America is fascist?

Leprachaun

Depending on opinion,a good few of the following apply to the USA.

FOURTEEN CHARACTERISTICS OF FASCISM

Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist, wrote an article about fascism which appeared in Free Inquiry magazine, a journal of humanist thought. Dr. Britt studied the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile). He found the regimes all had 14 things in common, and he calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The article is titled "Fascism Anyone?," and appears in Free Inquiry’s Spring 2003 issue on page 20.

The 14 characteristics are:

1.. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism – Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2.. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights – Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to ‘look the other way’ of even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

3.. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause – The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe; racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists; terrorists, etc.

4.. Supremacy of the Military – Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5.. Rampant Sexism – The government if fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.

6.. Controlled Mass Media – Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or through sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in wartime, is very common.

7.. Obsession with National Security – Fear is used as a motivation tool by the government over the masses.

8.. Religion and Government are Intertwined – Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.

9.. Corporate Power is Protected – The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders in power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

10.. Labor Power is Suppressed – Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely or are severely suppressed.

11.. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts – Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

12.. Obsession with Crime and Punishment – Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses, and even forego civil liberties, in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13.. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption – Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions, and who use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability.

14.. Fraudulent Elections – Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against (or even the assassination of) the opposition candidates, the use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and the manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

:eek: /tinfoil hat

flyton5

Do they not have to meet all the characteristics to be fascist?

Kintarō Hattori

Awww c'mon, not another american thread. These are almost as bad as the recession threads. Has no-one, no-one at all thought of poor Overheal's felings? He's only a young lad, there's only so much he can take.

Rob_l

flyton5 wrote: »

Do they not have to meet all the characteristics to be fascist?

Thats a fascist thing to say

ScumLord

Why just 8 to 11. Nearly all of them seem to apply to the US. Bar the anti-woman bit.

Dubh Geannain

Sounds like my old secondary school

Rob_l

ScumLord wrote: »

Why just 8 to 11. Nearly all of them seem to apply to the US. Bar the anti-woman bit.

Quite a few of them apply to ireland
hail biffo

Leprachaun

ScumLord wrote: »

Why just 8 to 11. Nearly all of them seem to apply to the US. Bar the anti-woman bit.

Sorry meant on average of people's opinions from the forum I nicked it from.

Ironbars

Leprachaun wrote: »

Sorry meant on average of people's opinions from the forum I nicked it from.

You were in a different forum! thats it, never talk to me again

AND I WANT MY CDs BACK BITZH:mad:

mike65

Damned facists and thier black, part Islamic leaders

flyton5

I'm not a fascist I'm a priest. Fascists dress in black and go around telling people what to do, whereas priests...erm...MORE DRINK!

Biggins

O' Please! The US is no more facist than the UN!
...O' wait a minute - aren't they now making it illegal to speak out against Islam.
(http://www.slate.com/id/2212662)

Aaa ok. I agree... I think!

Leprachaun

Ironbars wrote: »

You were in a different forum! thats it, never talk to me again

AND I WANT MY CDs BACK BITZH:mad:

It didn't mean anything I swear! I was really drunk and....

ScumLord

Rob_l wrote: »

Quite a few of them apply to ireland
hail biffo

True, but we're only a danger to ourselves. We can't destroy the world no matter how much we'd like to.

Ironbars

Leprachaun wrote: »

It didn't mean anything I swear! I was really drunk and....

Was she good........... did you subscibe

Rob_l

ScumLord wrote: »

True, but we're only a danger to ourselves. We can't destroy the world no matter how much we'd like to.

And we sure would like to.......... Stupid world!

justcallmetex

Wheres Runtodahills? this thread's been going for a while..Where are you man?!

Biggins

justcallmetex wrote: »

Wheres Runtodahills? this thread's been going for a while..Where are you man?!

Don't ya know! He's hiding from "The Man".

:pac:

javaboy

justcallmetex wrote: »

Wheres Runtodahills? this thread's been going for a while..Where are you man?!

He saw through this obvious attempt to draw him out of hiding. You'd have to get up pretty early in the morning to catch our Run.

acontadino

yes has anyone been in new york? what is the need for all those flags? people actually hang the us flag outside their house? lol ive never seen that anywhere here in europe, the odd flag here and there but nothing like usa.

javaboy

acontadino wrote: »

yes has anyone been in new york? what is the need for all those flags? people actually hang the us flag outside their house? lol ive never seen that anywhere here in europe, the odd flag here and there but nothing like usa.

Have you been in Northern Ireland?

BaconZombie

Bush's Secret Dictatorship

"We may not have realized it at the time, but in the period from late 2001-January 19, 2009, this country was a dictatorship. The constitutional rights we learned about in high school civics were suspended. That was thanks to secret memos crafted deep inside the Justice Department that effectively trashed the Constitution."

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/white-house-watch/2009/03/bushs_secret_dictatorship.html

Yes, America IS fattest.

Terry

Check out tonight's Daily show on More4 +1 at 9:30.
There's some stuff on it which actually supports this.
Some of the right wing politicians there are crazy bastards.

TPD

I don't think America is facist enough.

@Terry: I read your sig as 'Tiger avaliable in Kildare....'. I chortled.

Overheal

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Awww c'mon, not another american thread. These are almost as bad as the recession threads. Has no-one, no-one at all thought of poor Overheal's felings? He's only a young lad, there's only so much he can take.

*sniffle*

At least its a constructed argument with a point to it. A lot of it applied especially during the first term of GWB. But a lot of Obama's views are acting against those 14 points, especially 2 5 8 9 10 and 14. It just doesnt effectively apply like it used to. Sigh, those were the good ol days.

Duiske

Anyone with an interest in where America is/was headed, should take a look at Naomi Wolfe's documentary, The End of America. Watched it at the weekend and its quite a story.

kaiser soza

I wish we were fascist,then we would all have a valid reason for being f...ed over.

Terry

TPD wrote: »

I don't think America is facist enough.

@Terry: I read your sig as 'Tiger avaliable in Kildare....'. I chortled.

Rawr.

rossie1977

Rob_l wrote: »

Quite a few of them apply to ireland
hail biffo

i count 2 maybe 3

kowloon

Observing a few common characteristics shared by some countries at particular times does not equal set rules about what is and what isn't fascist.
Bull$hitology.

Overheal

kowloon wrote: »

Observing a few common characteristics shared by some countries at particular times does not equal set rules about what is and what isn't fascist.
Bull$hitology.

Except that fascism was used as a term to classify the political philosophy of Italy at the time of WWI. Its essentially trying to imply that conditions in america during Bush's presidency were remarkably similar to those conditions. Likewise some people are trying to implicate that Obama and the current state of affairs represents similar conditions that were present when Hitler rose to power in Germany.

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message637521/pg1

Don't worry, they are on the fringes of society.

Highsider

I'm off to the states on holidays next week so no they are not fascist.....(mentions this in case those fascists have bugged my computer) :pac:

justcallmetex

Overheal wrote: »

*sniffle*

At least its a constructed argument with a point to it. A lot of it applied especially during the first term of GWB. But a lot of Obama's views are acting against those 14 points, especially 2 5 8 9 10 and 14. It just doesnt effectively apply like it used to. Sigh, those were the good ol days.

Human Rights?? He supported Bush in his push for no right for detainees.

He also has adopted the same time scales for a pull out of Iraq as .......can u guess?.......Yup G Dubya!

Obama say's one thing to the public and will do whatever he wants for real but the people still think he's makin change.

It's only the puppet to the lefts turn this time round

Overheal

If you say so, Random Internet Person. Alls I knows is the US is not a Fascist State.

Professey Chin

Ironbars wrote: »

Was she good........... did you subscibe

Whoa whoa whoa. Who said this forum was a she :eek:

justcallmetex

Overheal wrote: »

If you say so, Random Internet Person. Alls I knows is the US is not a Fascist State.

OK lets be fair I never mentioned the Good People of the USA nor whats left of it's noble Constitution.

Leprachaun

Ultimate Chin wrote: »

Whoa whoa whoa. Who said this forum was a she :eek:

Here now. What kind of mythical creature do you take me for?

ScumLord

javaboy wrote: »

Have you been in Northern Ireland?

The English do it a fair bit too. Nowhere near as much as in the north or the yanks but there are a good few houses with the English flag hanging out the front. I'd just assume their BNP members.

Ass

This thread is hilarious. Anyone who argues that America is a facist state is a giant retard.

IronMan

ScumLord wrote: »

The English do it a fair bit too. Nowhere near as much as in the north or the yanks but there are a good few houses with the English flag hanging out the front. I'd just assume their BNP members.

You presume they are a member of a far right organisation because they choose to put their national flag on their house? I think nationalism is a load of old cock, but even then, I refuse to believe that putting up a flag makes you a fascist.

Terry

Ass wrote: »

This thread is hilarious. Anyone who argues that America is a facist state is a giant retard.

You're threading a very thin line here.

ScumLord

IronMan wrote: »

You presume they are a member of a far right organisation because they choose to put their national flag on their house? I think nationalism is a load of old cock, but even then, I refuse to believe that putting up a flag makes you a fascist.

It is surprising but every national flag sold comes with such a warning. Mad, isn't it.

Terry

Duiske wrote: »

Anyone with an interest in where America is/was headed, should take a look at Naomi Wolfe's documentary, The End of America. Watched it at the weekend and its quite a story.

Interesting in parts. a bit overly sensationalist in others.
The comparisons to NAZI Germany are a bit much. I'd say it's more akin to McCarthyism.

I found the watch list interesting. Anyone speaking out about the government or the war in Iraq suddenly becoming a security thread is a bit worrying.

Scooter Libby outing the CIA officer was a good part too.
The imprisonment of journalists and Canadians who look middle eastern is somewhat disturbing.
Bush over turning over 200 laws passed by congress.
The water boarding.
Ignoring the Geneva convention on the treatment of PoWs.
The list goes on.

Well worth watching.

Terry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maher_Arar

justcallmetex

Terry wrote: »

You're threading a very thin line here.

Dont you mean your Banned?

Overheal

justcallmetex wrote: »

Dont you mean your Banned?

now you've done it...

brendansmith

I got that 3 hour long documentary on Hiroshima last night.

Gonna watch it tonight. It will allow me to relax and make a better judgement, ill answer your question then. Is that ok?

TPD

Terry wrote: »

Rawr.

Reading that while picturing your christmas photoshoot. Nasty.