Who are these “christo-fascists”? I’m a big skeptical when people throw that f-word around. I might generally agree with their points but they almost always have a political ax to grind. Hence the hyperbole.
The overlap of people that call themselves devote christians and people that are racist and fascist is huge in America. Mind you, they call themselves christians, they don’t act like they claim.
A while ago I saw someone flying the flags of the “Anti-Antifa” and a huge cross. Mathematically that makes them the “Fa”. If only anyone knew what that part stands for…
P.S.: Oh and this isn’t exclusive to the US of A. Here in Germany the conservative party bears the word “christian” in their name and they have been inching closer with the neo-Nazi party AfD for years now - if not politically then at least ideologically.
Anti-antifa does not make one fascist. Britain and America were anti-Antifa and made sure they regained no power in the early days of the BDR. You might disagree with Western, anti-socialist and anticommunist politics, but they were decidedly not fascist.
This is what I mean. A political ax to grind and a bunch of word games.
I’m late to this, but I think you were unfairly downvoted for asking a legitimate question.
The modern definition of fascism that is separate from the Italian political party comes from Umberto Eco’s essay Ur-Fascism: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/umberto-eco-ur-fascism
His 14 points closely align with the US Christian right wing and more generally the rise of right wing authoritarianism globally.
At any case, to respond more precisely to what you were saying. I will read the Umberto Eco essay at some point (sorry, its long and I’m busy). Nevertheless, I feel as though a redefinition of the term clearly has a political motivation behind it. Why not simply call right wing Christians by another name? I feel the word fascist is used because of its historical connotation and because it helps people with a far-left agenda get what they want. It’s an effective strategy because conservatives end up defending themselves and trying go prove they’re not Hitler rather than talking about something a bit more substantive.
No worries. It’s a short read as far as essays go.
Both the Nazi and Fascist parties were authorization but neither were left or right in the modern US instances. Eco’s whole point was to divest the cultural and time trappings of this brand of authoritarianism into a general definition of modern populist authoritarianism.
It’s a good read.
I am completely with you on the f-word being thrown around willy nilly these days, but there are a disturbing number of self proclaimed Christian nationalists in government and among the evangelical populace. Marjorie Taylor Greene is not the only politician to state this on a televised interview, but is the first one to jump out at me.
It’s thrown around a lot now because it’s apt. And the Republicans need to rely on it more and more as people realize the truth to the capitalist propaganda and they can’t keep in power using BS like trickle down economics. People are understanding that equality isn’t a part of what Republicans are interested in, so they need to appeal to the people who aren’t interested in equality.
The rich are one group that benefits from inequality but are outnumbered by the poor, so that leaves people who believe in fascist ideals, like one race is better than others, or gender, or gender preference, or some other trait that means they can feel superior without needing to do anything that sets them apart.
Which might have been at the root of why people were willing to believe that bullshit that favoured the ruling class in the first place because my own reaction to “trickle down economics” the first time I heard of it was that it was fucking stupid. I still don’t see many people pointing out that even if it did work, it implied that some people deserve the bulk of resources to pass through their hands and be used to get labour and other goods from those it “trickles down” to.
I’d argue that the American dream itself was fascist, at least the versions that have everyone aspiring to be billionaires. The Confederacy was fascist, existing purely because they thought that some men should be able to own others outright.
Delusional. You may disagree with American capitalism and the plutocracy it has become. I’m inclined to agree with you to a point. None of those things are fascist.
The far left is obsessed with fascism. Maybe it is because you are both brutal and authoritarian when you gain power.
That number has been shrinking for decades, while at the same time the christo-faccists are getting more pushy.
Who are these “christo-fascists”? I’m a big skeptical when people throw that f-word around. I might generally agree with their points but they almost always have a political ax to grind. Hence the hyperbole.
The overlap of people that call themselves devote christians and people that are racist and fascist is huge in America. Mind you, they call themselves christians, they don’t act like they claim.
A while ago I saw someone flying the flags of the “Anti-Antifa” and a huge cross. Mathematically that makes them the “Fa”. If only anyone knew what that part stands for…
P.S.: Oh and this isn’t exclusive to the US of A. Here in Germany the conservative party bears the word “christian” in their name and they have been inching closer with the neo-Nazi party AfD for years now - if not politically then at least ideologically.
Anti-antifa does not make one fascist. Britain and America were anti-Antifa and made sure they regained no power in the early days of the BDR. You might disagree with Western, anti-socialist and anticommunist politics, but they were decidedly not fascist.
This is what I mean. A political ax to grind and a bunch of word games.
I’m late to this, but I think you were unfairly downvoted for asking a legitimate question. The modern definition of fascism that is separate from the Italian political party comes from Umberto Eco’s essay Ur-Fascism: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/umberto-eco-ur-fascism
His 14 points closely align with the US Christian right wing and more generally the rise of right wing authoritarianism globally.
Thanks, I appreciate your response. But don’t worry. I am here to help out FOSS software, and because I believe in the Lemmy project.
I am perfectly happy to share my honest opinions and be downvoted. That’s part of being part of a community.
At any case, to respond more precisely to what you were saying. I will read the Umberto Eco essay at some point (sorry, its long and I’m busy). Nevertheless, I feel as though a redefinition of the term clearly has a political motivation behind it. Why not simply call right wing Christians by another name? I feel the word fascist is used because of its historical connotation and because it helps people with a far-left agenda get what they want. It’s an effective strategy because conservatives end up defending themselves and trying go prove they’re not Hitler rather than talking about something a bit more substantive.
No worries. It’s a short read as far as essays go. Both the Nazi and Fascist parties were authorization but neither were left or right in the modern US instances. Eco’s whole point was to divest the cultural and time trappings of this brand of authoritarianism into a general definition of modern populist authoritarianism. It’s a good read.
I am completely with you on the f-word being thrown around willy nilly these days, but there are a disturbing number of self proclaimed Christian nationalists in government and among the evangelical populace. Marjorie Taylor Greene is not the only politician to state this on a televised interview, but is the first one to jump out at me.
It’s thrown around a lot now because it’s apt. And the Republicans need to rely on it more and more as people realize the truth to the capitalist propaganda and they can’t keep in power using BS like trickle down economics. People are understanding that equality isn’t a part of what Republicans are interested in, so they need to appeal to the people who aren’t interested in equality.
The rich are one group that benefits from inequality but are outnumbered by the poor, so that leaves people who believe in fascist ideals, like one race is better than others, or gender, or gender preference, or some other trait that means they can feel superior without needing to do anything that sets them apart.
Which might have been at the root of why people were willing to believe that bullshit that favoured the ruling class in the first place because my own reaction to “trickle down economics” the first time I heard of it was that it was fucking stupid. I still don’t see many people pointing out that even if it did work, it implied that some people deserve the bulk of resources to pass through their hands and be used to get labour and other goods from those it “trickles down” to.
I’d argue that the American dream itself was fascist, at least the versions that have everyone aspiring to be billionaires. The Confederacy was fascist, existing purely because they thought that some men should be able to own others outright.
Delusional. You may disagree with American capitalism and the plutocracy it has become. I’m inclined to agree with you to a point. None of those things are fascist.
The far left is obsessed with fascism. Maybe it is because you are both brutal and authoritarian when you gain power.
The label “fascist” now gets tossed around as much as the label “communist” did in the 50s.