Thread by @vincent5126

The Red Flags of Yeagerism: How Fascism Corrupts Our Shingeki

This thread covers the red flags Isayama has left to warn us of the rise of fascism in Attack on Titan, which reflects the past and our present

Throughout the thread, we will define fascism by example

Ep 82 shows a fully formed picture of the Yeagerists, fulfilling every red flag since Ep 67
We see how fascism corrupts the dedication of one’s heart into an ultranationalist commitment that only leads people to a politics of eternal warfare
Where individual freedom is forgotten

In favor of becoming children trapped in the forest, the same as the brainwashed Eldian Warrior and
All living the Hero (Helos) complex but never seeing that they have worth because they are born into this world.

Part 1: Misconceptions To Be Quickly Disproven

AoT has been accused for having fascist subtext, faulted on the presentation of its OPs and the structure of its cast’s politics. And when Attack on Titan does present the fascist movement known as the Yeagerists, many camps form

Such as those who endorse the Rumbling to "protect Paradis"
Others abhor the usage of seemingly Jewish symbols and allegories

I will be quick to answer some of the reductions people have over

Feel free to read over them as I discuss them in length

(1) Pro-Militarism Fallacy

(2) Pro-Imperialist fallacy

(3) Racism Fallacy

All of these misconceptions tie to how people do not realize the whole point of AoT’s presentation
None of the characters’ heinous actions are exonerated
Isayama shows the causes behind why the cast do what, telling us not to judge them right away but to weigh their actions

So we know how they came about and prevent that
Presentation does not equal endorsement
After all, if violence was lauded in AoT, Sergeant Gross’ commentary in front of the camera would not have existed
Attack on Titan is not a violent world that praises violence

But a story presenting children of the forest trapped by the unavoidable truth and trying to escape cruelty’s insistence their lives have no worth

If there is one miracle AoT imparts to us, that is insisted even as we have progress in our times, it is that all life has dignity.

Do not define children as cattle or what you want them to be but love them because they are born into this world like you are

With that out of the way, let us outline what fascism is in the real world via the Yeagerists because they present the rise of fascism in our society

Part 2: Floch’s Triumph of the Will and the rise of fascism

Floch, a new recruit, is terrified to be reduced to nothing by Zeke’s rocks in Erwin's charge

Yet he saw Erwin’s determination to give everything for humanity’s advancement and to never be trampled into weakness again

Yet at the same time Erwin’s charge was a choice to abandon his hopes

Floch was a survivor, all near him reduced to nothing, as if his own survival was incidental

So when he sees Erwin alive, his hopes of bringing his own life meaning were restored

He gave his survival meaning

He saw the need for humanity to have a monster to rise above them

Believing power defined their fate

One who abandons his humanity to serve others

The devil-god duality is ever-present but they are actually the same

God defines dignity

The devil is power that does the same

While the series emphasizes the need to fight against cruelty, the cast grounds this mentality with caution

Armin accepted the risks of shingeki but Jean, who saw the price of advancement from the forgotten bones (that could have been him or Marco), asks what will be left after

Season 1 leaves us with this quiet yet powerful reflection

If Eren could win against Annie and become a devil to “save humanity”, what is left for him, for anyone who becomes a devil, like Erwin, the one who enabled Eren’s rampage then?

Let us look at the environment that formed the Yeagerist mob

Marley arc

A story where perspective shifts to “the other side” to realize “we are all the same”, walled and defining the “other” based on our environment, without dignity, yet all of us are lost in the same forest

Floch joins the Eren retrieval squad but unlike Jean and Mikasa, who look at the casualties Eren caused with horror, Floch sees this as something to be proud of, taking the fight to the enemy for the progress of the nation
"They deserve it"
"It is just places animals live"

Isayama plants the seed of the nationalist movement at play, which we, who side with our guys, would seem to agree with at first
But Armin’s nuke on the port changes that
While a tactic for weakening Marley, Armin knew to be an unforgivable crime as he had also let innocents die

After, Floch declares victory for the Eldian Empire
A term connected to a past Empire the Restorationists believed to be a golden age
Every death added present glory
Death gave heroism/meaning to "empty life"
However, this preemptive celebration would be followed by Sasha’s death

While her friends respond with trying to keep her alive, Floch, who was not seen as Sasha’s friend, brutally beats up two children, the one who shot Sasha and the other who did nothing wrong, other than joining her
This shows the first priority for Floch and his ilk was action

War for Paradis
Eren's arrest was an issue alienating the government from the people, who idolized Eren for his "heroic attack on Liberio"
Dissatisfied with "slow", "weak" response to looming war
Everyone feels tense
And angry for waiting "helplessly"
Civil unrest opens new doors

The seeds of Yeagerism were planted in Ep 70
Eren was the alternative
His attack proves he had what it takes to avenge the eaten
Floch's info leaks furthered anti-government hostility
Soon that mob anger would be justified as Floch had the leader, Zackly's, blown up before them

As Pixis later noted, government showed they failed their mandate before the people (the reason why they sat instead of Reiss) by not considering their sentiments

Hesitation to act and caution against a popular Eren led to chaos, which the mob took as judgment against the weak

Eren’s escape was planned right in the middle of this social upheaval
The cult of action triumphed over “slow” rationality
Floch's assassination of Zackly "empowered" those who felt vindicated that Eren was right
The mob ruled and were ruled by the cult of action called Yeagerism

Part 3: Yeagerism in action

The movement grows with radical speed
To secure power, Floch detains Hange but also a family, who only happened to just eat in the restaurant and were caught in a confrontation
Societal breakdown led to a disregard of the law
Action over reasoning

In seizing one military branch, he breaks the roots
Stopping a training session, Floch sends a message while gathering followers
Military is ousted
Yeagerism is in control
But only those who submit can benefit
Disagreement is treason
Prison to the inconvenient
Like Sasha's family

The scene demonstrates Floch's impatience and itch to act overriding reason
When he tries to shoot Shadis’ leg to make him bend (to force submission using violence, instead of consent)
Floch depended on the gun to get his way and threat to imprison those who do not agree with him

And what he proposes is that Keith Shadis and the military are weak and must be crushed because weakness cannot exist in a perfect/strong Empire

Shadis lets the Cadets beat him so that they will be spared

And you can see who between Shadis and Floch is the weaker one

With violence and threats Floch wanted to assert that Yeagerism has the strength the military lacks
When in reality, the only truth for Floch is strength and that people have no inherent value
Anyone who does not submit is unfree but the one who gives up freedom to Yeager is free

This is the road to unfreedom for Paradis
Yet the episode where the Yeagerists are most present is in Episode 82, Sunset, where we finally see how they consolidate power after the Rumbling.
It starts with a quarrel among ordinary people, some who lost homes to Eren's rumbling

I see this scene clearly summarizes what Isayama wrote the Yeagerists for
Fascists are cringe
They think the Rumbling is a selfless act for the nation
Well, look at the nation complaining about property damage
Small thing, right?
These arguments look familiar to us titanfolk, eh?

Except they downplay the immediate plight of the people
Not only homes but farms, factories
A damaged economy are downplayed in favor of state worship
This belittling shows how awful Yeagerism is
It disregards your dignity like the Eldian Empire
All for victory
Credits: @wdieljpg

Just like the ancient Eldians, they only want other people to be convenient, to keep quiet when cruelty is abound, a society that is walled, not by literal Walls that just left to kill the world but by the walls that preexisted Ymir to insist on the inevitability of conflict

A forest where we label people as either “good” (convenient) or “bad” (inconvenient)
How can Yeagerists claim to represent the Scouts when they force others to dedicate their hearts for a cause that does not advance humanity but return us to the dark ages?

The Yeagerists in this one scene show that they never cared about the people based on their dignity and if they did, they should not have given them empty pride as a solution, a pride that could only make them see each other as comrades but remain defined by one label: convenient

Fascism gives a shortcut, labelling certain people as “good for you” and others bad, controlling relationships based on an extreme tribal division, not on the fact the person in front of you has dignity has a person

Fascism brainwashed Gabi into hating an Eldian before knowing them and fascism empowered Floch and his goons to deny any negativity from the Rumbling so that they can rouse a spirit of devotion to the Yeagerist cause, the cause of empire

Isayama’s discourse on fascism may not be clear to some but this scene certainly proved something Timothy Snyder (2018) summarized about the fascism of the 1920s and 30s, which happens to be where the AoT falls under. Three core features were:

The road to unfreedom, even within the masses, began the moment “Shinzo wo Sasageyo” was used to silence dissent
This is the corruption of the Shingeki theme (I will cover in Part 4's systemic dissection)
How do these reasonings remain sound to the mob?

Timothy Snyder (2018) notes that the road to unfreedom was a shift from the politics of inevitability to eternity
The politics of inevitability holds that ideas do not matter
Only the strong remain
This ties to the forest them and fascism’s insistence that life is eternal warfare

It is easy to be led by inevitability
That we will always have enemies, no time to talk and that only the strong win and thus have dignity
So Yeagerism uses strength to propel a xenophobic ideology, that to “remain strong/have worth”, we have to kill every enemy and not be weak

With the inevitability of might makes right comes the politics of eternity, which justifies that might even more
It suggests that the nation always held preeminent innocence, that it is the victim in the drama against the world
So enemies deserve death for being "not us"

He suggests that all foreigners are unwelcome if they do not agree with the Eldian Empire
Seeing it as a golden age implies his belief that only the Eldians have the right to rule
Yet the Empire is far from innocent, having been built on the back of a slave abused for her power

Yet Floch insists on a politics of eternity, wherein the Eldian Empire is inherently faultless by virtue of its strength and that the persecution against them is unjust, not seeing that other nations are oppressed by both Eldia and Marley throughout history
Even now by his devil

Yet some value their dignity and refuse submission
Tatakae!
But
Bang, bang, bang!
The anime frames the shot of Floch killing the Volunteer in a way anyone would feel fear, because it is a familiar sight
Floch shoots the man three times instead of blowing his head just once

There is an irony to this and Yelena’s act in Episode 75
Both were similar in a way: Floch offers the "weak foreigners" a chance to be "honorary Eldians"
But while Floch murdered a man callously to impose fear
Yelena used calculated violence to kill a racist Griez to win sympathy

However, she actually lacks any real love for them or shock at racism
She only gains dignity from the feeling of accomplishment
She sees herself as an actor that gets her acknowledged
Both playing a role to win sympathy but also feeling validation from that sympathy personally

Floch kills a guy in cold blood 3 times, insisting the man respect HIM specifically
In that instance, with Floch’s passion rising, he is expressing his urge to impose personal power via the gun
Fascism was not about the power of a nation but to feed the ego of needy men like him

The anime also showed Jean trying to reach out but he felt helpless, chained to the flow of the world
He was a “weak human” who could not fight
Yet to Floch, this was good
Jean’s surrender to Floch’s power is a demonstration of the fulfillment of this road to unfreedom

“What's so wrong with submission?”
Floch says to those he detains but he also reveals his true self, that the price of freedom under Yeagerism is to not be free to disagree
The rule of the strong
To be slaves to power (the strong are ruled by power like the weak they enslave)

Just as he sees Eren’s mission to end the world’s hatred, Floch makes it his to “eliminate dissent within the island”, except by making people submit, he goes against Eren’s freedom
Floch's Eldia is innocent bec of its power and only those who obey or hold that power have worth

By saying that the Rumbling and Floch’s campaign of wiping out dissent is their awaited freedom, Floch has already sent the message that only those who are not dead can win and you can only win if you submit
But to Eren if you submit, you lose
And if you lose, you die forgotten

Floch offers a false freedom
Power will let them be kings
Except that power is from being slaves to the state, the construct that justifies power
To be told he can live life easy as others die
To be the old him
Horrifies Jean
After all the hell he saw
Floch corrupts AoT's themes

Part 4: Thematic Corruption as Isayama’s Critique of Fascism

What is fascism?

Simply an ideology centered on the state that suppresses any dissent yet is fueled by opposition to outsiders to maintain control over its populace

We reference Mussolini for how fascists see fascism

However, in this definition is a slew of features or red flags to identify the emergence of a fascist movement or government

Umberto Eco (1995) lists 14 of these features from his experiences under Mussolini’s fascism

This is my poster's source to see how AoT's corrupted themes

1. The rise of irrationalism creates the cult of action; culture is treated with suspicion as it fosters criticism:

Point 3 requires dissection

First, Yeagerism is primarily dominated by a rage against the world, similar to Eren

But it already identifies a target, the “other”

Only the nation matters. We see this in how Floch plotted ousting Zackly for not taking action, insisting to society that action alone can secure Eldian freedom

Second, all culture is treated with suspicion, as it promotes new ideas different from what the status quo permits

We see this cult of action formed by a disregard for the other in how Floch shoots down a foreign Volunteer for defying him. Instead of using words, in many instances (Zackly’s death, Shadis’ beating and the Volunteer execution), Floch asserts order with aggression

2. Disagreement is treason

Point 4 is the most evident red flag with Yeagerism

Floch forces Cadets to beat Shadis to show “resolve”, not weakness and threatens to lock them up if they refuse

Meaning that those who disagree are not part of the nation and thus have no dignity

The recent episode also shows him shooting a Volunteer for disagreeing with siding with the Eldian Empire
However, Point 4 goes deeper
Fascism hates analytical criticism as it makes distinctions and knows that, for example, Floch is a big bully that insists he is right with force

Furthermore, in a fascist environment, to ensure compliance and “unity”, any discourse that disagrees with the ideology is shut out whereas in modern society, scientific progress is achieved through debate
Sound familiar?
Fascists hate science as it promotes critical thinking

3. Disagreement is a sign of diversity

Point 5 follows from previous points, that culture encourages critical thinking and such critical insights endanger fascist order

Diversity of thought is not welcome in a “united” fascist society

It is unthinkable for "others" to be "us"

Diversity comes not only in welcoming new ideas and cultures but also of an acceptance that people are physically different and can live together
Onyankopon’s usage in the story shows racism in Yeagerism at play
He is our guide to racial diversity after learning of a wide world

His monotheism is refreshing, explains how God, who define human dignity, made everyone different, hence the fundamental truth allows diversity
This view goes against fascism
So fascism is against fundamental truth in the name of an eternal truth of the state's inherent innocence

As a construct of lies, fascism creates the lie of racism
Justifying hate for a group of individuals over perceived faults that none of them are really accountable for
Sgt. Gross is Isayama's demonstration of the root of racism: our love for violence and boredom with peace

Gross' own words also reflect the desire for death (or to be close to it) that moves the cult of action
Floch may hate government inactivity but his itch for action is a psychological response to boredom
Racism becomes more “appealing” as an easy way to pick friends from enemies

Going to Floch's execution of the Volunteers, he sees value in their submission but not in the progress they bring
What does this show us?
That submission does not create progress, that we must view all others as equals
Onyankopon's belief in equality in diversity is shingeki

4. Ur-Fascism derives from individual or social frustration
Point 6 is a clear sign of fascism but not so much as a red flag as it is a societal condition to be aware of
Frustration is born from alienation, particularly when the government does not listen, Zackly's fatal error

The frustration of the mob was legitimate
It was only when Zackly was assassinated did the mob fall into fascism
In modern society, we see this middle-class pressure and fear of lower groups in, say, the immigration issue but AoT displays it through the youth, in Cadets

The youth make up Paradis’ majority and were frustrated with the seeming lack of training for human combat, that the military is blind to realities
Yet their impatience, in not being flexible as soldiers, made them unable to fight the sudden emergence of Titans
Only Shadis did

Fascism rises when governments do not hear them
Thus crowds listen to "aggressive alternatives" like Flochs' call for the Rumbling
Youth, esp with no touch of history, are vulnerable
Even then, this frustration cannot justify alienation of disagreeing minorities
A cycle will form

5. Obsession with an international plot encourages ultranationalism
Point 7 is a root feature
“Us” vs “them” tribalism moved by a politics of inevitability
Others will always plot against "us"
Disagreement is treason due to fearing the outside
Fascism desires submission for unity

Floch says Yeagerists exist “to save Eldia in its darkest hour”
So its legitimacy is hinged on crisis
Zackly’s death was inspired by Hitler’s burning of the Reichstag
In fact, after that bombing, Floch moved to seize power and shut the law down, arresting any he deemed a threat

AoT’s xenophobia applied in both Marley and Eldia Isayama showed us the first fascist regime in Marley, the face of the global order sustained by conflict, a modern successor to Fritz’s Titan empire
Eldians were seen as enemy, fearing the plot of the Rumbling from “island devils”

This also made mainland Eldians racist and afraid of the “other”
Thus submit to Marley like how Cadets were made afraid of the world or the threat of Floch’s force
Willy exposed this
Fear ruled their hearts and it made them easier to control
Control to unite
Yet a unity in fear

Not recognizing your neighbor as a person with dignity but as a body part of the nation of Eldia
This means that Eldia or Marley lacked a national identity
Like the Helos statue of Marley, fascist nations only gain an identity based on its opposition to the rest of the world

Tribalism, where you can only truly know your fellow men in the nation makes us blind to both the dignity of the other and the inherent wrongs of a fascist big brother
Floch was racist as he calls civilian Marleyans enemies to kill, not people
We see that in our discourses too

6. The followers must feel humiliated by the ostentatious wealth and force of their enemies:

Point 8 is seen with Floch mentioning the world is too big to fight as humans, so the Rumbling, the devil’s work is needed
United in humiliation, the unstable Eldian nation becomes one

7. Life is permanent warfare

Point 9 is the core of fascist psychology
Bec there are enemies, there will always be a fight
If there is always a fight, you need to be strong
Ep 73 shows Floch rooting out “weakness” by having the Cadets beat Shadis
Any who refuse are also weak

But this also means, as Armin and Annie saw even in S1 that the strong only seem to be dignified
With a fascist regime, however, strength is not what you gain as a person but as a part of a nation
Yet it is an insecurity
Floch insists on displays of violence as proof of resolve

The promise of a golden age motivates the fascist mob to keep fighting, to reap rewards, but fascism will die without war
It needs war to fuel hate and hate to unite against the world
See, no stability
Point 9 also mentions an Armadeggon complex
Willy and Floch's Final Solutions

This proves that if the Rumbling wipes out the world and Eldians rule, it will not remove hatred but only leave Eldians to kill and repeat until the last man remains
The final solution of the Rumbling, if anything, makes the nation blind to the cancer that wipes the mob out.

8. Ur-Fascism can only advocate a popular elitism
Point 10 is an ongoing event as of Ep 82, Floch demonstrating popular elitism by inviting Jean to his circle
The mere fact he labels "heroes" shows that no citizen is equal and that fascists only seek glory
Everyone else is a cog

Yet his forceful invitation of Volunteers showed contempt for the weak
"Pay your respects"
It means Floch and "heroes" are the only ones with true worth
But this creates an unhealthy dynamic where "heroes" hate underlings, pushing them to be strong and hateful
Fascism is toxicity

Above all, what fascists expect is submission
Not your will to fight but your will to obey
Why?
Because the fascist wants its people weak
Why else do they exploit crisis?
They want a divided, angry mob that is helpless and will cling to Big Brother
Yet he always looks down on you

9. Cult of heroism based on the cult of death:

Point 11 reflects the state of mind that Floch follows, even to the bitter end. Ever since he survived Erwin’s charge, he saw how easily trampled and forgotten lives were
He saw that those sacrifices enabled Levi to fight Zeke

Thus believing that humanity needs monsters who throw others away to death and to die themselves to survive

While a coward, Floch awakened a primal desire, to seek glory in death

He saw every death as heroic, bringing Eldia closer to its “golden age”

Believing in a politics of eternity that Eldia is innocent and deserving of power, Floch projected himself in this "cause" and sought to immortalize himself via Yeagerism
He feeds on his power trips
As he insists he is the king on the hill over foreign Volunteers and local Cadets

The fascist worships death as the point of living meaningfully
Here, Floch diverges from Erwin
Erwin does not glorify death
He regrettably lies and sends men to something even he felt led nowhere while Floch accepts the price and calls any damage victory to glorify sacrifice

This heroism is heavily criticized in Attack on Titan, directly with the naming of the empty Marleyan statue, the false hero Helos and thoroughly the hero’s journey structure of Reiner’s arc, revealing that the “enemy” he would win praise for killing were people just like him

Gabi and Annie were taught to be heroes
Praised for killing bad guys but that made them devils
This is the root of the forest of violence
The strong are justified in their blind conquests
Marley was the first fascist regime
Yeagerism came after
Heroism in death
Heroism by killing

Floch was never Erwin’s or Eren’s successor but a sham whose experience with death was rationalized as a way to “truly live”
Life is boring so violence makes us feel alive
Sgt. Gross, our first, clearest fascist soldier said
It is what Floch lives for
To make others submit to him

10. Selective populism:
Point 13 sees its citizens treated not as individuals but as pawns in the theater of the leader
Denying the reality that people are different, the leader simply chooses for them
We see this in Ep 82, as Floch says he “speaks” for Eren and thus for Eldia

This is where Yeagerism is unique from fascist movements
Eren is a spiritual leader with no government power and Floch simply exploits his spotlight for his power trip
Like with Zeke, Eren is "playing along" with Floch
Like Yelena's movement, the Yeagers were idols for their gain

In selective populism the government gives individuals no rights at all

With the negatives they experience under the regime downplayed over and over

We see this with how the Yeagerists insist on dedicating their hearts and thus reducing the concern of lost homes as nothing

Imagine being told your son being unreasonably stomped by a mindless Titan is justified, even part of the hero’s drama of your leader’s attack against the enemy
Before, that statement only cemented that their lives had no meaning
But notice how the Yeagerists argue
The hypocrisy

We see this in the fandom justifying the Rumbling but the scariest thing about their logic is that they use the “necessary sacrifice” argument to justify oppressive government acts like extrajudicial killings in a war against criminality
Throwing away other's lives without regard

All these suggest fascism’s mass appeal only creates the same oppression everyone knows but alters who is being favored
Instead of the MPs, it is Floch and the “heroes of Paradis”, a new class speaking for a new majority remaining in the same old forest
Anger was a means to power

11. Newspeak

Point 14, our last point, is the most commonly-discussed thematic corruption and why I made the thread

The mob’s usage of “dedicate your hearts”, the mantra of the Scouts, to support the violent death of Zackly, presented an unsettling turn for Paradis society

In Ep 82, we see the same chant used to downplay any criticism to Eren’s Rumbling
The fascist denies responsibility for damages incurred in acts done to “protect the nation”
The individual is forgotten
Keywords like “order”, “the nation”, “sacrifice" replace any form of discourse

Conclusion:

With 11/14 fascism flags, a life of hostility that denies dignity to anyone, calling dissent "weakness"
Yeagerism is a denial of the core of AoT
The fight to escape the forest
And live the right to be born

If any red flag comes
To stop the devil in us
Do not submit!