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Fascism: What It Is & Some of What It Isn't

posted 2 years ago by jriddle73 (363)
39 replies | jump to latest

"'Fascism' is one of the most repeated but least understood words in political discourse, perhaps second only to 'socialism' in words whose meaning has been almost entirely lost to relentless, politically-motivated misuse... For decades, it has been ubiquitously spewed like a grudge by political factions across the spectrum. Reduced to virtual meaninglessness, its emptiness encouraged people with too much time on their hands to fill it with all manner of nonsense. Thus at a point in history when it has become a more important subject than it has been in decades--because fascism and its prototypes are on the rise everywhere now--people aren’t just uninformed about it, they’re often very badly misinformed. This isn’t just troublesome, it’s potentially dangerous."

So, an effort at disambiguation:
https://jriddle.medium.com/fascism-what-it-is-some-of-what-it-isnt-cc2c0571f7b9

[–] Gd5150 (11747) 2 years ago

Yeah it’s kinda like “racism”. And “misogyny”, and “toxic masculinity”.

All pillars of the uneducated mentally ill left.

[–] jriddle73 (363) 2 years ago

Rightists misuse it far more these days, but it's been kicked around by everyone.

[–] Gd5150 (11747) 2 years ago

The militant wing of the Democrat party goes by the name Antifa, which stands for anti-fascism. Everywhere they go they scream fascism. Their actions are textbook fascism. Government/private sector working together to censor, control and oppress. And no not the neo-fascist definition which is anything that opposes the braindead Democrat party and their lemmings.

[–] jriddle73 (363) 2 years ago

Militant antifa activists in the U.S. are largely anarchists, which is to say, anti-government, not "working together" with government, and opposed to the Democratic party. The contraction "antifa" doesn't stand for "anti-fascism"; it stands for "Anti-Fascist Action," which was an actual anti-fascist militia in the '30s they use as a symbol. I'm sure there's some tortured, Orwellian way you justify calling fighting fascism "textbook fascism," but not too sure I can to hear it.

[–] tvfan (12729) 2 years ago

Antifa in 1942 and Antifa in 2022

https://ibb.co/2FKy8WY

[–] Gd5150 (11747) 2 years ago

It’s pretty simple, they’re funded by the sample people who fund the Democrat party. Oligarchs and Corporations.

Because they’re all Democrats.

[–] Skavau (15993) 2 years ago

I think you'll find that it's likely that most actively involved in Antifa would rather vote for other parties, but the US rigid two-party system prevents it.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

So if I just SAY I'm a millionaire, then I'm a millionaire.

Got it.

[–] Sparky (2583) 2 years ago

This. This guy is deluded and requires some edification himself.

[–] B1cKsurN (17407) 2 years ago

Antifa are not "Anarchists"...that would imply they are for the elimination of government and order. They are clearly a tool of the left-wing political establishment. They aren't fighting against the establishment what so ever.

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[–] jriddle73 (363) 2 years ago

Antifa isn't "anarchist"; it's a squad of Irish setters who've been trained to deal cards.

See how that works, and how helpful it is?

[–] B1cKsurN (17407) 2 years ago

Are the cards tools of the left-win political establishment? You left that important part out of your troll post.

________________________
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[–] Skavau (15993) 2 years ago

What parts of the government, exactly, are working with antifa to "censor, control and oppress"?

[–] jriddle73 (363) 2 years ago

And in what smoke-filled back room are they meeting?

[–] tvfan (12729) 2 years ago

That long rant of an article is an example of what it takes to spread a lie and obfuscate the actual truth.

The truth takes less time and effort.

The characteristics of the democratic-left are the perfect example of 21st century fascism.

Their greatest weapon is ideological warfare using DEI which is based on CRT which is based on Marxist roots.

[–] Skavau (15993) 2 years ago

If I recall, you regarded website moderators deleting people's posts as an example of fascism.

So you may not be the most stable of narrators for what constitutes fascism. If you want to make up your own definition, by all means, but no-one has to take it seriously.

[–] tvfan (12729) 2 years ago

Are they paying you overtime?!

[–] Skavau (15993) 2 years ago

Who? Provide evidence that I am being paid to post by someone, and tell me who they are.

[–] B1cKsurN (17407) 2 years ago

Spot on. Modern Fascism is action, not ideology. Anyone can employ a set of tactics regardless of what they believe.

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[–] Keelai (34858) 2 years ago

That is a very good definition of Fascism, but I doubt if most Rightists will read it.

[–] jriddle73 (363) 2 years ago

It's sort of the sublimation of the work of a lot of scholars and an effort to put the matter in a brief, general, relatively simple way anyone can understand. I wrote the first version of it more than 6 years ago. I'll probably continue with the subject.

[–] Keelai (34858) 2 years ago

Do you consider Trumpism to basically be Fascism?

[–] jriddle73 (363) 2 years ago

Trumpism, MAGA-ism, DeSantis-ism, etc. are strongly proto-fascist and lurch into the real thing with alarming regularity. I've long pointed out that Trump preaches fascism; these days, he's gone even further down the Nazi rat-hole, talking about "America is our country, not theirs"–referring to other Americans–and pushing beautification projects, a new "baby-boom," a purge of internal dissidents. DeSantis is trying to Orban-ize Florida, while right-wing figures have been holding up Orban's authoritarian rule as a model.

The break a lot of this makes with real fascism is in the advocacy of redemptive violence but even that has increasingly given way in the last few years.

[–] Keelai (34858) 2 years ago

It'll be interesting to see how Trump's followers act on Tuesday or whichever day he's arrested since he's asked them to "protest" and "take our nation back".

I believe he'll be the Republican presidential nominee because the Republican party hasn't had the courage to stop supporting him. DeSantis as president would be equally dangerous since he's not as incompetent as Trump was in achieving his goals.

[–] B1cKsurN (17407) 2 years ago

Modern Fascism in the US is the merger of Big Corporations/Tech to circumvent the Constitution in order to enforce unconstitutional laws onto the people.

This version of Fascism is a set of actions than can be employed by anyone, and is not necessarily affiliated with any 1 political group.

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[–] jriddle73 (363) 2 years ago

No, that's not fascism. At all.

[–] B1cKsurN (17407) 2 years ago

Umm, we are seeing it play out in literal real time, Bro.

You can conjure up all your legacy definitions all you want. But they do not line up with reality what so ever.

________________________
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Small minds discuss people.

[–] jriddle73 (363) 2 years ago

You mean the actual definition of fascism, as opposed to this thing you've just made up and to which you've randomly applied the word.

[–] Skavau (15993) 2 years ago

What laws?

[–] B1cKsurN (17407) 2 years ago

Anything that is related to political correctness, which George Carlin himself called it "Fascism disguised as 'manners'"

________________________
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Small minds discuss people.

[–] Skavau (15993) 2 years ago

...But what laws specifically are you referring to? Where is political correctness forced?

[–] jriddle73 (363) 2 years ago

If it needs to be said, don't hold your breath waiting for any real reply to that.

[–] B1cKsurN (17407) 2 years ago

Start holding it, biatch.

________________________
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Average minds discuss events.
Small minds discuss people.

[–] B1cKsurN (17407) 2 years ago

Freedom of speech restriction...which corporations are enforcing for the government(because they cannot).

________________________
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[–] Skavau (15993) 2 years ago

What freedom of speech restrictions exactly?

[–] TrentnQuarantino (9187) 2 years ago

Rousseau Locke, Jefferson, Paine, .... Carlin.

Nope.
George was a funny guy, but these complaints about political correctness are the minor abuses of the Left trying to get redress in ways that are clumsy and sometimes irritating, as opposed to the major abuses of the right who get power by force, lies, guns, intimidation, grinding citizens down by owning everything and then doling it out to poor people in exchance for wage slavery.

Republicans set absurd priorities .... we need to regulate banks and railroads instead of books and uteruses? When you own the media you can frame reality in useless ways to distract the people from the democracy they deserve.

[–] B1cKsurN (17407) 2 years ago

George's toenail clippings have more political relevance, than ancient dictator's that have no relevance in today's world.

All you're doing is twisting words to create a "conservatives bad" narrative... that's all you're doing. We see right through it. You aren't intelligent, you aren't smarter than others. There is nothing good faith about this post at all.

________________________
Great minds discuss ideas.
Average minds discuss events.
Small minds discuss people.

[–] TrentnQuarantino (9187) 2 years ago

> Small minds discuss people.

That's what you are doing in reverse that you are too stupid to see, Tiny.

[–] TrentnQuarantino (9187) 2 years ago

Fascism was originally corporatism, the government captured by corporations and rich elites.

Socialism is in general the opposite of fascism, but many talk about the means of production which today just clouds the issue.

If you look at them as two poles on the political continuum, you will notice that both forms of government exist in a capitalist substrate, because all trade is essential capitalism.

The difference is where and how strict and embedded the actual power is.

Typically what happens when things get too much controlled by plutocrats and corporations is that they get authoritarian and inequality prevails, like we have today in the USA. This exemplifies a lack of citizen or worker representation - a lack of democracy.

In the US fascism drives people down, removes their opportunities and choices and controls the government to ignore the needs of the people. A lot more has to come along with this to sustain it, like media, but it is basically a lack of democracy.

The fascists major concern is that the people will get too much power and steal too much from them - because they re-frame reality in a zero-sum way, so they set up systems to remove democracy - for fear or too much socialism.

If you look at it, socialism is really a democratic element of capitalism, while fascism is a plutocratic power elite control of capitalism. There's never really been a country or government with too much democracy that has failed because of that, while the lack of democracy is the cause of countless revolutions and repressions.

I simplify this as:
Socialism = Capitalism + Democracy
Fascism = Capitalism - Democracy

I think this model works the best for people to understand what is going on politically and economically in our country, and the world.