4 ms·
when someone describes a politician they don't like as a "fascist" it's disrespectful to the memory of people who are squashed under tanks and who are taken in
by donall 15y ago
when someone describes a politician they don't like as a "fascist" it's disrespectful to the memory of people who are squashed under tanks and who are taken in the night by state agents, raped and murdered.
I know this is veering off-topic, but I think it's worth pointing out that not every instance of the word "fascist" is disrespectful and to deny people the right to use it is just as destructive as when it is misused by people who don't properly understand what it means.
In many cases it is still appropriate and it should be used to call a spade a spade. For example, many European countries have political parties that are directly descended from the fascist political parties of the 20th century (e.g. [1]). They retain their objetives, ideals and often even their signature salute. There are several politicians in government right now that I personally dislike and that I describe as fascist because that's exactly what they are. Fascist politics existed for decades before WWII and they continue to exist decades after.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Party_%28Spain%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Party_%28Spain%29
- declank 15y agoReductio ad Hitlerum: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law
- donall 15y agoWell, in this case, I eschewed Germanic examples! But you can consider it a reductio ad Francum if you like (and if my Latin grammar isn't too terrible).
- rmc 15y agoMore examples: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_National_Party http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_National_Party
- hugh3 15y agoMy rule of thumb on whether it's appropriate to call someone fascist: would they label themselves as such? "Fascism" is a notoriously hard to define term -- there was never a "fascist manifesto" the way there was for communism. Life is too short to argue with someone about what their political beliefs should be called. The British National Party is a bunch of wrong-headed jerks regardless of whether they're "fascist" or not, and every moment you spend arguing with them over whether they're really "fascist" is a moment you really should be arguing with 'em about why their policies are stupid.