This shit has seriously gone on too long. People who continue to cling to the "10,000 dead crushed by tanks hosed i to the gutter" bs are cranks. It's jews control the banks, chemtrails, the earth is flat, the moon isn't real level of crank shit and unless you're feeling very indulgent and someone is asking in good faith it can be dismissed as equally serious to that kind of crank shit.

  • FunkyStuff [he/him]
    ·
    4 months ago

    I think one of the interesting things about Tinyman and the tankman picture in particular is the mass psychosis (sorry if there's a better non-ableist term I currently can't conjure it) that the man in the picture was ran over by the tank. It's a claim that can be categorically disproven by 15 seconds of video. But it contradicts the hegemonic narrative, so it's like the video isn't real, the vibes are more real than hard evidence that this man was allowed to just walk.

    • 420blazeit69 [he/him]
      ·
      4 months ago

      This is potentially a good starting point for exposing the greater mythology about the event.

      Ask if the person you're speaking with thinks the tank man was ran over.

      1. If they say yes, pull up the video, and ask if that makes them wonder what else about the incident has been mythologized. If they can admit they bought some BS you can work with them, if they dig in ("oh I'm sure something sinister happened to him later") you're wasting your time.
      2. If they say no, ask why a column of tanks was so deferential with that one guy when the story goes that there was an unprompted slaughter going on elsewhere. You can talk about how the event escalated, who was escalating, etc.
    • Highalectical@lemmygrad.ml
      ·
      4 months ago

      I've seen youtube comment sections where the full video is shown and people are like "ah, but the people who shooed him away from the tank were actually see see pee secret police in disguise".

        • Huldra [they/them, it/its]
          ·
          4 months ago

          We know basically nothing about him or the other civilians involved from what I understand.

          • Frank [he/him, he/him]
            hexagon
            ·
            4 months ago

            Yeah, afaik Tank Man has never been identified.

            I wish I could speak Chinese because I'd love to know what Baidu think's about the annual Western June 4th Freakout.

            • QuietCupcake [any, they/them]
              ·
              4 months ago

              Yeah, afaik Tank Man has never been identified.

              Yep. PBS Frontline did an entire episode on the great mystery of "what happened to Tank Man" replete with cringe liberalisms like "what happened to the hOpE fOr dEmOcRaCy in China?!?" and how he "stood for the ordinary people!"

        • Highalectical@lemmygrad.ml
          ·
          4 months ago

          I'm not sure. I thought they were random concerned bystanders. Regardless, libs jump to the least charitable interpretation whenever the subject is [insert bad country here].

    • Tabitha ☢️[she/her]
      ·
      4 months ago

      mass psychosis (sorry if there's a better non-ableist term I currently can't conjure it) that the man in the picture was ran over by the tank.

      I feel like the term Mandela Effect would apply here.

      • Xx_Aru_xX [she/her]
        ·
        4 months ago

        and similar to the Mandela effect, it's Crakkkers not paying attention

      • FunkyStuff [he/him]
        ·
        4 months ago

        Yeah it's somewhat similar. The mandela effect people love to cite evidence for their claims though (even if it's bunk evidence), in this case it is entirely 100% vibes based.

    • Frank [he/him, he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 months ago

      Yeah, I don't think psychosis fits, because it's a propaganda thing not an individual loss of connection with reality, but I don't know what better term there is. Cultural delusion? It's wild.

    • coolusername@lemmy.ml
      ·
      4 months ago

      Actual footage from Tiananmen square as covered by the CPC

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8dqOuHqcBQ

      https://youtu.be/7bl_cyYHwNQ

      Explanation of what happened

      https://worldaffairs.blog/2019/06/02/tiananmen-square-massacre-facts-fiction-and-propaganda/

      Translation of official government explanation

      https://www.mango-press.com/report-on-stopping-unrest-and-quelling-counter-revolutionary-riots/

      Tankman full vid

      https://youtu.be/GRb4VY2dU4c