this post was submitted on 13 May 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, updooting good contributions and downdooting those of low-quality!

Rules

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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


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).


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The only dangerous minority is the rich.


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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] 51 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

Sicilians were sometimes "black" in the jim crow south. I couldn't find the citation, but at least one black dude avoided getting murdered after it was discovered the woman he was sleeping with was sicilian. I think the anecdote is from Isabelle Wilkerson's Caste.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Irish and Italians were Catholic, which was enemy #3 to the KKK right behind black and jewsiwh people. Irish and Italians weren't even considered white for the first half of the 20yh century

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (3 children)

I thought that the irish were always considered white but faced discrimination due to their nationality itself, along with religion, and typically being poor, more like being viewed as a “lesser” category of whites

Interesting, the basis of that is so strange

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It’s not strange if you know the history of KKK. They trace their roots back to the Orange Order.

The orange order is a sectarian group in Northen Ireland and Britain (outside Northern Ireland they are mainly west Scotland). They are pro-Protestant, pro-Monarchy and pro-Union (union between the nations of the UK). When the USA became a republic outside the UK they lost two of their three defining factors. So they replaced it with racism, but kept the sectarianism.

They still share similar rank structures. The KKK burn crosses, the orange order are fans of large bonfires often burning effigies of the pope. The KKK didn’t seem to keep the flute band marches, but both do march in silly dress costumes.

Despite their large presence in Northen Ireland with many of their members being born on the Island of Ireland, they wouldn’t claim themselves as Irish.

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

Catholicism was a huge part of it. The KKK was extremely active in New England, particularly in Maine, against the French-Canadian diaspora. At one point over 20% of the population were card carrying members, more than Alabama or Mississippi! The anti french laws it established were repealed only in the 60s.

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

Could you tell me where I can read more about this ? specifically the french-canadian new england stuff ?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Here's some quick links to get you started:

https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/608667/histoire-quand-le-kkk-faisait-sa-loi-contre-les-canadiens-francais-du-maine (In French)

https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/2122/page/3514/display

https://www.centralmaine.com/2017/02/05/ku-klux-klan-emergence-in-1920s-maine-offers-lessons-for-today/

“The real issue is Americanism against Romanism,” wrote Fred Moseley of Brunswick in April 1924. “Thinking, intelligent people do not believe it is for the best interests of the people to place Catholics in office. If a person is not 100 percent American, he is not an American. Let us elect good people to office,” rather than a politician who would sell “his soul to the devil to buy an election at the price of dishonor, bidding for the Roman vote.”

https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/york-star/2010/03/04/the-king-kleagle-maine-s/51686485007/

https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2016/11/22/wvii-interviews-segal-story-kkks-history-maine/

This has been mostly erased from the history books, much like the rest of French Canadian history in the United States.

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

There's the blacks of the UK, the rest of us likes em well enough.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

Good old Italian racists would agree with this assessment nowadays.