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So what you're saying is that after a decimation of their economy, Germans were angry at the economic elite in their country. They then listened to the entertai

So what you're saying is that after a decimation of their economy, Germans were angry at the economic elite in their country. They then listened to the entertainment industry's pressures to remove their freedom of speech, and other civil rights. Sounds about right.

slurgfest 15y ago
No, a really important feature of fascism is this hate component which keeps being omitted. SOPA sucks, but it isn't driven by an ideology of the nation's renewal through purges of some undesirable class, return to cultural and religious fundamentals of the nation, pressing need to defeat communism and prove the nation's glory with war and occupations... Whether or not the US is moving toward fascism in some way, SOPA is incidental to that - SOPA is nothing more than a big present to certain industries
- bluekeybox 15y ago
  > a really important feature of fascism is this hate component which keeps being omitted. Yeah -- it's like an elephant in the room and no one among those who are the first to bring up comparisons between the U.S. and fascist states talks about it. I wonder why. > SOPA is nothing more than a big present to certain industries That is the best way to think about it -- it's akin to government pork in a way.
  - ldar15 15y ago
    First of all, a hate component is not a component of fascism, per se. Go look it up.[1] Hate, however, is a very useful motivation for an uninformed populace, and hence it shows up all the time during regime change. The Russian Revolution, for example, involved hate, but resulted in communism. Secondly, are you claiming with a straight face that there is not a systematic demonization of a particular group in this country? We're at the point where its so successful that "concerned citizens" are now pointing the finger [6]. So that elephant of yours. "Homeland" Security. Privatization of Prisons. Government checkpoints at all airports. Corporations are Persons (except when it comes to taxes). Money is Speech. From [1]: Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood. In this case "Homeland" serves the same purpose as "Fatherland". Fascism promotes political violence and war as actions that create national regeneration ref: "Mission Accomplished". Fascists commonly utilize paramilitary organizations for violent attacks on opponents or to overthrow a political system Mayor Bloomberg: "I have my own army in the NYPD". Of particular interest is that if you google that quote on reuters or CNN [2], you wont find it. And yet, here he is on tape: [3]. Can you justify pepper spraying US Citizens in the face [4]? Likewise the paramilitarization of police in the name of stopping the drug war and gangs. These things don't happen over night. But so far, the trend is entirely one way. Attempts to justify them are just part of the process. Don't get hung up on "fascism". There are plenty of authoritarian regimes that don't fit that label but are equally unfortunate. But they all start the same way. [5] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism [2] https://www.google.com/search?gcx=w&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=bloomberg+i+have+my+own+army+in+the+nypd+site%3Acnn.com https://www.google.com/search?gcx=w&sourceid=chrome&... [3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ULbo9SDQv4&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ULbo9SDQv4&feature=relat... [4] http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-meme-2-2011-11 http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-meme-2-2011-11 [5] http://www.endofamericamovie.com/about-film/10-steps-that-close-an-open-society http://www.endofamericamovie.com/about-film/10-steps-that-cl... [6] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/14/shoshana-hebshi-9-11-flight-detroit http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/14/shoshana-hebshi-...
- ldar15 15y ago
  The first stage in creating hate is removing moderate voices. The first stage of removing moderate voices is censorship. It must be a flawed mechanism that can be abused by those in power. SOPA is that mechanism.

slurgfest 15y ago

No, a really important feature of fascism is this hate component which keeps being omitted. SOPA sucks, but it isn't driven by an ideology of the nation's renewal through purges of some undesirable class, return to cultural and religious fundamentals of the nation, pressing need to defeat communism and prove the nation's glory with war and occupations... Whether or not the US is moving toward fascism in some way, SOPA is incidental to that - SOPA is nothing more than a big present to certain industries

bluekeybox 15y ago
> a really important feature of fascism is this hate component which keeps being omitted. Yeah -- it's like an elephant in the room and no one among those who are the first to bring up comparisons between the U.S. and fascist states talks about it. I wonder why. > SOPA is nothing more than a big present to certain industries That is the best way to think about it -- it's akin to government pork in a way.
- ldar15 15y ago
  First of all, a hate component is not a component of fascism, per se. Go look it up.[1] Hate, however, is a very useful motivation for an uninformed populace, and hence it shows up all the time during regime change. The Russian Revolution, for example, involved hate, but resulted in communism. Secondly, are you claiming with a straight face that there is not a systematic demonization of a particular group in this country? We're at the point where its so successful that "concerned citizens" are now pointing the finger [6]. So that elephant of yours. "Homeland" Security. Privatization of Prisons. Government checkpoints at all airports. Corporations are Persons (except when it comes to taxes). Money is Speech. From [1]: Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood. In this case "Homeland" serves the same purpose as "Fatherland". Fascism promotes political violence and war as actions that create national regeneration ref: "Mission Accomplished". Fascists commonly utilize paramilitary organizations for violent attacks on opponents or to overthrow a political system Mayor Bloomberg: "I have my own army in the NYPD". Of particular interest is that if you google that quote on reuters or CNN [2], you wont find it. And yet, here he is on tape: [3]. Can you justify pepper spraying US Citizens in the face [4]? Likewise the paramilitarization of police in the name of stopping the drug war and gangs. These things don't happen over night. But so far, the trend is entirely one way. Attempts to justify them are just part of the process. Don't get hung up on "fascism". There are plenty of authoritarian regimes that don't fit that label but are equally unfortunate. But they all start the same way. [5] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism [2] https://www.google.com/search?gcx=w&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=bloomberg+i+have+my+own+army+in+the+nypd+site%3Acnn.com https://www.google.com/search?gcx=w&sourceid=chrome&... [3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ULbo9SDQv4&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ULbo9SDQv4&feature=relat... [4] http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-meme-2-2011-11 http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-meme-2-2011-11 [5] http://www.endofamericamovie.com/about-film/10-steps-that-close-an-open-society http://www.endofamericamovie.com/about-film/10-steps-that-cl... [6] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/14/shoshana-hebshi-9-11-flight-detroit http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/14/shoshana-hebshi-...
ldar15 15y ago
The first stage in creating hate is removing moderate voices. The first stage of removing moderate voices is censorship. It must be a flawed mechanism that can be abused by those in power. SOPA is that mechanism.