality!

Rules

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,

as well as 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).

4. No Bigotry.

The only dangerous minority is the rich.

5. Don't demonize previous and current socialist experiments or (leading) individuals.

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.

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

(This is not a definitive list, the spirit of the other rules still counts! Eventual duplicates with other rules are for emphasis.)

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It's all in the name (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) by db0@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/leftymemes@lemmy.dbzer0.com
 
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[–] Laser 48 points 18 hours ago (7 children)

A secret police is something different from officers without uniforms. A secret police is an instrument of the ruling party to oppress opposition and are part of a "justice" system outside of the official one, e.g. secret police can arrest you on whatever charges (don't have to be revealed) and you'll be put into a secret prison where your relatives can't find you. The fact that they don't wear uniforms goes beyond why regular police goes it: it's to create an atmosphere of fear that everyone around you could be secret police, and that they can just arrest you, and there's nothing you can do.

[–] PanArab@lemm.ee 3 points 2 hours ago

e.g. secret police can arrest you on whatever charges (don’t have to be revealed)

1984 Bail Reform Act

2001 PATRIOT Act

[–] eugenevdebs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 hours ago

secret police can arrest you on whatever charges (don’t have to be revealed) and you’ll be put into a secret prison where your relatives can’t find you

Like the CIA blacksites, Gitmo, the Fed vans that pulled and kidnapped protestors during the BLM protests? Or the fact that police can get away with murder in broad daylight and people who fight it are labeled terrorists who hate the country?

[–] trolololol@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago

Oh so the international FBI, what was it called? ah CIA right

[–] Justas@sh.itjust.works 20 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

Yes. Secret Police makes people never relax. You never know who's watching, you never know who's listening. Your neighbours and teachers could be informants too. Apartment buildings are built with thin walls so you are not safe even within your own home. It's a constant source of terror.

It's also why people older than me don't talk to strangers, and especially, to foreigners.

[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 1 points 8 minutes ago

Apartment buildings are built with thin walls so you are not safe even within your own home.

Pshaw. Next you'll be claiming that our phones are built to listen to our conversations.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 6 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Last couple of evenings has been cool enough to not have window units running. The neighbor's drunken bellowing has been off the chain. Yes, I heard it over the AC but without is truly revealing, and impossible to sleep.

[–] Justas@sh.itjust.works 4 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Mine gets drunk and talks to people on the phone. When she gets drunk, her soft tissues swell up and she sounds like a troll. That also doesn't stop her from finding men to get drunk with and have loud sex with, but she never manages to keep them around for long, and I occasionally get a night of drunken crying.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 3 points 12 hours ago

I mean the drinking isn't the issue. The relief they seek from underlying issues is not the issue. The despair and sadness and rage are problematic. Address the despair and other issues can be resolved.

[–] fuckingkangaroos@lemm.ee 6 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Can't we just enjoy our anti-American propaganda in peace

[–] SSJMarx@lemm.ee 5 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah their distinction is completely arbitrary and meaningless. Of course the widespread knowledge that anyone you could interact with could be a plainclothes officer or a federal agent instills a certain amount of paranoia in Americans, the difference is that just we have massive and effective propaganda machines convincing us that America secret police are all good guys while also telling us that non-Western secret police are mustache twirling villains.

[–] fuckingkangaroos@lemm.ee -2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

This is some ignorant basement dweller/Kremlin shill shit, you have no idea what you're talking about

[–] SSJMarx@lemm.ee 3 points 4 hours ago

Do you deny the existence of pro-FBI copaganda? Or do you deny that the FBI fulfill the functions of a secret police?

[–] basmati@lemmus.org 5 points 17 hours ago

Yeah, plains clothes officer in the US. You're repeating the meme.

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

If you're getting arrested by secret police, then you fight to the death. Otherwise, you'll spend the rest of your life wishing you did.

[–] psud@aussie.zone 1 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Typically they have the guns and you don't, or if you do they'll kill you then disappear you rather than the other way around

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

If that's the case, it's gonna happen regardless. That's the point. You're either going to die in a "workers prison" or you're going to die fighting. Might as well hurt someone on your way out right? That's what I learned in my time in the army. I have gained so god damn much respect for Ukraine in the last 2 years. They're defending themselves so perfectly, I only wish they had more help.

[–] InverseParallax@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Same, they're fighting for us too. Slava Ukraine!

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

I wish them the best and their freedom soon!