New World Checklist
The 14 Defining Characteristics Of Fascism by Dr. Lawrence Britt
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:
I thought it would be cute if we examined the elements of fascism just to see how far we've come. You can check off the boxes as we go to keep track of our progress. In a few years when they're rounding people up in the streets and throwing them in internment camps we can look back and laugh at the quaintness of it all.
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.
I think the states got this one down. Someone made a killing on flag sales after 9/11.
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.
Abu Gharib. Guantanamo. The U.S. has also stated publicly its soldiers and officers are immune from the international court of justice in The Hague. Check!
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.
Let's not forget good old racism.
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.
As many problems the military has right now hiring. I don't think they have any problems with funding. Check!
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.
Does Condeleeza Rice count? She's the only female face I ever see talking about tearism. South Dakota got the abortion thing locked and they're talking about an amendment to the Constitution to define marriage.
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.
There's something like 4-5 companies that control all the mass-media outlets in the states. Plus that loser from Fox News just took a job as Whitehouse Press Secretary. What more evidence do you need that the 4th Branch of the Government is the media? Listen and save.
7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
We've got color codes!! I bet Hitler and Mussolini never had color codes.
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.
That dude we didn't elect is always talking about God. And this is the first administration to give federal money to religious based charities. We are starting to ignore the separations of church and state setup in the Constitution. Check!
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.
Last time I checked the U.S. was a capitalist country. Even my high school civics teacher couldn't deny this one.
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.
Better yet. Let's just destroy the basis for the middle class and privatize welfare.
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.
Thank god for the first amendment. This is probably the only thing keeping the states from completely falling off the edge. We still axed PBS and student loan programs in the last budget. But they haven't arrested Noam Chomsky yet. Leave this box unchecked for now.
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.
With more people in prison per-capita than any other nation I think we can check off this box.
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.
Did anyone hear about this OR this?
14. 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.
Anyone remember Florida or has that already been erased from public consciousness? Anyone who has any doubt about the illegitimacy of American elections should read some of the stuff here
The 7 conditions (Warning signs) that foster & fuel fascism
Instability of capitalist relationships or markets
The existence of considerable declassed social elements
The stripping of rights and wealth focused upon a specific segment of the population, specifically the middle class and intellectuals within urban areas as this the group with the means, intelligence and ability to stop fascism if given the opportunity.
Discontent among the rural lower middle class (clerks, secretaries, white collar labor). Consistent discontent among the general middle and lower middle classes against the oppressing upper-classes (haves vs have-nots).
Hate: Pronounced, perpetuated and accepted public disdain of a specific group defined by race, origin, theology or association.
Greed: The motivator of fascism, which is generally associated with land, space or scarce resources in the possession of those being oppressed.
Organized Propaganda:
a) The creation of social mythology that venerates (creates saints of) one element of society while concurrently vilifying (dehumanizing) another element of the population through misinformation, misdirection and the obscuring of factual matter through removal, destruction or social humiliation, (name-calling, false accusations, belittling and threats).
b) The squelching of public debate not agreeing with the popular agenda via slander, libel, threats, theft, destruction, historical revisionism and social humiliation. Journalists in particular are terrorized if they attempt to publish stories contrary to the agenda.
If you've made it this far your IP address has been recorded by the NSA. Don't worry it's for your own protection. In case you haven't heard we've been doing this kinda shit for a while.
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:
I thought it would be cute if we examined the elements of fascism just to see how far we've come. You can check off the boxes as we go to keep track of our progress. In a few years when they're rounding people up in the streets and throwing them in internment camps we can look back and laugh at the quaintness of it all.
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.
I think the states got this one down. Someone made a killing on flag sales after 9/11.
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.
Abu Gharib. Guantanamo. The U.S. has also stated publicly its soldiers and officers are immune from the international court of justice in The Hague. Check!
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.
Let's not forget good old racism.
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.
As many problems the military has right now hiring. I don't think they have any problems with funding. Check!
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.
Does Condeleeza Rice count? She's the only female face I ever see talking about tearism. South Dakota got the abortion thing locked and they're talking about an amendment to the Constitution to define marriage.
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.
There's something like 4-5 companies that control all the mass-media outlets in the states. Plus that loser from Fox News just took a job as Whitehouse Press Secretary. What more evidence do you need that the 4th Branch of the Government is the media? Listen and save.
7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
We've got color codes!! I bet Hitler and Mussolini never had color codes.
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.
That dude we didn't elect is always talking about God. And this is the first administration to give federal money to religious based charities. We are starting to ignore the separations of church and state setup in the Constitution. Check!
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.
Last time I checked the U.S. was a capitalist country. Even my high school civics teacher couldn't deny this one.
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.
Better yet. Let's just destroy the basis for the middle class and privatize welfare.
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.
Thank god for the first amendment. This is probably the only thing keeping the states from completely falling off the edge. We still axed PBS and student loan programs in the last budget. But they haven't arrested Noam Chomsky yet. Leave this box unchecked for now.
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.
With more people in prison per-capita than any other nation I think we can check off this box.
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.
Did anyone hear about this OR this?
14. 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.
Anyone remember Florida or has that already been erased from public consciousness? Anyone who has any doubt about the illegitimacy of American elections should read some of the stuff here
The 7 conditions (Warning signs) that foster & fuel fascism
Instability of capitalist relationships or markets
The existence of considerable declassed social elements
The stripping of rights and wealth focused upon a specific segment of the population, specifically the middle class and intellectuals within urban areas as this the group with the means, intelligence and ability to stop fascism if given the opportunity.
Discontent among the rural lower middle class (clerks, secretaries, white collar labor). Consistent discontent among the general middle and lower middle classes against the oppressing upper-classes (haves vs have-nots).
Hate: Pronounced, perpetuated and accepted public disdain of a specific group defined by race, origin, theology or association.
Greed: The motivator of fascism, which is generally associated with land, space or scarce resources in the possession of those being oppressed.
Organized Propaganda:
a) The creation of social mythology that venerates (creates saints of) one element of society while concurrently vilifying (dehumanizing) another element of the population through misinformation, misdirection and the obscuring of factual matter through removal, destruction or social humiliation, (name-calling, false accusations, belittling and threats).
b) The squelching of public debate not agreeing with the popular agenda via slander, libel, threats, theft, destruction, historical revisionism and social humiliation. Journalists in particular are terrorized if they attempt to publish stories contrary to the agenda.
If you've made it this far your IP address has been recorded by the NSA. Don't worry it's for your own protection. In case you haven't heard we've been doing this kinda shit for a while.