When Fascism seems normal we are in Serious Trouble

[Daryl Hunt]

That title isn't mine. It is from a PBS Tour Guide by the name of Rick Steves. He did a tour of Germany, Italy, Spain and others as pertaining to the runup and fall of WWII and Fascism. There were things in there that reminded me of the last 20 years of the United States. Fascism has been building for quite some time here. And we have the same conditions that led up to Fascism for Italy and Germany and to some degree, Spain. Here are just some of the conditions.

Hate between one large group on another. It may be religion, race, doctrine or almost anything else. It may be real or imagined. But to one or the other group, they believe it's real.

One group believes that another is getting a better shake than they are. Again, it may be real or imagined.

Fear.

There is more to it than that but those two ferment into other things. What happens is, it sets things up for a strong leader to come along and capitalized on those fears and hates. Here are some of the methods used to capitalize on this.

1. Simple Solutions for complicated problems. The Masses won't understand complicated solutions so the strongman introduces simple solutions. The Simple solutions sound so good but will NEVER work in the long run.

2. Pick one or two groups of people and make the masses fear and hate them. In the early Fascist days, it was Communists and Jews. Communists (or those that were tagged as Communists even when they weren't) were killed outright. Jews were sometimes killed outright but normally taken outside of Germany, outside of the German Citizens Eyes, and terminated in camps. This doesn't happen over night. It's when the Strong Man is allowed to continue to win over and over until he is no longer under constraints of the law. It took Mussolini about 7 years to accomplish his rise to power and Hitler 8 years. It was done gradual. Franco did it much quicker because he had the full military might of both Germany and Italy behind him in Spain to crush even the Basques who were neither fascist nor Socialist unlike the ruling Spanish Socialist Government.

Some people are highly susceptible to Fascism for some odd reason and respond well to the Strong Man while others don't. For instance, Germans responded well to Hitler and almost to the very last days, the German People idolized Hitler. But the Italians turned on Mussolini early on in the war, not because they were losing but because the spell had worn off. Had the Italians continued to idolize Mussolini, the Italian front would have had a very different outcome.

On the other side of the coin, Communism (pseudo) should have died with Lenin. It had already failed. But a Strongman came along and basically did what Hitler and Mussolini did just earlier. If Communism (pseudo) and Fascism look very similar it's because both ends up morphing into a Dictatorship. And that is what all 3 ended up being. The only person to ever make Fascism to work was Franco and no one has ever made Communism (pseudo) ever work.

For the last 20 years or so, the US has had the same roots that started Fascism in Europe. The only difference is, we have two documents or laws that slows it down, the Constitution of the United States and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. They don't stop. They just slow the process down.

The point here is, the Strongman can come from either side. The conditions are ripe in the US today. What can we do to prevent it?

1. Stop blaming someone else for our own problems

2. Stop with the hate and Fear.

3. Work Together as a Nation and a community.

4. Don't accept simple solutions to complicated problems

5. No one person will be able to cure all the problems. If someone EVER says, "Only I can" then ......

Remember this, Democracy must be worked on each and every day by everyone or it will be lost by everyone.

 

[K9Buck]

You left out the biggest tenets of fascism such as total government control over every facet of the nation as well as the rejection of free-market capitalism.

Much of the American left supports fascism, as long as it's not called fascism.

Perhaps your definition of fascism is that anyone you dislike is a fascist. That's how it works for 99% of leftists. I presume you're one of the 99%.

 

[gipper]

Secession Now!

 

[K9Buck]

For instance, Germans responded well to Hitler...

Learn history. Hitler NEVER won a majority of votes from Germans. Like modern American leftists, German leftists, such as Hitler, learned to win by crook, as in the saying "by hook or by crook". The 1930's leftist Germans used anti-Democratic, totalitarian, tactics to seize total power, sort of like how the American left is doing today.

 

[K9Buck]

...the Strongman can come from either side...

The closest thing America has had with regard to a fascist "strongman" was Barack Obama. Joe Biden, if inaugurated, will likely surpass Obama in this regard.

 

[occupied]

The first and most ardent supporters of fascism are religious people. They are already primed for it because they have willingly structured their mind to accept things without question from their leaders. I have often wondered why this fact is often ignored by those taking a look at how free countries fall to authoritarianism.

 

[K9Buck]

3. Work Together as a Nation and a community.

The sad reality is that the Democratic Party opposes free and fair elections, the rule of law, and putting the interests of poor and middle-class Americans FIRST. They are an organized crime syndicate and there is no working with them unless you're one of the many that are bribing or blackmailing them for political and/or financial gain.

 

[K9Buck]

The first and most ardent supporters of fascism are religious people.

I disagree. Historically, the most totalitarian and murderous nations in world history were/are led by atheists. Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, Fidel Castro, the North Korean trifecta, etc., etc., etc. China today is the biggest example of a fascist regime led by an atheist, President Xi Jinping. As a youth, Benito Mussolini declared himself an atheist and made fun of believers. Sound familiar?

 

[Daryl Hunt]

You left out the biggest tenets of fascism such as total government control over every facet of the nation as well as the rejection of free-market capitalism.

Much of the American left supports fascism, as long as it's not called fascism.

Perhaps your definition of fascism is that anyone you dislike is a fascist. That's how it works for 99% of leftists. I presume you're one of the 99%.

Thank you for making my point. Hate is an ugly thing when you blame someone else for your own problems.

 

[K9Buck]

The first and most ardent supporters of fascism are religious people. They have willingly structured their mind to accept things without question from their leaders.

You mean like how American leftists immediately believed that President Trump conspired with Vladimir Putin to steal the election or how American leftists immediately dismissed numerous and credible claims that Joe and Hunter Biden took money from Burisma and the Chinese government?

There is no bigger partisan hack and parrot in American politics today than a committed leftist.

 

[Mac1958]

That title isn't mine. It is from a PBS Tour Guide by the name of Rick Steves. He did a tour of Germany, Italy, Spain and others as pertaining to the runup and fall of WWII and Fascism. There were things in there that reminded me of the last 20 years of the United States. Fascism has been building for quite some time here. And we have the same conditions that led up to Fascism for Italy and Germany and to some degree, Spain. Here are just some of the conditions.

Hate between one large group on another. It may be religion, race, doctrine or almost anything else. It may be real or imagined. But to one or the other group, they believe it's real.

One group believes that another is getting a better shake than they are. Again, it may be real or imagined.

Fear.

There is more to it than that but those two ferment into other things. What happens is, it sets things up for a strong leader to come along and capitalized on those fears and hates. Here are some of the methods used to capitalize on this.

1. Simple Solutions for complicated problems. The Masses won't understand complicated solutions so the strongman introduces simple solutions. The Simple solutions sound so good but will NEVER work in the long run.

2. Pick one or two groups of people and make the masses fear and hate them. In the early Fascist days, it was Communists and Jews. Communists (or those that were tagged as Communists even when they weren't) were killed outright. Jews were sometimes killed outright but normally taken outside of Germany, outside of the German Citizens Eyes, and terminated in camps. This doesn't happen over night. It's when the Strong Man is allowed to continue to win over and over until he is no longer under constraints of the law. It took Mussolini about 7 years to accomplish his rise to power and Hitler 8 years. It was done gradual. Franco did it much quicker because he had the full military might of both Germany and Italy behind him in Spain to crush even the Basques who were neither fascist nor Socialist unlike the ruling Spanish Socialist Government.

Some people are highly susceptible to Fascism for some odd reason and respond well to the Strong Man while others don't. For instance, Germans responded well to Hitler and almost to the very last days, the German People idolized Hitler. But the Italians turned on Mussolini early on in the war, not because they were losing but because the spell had worn off. Had the Italians continued to idolize Mussolini, the Italian front would have had a very different outcome.

On the other side of the coin, Communism (pseudo) should have died with Lenin. It had already failed. But a Strongman came along and basically did what Hitler and Mussolini did just earlier. If Communism (pseudo) and Fascism look very similar it's because both ends up morphing into a Dictatorship. And that is what all 3 ended up being. The only person to ever make Fascism to work was Franco and no one has ever made Communism (pseudo) ever work.

For the last 20 years or so, the US has had the same roots that started Fascism in Europe. The only difference is, we have two documents or laws that slows it down, the Constitution of the United States and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. They don't stop. They just slow the process down.

The point here is, the Strongman can come from either side. The conditions are ripe in the US today. What can we do to prevent it?

1. Stop blaming someone else for our own problems

2. Stop with the hate and Fear.

3. Work Together as a Nation and a community.

4. Don't accept simple solutions to complicated problems

5. No one person will be able to cure all the problems. If someone EVER says, "Only I can" then ......

Remember this, Democracy must be worked on each and every day by everyone or it will be lost by everyone.

I'm going to hold out hope that we've hit rock bottom. And, if so, given the experiences Europe had in the 30s and 40s, I think we've gotten off pretty lightly. Thank goodness for our Constitution.

This was -- again, I'm hopeful -- the final, ugly, primal scream of a world that is moving to the rear view mirror. And you're right, it's on all of us to go forward with intelligence and reason, not anger and paranoia.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

For instance, Germans responded well to Hitler...

Learn history. Hitler NEVER won a majority of votes from Germans. Like modern American leftists, German leftists, such as Hitler, learned to win by crook, as in the saying "by hook or by crook". The 1930's leftist Germans used anti-Democratic, totalitarian, tactics to seize total power, sort of like how the American left is doing today.

Hitler was a rightwinger. His arch nemesis was Communism. Thank you for displaying one of the points that I gave and that is blaming someone else for your own problems.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

You left out the biggest tenets of fascism such as total government control over every facet of the nation as well as the rejection of free-market capitalism.

Much of the American left supports fascism, as long as it's not called fascism.

Perhaps your definition of fascism is that anyone you dislike is a fascist. That's how it works for 99% of leftists. I presume you're one of the 99%.

Wrong.

Fascist regimes have always supported free-market capitalism; indeed, free-market capitalism and private business owners have flourished under fascist governments and have been the most ardent supporters of fascist regimes.

Fascism manifests on the right side of the political spectrum, it shares the same fundamental authoritarianism typical of American conservatives who seek to compel conformity and punish dissent, to increase the size and power of government at the expense of individual liberty.

 

[K9Buck]

Thank you for making my point. Hate is an ugly thing when you blame someone else for your own problems.

You have a fundamental misunderstanding of fascism and "right-wing" and "left-wing".

 

[Daryl Hunt]

The first and most ardent supporters of fascism are religious people. They have willingly structured their mind to accept things without question from their leaders.

You mean like how American leftists immediately believed that President Trump conspired with Vladimir Putin to steal the election or how American leftists immediately dismissed numerous and credible claims that Joe and Hunter Biden took money from Burisma and the Chinese government?

There is no bigger partisan hack and parrot in American politics today than a committed leftist.

Ah, the hate and blame others while accepting the simple solutions. Thank you for exhibiting on of my points.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

You left out the biggest tenets of fascism such as total government control over every facet of the nation as well as the rejection of free-market capitalism.

Much of the American left supports fascism, as long as it's not called fascism.

Perhaps your definition of fascism is that anyone you dislike is a fascist. That's how it works for 99% of leftists. I presume you're one of the 99%.

Wrong.

Fascist regimes have always supported free-market capitalism; indeed, free-market capitalism and private business owners have flourished under fascist governments and have been the most ardent supporters of fascist regimes.

Fascism manifests on the right side of the political spectrum, it shares the same fundamental authoritarianism typical of American conservatives who seek to compel conformity and punish dissent, to increase the size and power of government at the expense of individual liberty.

Remember, STalin came from the Left and the same results were accomplished.

 

[K9Buck]

Hitler was a rightwinger. His arch nemesis was Communism. Thank you for displaying one of the points that I gave and that is blaming someone else for your own problems.

Communism was another leftist ideology competing against Hitler's leftist National Socialist Party. German communists were NOT nationalists and looked to the Soviet Union's Joseph Stalin for leadership. Hiter was an ULTRA-nationalist and also opposed the concept of the government taking ownership of all industry, unlike the Soviets. But Hitler and Stalin were both in agreement on opposition to free-market capitalism and the government running every facet of the nation. Sound familiar?

 

[Daryl Hunt]

Thank you for making my point. Hate is an ugly thing when you blame someone else for your own problems.

You have a fundamental misunderstanding of fascism and "right-wing" and "left-wing".

I have been in a Fascist Country, have you? Not something I would suggest normally. But in your case, I think it would do you the world of good. But having a major Fascist Government left in the World would not do the World any favors.

 

[Bush92]

That title isn't mine. It is from a PBS Tour Guide by the name of Rick Steves. He did a tour of Germany, Italy, Spain and others as pertaining to the runup and fall of WWII and Fascism. There were things in there that reminded me of the last 20 years of the United States. Fascism has been building for quite some time here. And we have the same conditions that led up to Fascism for Italy and Germany and to some degree, Spain. Here are just some of the conditions.

Hate between one large group on another. It may be religion, race, doctrine or almost anything else. It may be real or imagined. But to one or the other group, they believe it's real.

One group believes that another is getting a better shake than they are. Again, it may be real or imagined.

Fear.

There is more to it than that but those two ferment into other things. What happens is, it sets things up for a strong leader to come along and capitalized on those fears and hates. Here are some of the methods used to capitalize on this.

1. Simple Solutions for complicated problems. The Masses won't understand complicated solutions so the strongman introduces simple solutions. The Simple solutions sound so good but will NEVER work in the long run.

2. Pick one or two groups of people and make the masses fear and hate them. In the early Fascist days, it was Communists and Jews. Communists (or those that were tagged as Communists even when they weren't) were killed outright. Jews were sometimes killed outright but normally taken outside of Germany, outside of the German Citizens Eyes, and terminated in camps. This doesn't happen over night. It's when the Strong Man is allowed to continue to win over and over until he is no longer under constraints of the law. It took Mussolini about 7 years to accomplish his rise to power and Hitler 8 years. It was done gradual. Franco did it much quicker because he had the full military might of both Germany and Italy behind him in Spain to crush even the Basques who were neither fascist nor Socialist unlike the ruling Spanish Socialist Government.

Some people are highly susceptible to Fascism for some odd reason and respond well to the Strong Man while others don't. For instance, Germans responded well to Hitler and almost to the very last days, the German People idolized Hitler. But the Italians turned on Mussolini early on in the war, not because they were losing but because the spell had worn off. Had the Italians continued to idolize Mussolini, the Italian front would have had a very different outcome.

On the other side of the coin, Communism (pseudo) should have died with Lenin. It had already failed. But a Strongman came along and basically did what Hitler and Mussolini did just earlier. If Communism (pseudo) and Fascism look very similar it's because both ends up morphing into a Dictatorship. And that is what all 3 ended up being. The only person to ever make Fascism to work was Franco and no one has ever made Communism (pseudo) ever work.

For the last 20 years or so, the US has had the same roots that started Fascism in Europe. The only difference is, we have two documents or laws that slows it down, the Constitution of the United States and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. They don't stop. They just slow the process down.

The point here is, the Strongman can come from either side. The conditions are ripe in the US today. What can we do to prevent it?

1. Stop blaming someone else for our own problems

2. Stop with the hate and Fear.

3. Work Together as a Nation and a community.

4. Don't accept simple solutions to complicated problems

5. No one person will be able to cure all the problems. If someone EVER says, "Only I can" then ......

Remember this, Democracy must be worked on each and every day by everyone or it will be lost by everyone.

Communism is the greatest threat to our nation. Especially now that the Harris-Biden administration is ready to capitulate to China and it's allies Iran and North Korea.

 

[K9Buck]

Fascist regimes have always supported free-market capitalism;

Incorrect. Fascist regimes such as Nazi Germany, Mussolini's Italy, and Jinping's China (today) ALL dictate to private industry. And only those who did the bidding of the state were permitted to own various industries.

For instance, a few years ago the FBI wanted Apple to help to unlock an iPhone. Apple rejected the FBI's request. That doesn't happen under fascism. Can you imagine Huawei telling the Chinese State Police that they wouldn't help or a German company telling the Gestapo to get lost? LOL. Yea, neither can I.

There is no such as free-market capitalism in a fascist society as all industry is subservient to the state.