If you simp for dictators you cannot be leftist. All authoritarian is right wing. Tankies are virtually no different than MAGA Republicans. Both have the same goals regardless of the minor differences. And I have never seen a tankie talk shit about conservatives.
As an anarchist I tried being peaceful with tankies in leftist spaces, but the moment I criticized shit like Putin invading Ukraine they immediately turned on me. These people don't give a shit about leftism they care about state capitalism. After reading Lenin I now know why they hate other leftist so much, it's because he hated them too
Thank you for changing your views, I know how hard that can be.
I wasn't a tankie in my past, I was homophobe among other things.
My views have changed since then and it hurts to think back on those who were hurt by my views. But I try to do better. And that's really all we can do.
We're human, we make mistakes. Our mistakes aren't what define us. It's our response to mistakes (be it our own or others) that define us.
Plus once I got to the root of where that homophobia came from (self hatred, being a victim of abuse, etc) I was able to move past it.
I'll never forget what it felt like to look at myself in the mirror and say aloud, "I'm bisexual."
And over the years confronting those I knew who still held onto those shitty views, and they either changed or I moved on.
Thank you. I tried interacting with one today and they just kept telling me I'm not introspective enough. Like just outright shaming me as if I don't understand my own thoughts and choices. Conatantly attacking my character rather than my arguments.
OP points out it's not just their beliefs that are problematic but this like, systematic behavior of disrupting our beliefs.