chat

The sectarian BS is symptomatic of a deeper problem - no modern western left wing movement has a viable theory of victory. If some group puts together a set of tactics that advance a strategy that repeatably provides material victories, then everyone will fall in line because that movement keeps winning. Until then, we'll all argue over which idealistic horseshit is a more palatable excuse for why we're not winning but some day we will be.

when the situation is bad enough for white men that they set aside their bullshit.

obviously not all men and not just whites but lets be real its mostly white men.

yeah the best reaction to unhinged "anti-tankie-aktion" types IMO is to just be normal and put in the work, IMO. Be willing to work in good faith with basically anyone who isn't actively sabotaging and undermining you (at least in public-facing work, obviously opsec becomes a concern at some point). The majority of regular-ass people, anarchist or otherwise, will see that you put in the work and that the committed "anti-authoritarians" are more interested in screeds against you than finding common ground or achieving anything.

I guess that's the belden method basically lol

I don't care what people say I care what people do. If they show up when they say they will, if they bring good ideas and move discussions forward rather than derail, if they put in the work, then we can work together. If they don't, we can't, regardless of tendency. I'm not going to work with an ML that only talks about half-understood theory and wont apply it to reality or feels they are above the dirty work/busy work, but same goes for anarchists or anyone else.

This is all in the context of nascent imperial core organizing of course, not like, russia 1915 or whatever.

The left is such a fringe minority in the US the idea that if we all stopped be sectarian and united together we'd be some force to to reckon with is delusional. We'd just be a slightly bigger fringe minority with tons of infighting whenever we came to an sort of ideological impasse, like anti-Zionism.

Sectarianism isn't always a bad thing, sometimes have a strict party line and sticking to it and telling others to fuck off is a benefit to leftist groups. The Bolsheviks rise to power was in part to them sticking to their opposition to the war and not collaborating with parties who were weaker on that position. It's not about having the most leftists it's about having the leftist line that motivates the masses the most.

my ex was like one of these terminally online anarchists that bitched about tankies and never actually did anything to help anyone irl. as part of unpacking the trauma i got from them abusing me, i had to think about this a lot

for them, it seemed like they needed to feel ideologically superior to everyone else, or else they would start having to question themselves and their cruelties, which was more introspection than they were capable of. i imagine this is the case with a lot of them.

there's probably also an echo chamber effect where u start to feel like shitting on tankies is genuinely a good thing to do and one of the only good things you can do.

idk tbh im not terminally online enough to interact with many of these sorts of people

well for one you should remember that Marxist/Anarchist online beef doesnt matter in real life, specially on 2 lemmy instances

Online Marxists beefing with online anarchists isn't going to move the needle one way or the other. In real life there are cross-tendency groups showing up with rifles to guard drag events and keep cops from arresting Food Not Bombs people. The PSL works with local organizers to run Palestine marches which provide incidental cover for saboteurs to slash cop tires. Environmental groups publish flyers calling for action against logging legislation while radical elements in those groups go out and spike trees.

There is no leftist project in the west, until there is a focal point to rally around we will all be wolves lashing out in the forest.

And whatever this rally point is its not going to emerge out of the internet

there is no western left