Is this honest ignorance or cynical rhetoric? One can never tell these days. Nobody thinks that the left's liberal policies are creeping fascism, but rather it

Is this honest ignorance or cynical rhetoric? One can never tell these days. Nobody thinks that the left's liberal policies are creeping fascism, but rather its leftist, illiberal ones. The right is criticized for 'fascism' for merely existing--the same policies they've advocated for decades without such accusations are suddenly 'fascist'! It's a matter of linguistic manipulation--of bad faith--and nothing more. It's frankly sad to see folks on HN who fall for this gutter sophistry, which is clearly aimed at people who have no conception whatever of history, whether of American politics or of fascism. The left, on the other hand, is criticized for 'fascism' because they increasingly adopt, encourage, and condone the political program and tactics of fascist authoritarians. Because wherever they have control of institutions, they seek to use them to pursue political goals. Corporate DEI, corporate ESG policies, banks freezing assets of protesters, social media banning conservatives, corporations pushing the trans agenda--these are all examples of a now-familiar phenomenon in which captured corporations push unpopular progressive political goals. The merging of state, party and corporate power for the furtherance of progressive goals is, of course, the very heart of fascism. But that's not all! The left increasingly embraces the streetwise, strong-arm tactics of the brownshirts; by encouraging/defending the anti-social harassment of conservative politicians, remaining silent as conservatives were silenced on campuses around the country, defending corporations who censored conservatives (the only point on which progressives aggressively defend corporate power at the expense of the consumer), aggravating racial tension for political gain, openly encouraging riots that caused billions in damage and took many lives, and so on. Remember, on the eve of the 2020 election, city centers around the country were boarded up in fear that the mobs of angry people, masked and dressed in black, would swoop down and resume their months-long campaign of wonton destruction. And it wasn't the right that they were afraid of, but the left--and for good reason!