this post was submitted on 04 May 2026
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Many people on lemmy.ml deeply respect and admire authoritarian governments and organizations.

Iran, China, North Korea, Soviet Union...

The West has many flaws. But our flaws are nothing compared to these guys.

Iran hangs homosexuals. Iran shot 30,000 people in less than than 2 weeks. The Soviet Union had to build a fucking Iron wall to prevent people from escaping. The Soviets lied about the Chernobyl nuclear explosion. China censors the internet. China wants to eliminate Islam. North Korea is a totalitarian hellscape. Watching anime is a crime.

Why is lemmy.ml so fascinated with authoritarians?

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[–] PonyOfWar@pawb.social 98 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (3 children)

In my experience the attitude of many of the more prolific users there is something like "America and the West are doing evil things, so their enemies must be the good guys". Atrocities by Western-aligned states are readily accepted as facts, but those committed by countries on "their" side never happened and are merely Western propaganda. They'll cite North Korea's constitution to "prove" that it's a free and democratic country, but when you point out reports showing that the reality on the ground is quite different from what's written in the constitution, that's of course just Western propaganda and the people who fled the country are being paid to spread lies. That dismissive attitude makes it impossible to have a serious discussion with them.

That said, I now have a solid blocklist of their "worst offenders" and found that there are plenty of people with way more balanced opinions as well.

[–] Denvil@lemmy.ml 18 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Hello, a rational .ml guy reporting in

My political opinions are:

what if we just like were able to eat and stuff like that, that'd be pretty dope

[–] Denvil@piefed.world 8 points 11 hours ago

Actually after meaning to do it for a while and constantly forgetting about it I've decided to make myself go ahead and make a piefed account before I once again fall into the loop of "eh I'll make it later" and them promptly forgetting it 2 seconds later

[–] socsa@piefed.social -3 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

It's honestly suspicious that you haven't been banned yet.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 0 points 3 hours ago

Nah, they fit right in at Lemmy.ml.

[–] nymnympseudonym@piefed.social 12 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (4 children)

“America and the West are doing evil things, so their enemies must be the good guys”

It's illuminating. I used to be a hardcore anarco-capitalist/radical libertarian and that community had exactly the same thought pattern:

  • Vietnam/Middle East show how USA lies for domination
  • Snowden showed how CIA/NSA lies for control
  • Markets showed how the Fed lies for moneyed elites

... and so on, so that it becomes a given truth that everything the government says is a lie, no matter what.

So then COVID comes along and all the libertarians are "FAUCI LIES! COVID IS JUST FLU!"
A few months (and a lot of Russian influence ) later, these people are believing that mRNA vaccines cause heart disease, etc etc etc

ANYWAY, what's interesting to me is how these two diametrically opposed ideological communities -- Tankies and AnCaps -- have almost exactly the same group dynamics pathology.

[–] Malyca@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 hours ago

I can't help but laugh at the absurdity of "anarcho-capitalists". Glad it's past tense for you.

[–] orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Wait until you read what real anarchists think of AnCaps.

[–] nymnympseudonym@piefed.social -4 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

ofc you understand AnCaps feel the same way about AnComs; that they're fundamentally a contradiction

[–] SarahValentine@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 11 hours ago

If one lacks compassion, then of course they won't understand how someone can choose to support their community even without the government making them do it.

[–] AskewLord@piefed.social 9 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (2 children)

it's because they want to feel special.

the root of so much of the people that get caught in these delusional thought pattern is simple massive insecurity. and by clinging to a delusion you can mask it with a feeling of superiority because you KNOW THE TRUTH.

same reason people get recruited into cults. the cultists specifically target insecure people they can emotionally exploit and isolate. they are not interested in secure people who are grounded in reality, because there is nothing for their manipulation tactics to work on.

extremist politics also always become quasi-religions, or merge with fundamentalist religious belief.

[–] nymnympseudonym@piefed.social 5 points 13 hours ago

superiority because you KNOW THE TRUTH

Oh God yes, this this this!!

The Conspiracy folks all really get off on being Smarter Than You because the have Access to the Secret Knowledge. Once you have seen the evidence (eg "Fahrenheit 451") and started associating yourself with "like-minded people", then you too will become an Anointed One.

Culty culty cult

It is very seductive for people who feel their intellect and insights are not being seen.

[–] hakase@lemmy.zip -3 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Relevant Contrapoints: https://youtu.be/teqkK0RLNkI

Edit: lol at the .mls downvoting this

[–] Flaqueman@sh.itjust.works 1 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Care to PM this list of offenders, please? I'm also trying to sanitize my feed.

[–] zxqwas@lemmy.world 15 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

I blocked the entire lemmy.ml. After a few months of paying attention I found that there were no thoughtful or interesting posts or comments from any user there, only glorification of authoritarians.

[–] AskewLord@piefed.social 14 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (3 children)

i blocked them because .ml users constantly harass me, telling me what a brainwashed idiot I am for not thinking China is a utopia.

[–] backalleycoyote@lemmy.today 3 points 8 hours ago

I don’t block them. I just keep pressing them for an explanation of their personal philosophy. Not regurgitated, preconstructed points, actual personal philosophy. It usually goes “accusation of fascism/zionist”, “bad faith/strawman/red herring/I don’t have to explain it to you”, “you’re a nihilistic anarchist”, non-sequitur, list of actions they’ve taken irl but can’t/won’t break anonymity to prove (anybody can claim they’ve done anything in an anonymous forum), and finally inform me they’re blocking me. I mean, that’s great, block me online. I still exist in the real world and you’re going to have to face me someday. Unless of course you empower your own authoritarian regime that will keep my constant demands for your individual opinion and “nihilistic anarchist” viewpoints blocked from society. Which is what I think they want, zero challenge from any source or counter philosophy.

[–] zxqwas@lemmy.world 5 points 14 hours ago

That is a good summary.

[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today -1 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

I see this refrain a ton but have not had the same experience and I fairly regularly get into arguments with them. I'm perma banned from some communities on those instances cause of the PTBs they are. The worst I received was my first ever "kys" message from one member's alt(but them and their main were handled in pretty short order). But that was one message of harassment, out of the probably hundred or so people I've pissed off so far.

To be very clear, I don't go into their communities looking for fights. But I have 2 big principles I'm not willing to waiver even a tiny bit on. Those being Hasan absolutely shocked his dog, and Harris would in fact have been better than trump.

[–] AskewLord@piefed.social 1 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (2 children)

They just hate me because I have a basic grasp of economics and I don't think businesses and landlords are inherently evil.

Who is Hasan? Some dumbass tiktoker?

[–] ThirdConsul@lemmy.zip 3 points 5 hours ago

don’t think businesses and landlords are inherently evil.

Literally every capitalist theory, from Adam Smith's to Mill, from Hayek to Henry George:

Landlords are inherently evil.

[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today -1 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

Streamer they worship like maga worship trump.

[–] Watermark710@piefed.social 2 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Why did he shock his dog? Not that there is any reasonable justification, I just want context.

[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 2 points 12 hours ago

She got up from the bed that was in frame, to walk out of frame.

[–] AskewLord@piefed.social 1 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

right, so an abusive narcissistic POS person they wish they could be.

make sense he'd abuse his dog rather than train it. god forbid you like... have empathy or compassion for another living thing and use that to bond with it... lol