Okay, we are there. Many of us knew we were getting there, but we are there. The old adage that when you realize you are in a fascistic state, it is already too late definitely applies. There is a secret police that is immune from any laws right now. They are able to harass, arrest and even kill with impunity. ICE is at the point in their confidence that they are willing and even happy to kill people in the middle of the day while people film them… this begs the question as to the level of depravity when no one is looking… when people are in custody…. When people get “dissappeared” never to be seen again. (We will find that the number of missing persons and questionable deaths will only begin to rise. They have already happened, and there were no consequences, so they are escalating)
The parallels to 1930’s Germany are uncanny. Anyway… lets get these 20 Questions going… The thing that gets me about it, is the shamelessness of the people in power… why dress like Nazi’s when you could just get away with Nazi-things? Ice’s officer wear should not look like olive drab versions of SS uniforms… Re-brand for Christ’s sake. The whole walks like a duck, quacks like a duck saying is real in this case. Hell, just change the jacket to a Bolero style, you dumb fucks…
Anyway… let’s get to it. Here come 20 Questions about Fascism as asked by ChatGPT… so enjoy these questions generated by good clean water… we are all going to Hell…
Hope you like large blocks of text without graphics… because that’s what you are getting today! Onto the questions:
1: What is fascism, in its most minimal definition, stripped of rhetoric, aesthetics, and historical baggage?
From Websters definition:
fas·cism ˈfa-ˌshi-zəm also ˈfa-ˌsi-
a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition
2: Which traits are necessary for fascism to exist, and which traits are merely common but not required?
Required: populism, nationalism, autocracy, suppression of opposition
Common: Private army operating above the laws, selective law enforcement, scapegoated internal population that is the “other.”
From my senior-in-political-science-at-the-Schar-School-of-Policy-and-Government-at-George-Mason-University son… For example… Blackshirts in Italy, Brownshirts in Germany, etc. There is an “In group”, and an “Out group”
3: How does fascism differ structurally from authoritarianism, totalitarianism, and military dictatorship?
The venn diagram is very overlappy for these 3 options.
Authoritarianism is where there is a government where there is a single authority… this could be a single person, or a political party. kingdoms can be authoritarian, but are not necessarily fascistic..
Totalitarianism is when there is one central power that has all the power, it still operates on fear of reprisal and people having to “tow the line” but it is missing the populist portions of the definition of fascism. Lenin set up a fascistic government, but the later Soviet Union was more totalitarian (think Brezhnev’s USSR… not really Fascistic) … people didn’t love the government, but it was all they knew and they knew if they stepped out of line that bad things would happen.
A military dictatorship is when a military leader or leadership decides that they can do better than the civilian leadership and removes the civilian government and runs it themselves. Think about the “banana republic” situation…
The overlap of these systems sometimes makes it really hard to distinguish between them.
4: What role does grievance play in fascism, and how is that grievance curated, amplified, or simplified for mass adoption?
Grievance is more associated with the populist portion of the fascistic equation. A vocal portion of the population feels like they are not being listened to and find a leader to follow who agrees (at least outwardly… they often do not give a shit about the people who follow them beyond pure numbers and magnitude) with their feeling and convinces them that they will address the issue for them. There are good populists and bad populists and many in between.
5: Why does fascism so frequently rely on mythic pasts, symbolic enemies, and emotional narratives rather than policy detail?
Because, often the actual policies are typically detrimental to the people who fuel the movement. As long as you are fighting the “other” you can justify the oppression of the population fueling the fascist system. The way you make the current hardships acceptable is by creating the mythology of better future (that is always out of reach) and by telling emotional stories to justify actions.
My collegiate Poli-Sci son asks me to add to it that the lack of real policy can be replaced by ideas of the past.
6: What role does violence play in fascism: is it instrumental, symbolic, inevitable, or all three?
A little of column A, B and C there. Violence against the “other” is necessary to cow the moderate population, and feed the fervent. It is symbolic so the fervent feel they are making progress, it is inevitable because when you minimize a population to the status of “other” you treat them as an enemy that must be eliminated.
7: How does fascism treat expertise, intellectualism, and institutional knowledge—and why?
Fascism relies on perception being more powerful than reality. For example… the jewish population in Germany in 1933 was about 0.75%... less than 1%, yet that group was the group ruining the German economy according to the fascistic party…
My son suggested that I add Intellectualism is viewed as unimportant because you “should” be focused on the other more pressing “issues”(peoples) in their country. Less educated is easier to mold.
8: Can fascism exist without a single charismatic leader, or does it inevitably centralize around a symbolic figure?
I think fascism always needs a charismatic leader (the leader could be in a neighboring country…. But there needs to be a cult leader) to get the groundswell of populism to work in its favor…. Often unchecked fascism leads to Totalitarianism when the demagogue leading the movement dies.
9: At what point does resistance to fascism become impossible without external intervention?
All systems of government can be overcome by internal forces… those internal forces just have to be completely and totally dedicated to the overthrow, If the military is not in league with the autocrat, it makes the overthrow that much easier.
10: Is fascism best understood as a historical phenomenon, or as a recurring pattern that re-emerges under predictable conditions?
It is a historical phenomenon that can re-emerge under predictable conditions that are common with the rise of nationalism.
11: How does fascism change the meaning of citizenship, and who becomes a “conditional” citizen as a result?
The definition of citizen changes over time in a fascistic regime… the category becomes narrower and narrower as the regime gets more power.
12: How does fascism selectively apply the law, and why is inconsistency a feature rather than a flaw?
It allows the “ins” to know that they are favored.
13: What happens to truth in a fascist system—does it disappear, fragment, or become subordinate to power?
It becomes subordinate to power. The US government knows what reality is right now, but reality does not paint the picture they want so it is pushed down to make way for mythology and narrative.
14: How does fascism approach education, especially history, and what patterns emerge in curriculum revision?
It curtails education. Informed people question things. Often history that does not re-inforce the narrative is removed.
My son further clarifies that fascistic regimes teach the history that helps make people nostalgic for the before being promised and reinforced the legitimacy of their existence.
15: Why does fascism often coexist with corruption rather than eliminating it, despite rhetoric about moral decay?
Because the people who are at the top of the fascistic government are often not the “true-believers” of the movement. They are grifters who are accumulating power and wealth. I can almost guarantee that Hitler did not actually think the Jews in Germany tanked the economy… I think he probably hated them for whatever reason he had…
Note from son: They are grifters, but also can become true believers through brainwashing themselves, it becomes for the “greater good” of the nation.
16: What happens to humor, satire, and irony under fascist pressure—and what survives longest?
Arts play a big part in assisting the resistance to Fascism… but you cannot remove a fascist regime with jokes, paintings or TV shows. Eventually oppositional art is drowned, and the only oppositional art that occurs is outside art that is secretly consumed.
17: How does fascism interact with capitalism: does it control markets, depend on them, or hollow them out?
Capitalist companies looooove fascism. Fascism creates a working class that does not question. As long as the work they are doing is to maintain the status quo and allow companies to make more money… companies are very happy about it. The German manufacturing sector absolutely loved the profits they made while the Nazi’s were in power… they were really able to reduce their overhead by not paying slave labor.
Note from a Poli-Sci son: It also does some command economy maneuvers, but in their form to take the ability to work away from other groups, and divide it out to their people.
18: What does post-fascist recovery require beyond regime change, and why is it often incomplete?
Post-fascistic recovery requires accountability… but accountability requires discomfort.
The senior in college suggests adding that it also requires an active unlearning program, even then…
19: How do former fascist systems rebrand themselves without fully dismantling underlying power structures?
They typically morph into totalitarian regimes.
My son reminds me that there’s always a group to get angry at.
20: What responsibilities do non-fascist states have when fascism emerges elsewhere—and where do those responsibilities realistically end?
They have to not treat the fascists as equals. They need to cut economic ties, political ties, etc… and when the mass killing start, they need to step in violently to stop the killing.
To recap:
There are a couple of things at play here that should be addressed
First the MAGA movement will be remembered as a Fascistic movement within the US that targeted undocumented immigrants, and non-WASP groups as the "other"
Second… This blog started out as a writing tool wherein I would tell what was going on in my life
It was a “daddy blog” (not a “call me daddy” blog, you gutter dwellers
This post was edited by the child I started writing this blog for
That. Is. Insane.
Third, it is important to remember that the cruelty going on is the point
It is not a side effect, it is by design
Step in line or you will be the next designated enemy or domestic terrorist
The killings are happening
And they will increase
There will be more protestors killed
When Trump dies, and he will because he is old and unhealthy, it will be interesting to see if anyone in the administration can hold the pieces together
Remember Lenin was bad… Stalin was worse…
I don’t see anyone in the wings ready to take on the mantel the way that Stalin did
It is stupoid cold here right now., the low tonight is projected to be -4° F here tonight
That us -20° C for my metric friends and 253 K for my physicist friends
Still looking for some UX/\UI work
If you know anyone who has some short-term, long-term, part-time, full-time, freelance, FTE UX or UI work that needs to be done, hit me up
Just finished up (well, in December) the contract I was on
Felt like it was good work
Hope there is more to come with that group
If you are in the cold places, keep warm
Do the thing with Substack… 20qtues.substack.com
And/or with Medium… medium.com/@mmmmmpig
I know it is hard, but have a great week everyone