• Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
    41·
    6 days ago

    Somehow I knew that this would be controversial here. It’s a very funny meme though

  • davel [he/him]@lemmy.mlEnglish
    4442·
    7 days ago

    Another ironic example of Westerners not understanding what tank man was actually doing: stopping the tanks from leaving Tianmanmen Square. He was doing the opposite of an act of defiance against government involvement; he wanted them to be involved. Also, he left the scene unscathed when other civilians came and scurried him away: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq8zFLIftGk

    Maybe Western media always show us a cropped version of the tank man photo, with Tianmanmen Square removed, because it doesn’t fit in with their narrative.

    [Edit to replace deleted YouTube video.]

    • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
      358·
      7 days ago

      Jesus fucking christ. I watched this shit happen. I watched the uncut footage air. That man was fucking pissed. He kept blocking the tanks while absolutely losing his shit screaming at the tank. Neither of us was there so neither of us knows why or what he was screaming but it was most definitely a clear act of defiance. You cannot in any way say that he was asking them to “go back” and “stay involved”.

      Here is the footage.

      https://media.gettyimages.com/id/450068672/video/a-lone-man-stops-a-convoy-of-tanks-during-the-tiananmen-square-protests-in-beijing-1989.mp4?s=mp4-640x640-gi&k=20&c=CCERCYPtGDpeNsNsDmVMA5LAovD-byP0E_f4d1oHzgA%3D

      • davel [he/him]@lemmy.mlEnglish
        228·
        7 days ago

        That’s just a shorter version of the video I posted. And I don’t think the full footage ever aired on TV, because it’s around ten or twenty minutes long, mostly of him on top of the tank having a conversation with the crew.

    • feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world
      8·
      6 days ago

      There’s a lot of misinformation about this event, which was formally acknowledged by the USA fairly recently. He did leave unharmed, I was surprised to hear anybody thought otherwise. However, you are stretching credulity by claiming he was pro-government. Seeing as he was never located, I can at least concede that neither of us know what he was thinking at the time.

    • DrFistington@lemmy.world
      44·
      7 days ago

      The video you linked to says that the footage was spliced together from a 2006 documentary aired by PBS, here’s a summary

      The Incident: On June 5, 1989, a day after the Chinese army violently suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, an unarmed man, later known as “Tank Man,” stood his ground in front of a line of tanks on the Avenue of Eternal Peace.

      Iconic Image: Captured by Western journalists, this image became a powerful symbol of defiance and the struggle for freedom worldwide.

      Documentary’s Focus: The FRONTLINE documentary, “The Tank Man,” explores the events surrounding the Tiananmen Square protests, the identity of “Tank Man,” and the significance of his act of defiance. Filmmaker’s Investigation:

      • gravityowl@lemm.eeEnglish
        214·
        7 days ago

        Source: ¯_(ツ)_/¯

        At least the other comment had the decency to provide sources for their statements

        • RedditWanderer@lemmy.world
          59·
          7 days ago

          Martial law remained in effect until it was officially lifted on January 11, 1990. They stayed there and kept harassing people. They didnt leave the city, these tanks were not going home and tankman wasn’t trying to keep them there. His source doesn’t even say what he says it says.

          Wiki

      • davel [he/him]@lemmy.mlEnglish
        215·
        7 days ago

        You don’t know where they were going any more than I do. All we know is they were leaving the Square, and he was standing to stop them. We don’t know what conversation he had with the person in the tank (that part of the video was clipped out, presumably for brevity, because it goes on for several minutes).

      • Bloomcole@lemm.ee
        142·
        7 days ago

        I will bet anything you never saw images of the ‘peaceful protesters’ burning busses with people in them, lynching cops, etc… And tanks have no home, they are clearly leaving the square tho. Get over it.

    • Midnitte@beehaw.orgEnglish
      812·
      7 days ago

      Doesn’t this rather ignore the fact that the day before the square was cleared of protestors, resulting in hundreds/thousands of deaths?

      Considering that Tank Man was never heard from again after the photo was taken, I don’t think you claim to understand his rationale for standing in front of the tank.

      We can only assume the reason due to the continued censorship of the photo inside China to this day.

      • davel [he/him]@lemmy.mlEnglish
        234·
        7 days ago

        Doesn’t this rather ignore the fact that the day before the square was cleared of protestors, resulting in hundreds/thousands of deaths?

        You can see people in the Square in this photo. No one died in the Square, though some people did die elsewhere in the downtown area, but not thousands.

        Considering that Tank Man was never heard from again after the photo was taken, I don’t think you claim to understand his rationale for standing in front of the tank.

        I can’t read his mind, no. But why else might he want to stop tanks from leaving?

        We can only assume the reason due to the continued censorship of the photo inside China to this day.

        It’s not censored inside China, though. Why do you think that it is, other than through our own Cold War propaganda that tells us so?

        • Midnitte@beehaw.orgEnglish
          314·
          7 days ago

          Uh huh.

          Well why don’t we ask DeepSeek for more information about it?

              • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
                11·
                6 days ago

                When people start burning down tanks you are well past the point of a “protest”. This was a full on riot.

                Tiannenmen was an American backed color revolution. America trained and funded those rioters and many of their leaders fled to America afterwards.

                By the way are you aware that Tank Man did not block the tanks from going to the square, but blocked them from driving away from the square?

                • barsoap@lemm.ee
                  25·
                  6 days ago

                  Tiannenmen was an American backed color revolution.

                  I was with you speaking truth about what happened in the square vs. side streets, but now you went off the rails.

                  The protesters were Dengists. The whole thing started when Hu Yaobang died, making people fear that anti-reformist forces within the party would get the upper hand. They were backing up one faction against the other, predictably, the hardliners wanted to crack down on them just as they wanted to get rid of the reformers. That’s why this turned ugly instead of getting resolved in the reformist way, which they were busy doing, having conferences with the protestors.

                  Absolutely, 110%, Chinese-internal politics.

                • Midnitte@beehaw.orgEnglish
                  26·
                  6 days ago

                  Well I guess we’ll have to rewrite all of the wikipedia pages.

                  Perhaps we can invite someone from China to do so. Tell me, are the tank drivers available?

                  Oh, we should also have System of a Down rewrite their song - can’t believe they got it wrong, silly band

              • Nemo's public admirer@lemmy.sdf.org
                10·
                7 days ago

                True
                State violence should not be validated

                A recent mainstream example would be the Jan 6 protests in USAmerica. The protest about concerns regarding the legitamacy of the USA’s elections was maligned as domestic terrorism and a coup-attempt by some, right?
                A protestor got fatally shot and killed by the state appartus.

                CW: Suicide
                4 police officers involved who were involved in the suppression took their own lives too. Likely due to strain they faced from the state appartus.

                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_6_United_States_Capitol_attack

                Whether peaceful protests are allowed is a basic litmus for any modern democracy. All these incidents show how democratic checks and balances are required to discourage the violent arm of the state.

                Would this be an example of how it could be seen in different pov’s?
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5__ESiklA1A

                I do oppose state violence, but I doubt Western narratives too.