Conservative response: "What's the definition again?
Me: "Since you asked - here you go:
The 14 Warning Signs of Fascism
A poster once sold in the USA Holocaust Museum.
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
-
You know.. things like "America First" and "Make America Great Again" and singing the National Anthem before sporting events and concerts and political rallies, and the Pledge of Allegiance.
All nationalism... all supported by Republicans.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.png)
.jpeg)
Point 1 - CHECK
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
-
Republicans routinely use "woke" as an insult and decry anyone who strives to level the playing field for marginalized groups, to the point of claiming that those groups are not marginalized but, rather, get preferential treatment in society.
They reject the data that shows reality because it goes against their beliefs that marginalized people deserve rights, too.
Here are a few examples of some VERY angry people who want to deny the LGBTQIA community the right to exist and be themselves and take up space in public places - why? Because they think acknowledging that LGBTQIA people even exist to small children is grooming those kids to become LGBTQIA and forcing it upon them.
The same people also think women should be forced to give up their bodily autonomy for a fetus when they are unwilling to be forced to give up blood or organs for someone in need... and won't force corpses to give up their organs for people in need.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
And they also think that all poor people are lazy and get an easy ride in life.
They don't think the poor deserve healthcare.
It's no surprise that they don't care when marginalized groups are disproportionately harmed by law enforcement and our Justice System as a whole.
And often think that giving rights to others hurts them in some way.
Point 2 - CHECK.
---
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
-
"Lock her up lock her up*"
"Build a wall"
"THAT'S SOCIALISM"
"Stop grooming children" / "leave the children alone"
.jpeg)
"FJB" and "Let's Go Brandon"
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
These are all phrases used to point fingers are parties for blame and no other purpose.
* It's important to acknowledge that, since originally writing this, Trump has been indicted on nearly 100 charges and the left has taken the "Lock her up" phrasing and flipped it back as a response to the fascist right wing. Without the preliminary "lock her up" hutzpah there would be no response of "lock him up" - even so, with the right the slogan was about getting rid of a political opponent based on accusations with no evidence to support them whereas the phrasing used against Trump is about nearly 100 charges that had sufficient evidence to warrant indictments and arrests and going to trial.
Point 3 - CHECK.
---
4. Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
-
"Support the troops" and the abject hero worship of our military, right to the point of so many far-right groups doing military cosplay with live weapons is absurd.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Point 4 - CHECK.
---
5. Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
-
Using terms like "pussy" and "like a girl" are de-facto sexist phrases that imply women are less than men.
The common joke of "go in the kitchen and make me a sandwich" is sexism.
There are SOOOOO many examples of sexism, ranging from innocuous and subconscious through to overt statements that this is, CLEARLY, true.
.jpeg)
Point 5 - CHECK
-
6. Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
---
Trump literally outlined his plans to shut down every media outlet that disagreed with him or ever said anything bad against him.
His supporters ate that up like the most delicious dessert they've ever had.
This one is more difficult to capture in photos...
Additionally, there is plenty of news coverage on it here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here (I could go on).
Point 6 - Not for lack of trying by the far-right
-
7. Obsession with National Security
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
---
"Build the wall"
"Complete and total shutdown of all muslims"
"They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists."
These are all statements to build fear to increase the desire for National Security.
Point 7- CHECK.
-
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
---
Do I really need to go in to this one with any depth. Y'all want to make your religious moral views the law for everyone. The most recent major action was the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Point 8 - CHECK
-
9. Corporate Power is Protected
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
---
This entire post was inspired as a response to right-wing fanatics loudly spewing nonsense that is counter to their own best interests. The people inspiring this post think that the Free Market is the perfect solution for everything but have tantrums when the free market doesn't align with their desires and the way they see the world. The Free Market doesn't like laborers. The Free Market supports capitalists and capitalists are those who own the Capital. Laborers do NOT own the capital in a capitalist society. Laborers are fed the idea that, if they work hard enough, they will become rich but the numbers don't play out for that to be possible for everyone. The right-wing workers complain about their state of living and how expensive life is all while fighting against the regulations that would force their employers to pay them better. The right-wing workers complain about how they can't get ahead all while fighting against the rules that would allow them to organize and collectively bargain against their employers. The right-wing workers have been so brainwashed that they believe working themselves to death is a sign of honor and are proud of it and, as a result, fight against regulations that enforce better safety in their work places and force employers to treat them better.
Right wing workers, literally, support the corporate overlords who crush workers as a replaceable cogs in their profit machine.
This one is, again, difficult to capture in pictures. So, instead, another set of links.
Stories about Republican support of corporations through Union-busting or regulation fighting are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here... and, again, I could go on.
Point 9 - CHECK.
-
10. Labor Power is Suppressed
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .
---
I think 9 and 10 should be combined because it is nearly impossible to have one without the other.
But let's look around and note all of the union-busting and union-prevention efforts that are going on all around the country.
In addition to the examples included above, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here are some more anti-labor actions being taken.
Point 10 - CHECK.
-
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
---
I get this thrown at me constantly. Y'all love to say things like "You're not as smart as you think you are" and not-so-clever statements about how school-learning isn't as good as the life you led.
It's a cultural phenomenon that happens whenever society splinters into specialists who are given the ability to deeply pursue fields of study beyond the level that the average person can understand.
We have a former president who, openly, claimed the sound of windmills causes cancer. We have people who claim that solar panels will deplete the sun. We have people claiming vaccines cause autism. We have people claiming that wild fires are caused by directed energy weapons (DEWs) in space... and that things that are blue are immune to the weapons and the fires they cause. We have people who deny that humans ever landed on the moon and people who deny that space even exists. We have people who deny evolution and people who even deny that the earth is older than ~6000 years.
And we have all of these, too:
Point 11 - CHECK.
-
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
---
"Lock her up"
"He should have complied"
This is the epitome of this point.
Y'all worship the police force and buy these flags...
Point 12 - CHECK
-
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
---
One needs look no farther than Trump's cabinet to see this at work.
But, there are plenty of other places talking about Trump's cronyism and corruption in greater depth:
The American Enterprise Institute, The Atlantic, Business Insider, Business Insider (again), The Guardian, The Hill, The Intercept, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Open Secrets, Politico, Promarket, USA Today
Point 13 - CHECK
-
14. Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
-
Trump, literally, called the Governor of Georgia and told him to find more votes. FOX News, literally, lied about election fraud (to the point that they lost $787M in an out-of-court settlement over it) in an effort to get y'all to overturn the election. There are other aspects to this....
Point 14 - CHECK
---------------------------------
Let's review out scorecard here....
13 / 14 fascist points accomplished and the 14th would be accomplished if the GOP had their way.
Gee, I guess that means that the GOP PERFECTLY meets the definition of a fascist party. Almost like I used the word correctly because I know what it means.
I like the drawings. beer mugs
ReplyDeletebeer mugs site