this post was submitted on 12 May 2025
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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, updooting good contributions and downdooting those of low-quality!

Rules

Version without spoilers

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)


0.5 [Provisional Rule] Use alt text or image descriptions to allow greater accessibility


We require alternative text (from now referred to as "alt text") to be added to all posts/comments containing media, such as images, animated GIFs, videos, audio files, and custom emojis.
EDIT: For files you share in the comments, a simple summary should be enough if they’re too complex.

We are committed to social equity and to reducing barriers of entry, including (digital) communication and culture. It takes each of us only a few moments to make a whole world of content (more) accessible to a bunch of folks.

When alt text is absent, a reminder will be issued. If you don't add the missing alt text within 48 hours, the post will be removed. No hard feelings.


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


That means 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.



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

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[–] [email protected] 95 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (4 children)

Found the source:

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/biden-moderate-democrats-republicans-conservative-study-john-kasich-aoc-a9699431.html

Okay I read the source now and what I found funny is the part where people describe how "moderates" on dating apps are just conservatives. An observation I can regard as true in my experience, they are just self-aware enough to not be dismissed outright, but not self-aware enough to actually change a thing about themselves and become a better person.

Remembering how dating apps for conservative people tend to go down (only dudes, because what chick would engage with those guys...), I find it funny to see this echoed here again. There is, after all, no middle ground on most social issues anymore and we do good to see moderates as just another trick of conservative rebranding to obfuscate what they truly are.

[–] [email protected] 63 points 15 hours ago

There is, after all, no middle ground on most social issues anymore

There never was, unless you consider supporting desegregation but not interracial marriage a middle ground I guess.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (3 children)

Okay I read the source now and what I found funny is the part where people describe how "moderates" on dating apps are just conservatives. An observation I can regard as true in my experience, they are just self-aware enough to not be dismissed outright, but not self-aware enough to actually change a thing about themselves and become a better person.

This is DEEPLY VALIDATING thank you

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 14 hours ago

Some of them genuinely seem to be in some weird form of denial I can't understand. I lost a friend from his slide during covid who would fit this. Self identified moderate who only ever defended right wing views and the worst of the grifters.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

The study doesn't match the headline.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 12 hours ago (6 children)

Seriously. The rhetorical shift:

Study of American men's self-reported political affiliation shows that "moderate" aligns pretty closely with "conservative."

Headline assigns "moderate" political affiliation to Joe Biden, to suggest that Joe Biden's policies align closely with "conservative."

Biden campaigned on being the most progressive president in U.S. history. Did he deliver? Not on all metrics, but whatever it is he did, he wasn't a secret conservative pretending to be moderate. The most you can accuse him of is being a moderate pretending to be progressive.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

"Men on dating apps who say they're moderate are conservative"

First, we knew that. Second, Biden is not on a dating app.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

You mean that the "hot senators in your area" ads are just scams!?!

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 hours ago

You sure about that?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Segregationist Biden is a moderate?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

“I’m a liberal on health care because I believe it is a birth right of every human being—not just some damn privilege to be meted out to a few people. But when it comes to issues like abortion, amnesty, and acid, I’m about as liberal as your grandmother. I don’t like the Supreme Court decision on abortion. I think it went too far. I don’t think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body. I support a limited amnesty, and I don’t think marijuana should be legalized.”

[–] [email protected] 15 points 10 hours ago (7 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 hours ago

Definitely wasn’t disagreeing with you haha

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (3 children)

I think this also has to do with how "we" refuse to speak of left and right as actual sets of ideals as opposed to relative positions. As far as voters go they see themselves as centrist because they aren't far right fascists so they're to the "left" of them, but they don't agree with "the left" so they're to the "right" of them. Their actual beliefs though would make them conservatives and so right wingers...

As far as politicians, they just want to get elected and the Bidens of the world know they can't win as Republicans especially today.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 hours ago

People who call themselves centrist, are uneducated in regards to political terms. They don't know what they are talking about, but assume they do and they never go out of their way to educate themselves on these matters.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 hours ago

but they don’t ~~agree with~~ know anything about “the left” so they’re to the “right” of them.

FTFY.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 14 hours ago (3 children)

Right, most of these idiots don't have a clue what the Left actually is.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (2 children)

Most of these idiots believe in what the left would have the chance to propose if they hadn't been brainwashed into believing that the left is communism is evil.

Social security? Accessible healthcare? Being able to live a comfortable life? Working hard leading to an appropriate reward?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)

What comes to my mind is, that it's great when people who work hard get rewarded, but that should only be an extra, not a necessity for a good life. And working too hard shouldn't be glorified, there need to be limits.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 hours ago

Some people just want to work harder than required though (I've got a workaholic uncle but he just loves his job, my FiL spent his career working 60h/week in research out of choice...) and they should be rewarded accordingly, but as you say, working a full time schedule is already hard enough, it's not normal that people can't live comfortably doing that!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 hours ago (3 children)

Don't underestimate the appeal of racism. The biggest barrier to the expansion of the US social safety net is the fact that many, many white people would willingly vote to make themselves poorer, so long as they kept an income advantage over black people. Many white voters would rather vote themselves into penury rather than see one black person get any form of government assistance.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

That looks like an article in regards to a study. Is there further information? Would be really interesting to read the full thing

[–] [email protected] 16 points 15 hours ago

Sorry I only found the meme. Sounds it should be googlable.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 14 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 12 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

The entire issue with “the middle ground” is that it’s based in relativistic politics which is a complete non-stater since their goal is specifically to not to commit enough to any action such that it actually succeeds. There’re no thoughts behind those eyes, just a weird and bad compromise because they don’t understand anything and are just barely good enough people to not go 100% into hating minorities.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 hours ago

Yes! These people don't have strong enough opinions to change things, therefore they support the Status quo, which is conservative.

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