Yes, those tankies are twisted, bring unable to support communism without making excuses for a brutal dictator.

So surely you must appreciate someone capable of criticizing that brutal dictator without smearing communism in the process, right?

Why would you see a conversation abouta brutal dictator and jump in to talk about how he was a communist? Don’t you think it might be people like you that encourage tankies to reflexively disagree with any criticism of Stalin?

If you can’t have a conversation about Stalin’s crimes without someone erroneously bringing communism into it maybe that’s why frustrated communists often defend the indefensible.