this post was submitted on 08 Dec 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, discussion and agitprop/stuff that's better fit for a poster than a meme 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. Please post agitprop here)


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


(Please take a look at our wiki page for the guidelines on how to actually write alternative text!)

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.


0.5.1 Style tip about abbreviations and short forms


When writing stuff like "lol" and "iirc", it's a good idea to try and replace those with their all caps counterpart

  • ofc => OFC
  • af = AF
  • ok => OK
  • lol => LOL
  • bc => BC
  • bs => BS
  • iirc => IIRC
  • cia => CIA
  • nato => Nato (you don't spell it when talking, right?)
  • usa => USA
  • prc => PRC
  • etc.

Why? Because otherwise (AFAIK), screen readers will try to read them out as actually words instead of spelling them


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 irrationally 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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[–] Socialism_Everyday@reddthat.com -1 points 1 week ago (3 children)

You're totally right, they should join into the international bashing of the country that the USA bombed until 85% of THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF BUILDINGS IN THE COUNTRY were leveled, dropping more explosives than were used in the ENTIRE PACIFIC THEATER OF WW2. North Korea being completely leveled and bombed into the stone age and then economically sanctioned into oblivion (remember economic sanctions from USA and EU murder 560.000 people yearly since 1970) surely doesn't affect them either does it?

No, let's focus on the totally evil government of a country that has never invaded anyone and keep pushing them as the most evil thing on the planet with the Totally True™ Stories of intergenerational prisons, of government-sanctioned haircuts, and of big big totalitarianism and prison system (nevermind the US being the highest prison population country). Their government system may be weird and have some cult of personality, but nothing to do with the entire destruction of the country by the US and its later isolation from the global stage, right?

[–] pulsewidth@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yeah, like that ^

They use huge whataboutisms to excuse the extremely oppressive regime running the country currently, as though any criticism is unreasonable.

[–] Socialism_Everyday@reddthat.com -3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What's the prison population in North Korea? Give me data on what metrics you're using

[–] pulsewidth@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

Who said anything about 'prison population?'

I said "extremely oppressive" which is objectively factual. They have a 'supreme leader' who legally controls the police, the military, the executive branch of govt and most facets of peoples lives. The ruling party is legally allowed to repress other parties, and so on.. And so forth..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_North_Korea

Inb4 "Wikipedia is a CIA psyop"

[–] Hell_nah_brother@thelemmy.club -1 points 1 week ago

They are clearly arguing in bad faith, I refuse to believe someone is this disconnected with reality. Good job on explaining stuff tho comrade.

[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I agree with you on a great many things. Learning about Laos via meeting some locals in Riviera Beach (not the nice one you're thinking of) and some wiki hole after seeing the Anthony Bourdain episode. I'm not going to argue that the US is some bastion of moral righteousness. But just any dictatorship is << than whatever the fuck we got going on. Ffs Kim just murdered his own uncle in broad daylight not a fucking year ago.

There are levels of fucked uppedness, and North Korea's current regime is just south of the Khmer rouge.

Edit: love that there is someone supportive of murdering people with glasses in this! Go on, tell how reeducation through labor is a good thing!

[–] Socialism_Everyday@reddthat.com 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

But just any dictatorship is << than whatever the fuck we got going on

By what metric? The USA is complicit in the genocide of >500k Palestinians over the past few years, what has North Korea done similar to that in the past 30?

[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Public execution for big one. Again homie, I'm not disagreeing with you that the US is fucked and has an outsized prison population(I did read your whole post and links). But North Korea is really fucked up. And it's not all propaganda. But a closed society like that can easily manipulate numbers like the US is currently trying to do.

Why do you think trump likes Kim so much? They are the same, and they are not good people.

Edit: I love that I upset a few of you tankies. Keep the hate coming!

[–] Socialism_Everyday@reddthat.com 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Ok, how many public executions have taken place in North Korea for the past 30 years? Give me metrics, please. Please, provide any qunagitative quantitative measures for the things you're talking about. I'm a Spaniard and I could tell you about my democratic government literally dissolving the corpses of tortured and murdered political activists in chemicals so that there would be no evidence.

[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This argument started with me mentioning Kim murdering his uncle. So at least one. Which is, again, >>>than the US(who also suck btw). I'm really not trying to be combative with you homie. I don't want this exchange to be adversarial, because I've seen your name around and again, I agree with you on a ton of shit. But dictatorships ain't the hill to die on.

[–] Socialism_Everyday@reddthat.com 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

So at least one.

Ok. Jeffrey Epstein, got one from the USA.

I don't want the exchange to be adversarial either, but I asked you for metrics, not for "one person was murdered in North Korea". You are the one making the claim "North Korea is significantly worse than the USA" while the USA is supporting genocide and has already disappeared 75k civilians since the start of the Trump mandate through ICE.

Now give me the metrics that make North Korea that much worse.

[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 0 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Ok I'm going to cut this conversation short. You seem to be knee jerk reacting to my comments, and I have no want to continue this interaction.

I wish you all the best, and hope your day is fruitful.

[–] Loco_Mex@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 week ago

And this concludes today's class of Interacting With Tankie 101.

[–] Socialism_Everyday@reddthat.com 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I see. Confronted with numerical evidence of the USA and being asked for numerical evidence on North Korea, the cognitive dissonance is so strong that you must leave the conversation. I've been polite but serious, btw, haven't been particularly hostile

[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 2 points 1 week ago

Peace be upon you.

[–] F_State@midwest.social -1 points 1 week ago (2 children)

A country getting bombed into Rubble doesn't justify it becoming a hereditary monarchy no matter how much whataboutism you toss around. Nor do the sins of other countries absolve the sins of the Kim family towards their own country.

[–] NewDark@lemmings.world 6 points 1 week ago

You're blaming the victim for the fact they have a dysfunctional state? Really?

A country getting bombed into Rubble doesn't justify

It's not about justification, it's about the way history works. Germany, subjected to unaffordable reparations after WW1, turned to Nazism because such conditions breed right wing extremism. It was afterwards collectively decided not to repeat that mistake and Germany was allowed to flourish again. This is a well understood political phenomenon, and the damages to the DPRK done by the American government and military and posterior efforts in sanction had exactly the desired effect.