The downsides of running a fediverse platform

https://lemmy.world/post/40833480

The tankies?

Those who literally deny the existence of the massacre in the Tiananmen Square, claiming that “nobody was killed” (or far more rarely, unapologetically stating that if they were, then they deserved it). Basically far-left extremists that exist in a world of “alternative facts” just like conservatives, the common denominator being that and simping for authoritarian regimes.

Words like “consent” tend not to matter to those holding that ideology.

“Tankie” does not come from Tiananmen Square, that is a common misconception. The term “tankie” is 33 years older than the Tiananmen Square massacre.

It originated to describe people who supported the 1956 Soviet Union military intervention in Hungary. Stalin sent in a bunch of T-35 tanks to crush the Hungarian Revolution. He was successful, and thousands of people died in the process.

Ever since then, “tankie” has been used as a derogatory term against Stalinists, Marxist-Leninists, communists, and leftists in general.

I don’t think it is a common misconception, I think it’s pretty common knowledge (at least among the terminally online) that it started with the Hungarian Revolution.
It seems more common knowledge for people actually in Europe. Many people in the USA seem to have never really heard the word. Especially the younger generations (which since this is a memes community… does seem slightly relevant to your statement, as I would expect a broader populace here as opposed to a community dedicated to discussions of world-wide import).