Which is why I always link to Ur-Fascism so that people can see the definition that I use, which comes from someone who grew up in a fascist country.
Beyond that, there is a Newspeak problem in America. Fascism doesn’t mean fascism, socialism doesn’t mean socialism, conservatism doesn’t mean conservatism, moderate doesn’t mean moderate. The only reason that liberalism means liberalism is because that term covers so much ground that everything else around liberalism is also considered liberalism. People wrongly describe anarchists as right wing and nazis as left wing. Nothing makes sense anymore, and maybe that’s the point.
The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc, but to make all other modes of thought impossible.
George Orwell, The Principles of Newspeak, 1984 appendix
Even the word Newspeak has fallen victim to this, as new words that express new concepts are dismissed as newspeak.
And if in the USA there are 70 millions of neonazist, USA has a big problem.
And also Canada: If you fold the Canadian flag it looks like the flag of Poland.
The USA has a big problem. In case you haven’t noticed, it had legal segregation all the way into the 1960s, in its absence has found many other ways to enforce racial discrimination, and in response to its first ever non-white president immediately voted in the most white supremacist trash they could find, who just attempted a coup and yet still has a good deal of support.
Maybe it’s time we got over the fear of admitting there might be more than a couple dozen anti-democratic racists in the country, and started tackling what the actual reality is. And yes, Canada could stand that too.
Isn’t backwards “love” hate? If read that way, it certainly fits. And “love” spelled backwards is “evol,” which also seems weirdly on point for folks who are hell bent on ending public educatio.
Next time I’ll put an /s, but it’s sure that USA has a lot of big problems, compared to say Canadan or Europen states. And seriously if instabilities arise in USA Canada will be impacted al lot.
USA has an unresolved problem with segregation and slavery echoes, huge economic inequalities, the lack of a national health service, death penalty, a judicial and police system that isn’t funcional to stop crima but to preserve itself.
And anyway, compared to Italian parties Democrats in USA are conservative betwen Northern League and Forza Italia. Even Bernie Sanders and AOC stances aren’t so progressive compared to European standards.
One of the lies told by the Party is in their name, IngSoc. It isn’t socialism, but you aren’t allowed to say that or you will end up with an unexpected visit to MiniLuv. That is what I am referencing.
Once every two decades or so, I’ll hear a republican make an argument that’s substantial enough to at least be wrong. Maybe engaging that particular argument might give oxygen to an otherwise septic debate-space?
Then the moment passes, and I remember it’s not republicans I hold accountable for this mess, it’s the two party system, and the corporate donors who are allowed to hedge their bets by donating to both sides.
The most characteristically fascist thing the republicans did last year (in a loooong list of candidates) was to make it through an entire presidential convention without publishing an official party platform.
To me, that communicated loud and clear that they were stating for the record, "we have an agenda, all right! But we’re not going to even try to publicly acknowledge or debate that agenda.
The republicans are worse than neo nazis, because if that’s all they were, they wouldn’t be able to surprise their political opponents.
I think calling them crypto-fascists makes a lot more sense than calling them neo nazis, since they can’t be expected to out themselves without some help.
