this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2026
171 points (83.0% liked)
Flippanarchy
2456 readers
468 users here now
Flippant Anarchism. A lighter take on social criticism with the aim of agitation.
Post humorous takes on capitalism and the states which prop it up. Memes, shitposting, screenshots of humorous good takes, discussions making fun of some reactionary online, it all works.
This community is anarchist-flavored. Reactionary takes won't be tolerated.
Don't take yourselves too seriously. Serious posts go to !anarchism@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Rules
-
If you post images with text, endeavour to provide the alt-text
-
If the image is a crosspost from an OP, Provide the source.
-
Absolutely no right-wing jokes. This includes "Anarcho"-Capitalist concepts.
-
Absolutely no redfash jokes. This includes anything that props up the capitalist ruling classes pretending to be communists.
-
No bigotry whatsoever. See instance rules.
-
This is an anarchist comm. You don't have to be an anarchist to post, but you should at least understand what anarchism actually is. We're not here to educate you.
-
No shaming people for being anti-electoralism. This should be obvious from the above point but apparently we need to make it obvious to the turbolibs who can't control themselves. You have the rest of lemmy to moralize.
Join the matrix room for some real-time discussion.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Also it's not like there's not plenty of history of white gangs (also Irish, Italian, and Russian) and masked thugs in modern American history. If you think these terms are just for Latinos and blacks maybe stop watching Fox News for a second and read a fucking book.
100%, thank you. We can not be handwringing every little thing because people like this just want to "be part of the conversation". The only good point here is that this IS just cop shit, but that's the thing, it's on a whole other level where it actually threatens the police themselves, and rhetorically that's useful for once.
Please pick and choose your battles here in 2026 instead of falling for this faux-intellectual college kid bait discourse I'm begging you. ICE are thugs. That term comes from India and refers to a class of dudes who were so hard up under British Imperialism they would just kill people in the road by sneaking up on them. The US govt us debt trapping white supremacist goons into killing for them (no I am not making excuses for them) I'd say it etymologically fits the bill. And if it doesn't okay, I get that you want to make world better and Always Say The Exact Right Thing, but these people are hurting us NOW and when they're down the fucking street taking my neighbors I need everyone to be on the same page with me and not moralize at me about my choice of words! This bullshit is fedposting whether accidentally or intentionally, it's like when CHUDs make fun of us for our best impulses and we can't argue back or else it looks like we're abandoning principles to assholes who are moving the goal posts they control around us to present us as idiots.
"Gang" I more strongly see the argument for... but they ARE that, they ARE organized criminals, and they wouldn't be the first mix-race-yet-white-supremacist-fascist-organized-criminal outfit. See also LAPD and the Proud Boys, etc etc. You cannot just retcon language into being race-based because CNN used it a certain way in the 90s when running urban crime stories. You cannot let the Neoliberal racist world order be the weather vein for what literal words you are and aren't allowed to say, because before those words were forcibly associated with racialized crime reporting THEY WERE REAL WORDS. We cannot do this to all language or we'll be talking like "Orange Man(bad) uses COP ARMY (ACAB, almost forgot heh) to distract us from the fact he grpd and unal*ved Persons of a Younger Persuasion." Please defend our language and our right to express what we're seeing in real time, do not automatically self-censor with no wider consensus based off merely seeing a post. PLEASE.
I was replying to you but then I went on a whole extended soap box that wasn't all the way directed at you, apologies.The self-censorship is my point.
ACAB?
Ive been calling them goons instead. Not because of any reasoning, its just what me and my friends have been using
i think you're taking the wrong point. I understood it as ice just being cops, and this is a cop problem , not just one specially evil group.
at least that was my reading.
It is true that "thug" is being used as a racist dog whistle. denying that is just wilful ignore. Although policing language is annoying, especially when meanings change so quickly. That's the euphemism treadmill in action.
and no, they are just acting like cops have always acted. the only difference is that it is now more visible and they treat white people like cops treated minorities.
mass deportations started with Obama, and continued with Trump and Biden. Biden didn't even stop the controversial family separation. And we have to be vigilant that the next Democrat cunt might just normalize all of this rather than making substantial changes and reparations with only some symbolic changes.
if you fail to acknowledge that, then you aren't asking to end this tyranny and violence, you're just asking for it to go back when it only affected minorities and you had the privilege to ignore it. and yes, if that's your attitude you are undeniably as racist as ICE agents, just afraid to acknowledge it. you shouldn't get to pat yourself in the back and call yourself an ally.
that's why I started with an "If", I'm dealing with so many white saviours here that I now feel I need to prerespond to the conplaints.
the issue isn't just how you see the word, but how it is seen. I might argue that the R word is harmless and I don't see it as insensitive, but ignoring how everyone else sees it and using it will make me an asshole. Euphemism treadmill is real and Fox news has been using "thug" it as a racist euphemism. so here we are.
… but you can look both in crossposted 🧵s and live reactions to this outside threadiverse for a wider concensus
I’m saying those heads are turning, realizing the problem, if too late.