Thread by @ProsinPlanet

THREAD

If you've ever wondered how you would have acted in the 1930s in the face of a rising tide of facism, I have some very good news for you, friend...

Let's take a look at some stuff that's going on right now...

There is no denying that white supremacy and fascism are on the rise in 'The West'. Since the end of the Second World War there's always been a contingent of far-right extremists seeking to gain purchase on the political scene.

Historically these groups never did very well (politically, socially) because of... you know, the whole swastikas, jack-boots and Holocaust thing. It's a very bad image.

However, over the last fifteen-or-so years, there's been a concerted effort to rebrand fascism and white nationalism. You can't just come out and say 'I hate blacks and muslims and jews' because that won't fly with a general audience. Again: holocaust. Bad image.

So instead you have to couch your argument in terms like 'national identity,' 'immigration problems,' 'the elites'. These terms do good job of neatly packaging far-right talking points for a general audience while giving fascists a way to hold up their hands and claim innocence.

Here's Nik Griffin, former leader of the British National Party, explaining this exact strategy while on stage with former KKK Grand Wizard, David Duke.

This long-game strategy is beginning to pay dividends. Far-right talking points are being mainstreamed under the precept of 'having a debate'. And lots of people are saying something overtly fascistic then claiming it was 'just a joke'.

Jean-Paul Sartre talked about this tactic of using humour - or in our case memes - as a way of testing the boundaries of what people are receptive to. Start with a joke. If there's little to no resistance, push further.

newrepublic.com/article/139004…

There's also been a coorindated attempt to get far-right extremists into postitions in the police, military and political arena. Here's a former white supremacist laying it out very clearly.

smh.com.au/world/north-am…

Elsewhere, media figures like Tucker Carlson and Paul Joseph Watson pump out massive amounts of anti-muslim propaganda. Then, in the aftermath of *yet another* far-right mass-shooting, they claim that they have absolutely no culpability for pushing those same talking points.

Here's journalist Douglas Murray demonstrating that when Islamist extremists commit atrocities, we should apportion some of the blame to those who influenced them. But when a white guy goes into a mosque and live streams a massacre, he's solely to blame.

I wrote more about this hipocracy here.

bylinetimes.com/2019/03/19/sin…

The NZ shooter (and let me be clear: we should take all of his writings and actions with a grain of salt) was seemingly a proponent of the Great Replacement, a white supremacist conspiracy theory which has been pushed by YouTubers @PrisonPlanet, Lauren Southern + Stefan Moleneux.

Seemingly neutral figures like PewDiePie, Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson aren't directly responsible for radicalising people. But they open the door to more extreme ideas. Fascist recruiters use these guys as a way of targetting (predominently) young and vulnerable men.

Peterson rails against 'cultural marxism,' a term frequently deployed by the Nazis. Anyone who enthusiastically embraces this term should be eyed with suspicion.

https://twitter.com/zei_nabq/status/1106548696676818946

PewDiePie up until a couple of weeks ago followed Paul Joseph Watson, Lauren Southern and Stefan Moleneux on Twitter. The NZ shooter used the Subscribe to PewDiePie meme. In the UK, it has been sprayed on school walls alongside swastikas and scratched into a WW2 memorial in NY.

https://twitter.com/ProsinPlanet/status/1107389871155482628

Joe Rogan has something like a 9:1 ratio in favour of having right-wing commentators on his show vs left-wing. In itself this is not a bad thing but take a look in the thread below at some of those guest names.

https://twitter.com/Care2much18/status/1108613497431183360

In short: fascism is back. And it has a cool new hat. But the underying principles are exactly the same: ultra-nationalism, ultra-authoritarianism, rabid racism, blah blah blah.

Here's a good video on this topic from the always-excellent @Contrapoints

So, you ask, wisely, what can I - a modern day King Cnut - do to stem this rising tide of fascism? The answer is... individually there is very little you can do. But as we've seen with the tactics outlined above individual efforts can collectively have a great cumulative impact.

Protest fascist demos, maybe join an anti-fascist group, challenge bigotry and misinformation where you see it. Above all, try to think critically. The waters are muddier than they were 100 years ago but just because you can't see them doesn't mean the sharks aren't still there.

Are all of the people I've listed above fascists? Probably not. But they're all complicit in fuelling this new form of fascism. If they truly are against fascism they need to have a serious think about what they're saying and who they're appealing to.

This is by no means an exhaustive look at the threat we're facing, and others have said what I'm saying here better than I ever could. But this account is my small effort to try to counter some of the nonsense being flung around at the moment.

In essence: you are either against fascism or you are a fascist. If you're against fascism but take no action, you are an enabler of fascism which is almost as bad.

Fight fascism.
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