I see the word comrade get passed around a lot on the internet, particularly lemmy, and I’ve never really known the lore behind it. The only association I have with the word is that it’s a word I primarily see used by tankies (as in, authoritarian leftists who hate on authoritarianism in the west but not in the east). Does anyone know and can explain it in a relatively understandable way?
“Mister” and “miss” used to be applied to people of higher status than you. A “comrade” is your equal. A comrade is someone who you fight with. During the revolutions of 1848, the revolutionaries, among them the nascent socialist movement, called each other comrades as a result.
The events of 1848 proved extremely influential for the left.
This was before the International split, so all lefties use the word as a consequence.