The Nazis, as all the populists, offered simple solutions to complex problems. The simple people who are struggling and/or in fear of change like that a lot.
If you think your dad was sent to fight against the Nazis for ideological opposition, i have bad news for you. Maybe he personally fought out of that motivation, but must countries at the time were either fascist themselves or on the edge to fascism.
If you look at the US there was the ongoing genocide against native Americans, the racial segregation, eugenics, despicable human experimentation carried out on minorities, concentration camps for Japanese during WW2… Even the pledge to the flag in the schools was something Hitler admired and copied. Until the German Nazis became unpopular in the US the pledge to the flag with done with the “Bellamy Salute” that is the same as the Nazi salute. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellamy_salute
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The truth is, they never left.
What is different though is that after WW2 it was understood which social problems, in particular fucking over the lower and middle class, create the breeding ground for fascism to be successful. Since the 1980s with Thatcher and Reagan and then the neoliberal wave over Europe, we had 40 years of deliberately empowering fascism. Now they reap what they sew.
I have to differ on your last point. I don’t think capitalism is necessarily at fault, nor must the working/middle classes be struggling for fascism to emerge. If anything, quite the opposite. It is the better off countries that end up turning fascist. All fascist countries are/were first world countries, in various states of advanced development.
I think it would be more accurate to say that fascism is an extreme form of imperialism, because they are ultimately very similar sentiments. A more powerful group taking advantage in various ways, of a less powerful group. Now you could say, “it’s all the same thing”, capitalism, imperialism, fascism, it’s all the same “hierarchy is the ultimate source of evil dynamic”, but it seems to me that this just reduces all these concepts to absurdity.
Fascism is also on the rise because of improved technology for thought control / propaganda / public relations / advertising. Social media lets the worst of humanity band together and pool their energy.
But wealth inequality, both worse effective quality of life for the poor and increased economic power by the wealthy is I believe a main driver. Technology is just the tool. The ultra wealthy and their lackeys today have more power than ever and are more isolated and inundated with ideology that is basically insane.
I wonder if there are studies that show correlations between quality of life and fascism in different nations.
I don’t think capitalism is necessarily at fault, nor must the working/middle classes be struggling for fascism to emerge. If anything, quite the opposite. It is the better off countries that end up turning fascist. All fascist countries are/were first world countries, in various states of advanced development.
That’s not right, at least not for the fascist regimes in Europe that emerged prior to WW2. The countries where it happened (specifically Germany/Italy/Spain) had all seen civil unrest or even civil war in the recent past, they were hit hard by the global financial crisis in the twenties and had high unemployment and widespread poverty. This was the very thing the fascists used to ingratiate themselves to the public at large, by creating jobs through massive public building and rearmament projects.
By the way “first world countries” is post-WW2 terminology and didn’t originally have a connotation of superior economic status, but was referring strictly to ideological alignment. Whether a country belonged to the capitalist/communist/unaligned block in international politics during the cold war.
It’s not just Nazis. The world is trending towards authoritarianism across the board, on the right and the left. Democratic and social institutions everywhere are failing. People don’t trust each other anymore.
The real problem: in the race to build massive civilizations we have destroyed all of our communities.
Considering the Nazi’s were inspired by the US in many ways and the US continued promoting their racist opinions on immigrants, doing coups, and installing far right dictators around the world im more surprised the resurgence isnt bigger.
look at the genocide being funded and armed by the US in Palestine. Israel is invading and preparing for war with like 4? Countries already? Arguing they can rape people they detain and the US threatens the International Criminal Court after they deemed Netanyahu is a war criminal.
The US leads the world culture in a big way, the US is promoting an authoritarian who admires Hitler and the opposition to him continues sending bombs to a war criminal and threatens people who want to stop him.
Hitler called the genocide of native Americans ‘the first great cleansing’ and used it as a framework for ‘his second’. To think that Hitler looked up to the United States really starts to change you as an American. Especially in our current context.
He was also inspired by how racist the US was and how they had demonized and segregated Black peoples as second class citizens while still having a great public perception as a country on the world stage
Nazis also used Zyklon B in gas chambers inspired by the US using it in Mexicans crossing the border to have to work
There is no “recent resurgence”.
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- Nazis never went away. Underground Nazi groups, as well as fully fledged Nazi political parties were common throughout post-WWII Europe.
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- The people fighting the Nazis weren’t ideologically much better than them. The Americans were still racist as fuck. The British and the French were imperialist world dominators. All of these allies were involved in their own genocides. The Soviets believed in sacrificing huge swaths of their own people to accomplish “great leaps forward”.
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- Nazism and similiar ideologies are fundamentally based on in-group bias, and that is just something psychological. There will always be people who are more open to others and people who are less open to others.
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- If you look at recent wars, you will see that even the non-Nazi, “moderate”, “liberal”, “centrist” political parties can have blood on their hands and be complicit in atrocities very much reminiscent of the evil the Nazis committed.
I think the bottom line is, you have to unlearn a lot of the just-so narratives that you have been taught about the world.
I will do you one better.
Compare USSR since Stalin to Nazi Germany.
I was thinking of Israel actually. I don’t think the comparison between the Nazis and the Soviets is apt. The ideological motivations are quite different. And it’s a typical Nazi talking point to point at the Soviets and try to argue that they were worse.
Russia is a fascist state since Stalin.
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capitalism. fascism is the logical conclusion of capitalism, so the entire world living in a capitalist society helps fascism rise. if you crush people’s spirits hard enough, you can give them easy solutions to their problems so they can get off your scent.
no no, the billionaires are awesome; it’s the immigrants honey. the education system would be awesome if not for drag queens baby. you would have healthcare but see it’s all the DEI hire sweetie.
it’s just lizard brain shit. “brown people bad” is just an easier and more convenient message to digest than trying to understand how the government and the economy actually works.
I mean no sarcasm in this but you seem very knowledgeable do you got any links or something to support it because I love reading.
Not OP, but maybe the following: “The Mass Psychology of Fascism” by Wilhelm Reich provides an analysis of the psychological appeal of fascism, examining how economic conditions and capitalist societies create environments where fascist ideologies can thrive.
Sigh. One could also make the argument that capitalism is the only reason we have democracy at all. I am not allergic to socialist thinking, but putting all the blame on capitalism for everything is intellectually lazy.
billionaires are so afraid of being taxed they’ll happily fund people and groups who want to kill people who want to tax them.
The real billionaires love taxation. It helps them getting rid of the competition.
They have kinda always been a thing. Nazi’s were just one flavor of nationalist, after all.
Charles de Gaulle defined nationalism best: “Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.”
For most people, it’s extremely easy to blame others for problems of their own creation. By the same token, people who can’t see their own shortcomings will also usually latch on to leaders who are able to amplify that bias. For the Nazis, it was mostly against the jews.
Also, what you are seeing in the news is partially amplified by the news itself but also, politicians are getting more brazen in mustering the support of those groups. This has lead to people being a little more open about something that needs to stay taboo, IMHO.
Severely undereducated selfish people who think all of their problems is someone else’s or some other tribe’s fault.
Almost all Nazis share one common trait: a complete lack of empathy.
And almost all American Nazis share two additional traits: no critical thinking skills and gullibility.
In your opinion would you consider the orange face dipshit a nazi?
He shares traits with them. But no, he’s an 8 year old boy trapped in a 78 year old body trying to compensate for his tiny penis and no balls. He will use Nazis just like he uses everyone. As the other commenter said, he’s a con artist and grifter.
When he’s long dead, aside from a footnote in American history books stating he was the worst president since Buchanan, he will be forgotten. Of course this can’t come soon enough.
Because we have been letting them run their mouths again without being afraid.
You wana know how to get them to shut the fuck up look up why nazis don’t go to punk shows anymore.
You want to get rid of them. You have 2 options 1 is illegal, and I can’t say what it is, and option 2 is through education and thearpy and them wanting to change.
A similar option that I’m willing to say is “see a nazi, punch a nazi.” I am anti-violence, but I don’t have a problem with people who punch nazis. Nazi principles are vile.
If you see someone else punch a nazi, no you didn’t. That nazi fell.
Or hit a doorknob.
The answer is simple. We are expanding the definition of, and redefining, Nazis. I’m familiar with the general ideology of the group & how we might classify thoughts as adjacent, but I don’t see Republicans shoving Jews, homosexuals, special needs, and gypsies into concentration camps/gas chambers/ovens.
It’s hard to draw lines. But I’m just going to shoot from the hip here & say, it seems to me like there’s a group of people that wants not only all kinds of freedoms. But also recognition. Accolades. Worship. Dominance in the public space. Anyone that opposes this stupid agenda -yes, agenda- is a Nazi. So we equate Republicans & conservatives with murderous fuckheads that genocide entire groups of minorities. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Yep, it’s the same picture, totally the same thing, your beliefs are correct & your so-called righteous indignation is justified. We call them all Nazis, historically the worst kind of people, which of course justifies any kind of hatred or violence in response.
Shoot Trump in the head. It’s more than okay, we celebrate assassination attempts, because he’s literally Cheeto Hitler. He’s the death of duhmoocracy. Please kill Donald Trump. If he’s elected, it’s the end of the United States of America, there will be no more elections. He will be a dictator, he’ll never leave, duhmoocracy will be gone forever. No more duhmoocracy. Whatever will happen to America…if we lose our precious duhmoocracy? 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
I want every American to analyze the situation, logically. Consider what is best for the United States. Getting back to the main discussion: look back at the Nazis in Nazi Germany & everything they did. Are genocidal German Nazis actually making a comeback? Or are we just…labeling everybody we don’t like a Nazi & therefore (grossly, stupidly) expanding the definition of Nazi to conveniently demonize the other side?
Ew. A nazi sympathizer.
Your take is fucking stupid & not based in fact. Nazi sympathizer? Please explain how I sympathize with Nazis.
please explain - spoken like a nazi sympathizer.
Deflecting. That’s kind of weird, but not surprising.
I don’t care about your worthless nazi opinion.
🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃
The more you overuse (and misuse) a term, the less it means.
🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃
FWIW I don’t respect you at all, either.
The more you overuse a term, the less it means.
You’re just mad because people noticed. Don’t pollute my inbox again.
I am not mad, you still fail to define how I am a Nazi (because you & everyone else knows your premise is bullshit), and you certainly don’t have the authority to tell me what to do. So go fuck yourself. Or don’t, nobody cares.
I am not mad, you still fail to define how I am a Nazi
No one owes you an explanation, and I’m not going to waste my time arguing semantics with a nazi. If you want more out of me, go upstairs and ask your parents what it’s like to live with disappointment.
Can I get a yikes
Grow up and speak like an adult
Okay, go fuck yourself. Done.
Ah yes the side that calls me a pedophile (and just by sheer luck wants to give all sex offenders who commit crimes against children mind you). Great answer, both sides are obviously the same.
…idk about your personal situation that is calling for labeling you a pedophile. I have a friend that technically qualifies for indecent exposure in public/sex offender, he needed to take a drunk piss at 1 AM, so in spirit I empathize. Common sense screams, more clarification is needed for sure.
Existing as a trans person. Literally nothing else.
More context is needed. You existing as a trans person doesn’t bother me at all, 0%. I have no interest in continuing debate if you are being persecuted for existing as a trans person.
Have you literally looked at republican rhetoric? They call queer peope (even more so trans women) groomers because their bigoted asses need to create a culture war. There literally is no context needed it is just the literal rhetoric they spout.
I am looking at it almost every day. Ngl you’ve picked a terrible time to have this conversation as everyone is going wild over Ava Kris Tyson and all the alleged inappropriate messages he sent to minors, etc. Lot of weird stuff there. 😅
There’s sexual abuse of children everywhere. Epstein Island, right? And idc if you’re gay, straight, trans, white, black, brown, etc. All abusers should be accountable.
I would argue there’s no need to create a culture war; we are in one. Right now & probably since 2012-ish. It’s wishful thinking on my part, but we really need to come together as a nation. Restore law, order, and decency. Find things we can agree on instead of tearing everybody down. If we can’t do that, I don’t think we’re going to make it.
I hate to be negative, but people have shown a propensity to dislike anyone not like them for thousands of years. Plain and simple. I think this situation can improve, but I doubt seriously, it will ever go away completely.
I kind of wish I knew how to troll nazi’s or call them out irl or just make them change the narrative. I know I am one woman but if I went about it correctly and got more people smarter than me we can shut their stupid shit down.
Well, right now, it’s popular to be anti-zionist. And anti-zionists just aren’t gate keeping the way they need to.