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How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them?
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11 reviews of this product found across Reddit:
I mean, I was trying to just hit the high notes of Fascism, not do a comprehensive definition that would take up a book, which yeah, there are in fact whole books about this..
That being said, I think this falls under the hero worship bit, or at least derives from it. The "strong man" who cuts through the bullshit does so by cutting through the laws and restrictions on centralization of power, turning the entirety of government into something that revolves around himself. The single-party is just a vehicle for his cult of personality, the totalitarianism just a consequence of him wielding all power without any checks or balances.
So you know, arguably that's already implied in that definition.
>He isn't popular
71 millions votes.
I'm not actually worried about Trump himself managing to become a dictator. I don't rule it out but you nailed the reason, his top brass military support is lacking.
HOWEVER, There's a whole lot of pissed of idiots with guns and a devotion to Trump.
It's those people that are the issue. There is a reason that dictators are generally populists.
If they rise up we're not stuck with the option of becoming the authoritarians ourselves just to prevent the country from being torn apart.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Fascism-Works-Politics-Them-ebook/dp/B0796DNSVZ
If you decide you'd like to learn, it's only $12 but there's a free audiobook I'd you sign up for an audible trial.
Yeah, that's right. Instead of trying to end the Prison Industrial Complex and the High School to Prison Pipeline, they should become domestic terrorists like the Proud Boys. Someone's family learned to hate BLM by watching Fox News.
All three Media outlets love Black Lives Matter. Well, except for except for Fox News,Breitbart, Drudge Report, the thousands of local media outlets owned by Sinclair Media, Rupert Murdoch's dozens of right wing papers, Fox Business, Washinton Times, Worldnetdaily, the New America, News Busters, Daily Caller, Newsmax, The Federalist, The Hill, Christian Science Monitor, The Blaze, Pajamas Media, One America News Network, The Daily Wire, and literally hundreds of others.
It's important to make the distinction between Fascism and Nazism, which was a particular example of fascism. Trump is not a Nazi but he certainly is a fascist. There are some white supremacists who would be considered neo-Nazis but that again is an example of fascism, not an interchangeable term.
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It's also important to understand that Antifa is not a group or organization, it's an idea, a principle. When I say I am antifa, it simply means I am anti - fascist. Collectively we are a movement.
By all means try to meet and learn from like-minded people in your area but be cautious of anything that calls itself Antifa as an organization as these may be honeytraps. The best thing you can do is read up on Fascism, the best book out about it at the moment is How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley
Here is a short interview with Stanley, here is a longer one, and here is one of his lectures.
You haven't answered either question. Do you intend to uphold democracy in accordance with your duty as an American citizen? Or will you engage in violence to give Trump a second term? It's important that you are clear in your head about this, because it's not Communism you need to worry about, it's Fascism.
Communism is very unlikely to ever take hold in America since the whole American identity is built around Capitalism which is not compatible. However Fascism is very compatible with Capitalism.
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Since you like to read, I highly reccomend this book How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley
Here is one of his lectures
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If you are worried about getting loaded onto trains, Stanley is a respected expert on what leads to that situation.
I made a neutral statement of fact while you generalized about "you guys" and slung all sorts of words and assumptions about my character at me.
You even posted a thread complaining to /r/teenagers. You said that you like this sub so you can "debate" and learn to "control emotions" but you did neither here.
Since you're obviously young I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are simply misguided. Trump is a textbook fascist and even called for white supremacists to 'standby' live on national television just the other day. I can list off all the reasons why he's bad but you can find them on your own if you just pay attention everyday and read. There's a reason why everyone and their mom are against him. In order to drive my point about fascism home, read How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them by Jason Stanley instead of regurgitating poorly thought-out rightwing talking points. The author is a professor at Yale and not a white supremecist calling for war. I've been on all different sides of the political spectrum in my life and I appreciate all different kinds of perspectives except those from Nazis or Nazi-sympathizers.
Treat this as a growing moment and you'll be better for it.
Reddit really fucks up any discussion of fascism, because the highly enlightened rebel intellects of reddit (on both sides of the spectrum) HATE reading books like How Fascism Works (https://www.amazon.com/How-Fascism-Works-Politics-Them-ebook/dp/B0796DNSVZ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1547313852&sr=8-6&keywords=facism)
Some authorities on fascism believe it is more a tactic to gain political power than a means of governing. Aside from the naked worship of power and militarism, fascism also strongly advocates for men in the ethnic majority (often holding up women and minorities in power as an aberration) and has a hard authoritarian slant to it.
Whether or not liberal reddit intellects did valid research on the topic or not, it is a fair criticism for them to make, because it is an extreme right wing philosophy (I won't go over the parallels with the Trump and alt right, because that would insult people's intelligence).
Conservative intellectuals on reddit are technically incorrect for using the term fascist to criticize their opponents, BUT THE SPIRIT OF THEIR ARGUMENT IS VALID. The term they actually want to use is TOTALITARIANISM.
Forget Nazi Germany and think of China during the Great Leap Forward. Which was, at very least, equally bad as the holocaust (but we don't talk about it much in America because we didn't rescue the Chinese from Mao and don't want to piss off Chinese media investors).
Totalitarianism is basically the nanny state on steroids. With weapons. And the rights of the individual are none existent (including the right to "not die") compared to the welfare of the state. Which is as scary as fascism.
TLDR: If you lean conservative, start using the term TOTALITARIANISM
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