[characters surround a flowchart]
Do you agree with me ideologically?\
- No: Then you are not a leftist\
- Yes: Proceed
Did you ever disagree with me online?\ - Yes: Then you are not a leftist\
- No: Proceed
Have you ever read theory?\ - No: Then you are not a leftist\
- Yes: Proceed
Did you reach the same conclusions as me?
No: Then you are not a leftist
Yes: Proceed
Do you believe in left unity?
Yes: ??? -> just kidding -> loop back to the same question
No: Proceed
Are you to my left or to my right ideologically?
Right: Then you are not a leftist
Left: I hate you because you are a tankie -> Bruh -> Then you are not a leftist
We agree: I hate you because you are a liberal -> Wait what -> Then you are not a leftist
https://thebad.website/comic/true_leftism_flowchart
Purity testing is worth criticizing, even if it is arguably “purity testing” to do so. Your meme resonated with me because I keep stepping on rakes in socialist spaces for being not quite socialist enough - generally, because I criticize objectively wrong/stupid things socialists do, not because they’re socialist but because they’re objectively wrong/stupid for doing the thing. In other words, I don’t pull punches just because someone is a socialist, so I’m purity tested and removed. One less ally. One less piece of constructive criticism. Brilliant.
Objecting to “purity tests” like yours reminds me of the Paradox of Tolerance; intolerance is generally bad, but if you tolerate intolerant people, your tolerant society will become intolerant. As a consequence, you must be intolerant towards the intolerant.
TL;DR: Yes, we should “purity test” purity testers, because they are actively harmful in that they make socialists look like catty idiots.
No comment on your overall point, but the paradox of tolerance is very overused and misused. It’s ultimately a proposition, not a prophecy, and the intended resolution of the paradox never seems to work in practice (see: Germany’s defensive democracy). Also the paradox isn’t about tolerating bigots; it’s about tolerating movements and ideas that seek to limit or infringe upon the rights of others. Again no comment on your overall point, but it seemed to be that you were using the popular (and fallacious) version of the paradox of tolerance so I wanted to point that out.