The rise of fascism.

[artyboy]

Haven't you noticed a the rise of fascism and other far right politics at the moment?

At the Moment in the UK it seems people are getting more racist, homophobic and Islamic-phobic, you can see it in the rise of stupid parties like UKip and BNP. I feel a little scared of things to come.

[East]

You aren't alone. The prediction is the Republicans will keep the House and may take the Senate and (gasp)..the Presidency. The Supreme Court has basically assured the top 10% can buy future elections and gerrymandering has taken care of the rest of it.

The Faux News station won their right to lie in court...it is a propaganda machine. People should be a lot more scared than they are.

[artyboy]

How I like it to is a virus. This is how it started in Germany in the 1930s.

[East]

Keep an eye out for these conditions...they were present under Bush and pretty much define the Tea Party (and Republicans).....

Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:

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 or 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 governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

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

7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational 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 into 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 and letters is openly attacked.

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 use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders. 1

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

[artyboy]

Seems this issues is being buried in the sand by a lot of people.

[Softmachine]

There has been a steady erosion of civil liberties in the UK since 9/11, so the abstract fear of terrorism is behind a lot of it. We live in paranoid times, where the only thing that's unquantifiable is the paranoia itself. I was very glad to see the BNP trumped in the recent council and Euro elections, although the shift towards UKIP wasn't pleasing - but they are the lesser of two evils. I don't think I agree with UKIP on any issue, but the BNP have some policies so revolting and uncivillised that I'm almost happy their power has been usurped. For example, the BNP would repeal the law against statutory rape, so a husband could rape his wife as his 'right' as a man and she would have no legal recourse. I'm positive there are plenty of men rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of legalised marital rape. After all, much of the Anglo-fascism in the UK seems a reaction against two things: the so-called permissive society ushered in by the '60s (although trace that back to the beginning of the century - the enfranchisment of women for example), and the ever-present fear of Johnny foreigner. One thing I've noticed is how much many of these Anglo-fascists hate women. Of course, they don't like foreigners, Muslims, Jews, gays, and anyone who's not white, but it's their hatred for and desire to subjugate and humiliate women that I find particularly noticeable. It's all reprehensible, I don't place one higher than the other, but their misogyny is astonishing and interestingly, quite unchecked. Let's condemn them for all their horrid, uncivillised beliefs.

There is a culture war in the UK between the Anglo-fascists (Nick Griffin et al) and the small, but influential Islamo-fascists - the minority groups who support Sharia law and justify rape and honour killings, forced conversions and execution for all those who refuse. I don't believe these groups are about to launch a revolution as some do, but they do exist and although they don't represent most Muslims (or even the Koran if you read it closely and with an educated guide or teacher), we should wise up to their existence and their potential to spread, particularly in opposition to the BNP. One type of fascism fuels the other, which in turn fuels the behaviour of the government, which has lent itself for some years to extremism and illegality. It wasn't just Blair, it was Brown and now Cameron who aren't letting up on the clamp down on liberties, protest rights etc. Even though we are experiencing this recession, still capitalism isn't questioned in itself as a viable economic system.

I live in an area where the BNP and UKIP are very popular. People have supportive placards in their windows. Okay fine, that's democracy, but I find it worrying that people will pledge themselves to ideas that are bullshit, vast exaggerations, scaremongering, or just barbaric. And they don't bother to educate themselves or debate, they just listen to the BNP/UKIP representative and nod. There comes a point when you have to say 'Okay, people can believe in whatever they want, but should we really have a political party that advocates racism, homophobia, misogyny and the kind of violent thuggery most of us left behind in the playground?' To quote the esteemed political philosopher Homer of Springfield, 'When are people going to learn. Democracy doesn't work.' Just call me a liberal fascist.

[marshlander]

These things tend to go in cycles, but you are right to observe that the extreme right seems to be receiving a lot of attention at the moment. France received a huge wake-up call a few years ago when the Front Nationale won a larger than expected proportion of the vote in the first round in the national election. It seems that a lot of people went back to sleep judging by the number of votes they attracted in the recent European elections. Certainly something to keep an eye on.

[artyboy]

These things tend to go in cycles, but you are right to observe that the extreme right seems to be receiving a lot of attention at the moment. France received a huge wake-up call a few years ago when the Front Nationale won a larger than expected proportion of the vote in the first round in the national election. It seems that a lot of people went back to sleep judging by the number of votes they attracted in the recent European elections. Certainly something to keep an eye on.

The same happened with UKip over here in the UK.

[marshlander]

The same happened with UKip over here in the UK.

That's true, but Brits could be forgiven for wondering if anyone else was actually standing given the unhinged amount of publicity Nigel Farage managed to get in the weeks leading up to the Euro election.

[artyboy]

That's true, but Brits could be forgiven for wondering if anyone else was actually standing given the unhinged amount of publicity Nigel Farage managed to get in the weeks leading up to the Euro election.

I never heard of him before then strangely, it was the Local elections too in the UK, Ukip got 9% still though.