I take it you’ve never had this discussion with someone who has dealt with actual tyrants?

No one who was under their sphere of influence would classify Stalin or Mao as tinpot. They killed nearly 100 million of their own people between the two of them.

Khmer Rouge being a third example.

I’ll take squabbling (but still competing) landlords over ‘great leaps forward’ or holodomor any day of the week.