Well, those of us who aren't influential, still may express our opinions
openly. That's #3. The sexism is more evident in state laws where
Republicans rule. And the Military has a lot of power, but it is not as
obvious as it might be.
Miriam
________________________________
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bob Hachey
Sent: Monday, January 11, 2016 3:56 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] The Twelve Warning Signs of Fascism
Hi all,
Now here's a truly scary piece that seems to be coming true before our eyes.
Seems to me we've already experienced most if not all of these in the last
20 years.
Bob Hachey
12 warning signs of fascism
1. Exuberant nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic images, slogans and
symbols - National flags are seen everywhere in public display. Territorial
aggression is explained to be mere destiny -- an unbidden greatness thrust
upon the nation by history.
It is this burden of unique responsibility that now raises the fascist state
above all previous constraint, no longer bound by international obligations,
treaties or law.
2. Enemies Identified
This national cause is identified as unity against enemies - The people are
rallied around a unifying patriotism directed against some common threat:
communists,
liberals, a racial, ethnic or religious minority, intellectuals,
homosexuals, terrorists, etc.
The state's message is sometimes couched in an easily recognized religious
theme. Amazingly, this language is used even when the full context of the
teaching
shows the meaning to be diametrically opposed. Any dissent is "siding with
the enemy", and therefore treasonous.
3. Rights Disappear
Disdain for human and political rights - Fascist regimes foster an
artificial climate of fear by intentionally amplifying stress and anxiety.
Citizens
naturally feel a strong need for security and are easily persuaded to ignore
abuses in the name of safety. The few still willing to question are met with
bullying and smear campaigns of intimidation.
Legislative bodies, if still in existence at all, are cowed into
rubber-stamp submission with occasional ceremonial opposition. The judiciary
tends to
become activist in support of state views. The public often looks away, or
even enthusiastically approves as rights are stripped away.
The concept of the individual inevitably yields ground, exchanged for the
promised safety of the all-powerful state.
4. Secrecy Demanded
Obsession with secrecy and national security - The workings of government
become increasingly hidden. Questioning of authority is discouraged at all
levels
of society. From office talk at the water cooler up through the entire
apparatus of rule, guarded speech and secrecy become ends in themselves.
Troubling questions are muted and entire areas of scrutiny are placed out of
bounds by simply invoking "national security".
5. Military Glorified
Supremacy of the military - The military establishment receives a
disproportionate share of government resources, even as pressing domestic
needs are neglected.
Individual soldiers and military culture are glamorized and made constantly
visible.
This provides both an object for public glorification, as well as sharp
warning to possibly restless citizens that the power of the state stands
close
at hand, ready to use its great potential for violence.
6. Corporations Shielded
Corporate power is protected - Typically, a segment of the business elite
plays a major role in bringing fascists to national leadership, often from
an
unsavory obscurity. This marriage of big money and raw violence is often
considered by historians to be the hallmark and backbone of fascism.
As these business-government-military interests meld, the significant threat
of organized labor is clearly recognized. Labor unions and their support
organizations
are either co-opted successfully or ruthlessly suppressed and eliminated as
soon as possible.
7. Corruption Unchecked
Rampant cronyism and corruption - Fascist states maintain power through this
relatively small group of associates, mutually appointing each other to
interlocking
and rotating positions in government, business and the military.
With this degree of control, they make full use of both official secrecy and
the ready threat of state violence to insulate themselves from any
meaningful
criticism. They are not accountable and are shielded from scrutiny in a way
unthinkable in a democratic society.
8. Media Controlled
Mass media - Sometimes the media are controlled directly by clumsy
government functionaries. At other times, sympathetic corporate media
insiders shape
the themes indirectly, and therefore more skillfully. Image regularly trumps
content as the "news" is presented breathlessly and with flashy stage
effects.
A practiced formula of tenacious repetition brings even the most absurd lie
into acceptance over time. By design, the very language itself and the
coloration
employed will push alternate views "out of the mainstream".
The terms of any remaining debate are narrowly defined to the state's
advantage, making it easy to marginalize a truly differing perspective.
Censorship
and "self-censorship", especially in wartime, is common.
9. Rampant Sexism
Rampant sexism - Governments of fascist states tend to be almost exclusively
male-dominated. Traditional gender roles are made even more rigid and
exaggerated.
Virulent homophobia is commonly built into broad policy.
10. Intellectual Bullying
Disdain for intellectuals - Fascist society tends to create an environment
of extreme hostility to critical thought in general, and to academics in
particular.
Ideologically driven "science" is elevated and lavishly funded, while any
expression not in line with the state view is at first ignored, then
challenged,
then ridiculed and finally stamped out.
It is not uncommon for academics to be pressured to attack the work of their
insufficiently patriotic peers. Writings are censored; teachers are fired
and arrested. Free artistic expression in new works is openly attacked, and
existing works deemed unpatriotic are often publicly destroyed.
11. Militarized Police
Obsession with crime and punishment - Fascist society is often willing to
overlook police abuses and forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism.
Long jail sentences for clearly political offenses, torture and then
assassination are at first uncomfortably tolerated, and then start to pile
up to become
the norm.
Often a national police force is given virtually unlimited power to snoop
through the civilian population. Networks of surveillance and informers are
employed,
both for actual intelligence gathering and also as a means to keep neighbors
and co-workers isolated and mistrustful of each other.
12. Elections Stolen
Fraudulent elections - In the disordered time as fascists are rising to
power, the electoral arena becomes increasingly confusing, corrupted, and
manipulated.
There is rising public cynicism and distrust over what are widely believed
to be phony elections manipulated by moneyed influence, obvious media bias,
smear campaigns, ballot tampering, judicial interference, intimidation, or
outright assassination of potential opposition. Fascists in power have been
known to use this disorder as the rationale to delay elections indefinitely.
https://iweb.tntech.edu/kosburn/history-202/12_warning_signs_of_fascism.htm
