What are tankies? What does sea-lioning mean?

https://lemmy.world/post/1470986

What are tankies? What does sea-lioning mean? - Lemmy.World

I’ve run across these terms several times, but without enough context to figure out what they mean. Could someone help me out, please? ETA All of you are amazing! A huge thank you to everyone who responded, and an extra thank you to those who have provided links or explanations to further and/or related information. I am learning so much by reading all of these comments!

“Tankies” is slang for communists who align with the philosophy of authoritarian rule, like the Soviet Union who used violence to keep countries under their control in check.

Sealioning is something I saw a lot on Reddit, but not so much here - it is when someone responds continuously asking questions, trying to seem like they are engaged, but in reality they are trolling you. Like when you say something like “The sky is so blue today” and the come back with “That is interesting, do you have a link to some information that I can learn more about that?”

They’re not really communists tho, because (like you said) they defend the use of violence by a ruling class

A ruling class just wouldn’t exist under actual communism. Which is the main reason communism won’t work for any group more than like ~200 people in size.

They’re fans of fake communism like the Soviet Union or China

I’d agree with you, but Marx literally calls for a temporary dictatorship of the proletariat in the communist manifesto
Yeah and as smart as anyone is, they aren’t right all the time. As much as you can agree with his messaging, it’s important to critically assess everything said, regardless of who is saying it.