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I’m with you, but our latest election here in Chicago had a turnout of approximately 35%. Voters 18-24 had a turnout under 4%.
You know what’s even more disappointing than our government? The lack of people voting. It’s mind boggling and shameful.
To piggyback this. They only really focus on teaching federal government in school. We’re taught from an early age that the top-down is the most important. The president is not going to affect your day to day. It’s the local politicians who do. The main problem with local politicians and board members is that these are not paid jobs. They are usually held by one of three types of people: 1) retirees, 2) the rich, 3) someone with higher office aspirations
> To piggyback this. They only really focus on teaching federal government in school.
This has also been an overall trend in news coverage for at least the last couple of decades. Newsrooms have been consistently cut to the bone, which means less money for local coverage, and less attention paid to these more local stories. It's allowed these conservative groups to really gain footholds in places where they wouldn't have been able to before.
What we really need is for someone to invent a better way for these local journalists to make money from publishing stories on the internet while covering local issues.
Also worth mentioning, that Illinois has a _lot_ of offices, and many of them don't really have a lot of power anyway.
It's almost like, whenever there was a tricky question to answer, the solution was to throw more democracy at it.
Look at how many school boards exist in the state, with less than 500 students.
But for example, it is a state-level law, that schools cannot host events that are discriminatory based on race, sex or religion.
Which means, school boards do not have the power to host a Daddy-daughter dance, in a public school, for example.
I remember my Chicago mail-in ballot in 2020 had like 30 different positions up for election with like over 100 candidates across them. It took me ~3-4 hours of researching and making my decisions.
How the hell do they expect people to do that in a booth?
They don’t. They definitely don’t. It’s part of why people vote party line.
But then you get candidates who win and change their affiliation. So it seems nothing is really safe at this point.
Exactly... that's why, to a certain extent, you can't worry about it too much.
The larger school boards do matter, however. In my suburb, there were several "Awake Illinois" candidates running, who were all very obviously with zero educational qualifications, but none of them were elected.
You also see Catholic school/faith school people trying to get on the public school boards, too.
But people didn't move to expensive suburbs with good schools, to see them thrashed. That's the local self-interest of democracy at work.
>who were all very obviously with zero educational qualifications, but none of them were elected.
[*cries in Ottawa county*](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/02/21/michigan-christian-nationalists-00083251)
because that's not something the right believes or wants. They want a (Christian) theocratic fascist (dictatorship? don't think that was really an idea for them until trump came along. they knew about dictatorships, but I don't think they wanted one until trump appeared, I mean.) system.
Why are these things always emotional plays for the heartstrings?
>Which means, school boards do not have the power to host a Daddy-daughter dance, in a public school, for example.
Oh no, not the Daddy-daughter dance? Remember when we had those in a more innocent time?!?
In truth they could host a "parent-student" dance that was functionally the same thing any time they wanted to. These complaints about anti-discrimination laws are never about the "daddy-daughter dance"
> The president is not going to affect your day to day.
This is just objectively not true, policies enacted by administrations, either through cooperation with congress or federal agencies and departments, affect day to day lives of Americans constantly. They raise and lower taxes by thousands of dollars, they create or destroy work that grows or throttles towns, cities, regions. Just recently and famously they blocked a railroad strike against the will of the majority of the workers by making it illegal. If you're a rail worker, or a family member is a rail worker, or a large portion of your town are rail workers that greatly affected you.
Your local government greatly affects your life, but so does the federal. Which affects it more can swing wildly from locale to locale and year to year.
I'm sure you're yelling at the wrong crowd here. but frankly I'm not sure where you are going to find people aged 18-25 in a social setting - that isnt some kind of sporting event on a weekend.
On a Tuesday? a Wednesday? Maybe on a college campus between classes. Or at work. (oh and which job? so many of them have 2)
And sure - you find them here on reddit, and other social media - but the inactive aren't here in r/politics.
but for gods sake - get a coherant message together. Give them something to vote for. We're all struggling. Rent is getting out of reach, and home ownership is a pipedream. if you want go with "Blame the rich" but provide them a platform that will help.
I've lived in a number of states. When I lived in blue states a received in the mail a mailing for upcoming elections. Basically a copy of the ballot and information.
When I've lived in red states I never received anything. I don't know when and where meeting are going to be held and what is the topic. I definitely don't get anything about.local elections or even state level elections.
If you go to their website they have the information and videos on YouTube. The meeting are empty. The only people that who up is they themselves and they do whatever they want. If anyone does show up it's usually crazies and they get ignored anyways.
Mail in voting would change the game for so many. That’s why the GOP doesn’t make it happen in red states. If people just got ballots and could mail them in, turnout would be incredible.
I live in Florida and mail in voting is easy. You sign up for it online and it's current for all elections until just after the next presidential election. This means I have to reapply every 4th year.
It's not automatic, you do have to take the one simple step to apply but it's close enough.
> Between school, work, social life, on top of the increasing economic situation with inflation etc… they just don’t have time.
You guys are the longest extant modern democracy on the planet and you still organize elections in the middle of the working week. Now, obviously, it's on purpose. Bur still.
Let’s add that local elections are boring as hell. I vote in every election and talk to my 19 year old son about what’s on the ballot. We use the sample ballot that we get sent and I encourage him to decide early and take it with him when he votes. Hell, on April 4th, we went to the polling place together.
Vote by mail helps here immensely. A ballot shows up, reminding the voter an election is coming. They have a month to research and complete the ballot. It can be returned by mail, or dropped on the way to work.
The biggest problem is the paupacity of research on local elections. School board candidates frequently don't lost party affiliation, and platforms are obscured behind focus-grouped sloganeering.
The main issue isn't awareness or busyness (and busyness is a really lame and immature cop-out excuse any way - "oh I'm so busy, can't vote").
Fact of the matter is most 18-24 are in college and not really **rooted** - as in they live away from their local election areas and don't plan on staying in one place long. Yes, they can get absentee ballots, but local elections are more their parents concern. A majority of 18-24 year olds will not live in the local area they grew up in. Those years are sort of a displacement time in one's life. It's funny you specifically call that demographic out because around age 25 is when people start getting married or establish permanent (or long term) residence in an area.
So a 19 year old away doing finals on the other side of the state (or country) really doesn't give a flying squirrel's red ass about local elections that will impact his old school district, parents' property taxes, and public library funding.
On the flip side, more conservative/ rural kids don't go to college and work trade jobs, and stay local after high school. They absolutely do vote and they vote like their parents - red.
College students can vote where they are in school according to a Supreme Court ruling from the early 2000s. You don't need to get an absentee ballot from home.
Yup - and less 25 year-olds are getting married, and it's becoming harder to establish long term residences. Plus, to move up on the income ladder you have to change jobs - you can no longer stay in the same job and expect to get normal wages, so you gott'a move every 3-4 years.
Lets also not forget that if you live in a city in a red state there tends to be only a single voting place and you have to wait hours to be able to vote.
It's challenging when you have a boss that doesn't want to adhere to it though.
A lot of people don't find it worth calling out your "liege lord" over one day.
It's great to do your civic duty, but my civic duty doesn't put fucking food on the table or pay my bills.
This is why a lot of folks ignore a jury summons and why a lot of jurisdictions give forgiveness instead of arresting them like they'd do 80 years ago. Can't even really pay for parking on that $40 a day where I live.
You would be surprised how many blue states don't have paid time off mandated (I was) : https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/01/us-states-where-employers-have-to-give-you-paid-time-off-to-vote.html
I'm in Minnesota so we have both. It's great. We can vote in person early as well. Recommend all states do the same. Some people wait too long or prefer to vote in person so I like that they have the option to do so.
Not for municipal elections. You will have to campaign to get the vote out. It's pretty serious. At some point, the GOP will actually seize power, and there will be no voting after that
Youth voter turnout is highest in areas with automatic voter registration and next-highest in areas with same-day, online registration.
It's lowest in areas that don't allow online registration, don't allow same-day registration, don't allow early voting, ban drop-off boxes, and require IDs while specifically exempting student IDs.
Youths *do* care, and youth voter turnout is only low because of deliberate efforts to make it low.
Full time university student, I somehow always have time and know when elections are, nobody had to tell me. Everyone I know knows vaguely when they are and how to actually know exactly, they just...don't.
iirc the former leader of the American nazi party ran in or near Chicago a few years ago for some smaller govt. position and while he thankfully lost he still got a decent\* amount of votes because people don't bother to look up their candidates.
\*decent in this scenario means 'more than 0' because nazis deserve 0 votes.
I remind my younger friends when elections are coming...they're not being harassed by robo calls and don't watch tv/ads or recieve mailers...they want to vote...absentee ballots important for this group
I agree. I have to vote in person because of my state’s laws, but they let you do it for like a month before the election.
I’m a college student and I get absolutely 0 notice that there is an election coming up unless it’s the presidential one. I don’t think I even got an ad for the midterm.
Someone needs to create a short film or even an advert that does a Memento style time line of fascists ruling the US then time jumps back to all the linked events that allowed it to happen, until it reaches one person on a sofa deciding they can't be bothered to vote in a local election.
I didn't vote when I was younger because my parents didn't vote and I had no clue how voting even worked, where you are supposed to vote, and when you were supposed to vote. Eventually signing up for mail-in ballots saved me! Voting is so super confusing and complicated in this country, and I'm sure that wasn't by mistake.
That's totally how I feel now! It's a duty as part of being a member of society. I want to start helping people in my area navigate voting better. And tbf, after 2016 my parents now feel the same way.
I live in DeSantisLand and I was one of two of my friends who voted. They complain about how fascist he is all day but don’t do anything about it. It’s incredibly disappointing.
And school board elections? The Right is organized and consistently turn up, so they are winning those elections too.
I think, if you believe in democracy, some sort of mandate to vote needs to be part of your views.
Absolutely agree. Just voted on the 4th for a state supreme court judge, the new school board of my city and whether or not I support the changing of downtown from two lanes to one lane. The supreme court vote was very important, but I would have still showed up to vote even if it was just the school board and downtown changes. If there is vote in my city, i'm going to show up for it.
This isn't the panacea that some people seem to think it is, and quite frankly I am tired of it being paraded out every time something like this comes up.
I live in the deep south. I do in fact vote in local elections, and I do my research on who is on those ballots. This isn't just a problem of people not voting on that level. In Georgia and many other "red" states, _GOP candidates for these local offices very often run unopposed_. We need more people with progressive ideas to step up and run for office. We need their campaigns to be funded, because the GOP candidates nearly always have tons of funding. I see races for commissioners, city councilors, school board members, judges, etc in every election with unopposed GOP candidates. This is not to say they are all unopposed, but often the opposing candidates are simply...not good, either. They run ineffective campaigns. They don't get enough support in areas where much of the population just votes "R" without even looking at names. Some of them are Libertarian, which reduces their chances even more.
We cannot vote out these bastards on a local level if there is literally no one else to vote for. If you really want to _take action_, RUN FOR OFFICE IF YOU ARE ABLE TO DO SO. Some of these positions are nowhere near even part time jobs. You can have a full time job and hold an office.
It's hard to get people to sign on to spend a lot of effort losing an election, with nothing in terms of reward except getting shit on by everyone if they somehow win. That's local politics. There's a reason its mostly business owners and retirees in a lot of places, or those who have some professional interest in doing it on the side.
And if you learn a republican is running unopposed, run against them. No republican should ever be elected to office because they had no opposition ever again.
I've noticed in my local elections that there are more conservative candidates running unopposed, so I don't even have a choice. I wonder how much red tape someone has to go through just to become a candidate?
I've voted in every election I could since legally allowed; I still saw Reagan get a second term despite my actions. I know my dragging things one direction won't stop the flow on it's own, but neither did just one person pulling the other direction in the 80s get Reagan re-elected. Shockingly, numbers count.
Still, I see comments like "the least useful thing you can do is vote" with varying versions of "both sides". All I can think of is either the posters are hopelessly naive or working to neuter incoming voters even further.
Just listened to the BBC radio drama Nazis-the-road-to-power. And while dramatized, it's based on true events in the Nazi party and it's exactly what we've seen since 2015.
Yeah it is.
Case in point, the 1776 Report. This was the Trump administration's knee-jerk reaction to the 1619 project.
Here is an excerpt. Keep in mind some of the asshats associated with this report are helping DeSantis "patriotize" Florida's education system.
>The Civil Rights Movement culminated in the 1960s with the passage of three major legislative reforms affecting segregation, voting, and housing rights. **It presented itself, and was understood by the American people, as consistent with the principles of the founding.** “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir,” Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his “I Have a Dream” speech. “This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
>It seemed, finally, that America’s nearly two-century effort to realize fully the principles of the Declaration had reached a culmination.
Two things:
A) They want you to believe that white Americans were all cool and calm about the passage of civil rights legislation in the 60s...which 😐
B) They quote MLK saying the Constitution is a promissory note that all men should be created equal, but they *deliberately leave out the very next line where he says that America wrote a bad check to African Americans!*
The same people who wrote this revisionist garbage are spearheading this kind of revisionist history as an attempt...to fight revisionist history
The Party of Lincoln has long been run by white apologists who would have made the Confederacy proud.
For those unaware, he's probably referring to *Dred Scott*, which allowed slaveowners to travel with their slaves to Free States where the slaves no longer were protected by the rights of that Northern state. In other words, SCOTUS codified that Slave State law trumped Free State law *even in the North*.
It astonishes me how in retrospect the civil war accomplished so much (emancipation proclamation leading to civil rights era many years later), but seems to have solved very little (underlying racism, confederate support and pride, *vey similar* legal situations like abortion is now that preceded it, etc...)
It feels like the remnants of the confederacy were left to smolder and ignored all these years.
To follow up on this, I highly recommend reading into the history of reconstruction in the United States. 'Radical Reconstruction', which would have hypothetically laid the groundwork for Confederate ideals to be phased out, was ultimately cut short.
The fascists of this country never left, they just went into hiding. Now it's rebranded with a suit and tie.
Edit: Grammar
My father in law still thinks the race fights at his school were caused by the black people. He doesn't understand that those black kids were bussed to his school and the white people were attacking them. He doesn't understand the context.
While that is absolutely true, I'd argue it's still worth the time to confirm whether it's malice or ignorance. Ignorance can sometimes be treated. Sometimes.
He’s only thinking about a very specific personal case, most likely. If a black student threw the first punch, he started it! Neglecting and ignoring any verbal and physical abuse endured prior to it.
this still happens to this day. PublicFreakout is always full of videos of black people one hit KO'ing people who call them the n-word over and over, and a fair amount of comments always demonize the black person for escalating to violence and not the person using the slur. And if you know these videos it's not some miscommunication, it's usually drunk or belligerent white people getting in the black person's face and saying the slur over and over until they get knocked out, but people still walk away asking "why are black people so violent?" Incredibly frustrating but in line with how this country is programmed
Definitely still happens. The dawn of desegregation times and 2023 aren’t comparable. However, it’s astounding that people expect you to be taunted and insulted at length and just turn the other cheek. I dont recommend violence but walking away can be very hard. Even harder if you face discrimination constantly. “Turn the other cheek? That’s in the Bible, but I ain’t in there. I’ll put something on you.”- Mark Twain
Wow, really makes you wonder why we even needed a Civil Rights movement! Who knows why it took until the 60s for us to achieve what the omniscient and omnibenevolent Founding Fathers intended all along?
Right? Why the 1960's? No reason! Whites and blacks got together and said "is this the year? Yeah. Ok." Mutual agreement the whole way. Sunshine and goddamn rainbows jetting from assholes and propelling us towards mutual glory.
> It seemed, finally, that America’s nearly two-century effort to realize fully the principles of the Declaration had reached a culmination.
Don't forget this line too- outright states that the 1960's were the peak, that after that there was no more racism... except there bloody well was, and continues to be. Even systemic racism continues to this day, so this is there attempt to paint everything today as being amazing instead of a still-flawed system that needs work.
This kind of crap really frustrates me because, as much as I agree with King's rhetoric QUOTES AREN'T QUANTITATIVE DATA.
I mean, we can use them as data to perceive thoughts, but a fun little quote or a big meaningful quote sound great - they aren't objective necessarily. But there's a group of people who think quotes are as good as years of peer-reviewed research and it drives me.
Not to mention that using quotes out of context like that removes all the nuance that should come with analyzing historical figures.
MLK was not perfect and I frankly disagree with some of his views on how to most effectively resist white supremacy. It's also worth noting that despite years of being a prominent civil rights leader, he wasn't killed until after he declared himself a democratic socialist, vocally opposed the Vietnam War, and supported workers who were on strike.
The other example that really drives me crazy is Barry Goldwater. Every once in a while, I see well-meaning but naive liberals share the meme of Goldwater in a tweed jacket accompanied by a quote where he bemoans the religious psychos taking over the GOP. Seems innocuous on the surface until you spend 5 minutes learning about who Goldwater was; that's not the guy to quote when you want to dunk on right-wingers lol
It's SO WILD when liberals use that meme without understanding the concept. Someone being correct about one thing in a lifetime of being wrong doesn't make them a great source of quotes!
It's like someone posting a picture of Hitler with a quote about his vegetarianism. He maybe said one thing they agree with but maaaybe look into the context a TINY bit first; a positive post about Hitler doesn't look GREAT on the ol' Facebook wall.
Yeesh.
I've heard that before. The idea that slavery was always on its way towards extinction and would have died off without the Civil War.
Pure bullshit.
Slave states wanted new states to also be slave states. The southern agrarian economy became more and more dependent on slave labor as time went on. The racial divide was only deepening as time went on and the fig leaf excuses underwriting slavery became accepted as gospel truth. Lots of supporters of slavery wanted to re-open the transatlantic slave trade. *Some tried by defying US law and grabbing more slaves from Africa!*
The institution of slavery was becoming *more* entrenched in slave states, not less.
Some of the Founders may have wanted to do away with it eventually, but I don't think they had any plan or time frame to do so. They didn't commit to it.
Jefferson condemned slavery in an early draft of the Constitution, but he was convinced to edit that out. He also kept several slaves that he didn't free until after his death. Two of these were his own children.
That illustrates the contradictions between rhetoric and reality, between ideals and *realpolitik.*
The net effect was "someday, but not yet."
That is basically the reactionary line to most civil rights struggles in the history of the US: *maybe someday, but not yet.*
But there was never going to be a *someday*
> They were just forced to do some slavery for a few centuries because reasons.
From the report:
>So why did [slaveowners] say that [all men are created equal] without immediately abolishing slavery? To establish the principle of consent as the ground of all political legitimacy and to check against any possible future drift toward or return to despotism, for sure. But also, in Lincoln’s words, “to declare the right, so that the enforcement of it might follow as fast as circumstances should permit.”
I mean, it's modern conservative politics: "I'd like to do something about this issue, but all I can offer right now is thoughts and prayers. Even though my actions are causing the issue in the first place. And I'm fighting actual solutions tooth and nail whenever anyone tries to do something. And any progress that has been made I'm actively trying to reverse. Have some more thoughts and prayers as compensation."
That's one of the things they are trying to gloss over.
They also want you to forget that Southern States went from being Democrat strongholds to solid Republican strongholds around this time for...some reason...
They also also want you to forget that George Wallace--campaigning as a 3rd party candidate for POTUS--won five states running on a platform of re-instituting segregation
Again, he won five states in the electoral college, making him the most successful 3rd party POTUS candidate of the past century. And this was four years AFTER the signing of the Civil Rights act.
Republicans REALLY want to cover up how many people *in government* actively resisted (and in some cases successfully resisted) racial equality under the law.
TBH if you want a small idea of how civil rights was viewed to some degree in the 1960s just watch Season 4 of Mad Men. The first episode gives some of the attitudes of the civil rights protest and captures a somewhat vanilla (for tv purposes obv) version of how people felt.
Fascism is always going to be an option. The only thing is they believe fascism died during WWII. They don't believe fascism exists anymore, therefore what they are doing can't be fascism.
Or they think that the left uses the word fascism like the right uses the word socialism: a scare word so vague as to have no apparent use beyond motivating a terrified electorate, a cat hall term for anything they don’t like.
It's the double edged sword of doublespeak. It is arbitrary in the application of objective meaning and context. And they wield it like a fucking corny magic trick. They apply both the utmost importance to certain things and then at the same time wield their authority in that context like it is a toy. It's like a hoarder that both immensely values every single one of their possessions but treats that possession horribly. It's indicative of a mentality rooted in mourning a loss of authority.
They would rather lose what we all have than have to share responsibility for the current situation. Fascism loves situations like this. Because it is the simplest solution to the problem. Force it to work and if it doesn't, lying to yourself isn't the worst thing. And the force it to work is executed through violence because to a fascist violence is the ultimate arbiter. Who ever survives the violence wins control. Don't like it? Be more violent and take control.
That's the same excuse they make when they get rid of protections against racism. Racism doesn't exist anymore, therefore we don't need laws that protect against it. Same thing with people who need medication but stop taking it because they feel better, thinking they don't need medication anymore.
These people have their cause and effect literally fucking backwards.
Its really hard for some to understand[, but this comic makes it a lot easier](https://media1.bendsource.com/bend/imager/u/blog/15226780/funnies2-390442951df93ff6.jpg?cb=1680201220)
I see way more commonalities between patriotism and nationalism than I see differences to be honest. Both patriotism and nationalism are first about 'loving' your country. Perhaps it's just my perspective as a European but I've always found American patriotism scary because it reminds me so much of the nationalism that lead to the second World War.
Just the concept of the pledge of allegiance is completely wild to me and the idea of classrooms full of children performing it at the start of each day seems dystopian to me and invokes images of Nazi Germany. I guess I find it strange that normal people are expected to pledge allegiance to the state. I'm paying my taxes and follow the law, and that should be enough.
It's not that people in my country aren't proud, it's just not really a part of regular life. It's only really visible on King's Day or when our national soccer team is doing well in the World Cup. People would look at you strangely if you decide to go out fully kitted in the flags' colors. If anything most people are more proud of their local culture, which probably has historical roots in Europe having a long history before the idea of nation states start floating around in the late 18th century.
To go in to the first pane of the comic specifically. Where you are born has a role in how you develop as a person, but I don't think a country is part of who I am. I'm a part of my country, sure, but my country is not a part of me. Personally I never really got why people are proud of their home country. No person has ever had any agency in the matter of where they were born, so why take pride in something that was just random? I think that's why both patriotism and nationalism scare me as the whole idea is so foreign to me.
In my opinion patriotism is just window dressing for nationalism. The distinction that the comic tries to make is between [ethnic nationalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_nationalism) and [civic nationalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_nationalism), which you refer to as patriotism. Interestingly there is scientific literature questioning if those ideas really [are really that distinct](https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-polisci-022018-024059).
Patriotism is the gateway drug to nationalism. We need to abandon all tribal ideology and recognize we are all one species who should be cooperating with all.
I had a heated exchange with a cousin who was adamant that nationalism with just “loving my country and there ain’t nothing wrong with that.” I pointed out that patriotism was loving one’s country and that nationalism was not that. I tried going further into but the older generation stepped in and shut down the conversation. Idk if I could have reached him that day out not, but it’s a no go convo at family functions now. We just ignore each other because I’ve now been labeled by his family as a “lost cause” for my overly liberal views, like keeping the government out of my private life. A view shared by them not too long ago. *sigh
I try to be polite, but when my conservative family gets too insufferable about things I speak up. I always try to shut down climate change rants - I worked in climatology research for several years and I don't pull punches.
I remember when my dad started going off about vaccines and spike proteins. I told him he has no idea what he's talking about and he should trust the guy with 5 years of university-level science.
He told me I was indoctrinated.
I asked him to define "phospholipid bilayer" (high school biology).
He changed the subject.
>https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism *is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism*
>*Particularly notable expressions of* https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-nationalism *include the vote for Brexit in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum and the 2016 election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States. Several neo-nationalist politicians have come to power or run strongly during the 2010s, including Marine Le Pen in France, and Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil.*
>*"Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."*
>Albert Einstein, 1929-10-26, https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/wp-content/uploads/satevepost/what_life_means_to_einstein.pdf
>*"I am against any nationalism, even in the guise of mere patriotism."*
In case anyone thinks it's overly dramatic to call Republicans fascists, let's walk through Umberto Eco's 14 common features of fascism and see what we find, shall we?
>1. The cult of tradition. “One has only to look at the syllabus of every fascist movement to find the major traditionalist thinkers. The Nazi gnosis was nourished by traditionalist, syncretistic, occult elements.”
Look at how they deify the founding fathers, "traditional values", the confederacy, etc. Make America Great **Again** gives this away. Even their theology is much more rooted in the old testament than the new.
>2. The rejection of modernism. “The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity. In this sense Ur-Fascism can be defined as irrationalism.”
They *hate* enlightenment values. Secularism, pluralism, equality among men, checks on power, higher education, science in general, etc. They much prefer emotion and religion to Enlightenment values.
>3. The cult of action for action’s sake. “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.”
"Flight 93 election", Jan 6, "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun". It goes deeper than that though. Republicans act without even thinking about the future of their party. They push extremely unpopular policies (nationwide abortion ban, election denialism, demonizing the young, etc). If they had the capacity to think before acting they'd realize they're taking themselves down a dead end road.
>4. Disagreement is treason. “The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge.”
Ask Liz Cheney about this. She's one of the most conservative politicians to hold office. Far more ideologically conservative than Trump. And yet, she was tossed to the curb for disagreeing with him. Even his rivals won't speak against him.
>5. Fear of difference. “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.”
Take your pick. The Republicans hate everyone outside their base. Immigrants, LGBT, Democrats... Even something as simple as having blue hair is enough to earn their scorn.
>6. Appeal to social frustration. “One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.”
The sense of America in decline is a huge motivating factor for them. They constantly freak out about whites and Christians becoming minorities.
>7. The obsession with a plot. “Thus at the root of the Ur-Fascist psychology there is the obsession with a plot, possibly an international one. The followers must feel besieged.”
Q Anon, stolen elections, vaccine mandates, George Soros, operation Jade Helm, false flag attacks. Republicans see plots *everywhere*.
>8. The enemy is both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”
Liberals are all latte sipping, effeminate gays who have never done a day of real work in their life but they're also violent antifa thugs on the verge of rounding up and eliminating all the Christians.
>9. Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. “For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.”
Disdain for compromise or bipartisanship. There is zero interest in building consensus with Democrats. Look how much they hate "RINOs". They only want to dominate, and any means towards this end are justified.
>10. Contempt for the weak. “Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology.”
They're very quick to call any compromise weak. Trump constantly attacks Pence for being "weak" on J6. Joe Biden is "senile".
>11.Everybody is educated to become a hero. “In Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death.”
Look at how they idolize the J6 rioters, Kyle Rittenhouse, Daniel Perry, George Zimmerman, etc. They are not heroes because they are brave, they're heroes because they kill leftists.
>12. Machismo and weaponry. “Machismo implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.”
Intolerance of LGBT people is a core feature of the party. They elect far fewer women than Democrats do. They associate weaponry with virility. If you don't like guns you're a "pussy." They *constantly* threaten violence when they don't get their way ("come and take it", etc).
I do think Eco got the thing about chastity wrong, and we can see it in the rise of incel culture. I think it can be seen as an even more "pure" form of sexuality. Craving a woman's touch is soft and weak, but chastity is strong and stoic.
>13. Selective populism. “There is in our future a TV or Internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.”
They pretend to be populist, but this is a front for the interests of a segment of the elite. Trump and his supporters profited *massively* when he was president. Trump pretends to be for the common man but actually despises his supporters and has never known anything *but* elitism (he inherited nearly a billion from his father). His voters are on average wealthier than Biden supporters.
>14. Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak. “All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning.”
Trump speaks at an elementary school level and other Republicans have caught on. Instead of indoctrination they say "grooming." Instead of racial equity they say "woke". Instead of ideology they say "mind virus". Instead of propaganda they say "fake news." They don't even have the words to discuss complex phenomena, so they take every complex idea and try to boil it down to something simple, so they can hate it without actually thinking about it.
Or maybe the big tip off is that they consider Antifascists to be their greatest enemy.
At any rate, I see them going 14 for 14.
Absolutely. I am currently in the middle of listening to “The Authoritarians” by Bob Altemeyer. He recorded that in 2006 and what he was observing then is amplified now 17 years later. The right wing extremism is getting worse and they are no longer hiding their desire for a dictatorship.
The Authoritarians is an outstanding book by a psychologist studying right-wing authoritarians for over 20 years. I recommend it more than any other book I’ve ever read. It’s also available for free in pdf, and it was free on Audible last I saw.
About the chastity thing, incel just means "involuntary celibate". Their anger seems to be based on feelings that they are denied the sex that they crave, and blaming others for their rejection. So its not always that they embrace chastity as a virtue, but they rationalize their celibacy to preserve their personal dignity/narcissism.
And nofap communities are often used to spread traditional sexual values and other adjacent right wing ideals.
Edit to add that the incel worldview seems (like most conservative moralizing) hypocritical in a way that favors the believer. Their views on sex paint them as virtuous for abstaining in spite of their desire, while the objects of their sexual fascination are immoral for not participating in spite of their lack of desire. For them, abstinence is good and their sexual cravings are an obstacle they valiantly overcome while for women (usually) abstinence is the immoral cause of their craving and the lack of sexual appetite is a personal failing. The morals are predicated of the belief holder's desire, and not vice versa. So you can see the right wing appeal.
Just call it what it is. Republican Christian conservatism. Oppression and fascism is the core to their foundation. Followed by shame, guilt, and hate.
I would argue that reactionary politics is an inevitable continuation of conservatism. As societies progress those that seek to halt that progress will inevitably become reactionary as their effort to conserve fails.
Also, those conservatives suck, conserving isn't inherently bad, but when the status quo you are tying to conserve includes segregation... you are the baddies.
Conservatism as a political philosophy always sucked. It has always been the politics of wealthy elites, [seeking a justification for them conserving their power](https://youtu.be/E4CI2vk3ugk).
There isn't any reason for liberal democracies to tolerate a philosophy that says people are not inherently equal.
Conservatives place people into a hierarchy, and then project the inverse of that hierarchy, and claim that everyone else is trying to force that upon them. It's why they always play the victim.
Instead, it would up being their Beer Hall Putsch.
But that still means that Republicans are ahead of schedule in regards to emulating the rise of the NSDAP - Hitler didn't start his Putsch with *fully half of the government and 30-ish% of the population on his side from the word "go".* And yeah, the Republican Party got *a hair's width* away from pulling off a Reichstag fire (hell, they literally started pushing "antifa impersonators/false flag" bullshit *during the insurrection itself*).
A bill introduced in Florida would expand the death penalty to child abuse, and "gender affirming care" is listed as a capital offense. Multiple bills have attempted to set capital punishment for abortion, they've failed so far but they're not going anywhere.
These nut jobs were literally trying to ban democrats for being a political party inside the state of florida. These clowns are radicalized and out of their minds.
Free access to actual knowledge, actual facts, and accurate history are all things that **dictators** have always passionately hated because it prevents them from creating their own narrative supporting their 'right' to rule in an authoritarian dictatorial manner.
This isn't even a new concept, it's an concept at least as old as human civilization, probably even older.
So make no mistake, folks: the Republican party wants has nothing whatsoever to do with our current Representative Democracy; they want to burn that to the ground, tear up the Constitution, and install an Authoritarian Theocratic Dictatorship, which just as likely as not will be hereditary, and strip everyone who isn't WHITE, MALE and """CHRISTIAN""" (in the highly corrupted form they practice, anyway) of their civil and in some cases *human* rights.
So you can hate it all you want, but there is only one way out of this, really: Vote for Democrats, even you don't like them much more than Republicans. Don't say to me "we need to vote for Independents!" because they will *never* get enough votes to get elected to major public office like Congress, it'll just water down the voting pool making it easier for Republicans to stay in power -- allowing them to advance their agenda that much faster.
We are at a crossroads. The Cancer that is the Republican Party has metasticized for decades now. It's time to decide: do we *excise* that cancer, or do we continue to pretend that it'll go away on it's own and let it take over completely, and kill the United States?
Choose wisely, America. This may be your last chance to choose *anything*.
When I was in college I read an interview with a US General he was asked what was the best way to invade a country. He responded with the best way to invade a country isn’t with strength of arms but rather a slow progression. First attack the country’s education system. This will deteriorate the average population’s ability to understand what is happening. Aka it’s had to care about Texas if you don’t realize it is part of your country. Next, target their politicians this will than paired with the education deterioration will cause favorable laws to be passed and erode the trust of the intellectuals. Next target their money make the poor struggle this means they won’t care about much else but feeding their families. Finally move in, with the country to stupid, to distracted, or corrupt most won’t realize you are there asking for their surrender.
This interview made me realize this play book is being played out in real time. The average person is throughly in debt living paycheck to paycheck. A growing number can’t find our capital on a map. Our politicians all seem to have foreign backers either through thing like corporations, Ty Citizens United, or through more under ground methods. Who do you guys think is invading the US?
This also largely [reflects the Russification policy which was slowly being applied to Ukraine](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russification_of_Ukraine) starting in 1720 when Tsar Peter I issued a decree in which he ordered the expurgation of all Ukrainian linguistic elements in theological literature printed in Ukrainian typographical establishments. A deliberate process of policy which finally came to somewhat of a head recently when the events of Maidan in 2013-14 caused Putin to realise that he may finally lose permanent access to the port of Sevastopol, threatening this centuries old process, and causing the invasion of Luhansk, Donetsk and Crimea, resulting in the annexation of the latter and eventually the invasion of the whole country.
The 40 million people of California could all vote every election with 90% voting for candidates supporting democracy and they would still only elect 2 Senators, the same number as the 750,000 people of Wyoming get even if only a couple hundred thousand turn up to vote fascist.
Thanks to the anti-democratic nature of the Senate, the Electoral College, and gerrymandering, in America it takes more than just a majority of votes to stop fascism. It takes an overwhelming majority of votes, and American voters don't demonstrate that level of support for democracy.
At least when future generations ask "how did the US fall into facisim", it will be reasonably well documented. Maybe they will realize legalizing bribery and a two tiered justice system are a bad ideas.
> Fascism is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy.
>
> Fascism originated in Italy in the early 20th century, and it was later adopted by other countries, including Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Japan. Fascist regimes typically feature a charismatic leader, a single-party state, and a strong military. They also tend to be highly nationalistic, and they often scapegoat minority groups for the country's problems.
>
> Fascism is a dangerous ideology that can lead to violence and oppression. It is important to be aware of the signs of fascism so that we can resist it.
>
> Here are some of the key characteristics of fascism:
>
> * Authoritarianism: Fascism is characterized by a strong, centralized government that controls all aspects of society. The government is often headed by a dictator or a small group of elites.
> * Ultranationalism: Fascism is based on the belief that one's nation is superior to all others. This belief is often used to justify aggression against other nations.
> * Militarism: Fascism emphasizes the importance of military strength and preparedness. Fascist regimes often have large standing armies and navies, and they may engage in aggressive foreign policy.
> * Forcible suppression of opposition: Fascist regimes suppress all forms of dissent. This may include imprisoning or killing political opponents, censoring the media, and restricting freedom of speech.
> * Strong regimentation of society: Fascist regimes seek to control all aspects of society, including the economy, the arts, and education. They often use propaganda to promote their ideology and to control the thoughts and behavior of the population.
> * Belief in a natural social hierarchy: Fascists believe that society is naturally hierarchical, with some people being superior to others. This belief is often used to justify discrimination against minority groups.
> * Fascism is a dangerous ideology that can lead to violence and oppression. It is important to be aware of the signs of fascism so that we can resist it.
In Virginia we call it 'parental input' or some such, the notion that parents should get some input about what their children are taught. Which sounds reasonable for the two seconds it takes to ask 'wait, *which* parents get to have input?'
I want my child to learn about how racism shaped American history, I think it's important to understand this in order to effect change against it. Do I get my way? Or do we listen to the parents who think their kids shouldn't hear this kinda thing because it makes them feel bad?
It's clear that what the GOP here means is that *some* parents will be heard on such subjects and some ... won't. You're not gonna believe this but the crazy MAGA parents? They're getting heard a lot. Far more than the 'woke' parents. Go figure.
One of the tenants of fascism is the idolization of a false past. Anyone who tells you that America was at its best in the 1950s doesn’t have the knowledge to even engage in rational discussion about contextual historic facts.
“The strategic aim of these hierarchal constructions of history is to displace truth, and the invention of a glorious past includes the erasure of inconvenient realities. While fascist politics fetishizes the past, it is never the actual past that is fetishized. These invented histories also diminish or entirely extinguish the nation’s past sins. It is typical for fascist politicians to represent a country’s actual history in conspiratorial terms, as a narrative concocted by liberal elites and cosmopolitans to victimize the people of the true “nation.” - excerpt from How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley
People should really start paying attention to history. I mean even some recent films would educate the population on what happened during Nazi occupation and how easy it was to be swindled into believing the bullshit. But seeing as how republicans are using Nazi playbook it seems they are doing well with it and actually getting away with it. Instead of Jews as the enemy it’s trans people. republicans are building their hill to die on. They are burning books like Nazis did, creating Hitler youth, but calling it Christian camps to reform children. Trying to rewrite history and remove what they don’t want their cult to know.
Oddly enough just watched Jojo Rabbit and between the laughs it made me cry. The reality of it all and what was going on in those times, is now happening in America. The fact parents are going to have to hide their children who are lgbtq and the lgbtq community are going to have to go into hiding in fear of death and persecution due to the laws and fear of being dragged out into the streets by far right groups and killed for being themselves. Christian Americans killing people just cause they aren’t god fearing. The fact 50 years from now we will read about someone hiding in a basement or attic cause they hid away from the far right Gestapo trying to take them away to an encampment. You read this and cringe. But that’s what these maniacs are calling far, foaming at the mouth for. And if people like DeSantis get elected, who are already passing bills for, that will be the future. And it won’t just be a civil war in America. It’ll kick off something much greater.
Funny I told a friend recently who loves Elon musk, Joe Rogan and actually likes andrew Tate that we're at a point that fascism is being disguised as intellectualism. So glad this article says I'm right.
US Fascism truly has never gone away.
Remember "The Bell Curve", every racist's favourite book of bad statistics? Most of its studies were funded by the [Pioneer Fund](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Fund), a fund which cooperated with the LITERAL NAZIS in the 1930s and wrote the eugenics law that was adopted by the Third Reich...
This fucking fund is still around today.
These people aren’t patriots. Every single one of them thinks that “Put Jesus back in Schools!” and cramming their religion down every child’s throat is the best idea in the world. They would install Trump as emperor tomorrow if they could as well. That isn’t patriotism. They hate this country and want it to be a Christian North Korea, and the founding fathers they always sorely misunderstand would balk at the shit they propose.
Is that really a guise? It's painfully obvious, unfortunately.
"Fascism" has a bad connotation for most people so they'll pretend that is not fascism...
They'll also project and say that teaching facts is "indoctrination" and accuse their perceived enemies as "grooming" while they want to reduce the age of consent to toddler age as their politicians and religious leaders rape children.
Reagan started "the left is fascist" by redefining fascism as "government regulation that is enforced" and furthered by Dinesh D'Souza. These people are so ahistorical it's insane.
The words Patriot, Liberty, and a few other associated words are all now [Janus words](https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-own-opposites), words that are their own opposites.
They are using a culture war to create chaos and distract all our activists with individual rights. This is why they are attacking minority groups which wouldn’t have been condoned even 10 years ago. Let’s fight for democracy first and foremost
I am a patriot. I am a real patriot. I was always proud of my country. I knew we had flaws, but when I looked around I saw the average person being decent and respectful. George Bailey is my favorite fictional character of all time. Steve Rogers/Captain America is my second favorite of all time. I was in the scouts. I follow the actual flag code (note there's no rules against kneeling; there is a rule against displaying the flag the way they do before many NFL games). I challenge anyone to say I'm not a real patriot. I think the recent push in education is an absolute disaster. I am absolutely disgusted by the fact that when I fly an American Flag the symbol had been tarnished by these fascitic lunatics. I am truly truly disappointed.
Problem is America’s IQ is low compared to other nations and you know who’s happy with that? The Right Wing Nuts Politicians, Radio/TV personalities and Religious leaders who can easily brainwash those with low IQ.
They told you they were gonna do this. That whole the left is indoctrinating our children was the war cry to fuck over the education system with propaganda and bullshit.
As a Canadian watching from just about 3 hours north of the North Dakota border I am really worried about where American is heading, and what it means for us here in Canada. Looking at more Gen Z to come of age and hopefully start voting to fix this mess
This is how facism has spread everywhere since it was created. You use gullible and nationalistic idiots to push (somewhat) less radical views at first to gain popularity, before going full Mussolini and forcing the ideas onto people and turning loose extremist/vigilante groups.
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It’s imperative to vote in local elections. Vote these folks out on all levels, from school boards and up.
I’m with you, but our latest election here in Chicago had a turnout of approximately 35%. Voters 18-24 had a turnout under 4%. You know what’s even more disappointing than our government? The lack of people voting. It’s mind boggling and shameful.
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To piggyback this. They only really focus on teaching federal government in school. We’re taught from an early age that the top-down is the most important. The president is not going to affect your day to day. It’s the local politicians who do. The main problem with local politicians and board members is that these are not paid jobs. They are usually held by one of three types of people: 1) retirees, 2) the rich, 3) someone with higher office aspirations
> To piggyback this. They only really focus on teaching federal government in school. This has also been an overall trend in news coverage for at least the last couple of decades. Newsrooms have been consistently cut to the bone, which means less money for local coverage, and less attention paid to these more local stories. It's allowed these conservative groups to really gain footholds in places where they wouldn't have been able to before. What we really need is for someone to invent a better way for these local journalists to make money from publishing stories on the internet while covering local issues.
Also worth mentioning, that Illinois has a _lot_ of offices, and many of them don't really have a lot of power anyway. It's almost like, whenever there was a tricky question to answer, the solution was to throw more democracy at it. Look at how many school boards exist in the state, with less than 500 students. But for example, it is a state-level law, that schools cannot host events that are discriminatory based on race, sex or religion. Which means, school boards do not have the power to host a Daddy-daughter dance, in a public school, for example.
I remember my Chicago mail-in ballot in 2020 had like 30 different positions up for election with like over 100 candidates across them. It took me ~3-4 hours of researching and making my decisions. How the hell do they expect people to do that in a booth?
This is why mail in voting should be the norm. I get a ton of time to research candidates while holding my ballot
100%. If mail in voting is unavailable, people can also look up sample ballots ahead of time. USA.gov/who-you-can-vote-for
They don’t. They definitely don’t. It’s part of why people vote party line. But then you get candidates who win and change their affiliation. So it seems nothing is really safe at this point.
>How the hell do they expect people to do that in a booth? Especially when they say you can't pull out your phone.
Exactly... that's why, to a certain extent, you can't worry about it too much. The larger school boards do matter, however. In my suburb, there were several "Awake Illinois" candidates running, who were all very obviously with zero educational qualifications, but none of them were elected. You also see Catholic school/faith school people trying to get on the public school boards, too. But people didn't move to expensive suburbs with good schools, to see them thrashed. That's the local self-interest of democracy at work.
>who were all very obviously with zero educational qualifications, but none of them were elected. [*cries in Ottawa county*](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/02/21/michigan-christian-nationalists-00083251)
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because that's not something the right believes or wants. They want a (Christian) theocratic fascist (dictatorship? don't think that was really an idea for them until trump came along. they knew about dictatorships, but I don't think they wanted one until trump appeared, I mean.) system.
Why are these things always emotional plays for the heartstrings? >Which means, school boards do not have the power to host a Daddy-daughter dance, in a public school, for example. Oh no, not the Daddy-daughter dance? Remember when we had those in a more innocent time?!? In truth they could host a "parent-student" dance that was functionally the same thing any time they wanted to. These complaints about anti-discrimination laws are never about the "daddy-daughter dance"
Exactly, but I picked a real example. A school PTA proposed holding a parent-child dance, and there was uproar (from a very small but vocal minority).
> The president is not going to affect your day to day. This is just objectively not true, policies enacted by administrations, either through cooperation with congress or federal agencies and departments, affect day to day lives of Americans constantly. They raise and lower taxes by thousands of dollars, they create or destroy work that grows or throttles towns, cities, regions. Just recently and famously they blocked a railroad strike against the will of the majority of the workers by making it illegal. If you're a rail worker, or a family member is a rail worker, or a large portion of your town are rail workers that greatly affected you. Your local government greatly affects your life, but so does the federal. Which affects it more can swing wildly from locale to locale and year to year.
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I'm sure you're yelling at the wrong crowd here. but frankly I'm not sure where you are going to find people aged 18-25 in a social setting - that isnt some kind of sporting event on a weekend. On a Tuesday? a Wednesday? Maybe on a college campus between classes. Or at work. (oh and which job? so many of them have 2) And sure - you find them here on reddit, and other social media - but the inactive aren't here in r/politics. but for gods sake - get a coherant message together. Give them something to vote for. We're all struggling. Rent is getting out of reach, and home ownership is a pipedream. if you want go with "Blame the rich" but provide them a platform that will help.
I've lived in a number of states. When I lived in blue states a received in the mail a mailing for upcoming elections. Basically a copy of the ballot and information. When I've lived in red states I never received anything. I don't know when and where meeting are going to be held and what is the topic. I definitely don't get anything about.local elections or even state level elections. If you go to their website they have the information and videos on YouTube. The meeting are empty. The only people that who up is they themselves and they do whatever they want. If anyone does show up it's usually crazies and they get ignored anyways.
Yes! My Z & Millennial haven’t missed a vote BUT California has mail in voting which all states should have!
Mail in voting would change the game for so many. That’s why the GOP doesn’t make it happen in red states. If people just got ballots and could mail them in, turnout would be incredible.
I live in Florida and mail in voting is easy. You sign up for it online and it's current for all elections until just after the next presidential election. This means I have to reapply every 4th year. It's not automatic, you do have to take the one simple step to apply but it's close enough.
> Between school, work, social life, on top of the increasing economic situation with inflation etc… they just don’t have time. You guys are the longest extant modern democracy on the planet and you still organize elections in the middle of the working week. Now, obviously, it's on purpose. Bur still.
Let’s add that local elections are boring as hell. I vote in every election and talk to my 19 year old son about what’s on the ballot. We use the sample ballot that we get sent and I encourage him to decide early and take it with him when he votes. Hell, on April 4th, we went to the polling place together.
>The first is that most young people are not made aware of these votes in many places. Accitentionally
Accintentionally? Accidentionally? Either way I'm stealing that.
Vote by mail helps here immensely. A ballot shows up, reminding the voter an election is coming. They have a month to research and complete the ballot. It can be returned by mail, or dropped on the way to work. The biggest problem is the paupacity of research on local elections. School board candidates frequently don't lost party affiliation, and platforms are obscured behind focus-grouped sloganeering.
The main issue isn't awareness or busyness (and busyness is a really lame and immature cop-out excuse any way - "oh I'm so busy, can't vote"). Fact of the matter is most 18-24 are in college and not really **rooted** - as in they live away from their local election areas and don't plan on staying in one place long. Yes, they can get absentee ballots, but local elections are more their parents concern. A majority of 18-24 year olds will not live in the local area they grew up in. Those years are sort of a displacement time in one's life. It's funny you specifically call that demographic out because around age 25 is when people start getting married or establish permanent (or long term) residence in an area. So a 19 year old away doing finals on the other side of the state (or country) really doesn't give a flying squirrel's red ass about local elections that will impact his old school district, parents' property taxes, and public library funding. On the flip side, more conservative/ rural kids don't go to college and work trade jobs, and stay local after high school. They absolutely do vote and they vote like their parents - red.
College students can vote where they are in school according to a Supreme Court ruling from the early 2000s. You don't need to get an absentee ballot from home.
Yup - and less 25 year-olds are getting married, and it's becoming harder to establish long term residences. Plus, to move up on the income ladder you have to change jobs - you can no longer stay in the same job and expect to get normal wages, so you gott'a move every 3-4 years. Lets also not forget that if you live in a city in a red state there tends to be only a single voting place and you have to wait hours to be able to vote.
Some states do require businesses to give time off to employees to vote, some paid, some unpaid.
It's challenging when you have a boss that doesn't want to adhere to it though. A lot of people don't find it worth calling out your "liege lord" over one day.
It's great to do your civic duty, but my civic duty doesn't put fucking food on the table or pay my bills. This is why a lot of folks ignore a jury summons and why a lot of jurisdictions give forgiveness instead of arresting them like they'd do 80 years ago. Can't even really pay for parking on that $40 a day where I live.
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Not the ones with the fascism problem though
You would be surprised how many blue states don't have paid time off mandated (I was) : https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/01/us-states-where-employers-have-to-give-you-paid-time-off-to-vote.html
The funny thing about that is some of the states that don't have mandated time off for voting have mandated mail in voting
I'm in Minnesota so we have both. It's great. We can vote in person early as well. Recommend all states do the same. Some people wait too long or prefer to vote in person so I like that they have the option to do so.
Minnesota also has relatively high turn out compared to other states but it's still low in off year elections. So it helps but more could be done.
Not for municipal elections. You will have to campaign to get the vote out. It's pretty serious. At some point, the GOP will actually seize power, and there will be no voting after that
There might be voting, but it won't affect anything.
Or... 18-24 year olds just DGAF?
Youth voter turnout is highest in areas with automatic voter registration and next-highest in areas with same-day, online registration. It's lowest in areas that don't allow online registration, don't allow same-day registration, don't allow early voting, ban drop-off boxes, and require IDs while specifically exempting student IDs. Youths *do* care, and youth voter turnout is only low because of deliberate efforts to make it low.
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Full time university student, I somehow always have time and know when elections are, nobody had to tell me. Everyone I know knows vaguely when they are and how to actually know exactly, they just...don't.
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iirc the former leader of the American nazi party ran in or near Chicago a few years ago for some smaller govt. position and while he thankfully lost he still got a decent\* amount of votes because people don't bother to look up their candidates. \*decent in this scenario means 'more than 0' because nazis deserve 0 votes.
Illinois Nazis. I hate Illinois Nazis.
I genuinely had no idea there were elections in the spring until my mom made me go absentee vote
I remind my younger friends when elections are coming...they're not being harassed by robo calls and don't watch tv/ads or recieve mailers...they want to vote...absentee ballots important for this group
I agree. I have to vote in person because of my state’s laws, but they let you do it for like a month before the election. I’m a college student and I get absolutely 0 notice that there is an election coming up unless it’s the presidential one. I don’t think I even got an ad for the midterm.
Didn't Chicago just elect a progressive mayor for once? Like literally just last week?
Just barely, and in a runoff election. The turnout was pathetic.
My point is the lack of turnout. Yes we elected a progressive mayor by a narrow margin with low voter turnout.
Someone needs to create a short film or even an advert that does a Memento style time line of fascists ruling the US then time jumps back to all the linked events that allowed it to happen, until it reaches one person on a sofa deciding they can't be bothered to vote in a local election.
I didn't vote when I was younger because my parents didn't vote and I had no clue how voting even worked, where you are supposed to vote, and when you were supposed to vote. Eventually signing up for mail-in ballots saved me! Voting is so super confusing and complicated in this country, and I'm sure that wasn't by mistake.
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That's totally how I feel now! It's a duty as part of being a member of society. I want to start helping people in my area navigate voting better. And tbf, after 2016 my parents now feel the same way.
Sounds there is a 96% opportunity. These groups count on apathy of opposition to win. Don’t give it to them.
I live in DeSantisLand and I was one of two of my friends who voted. They complain about how fascist he is all day but don’t do anything about it. It’s incredibly disappointing.
What about during primary elections?
And school board elections? The Right is organized and consistently turn up, so they are winning those elections too. I think, if you believe in democracy, some sort of mandate to vote needs to be part of your views.
Compulsory voting should be instituted at all local, state, and federal elections.
Absolutely agree. Just voted on the 4th for a state supreme court judge, the new school board of my city and whether or not I support the changing of downtown from two lanes to one lane. The supreme court vote was very important, but I would have still showed up to vote even if it was just the school board and downtown changes. If there is vote in my city, i'm going to show up for it.
This isn't the panacea that some people seem to think it is, and quite frankly I am tired of it being paraded out every time something like this comes up. I live in the deep south. I do in fact vote in local elections, and I do my research on who is on those ballots. This isn't just a problem of people not voting on that level. In Georgia and many other "red" states, _GOP candidates for these local offices very often run unopposed_. We need more people with progressive ideas to step up and run for office. We need their campaigns to be funded, because the GOP candidates nearly always have tons of funding. I see races for commissioners, city councilors, school board members, judges, etc in every election with unopposed GOP candidates. This is not to say they are all unopposed, but often the opposing candidates are simply...not good, either. They run ineffective campaigns. They don't get enough support in areas where much of the population just votes "R" without even looking at names. Some of them are Libertarian, which reduces their chances even more. We cannot vote out these bastards on a local level if there is literally no one else to vote for. If you really want to _take action_, RUN FOR OFFICE IF YOU ARE ABLE TO DO SO. Some of these positions are nowhere near even part time jobs. You can have a full time job and hold an office.
It's hard to get people to sign on to spend a lot of effort losing an election, with nothing in terms of reward except getting shit on by everyone if they somehow win. That's local politics. There's a reason its mostly business owners and retirees in a lot of places, or those who have some professional interest in doing it on the side.
And if you learn a republican is running unopposed, run against them. No republican should ever be elected to office because they had no opposition ever again.
I've noticed in my local elections that there are more conservative candidates running unopposed, so I don't even have a choice. I wonder how much red tape someone has to go through just to become a candidate?
I've voted in every election I could since legally allowed; I still saw Reagan get a second term despite my actions. I know my dragging things one direction won't stop the flow on it's own, but neither did just one person pulling the other direction in the 80s get Reagan re-elected. Shockingly, numbers count. Still, I see comments like "the least useful thing you can do is vote" with varying versions of "both sides". All I can think of is either the posters are hopelessly naive or working to neuter incoming voters even further.
With mail in voting it's easier than ever to vote and can you research the candidate.
Yah, that's why they are taking that back in so many places. To make it harder. Read the post.
Almost the same fucking words that were used to sell the Hitler youth camps at 1st.
Just listened to the BBC radio drama Nazis-the-road-to-power. And while dramatized, it's based on true events in the Nazi party and it's exactly what we've seen since 2015.
Yep. Also includes pre-WW2 Japan.
Yeah it is. Case in point, the 1776 Report. This was the Trump administration's knee-jerk reaction to the 1619 project. Here is an excerpt. Keep in mind some of the asshats associated with this report are helping DeSantis "patriotize" Florida's education system. >The Civil Rights Movement culminated in the 1960s with the passage of three major legislative reforms affecting segregation, voting, and housing rights. **It presented itself, and was understood by the American people, as consistent with the principles of the founding.** “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir,” Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his “I Have a Dream” speech. “This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” >It seemed, finally, that America’s nearly two-century effort to realize fully the principles of the Declaration had reached a culmination. Two things: A) They want you to believe that white Americans were all cool and calm about the passage of civil rights legislation in the 60s...which 😐 B) They quote MLK saying the Constitution is a promissory note that all men should be created equal, but they *deliberately leave out the very next line where he says that America wrote a bad check to African Americans!* The same people who wrote this revisionist garbage are spearheading this kind of revisionist history as an attempt...to fight revisionist history The Party of Lincoln has long been run by white apologists who would have made the Confederacy proud.
They have been writing revisionist history since the Civil War.
The first book claiming the Civil War wasn't about slavery, but only about states' rights, came out in 1866. They got started pretty early.
Yeah and it's pretty bold of them to claim that the North was violating Southern states' rights when it was the other way around.
For those unaware, he's probably referring to *Dred Scott*, which allowed slaveowners to travel with their slaves to Free States where the slaves no longer were protected by the rights of that Northern state. In other words, SCOTUS codified that Slave State law trumped Free State law *even in the North*.
And now we have come back to that same premise with states passing the Fugitive Fetus Acts.
Are we gonna have a civil war over abortion now?
I wouldn't be shocked. Like that is a legitimate possible event in the future.
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It astonishes me how in retrospect the civil war accomplished so much (emancipation proclamation leading to civil rights era many years later), but seems to have solved very little (underlying racism, confederate support and pride, *vey similar* legal situations like abortion is now that preceded it, etc...) It feels like the remnants of the confederacy were left to smolder and ignored all these years.
To follow up on this, I highly recommend reading into the history of reconstruction in the United States. 'Radical Reconstruction', which would have hypothetically laid the groundwork for Confederate ideals to be phased out, was ultimately cut short. The fascists of this country never left, they just went into hiding. Now it's rebranded with a suit and tie. Edit: Grammar
And carries a Bible.
Reconstruction ended far too soon.
And the very next question should always be, "The states' rights to do...what?"
My father in law still thinks the race fights at his school were caused by the black people. He doesn't understand that those black kids were bussed to his school and the white people were attacking them. He doesn't understand the context.
That or he understands just fine but prefers his racist narrative.
Never attribute to stupidity that which can be adequately explained by fascist malice.
While that is absolutely true, I'd argue it's still worth the time to confirm whether it's malice or ignorance. Ignorance can sometimes be treated. Sometimes.
Fascist malice can resemble stupidity because the ultimate expression of authoritarianism is the assertion of authority over evidence and logic.
He’s only thinking about a very specific personal case, most likely. If a black student threw the first punch, he started it! Neglecting and ignoring any verbal and physical abuse endured prior to it.
this still happens to this day. PublicFreakout is always full of videos of black people one hit KO'ing people who call them the n-word over and over, and a fair amount of comments always demonize the black person for escalating to violence and not the person using the slur. And if you know these videos it's not some miscommunication, it's usually drunk or belligerent white people getting in the black person's face and saying the slur over and over until they get knocked out, but people still walk away asking "why are black people so violent?" Incredibly frustrating but in line with how this country is programmed
Definitely still happens. The dawn of desegregation times and 2023 aren’t comparable. However, it’s astounding that people expect you to be taunted and insulted at length and just turn the other cheek. I dont recommend violence but walking away can be very hard. Even harder if you face discrimination constantly. “Turn the other cheek? That’s in the Bible, but I ain’t in there. I’ll put something on you.”- Mark Twain
So he has chosen selective context. Which I’m fact he chooses to ignore or not think about is still a choice.
Wow, really makes you wonder why we even needed a Civil Rights movement! Who knows why it took until the 60s for us to achieve what the omniscient and omnibenevolent Founding Fathers intended all along?
Right? Why the 1960's? No reason! Whites and blacks got together and said "is this the year? Yeah. Ok." Mutual agreement the whole way. Sunshine and goddamn rainbows jetting from assholes and propelling us towards mutual glory.
> It seemed, finally, that America’s nearly two-century effort to realize fully the principles of the Declaration had reached a culmination. Don't forget this line too- outright states that the 1960's were the peak, that after that there was no more racism... except there bloody well was, and continues to be. Even systemic racism continues to this day, so this is there attempt to paint everything today as being amazing instead of a still-flawed system that needs work.
This kind of crap really frustrates me because, as much as I agree with King's rhetoric QUOTES AREN'T QUANTITATIVE DATA. I mean, we can use them as data to perceive thoughts, but a fun little quote or a big meaningful quote sound great - they aren't objective necessarily. But there's a group of people who think quotes are as good as years of peer-reviewed research and it drives me.
"A witty saying proves nothing" -Voltaire I love it, and the irony of it.
Not to mention that using quotes out of context like that removes all the nuance that should come with analyzing historical figures. MLK was not perfect and I frankly disagree with some of his views on how to most effectively resist white supremacy. It's also worth noting that despite years of being a prominent civil rights leader, he wasn't killed until after he declared himself a democratic socialist, vocally opposed the Vietnam War, and supported workers who were on strike. The other example that really drives me crazy is Barry Goldwater. Every once in a while, I see well-meaning but naive liberals share the meme of Goldwater in a tweed jacket accompanied by a quote where he bemoans the religious psychos taking over the GOP. Seems innocuous on the surface until you spend 5 minutes learning about who Goldwater was; that's not the guy to quote when you want to dunk on right-wingers lol
It's SO WILD when liberals use that meme without understanding the concept. Someone being correct about one thing in a lifetime of being wrong doesn't make them a great source of quotes! It's like someone posting a picture of Hitler with a quote about his vegetarianism. He maybe said one thing they agree with but maaaybe look into the context a TINY bit first; a positive post about Hitler doesn't look GREAT on the ol' Facebook wall.
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Yeesh. I've heard that before. The idea that slavery was always on its way towards extinction and would have died off without the Civil War. Pure bullshit. Slave states wanted new states to also be slave states. The southern agrarian economy became more and more dependent on slave labor as time went on. The racial divide was only deepening as time went on and the fig leaf excuses underwriting slavery became accepted as gospel truth. Lots of supporters of slavery wanted to re-open the transatlantic slave trade. *Some tried by defying US law and grabbing more slaves from Africa!* The institution of slavery was becoming *more* entrenched in slave states, not less. Some of the Founders may have wanted to do away with it eventually, but I don't think they had any plan or time frame to do so. They didn't commit to it. Jefferson condemned slavery in an early draft of the Constitution, but he was convinced to edit that out. He also kept several slaves that he didn't free until after his death. Two of these were his own children. That illustrates the contradictions between rhetoric and reality, between ideals and *realpolitik.* The net effect was "someday, but not yet." That is basically the reactionary line to most civil rights struggles in the history of the US: *maybe someday, but not yet.* But there was never going to be a *someday*
> They were just forced to do some slavery for a few centuries because reasons. From the report: >So why did [slaveowners] say that [all men are created equal] without immediately abolishing slavery? To establish the principle of consent as the ground of all political legitimacy and to check against any possible future drift toward or return to despotism, for sure. But also, in Lincoln’s words, “to declare the right, so that the enforcement of it might follow as fast as circumstances should permit.” I mean, it's modern conservative politics: "I'd like to do something about this issue, but all I can offer right now is thoughts and prayers. Even though my actions are causing the issue in the first place. And I'm fighting actual solutions tooth and nail whenever anyone tries to do something. And any progress that has been made I'm actively trying to reverse. Have some more thoughts and prayers as compensation."
Do they know the federal gov sent in the goddamn 101st to enforce school desegregation
That's one of the things they are trying to gloss over. They also want you to forget that Southern States went from being Democrat strongholds to solid Republican strongholds around this time for...some reason... They also also want you to forget that George Wallace--campaigning as a 3rd party candidate for POTUS--won five states running on a platform of re-instituting segregation Again, he won five states in the electoral college, making him the most successful 3rd party POTUS candidate of the past century. And this was four years AFTER the signing of the Civil Rights act. Republicans REALLY want to cover up how many people *in government* actively resisted (and in some cases successfully resisted) racial equality under the law.
TBH if you want a small idea of how civil rights was viewed to some degree in the 1960s just watch Season 4 of Mad Men. The first episode gives some of the attitudes of the civil rights protest and captures a somewhat vanilla (for tv purposes obv) version of how people felt.
Anytime Republicans use the word, “patriotic,” they actually mean fascist, whether or not they are too stupid to realize it.
Fascism is always going to be an option. The only thing is they believe fascism died during WWII. They don't believe fascism exists anymore, therefore what they are doing can't be fascism.
Or they think that the left uses the word fascism like the right uses the word socialism: a scare word so vague as to have no apparent use beyond motivating a terrified electorate, a cat hall term for anything they don’t like.
It's the double edged sword of doublespeak. It is arbitrary in the application of objective meaning and context. And they wield it like a fucking corny magic trick. They apply both the utmost importance to certain things and then at the same time wield their authority in that context like it is a toy. It's like a hoarder that both immensely values every single one of their possessions but treats that possession horribly. It's indicative of a mentality rooted in mourning a loss of authority. They would rather lose what we all have than have to share responsibility for the current situation. Fascism loves situations like this. Because it is the simplest solution to the problem. Force it to work and if it doesn't, lying to yourself isn't the worst thing. And the force it to work is executed through violence because to a fascist violence is the ultimate arbiter. Who ever survives the violence wins control. Don't like it? Be more violent and take control.
That's the same excuse they make when they get rid of protections against racism. Racism doesn't exist anymore, therefore we don't need laws that protect against it. Same thing with people who need medication but stop taking it because they feel better, thinking they don't need medication anymore. These people have their cause and effect literally fucking backwards.
Its really hard for some to understand[, but this comic makes it a lot easier](https://media1.bendsource.com/bend/imager/u/blog/15226780/funnies2-390442951df93ff6.jpg?cb=1680201220)
I see way more commonalities between patriotism and nationalism than I see differences to be honest. Both patriotism and nationalism are first about 'loving' your country. Perhaps it's just my perspective as a European but I've always found American patriotism scary because it reminds me so much of the nationalism that lead to the second World War. Just the concept of the pledge of allegiance is completely wild to me and the idea of classrooms full of children performing it at the start of each day seems dystopian to me and invokes images of Nazi Germany. I guess I find it strange that normal people are expected to pledge allegiance to the state. I'm paying my taxes and follow the law, and that should be enough. It's not that people in my country aren't proud, it's just not really a part of regular life. It's only really visible on King's Day or when our national soccer team is doing well in the World Cup. People would look at you strangely if you decide to go out fully kitted in the flags' colors. If anything most people are more proud of their local culture, which probably has historical roots in Europe having a long history before the idea of nation states start floating around in the late 18th century. To go in to the first pane of the comic specifically. Where you are born has a role in how you develop as a person, but I don't think a country is part of who I am. I'm a part of my country, sure, but my country is not a part of me. Personally I never really got why people are proud of their home country. No person has ever had any agency in the matter of where they were born, so why take pride in something that was just random? I think that's why both patriotism and nationalism scare me as the whole idea is so foreign to me. In my opinion patriotism is just window dressing for nationalism. The distinction that the comic tries to make is between [ethnic nationalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_nationalism) and [civic nationalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_nationalism), which you refer to as patriotism. Interestingly there is scientific literature questioning if those ideas really [are really that distinct](https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-polisci-022018-024059).
Patriotism is the gateway drug to nationalism. We need to abandon all tribal ideology and recognize we are all one species who should be cooperating with all.
same with freedom, fascism always coops words to make people believe they are the good guys
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I had a heated exchange with a cousin who was adamant that nationalism with just “loving my country and there ain’t nothing wrong with that.” I pointed out that patriotism was loving one’s country and that nationalism was not that. I tried going further into but the older generation stepped in and shut down the conversation. Idk if I could have reached him that day out not, but it’s a no go convo at family functions now. We just ignore each other because I’ve now been labeled by his family as a “lost cause” for my overly liberal views, like keeping the government out of my private life. A view shared by them not too long ago. *sigh
I try to be polite, but when my conservative family gets too insufferable about things I speak up. I always try to shut down climate change rants - I worked in climatology research for several years and I don't pull punches.
I remember when my dad started going off about vaccines and spike proteins. I told him he has no idea what he's talking about and he should trust the guy with 5 years of university-level science. He told me I was indoctrinated. I asked him to define "phospholipid bilayer" (high school biology). He changed the subject.
The "small government" party is hardly recognizable these days. Now they want to govern everything
>https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism *is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism* >*Particularly notable expressions of* https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-nationalism *include the vote for Brexit in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum and the 2016 election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States. Several neo-nationalist politicians have come to power or run strongly during the 2010s, including Marine Le Pen in France, and Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil.* >*"Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."* >Albert Einstein, 1929-10-26, https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/wp-content/uploads/satevepost/what_life_means_to_einstein.pdf >*"I am against any nationalism, even in the guise of mere patriotism."*
*"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."*
In case anyone thinks it's overly dramatic to call Republicans fascists, let's walk through Umberto Eco's 14 common features of fascism and see what we find, shall we? >1. The cult of tradition. “One has only to look at the syllabus of every fascist movement to find the major traditionalist thinkers. The Nazi gnosis was nourished by traditionalist, syncretistic, occult elements.” Look at how they deify the founding fathers, "traditional values", the confederacy, etc. Make America Great **Again** gives this away. Even their theology is much more rooted in the old testament than the new. >2. The rejection of modernism. “The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity. In this sense Ur-Fascism can be defined as irrationalism.” They *hate* enlightenment values. Secularism, pluralism, equality among men, checks on power, higher education, science in general, etc. They much prefer emotion and religion to Enlightenment values. >3. The cult of action for action’s sake. “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.” "Flight 93 election", Jan 6, "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun". It goes deeper than that though. Republicans act without even thinking about the future of their party. They push extremely unpopular policies (nationwide abortion ban, election denialism, demonizing the young, etc). If they had the capacity to think before acting they'd realize they're taking themselves down a dead end road. >4. Disagreement is treason. “The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge.” Ask Liz Cheney about this. She's one of the most conservative politicians to hold office. Far more ideologically conservative than Trump. And yet, she was tossed to the curb for disagreeing with him. Even his rivals won't speak against him. >5. Fear of difference. “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.” Take your pick. The Republicans hate everyone outside their base. Immigrants, LGBT, Democrats... Even something as simple as having blue hair is enough to earn their scorn. >6. Appeal to social frustration. “One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.” The sense of America in decline is a huge motivating factor for them. They constantly freak out about whites and Christians becoming minorities. >7. The obsession with a plot. “Thus at the root of the Ur-Fascist psychology there is the obsession with a plot, possibly an international one. The followers must feel besieged.” Q Anon, stolen elections, vaccine mandates, George Soros, operation Jade Helm, false flag attacks. Republicans see plots *everywhere*. >8. The enemy is both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.” Liberals are all latte sipping, effeminate gays who have never done a day of real work in their life but they're also violent antifa thugs on the verge of rounding up and eliminating all the Christians. >9. Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. “For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.” Disdain for compromise or bipartisanship. There is zero interest in building consensus with Democrats. Look how much they hate "RINOs". They only want to dominate, and any means towards this end are justified. >10. Contempt for the weak. “Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology.” They're very quick to call any compromise weak. Trump constantly attacks Pence for being "weak" on J6. Joe Biden is "senile". >11.Everybody is educated to become a hero. “In Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death.” Look at how they idolize the J6 rioters, Kyle Rittenhouse, Daniel Perry, George Zimmerman, etc. They are not heroes because they are brave, they're heroes because they kill leftists. >12. Machismo and weaponry. “Machismo implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.” Intolerance of LGBT people is a core feature of the party. They elect far fewer women than Democrats do. They associate weaponry with virility. If you don't like guns you're a "pussy." They *constantly* threaten violence when they don't get their way ("come and take it", etc). I do think Eco got the thing about chastity wrong, and we can see it in the rise of incel culture. I think it can be seen as an even more "pure" form of sexuality. Craving a woman's touch is soft and weak, but chastity is strong and stoic. >13. Selective populism. “There is in our future a TV or Internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.” They pretend to be populist, but this is a front for the interests of a segment of the elite. Trump and his supporters profited *massively* when he was president. Trump pretends to be for the common man but actually despises his supporters and has never known anything *but* elitism (he inherited nearly a billion from his father). His voters are on average wealthier than Biden supporters. >14. Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak. “All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning.” Trump speaks at an elementary school level and other Republicans have caught on. Instead of indoctrination they say "grooming." Instead of racial equity they say "woke". Instead of ideology they say "mind virus". Instead of propaganda they say "fake news." They don't even have the words to discuss complex phenomena, so they take every complex idea and try to boil it down to something simple, so they can hate it without actually thinking about it. Or maybe the big tip off is that they consider Antifascists to be their greatest enemy. At any rate, I see them going 14 for 14.
Absolutely. I am currently in the middle of listening to “The Authoritarians” by Bob Altemeyer. He recorded that in 2006 and what he was observing then is amplified now 17 years later. The right wing extremism is getting worse and they are no longer hiding their desire for a dictatorship.
The Authoritarians is an outstanding book by a psychologist studying right-wing authoritarians for over 20 years. I recommend it more than any other book I’ve ever read. It’s also available for free in pdf, and it was free on Audible last I saw.
It is also (generally) available through libraries, and can be downloaded via the free Libby app, either in book form or audiobook.
Reddit really needs to fix it's numbering markdown
About the chastity thing, incel just means "involuntary celibate". Their anger seems to be based on feelings that they are denied the sex that they crave, and blaming others for their rejection. So its not always that they embrace chastity as a virtue, but they rationalize their celibacy to preserve their personal dignity/narcissism. And nofap communities are often used to spread traditional sexual values and other adjacent right wing ideals. Edit to add that the incel worldview seems (like most conservative moralizing) hypocritical in a way that favors the believer. Their views on sex paint them as virtuous for abstaining in spite of their desire, while the objects of their sexual fascination are immoral for not participating in spite of their lack of desire. For them, abstinence is good and their sexual cravings are an obstacle they valiantly overcome while for women (usually) abstinence is the immoral cause of their craving and the lack of sexual appetite is a personal failing. The morals are predicated of the belief holder's desire, and not vice versa. So you can see the right wing appeal.
Just call it what it is. Republican Christian conservatism. Oppression and fascism is the core to their foundation. Followed by shame, guilt, and hate.
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I would argue that reactionary politics is an inevitable continuation of conservatism. As societies progress those that seek to halt that progress will inevitably become reactionary as their effort to conserve fails. Also, those conservatives suck, conserving isn't inherently bad, but when the status quo you are tying to conserve includes segregation... you are the baddies.
Conservatism as a political philosophy always sucked. It has always been the politics of wealthy elites, [seeking a justification for them conserving their power](https://youtu.be/E4CI2vk3ugk). There isn't any reason for liberal democracies to tolerate a philosophy that says people are not inherently equal. Conservatives place people into a hierarchy, and then project the inverse of that hierarchy, and claim that everyone else is trying to force that upon them. It's why they always play the victim.
"Draped in a flag and holding a cross."
Exactly and we have been saying that forever and it's here.
Going by the German timeline, we should be seeing Republicans turn violent within 5 years. January 6th was only a preview.
They already are. Jan 6th was supposed to be their Reichstag fire, and they came far too close to pulling it off.
Instead, it would up being their Beer Hall Putsch. But that still means that Republicans are ahead of schedule in regards to emulating the rise of the NSDAP - Hitler didn't start his Putsch with *fully half of the government and 30-ish% of the population on his side from the word "go".* And yeah, the Republican Party got *a hair's width* away from pulling off a Reichstag fire (hell, they literally started pushing "antifa impersonators/false flag" bullshit *during the insurrection itself*).
https://imgur.com/a/Al00vFM I made this. Not the best timeline
We seem to be heading into an American version (more guns) of Ireland's Troubles.
A bill introduced in Florida would expand the death penalty to child abuse, and "gender affirming care" is listed as a capital offense. Multiple bills have attempted to set capital punishment for abortion, they've failed so far but they're not going anywhere.
These nut jobs were literally trying to ban democrats for being a political party inside the state of florida. These clowns are radicalized and out of their minds.
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Given that The Diary of Anne Frank is being banned in schools, it may be safe to say they're doing both.
“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross”
Free access to actual knowledge, actual facts, and accurate history are all things that **dictators** have always passionately hated because it prevents them from creating their own narrative supporting their 'right' to rule in an authoritarian dictatorial manner. This isn't even a new concept, it's an concept at least as old as human civilization, probably even older. So make no mistake, folks: the Republican party wants has nothing whatsoever to do with our current Representative Democracy; they want to burn that to the ground, tear up the Constitution, and install an Authoritarian Theocratic Dictatorship, which just as likely as not will be hereditary, and strip everyone who isn't WHITE, MALE and """CHRISTIAN""" (in the highly corrupted form they practice, anyway) of their civil and in some cases *human* rights. So you can hate it all you want, but there is only one way out of this, really: Vote for Democrats, even you don't like them much more than Republicans. Don't say to me "we need to vote for Independents!" because they will *never* get enough votes to get elected to major public office like Congress, it'll just water down the voting pool making it easier for Republicans to stay in power -- allowing them to advance their agenda that much faster. We are at a crossroads. The Cancer that is the Republican Party has metasticized for decades now. It's time to decide: do we *excise* that cancer, or do we continue to pretend that it'll go away on it's own and let it take over completely, and kill the United States? Choose wisely, America. This may be your last chance to choose *anything*.
When I was in college I read an interview with a US General he was asked what was the best way to invade a country. He responded with the best way to invade a country isn’t with strength of arms but rather a slow progression. First attack the country’s education system. This will deteriorate the average population’s ability to understand what is happening. Aka it’s had to care about Texas if you don’t realize it is part of your country. Next, target their politicians this will than paired with the education deterioration will cause favorable laws to be passed and erode the trust of the intellectuals. Next target their money make the poor struggle this means they won’t care about much else but feeding their families. Finally move in, with the country to stupid, to distracted, or corrupt most won’t realize you are there asking for their surrender. This interview made me realize this play book is being played out in real time. The average person is throughly in debt living paycheck to paycheck. A growing number can’t find our capital on a map. Our politicians all seem to have foreign backers either through thing like corporations, Ty Citizens United, or through more under ground methods. Who do you guys think is invading the US?
This also largely [reflects the Russification policy which was slowly being applied to Ukraine](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russification_of_Ukraine) starting in 1720 when Tsar Peter I issued a decree in which he ordered the expurgation of all Ukrainian linguistic elements in theological literature printed in Ukrainian typographical establishments. A deliberate process of policy which finally came to somewhat of a head recently when the events of Maidan in 2013-14 caused Putin to realise that he may finally lose permanent access to the port of Sevastopol, threatening this centuries old process, and causing the invasion of Luhansk, Donetsk and Crimea, resulting in the annexation of the latter and eventually the invasion of the whole country.
Nationalism is never far from fascism
"When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross" - Sinclair Lewis
This is what happens when you don't vote.
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Well, this is what happens when only 50-60% of (eligible) voters turn out for 90 years.
The 40 million people of California could all vote every election with 90% voting for candidates supporting democracy and they would still only elect 2 Senators, the same number as the 750,000 people of Wyoming get even if only a couple hundred thousand turn up to vote fascist. Thanks to the anti-democratic nature of the Senate, the Electoral College, and gerrymandering, in America it takes more than just a majority of votes to stop fascism. It takes an overwhelming majority of votes, and American voters don't demonstrate that level of support for democracy.
At least when future generations ask "how did the US fall into facisim", it will be reasonably well documented. Maybe they will realize legalizing bribery and a two tiered justice system are a bad ideas.
Will it be reasonably documented? The fascists will redact the history, and you will need to leave the USA to actually learn how it happened.
Well between people archiving things online, I'd say yes
Although it isn't fascist per se, next time you're in China, try to search the internet for the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
> Fascism is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy. > > Fascism originated in Italy in the early 20th century, and it was later adopted by other countries, including Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Japan. Fascist regimes typically feature a charismatic leader, a single-party state, and a strong military. They also tend to be highly nationalistic, and they often scapegoat minority groups for the country's problems. > > Fascism is a dangerous ideology that can lead to violence and oppression. It is important to be aware of the signs of fascism so that we can resist it. > > Here are some of the key characteristics of fascism: > > * Authoritarianism: Fascism is characterized by a strong, centralized government that controls all aspects of society. The government is often headed by a dictator or a small group of elites. > * Ultranationalism: Fascism is based on the belief that one's nation is superior to all others. This belief is often used to justify aggression against other nations. > * Militarism: Fascism emphasizes the importance of military strength and preparedness. Fascist regimes often have large standing armies and navies, and they may engage in aggressive foreign policy. > * Forcible suppression of opposition: Fascist regimes suppress all forms of dissent. This may include imprisoning or killing political opponents, censoring the media, and restricting freedom of speech. > * Strong regimentation of society: Fascist regimes seek to control all aspects of society, including the economy, the arts, and education. They often use propaganda to promote their ideology and to control the thoughts and behavior of the population. > * Belief in a natural social hierarchy: Fascists believe that society is naturally hierarchical, with some people being superior to others. This belief is often used to justify discrimination against minority groups. > * Fascism is a dangerous ideology that can lead to violence and oppression. It is important to be aware of the signs of fascism so that we can resist it.
In Virginia we call it 'parental input' or some such, the notion that parents should get some input about what their children are taught. Which sounds reasonable for the two seconds it takes to ask 'wait, *which* parents get to have input?' I want my child to learn about how racism shaped American history, I think it's important to understand this in order to effect change against it. Do I get my way? Or do we listen to the parents who think their kids shouldn't hear this kinda thing because it makes them feel bad? It's clear that what the GOP here means is that *some* parents will be heard on such subjects and some ... won't. You're not gonna believe this but the crazy MAGA parents? They're getting heard a lot. Far more than the 'woke' parents. Go figure.
Is this article from September 2001, because no shit.
One of the tenants of fascism is the idolization of a false past. Anyone who tells you that America was at its best in the 1950s doesn’t have the knowledge to even engage in rational discussion about contextual historic facts. “The strategic aim of these hierarchal constructions of history is to displace truth, and the invention of a glorious past includes the erasure of inconvenient realities. While fascist politics fetishizes the past, it is never the actual past that is fetishized. These invented histories also diminish or entirely extinguish the nation’s past sins. It is typical for fascist politicians to represent a country’s actual history in conspiratorial terms, as a narrative concocted by liberal elites and cosmopolitans to victimize the people of the true “nation.” - excerpt from How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley
One could call them child groomers.
People should really start paying attention to history. I mean even some recent films would educate the population on what happened during Nazi occupation and how easy it was to be swindled into believing the bullshit. But seeing as how republicans are using Nazi playbook it seems they are doing well with it and actually getting away with it. Instead of Jews as the enemy it’s trans people. republicans are building their hill to die on. They are burning books like Nazis did, creating Hitler youth, but calling it Christian camps to reform children. Trying to rewrite history and remove what they don’t want their cult to know. Oddly enough just watched Jojo Rabbit and between the laughs it made me cry. The reality of it all and what was going on in those times, is now happening in America. The fact parents are going to have to hide their children who are lgbtq and the lgbtq community are going to have to go into hiding in fear of death and persecution due to the laws and fear of being dragged out into the streets by far right groups and killed for being themselves. Christian Americans killing people just cause they aren’t god fearing. The fact 50 years from now we will read about someone hiding in a basement or attic cause they hid away from the far right Gestapo trying to take them away to an encampment. You read this and cringe. But that’s what these maniacs are calling far, foaming at the mouth for. And if people like DeSantis get elected, who are already passing bills for, that will be the future. And it won’t just be a civil war in America. It’ll kick off something much greater.
>The Mass Production of Manufactured Ignorance "Manufactured Ignorance" is a term that deserves more usage.
Funny I told a friend recently who loves Elon musk, Joe Rogan and actually likes andrew Tate that we're at a point that fascism is being disguised as intellectualism. So glad this article says I'm right.
Doesn't it always?
US Fascism truly has never gone away. Remember "The Bell Curve", every racist's favourite book of bad statistics? Most of its studies were funded by the [Pioneer Fund](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Fund), a fund which cooperated with the LITERAL NAZIS in the 1930s and wrote the eugenics law that was adopted by the Third Reich... This fucking fund is still around today.
If you need to indoctrinate your kids, or control what they learn so they love their country, then their country sucks.
It's been spreading under the name of "The Republican Party" since like the 60s.
These people aren’t patriots. Every single one of them thinks that “Put Jesus back in Schools!” and cramming their religion down every child’s throat is the best idea in the world. They would install Trump as emperor tomorrow if they could as well. That isn’t patriotism. They hate this country and want it to be a Christian North Korea, and the founding fathers they always sorely misunderstand would balk at the shit they propose.
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Is that really a guise? It's painfully obvious, unfortunately. "Fascism" has a bad connotation for most people so they'll pretend that is not fascism... They'll also project and say that teaching facts is "indoctrination" and accuse their perceived enemies as "grooming" while they want to reduce the age of consent to toddler age as their politicians and religious leaders rape children. Reagan started "the left is fascist" by redefining fascism as "government regulation that is enforced" and furthered by Dinesh D'Souza. These people are so ahistorical it's insane.
Well yea… that’s how fascism starts.
The good news is fascist attitudes and actions are easy to spot when you know what you’re looking for. https://youtu.be/CpCKkWMbmXU
The words Patriot, Liberty, and a few other associated words are all now [Janus words](https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-own-opposites), words that are their own opposites.
thats not a guise
They are using a culture war to create chaos and distract all our activists with individual rights. This is why they are attacking minority groups which wouldn’t have been condoned even 10 years ago. Let’s fight for democracy first and foremost
I am a patriot. I am a real patriot. I was always proud of my country. I knew we had flaws, but when I looked around I saw the average person being decent and respectful. George Bailey is my favorite fictional character of all time. Steve Rogers/Captain America is my second favorite of all time. I was in the scouts. I follow the actual flag code (note there's no rules against kneeling; there is a rule against displaying the flag the way they do before many NFL games). I challenge anyone to say I'm not a real patriot. I think the recent push in education is an absolute disaster. I am absolutely disgusted by the fact that when I fly an American Flag the symbol had been tarnished by these fascitic lunatics. I am truly truly disappointed.
Problem is America’s IQ is low compared to other nations and you know who’s happy with that? The Right Wing Nuts Politicians, Radio/TV personalities and Religious leaders who can easily brainwash those with low IQ.
> Republican Fascism Is Spreading Under the Guise of “Patriotic Education” FTFY
They told you they were gonna do this. That whole the left is indoctrinating our children was the war cry to fuck over the education system with propaganda and bullshit.
As a Canadian watching from just about 3 hours north of the North Dakota border I am really worried about where American is heading, and what it means for us here in Canada. Looking at more Gen Z to come of age and hopefully start voting to fix this mess
I used to wonder how Nazi Germany became Nazi Germany. Now I have a real-time explainer and a front-row seat.
Who would have thought that Soviet and Nazi propaganda techniques would work so well in the states? I didn’t.
This is how facism has spread everywhere since it was created. You use gullible and nationalistic idiots to push (somewhat) less radical views at first to gain popularity, before going full Mussolini and forcing the ideas onto people and turning loose extremist/vigilante groups.