Thread by @dyllyp

So I’ve been doing some research about the murderous dictator, Francisco Franco, for a project. He often gets overlooked in history books because of other psychopaths like Hitler and Mussolini. That said, the similarities between Francoist Spain and the GOP is eerily similar. /TW

Some background: Like America, in the 1930s, Spain’s Republican Party was the party of the left. They were liberals. They reduced the size of the military, they took religion out of schools, land was taken away from the ultra rich conservatives, etc.

Francisco Franco was a lifelong soldier and worked his way to the top of the chain of command over several decades. He was also a far right nationalist and with half the military behind him he oversaw in insurrection that would turn into the Spanish Civil War.

By the end of the war 500K Spaniards were dead and Franco was victorious. He declared himself the ruler and immediately reversed any progressive legislation that was passed by the previous Spanish Republic.

The time period immediately following the war was known as the White Terror. Franco executed all of his political opponents and then went after liberals, intellectuals, gays, Jews, socialists, etc. But women might’ve have gotten the worst of it all. /TW: graphic shit incoming

Franco’s Army went to all the towns that supported the Second Republic, pulled all of the women out of the homes, then raped and murdered them. The soldiers put all the panties of their victims on the bayonets and waved them around like flags. Some truly sick shit.

For the women who were “lucky” enough not to be executed, the soldiers force fed them laxatives and made them march through the streets while they soiled themselves.

Here’s the thing: Franco saw to it that sex workers and women who had undergone abortion procedures were imprisoned and/or executed.

But how did Franco know who those women and their supporters were? He offered bounties so that neighbors turned on each other.

Sound familiar?

The GOP is straight up using the fascist playbook by punishing women and rewarding violence against them. They want women who receive medical care to go to jail and will reward anyone who turns them in. We’re watching Handmaid’s Tales in real time.

Another thing: Although the Spanish Flu of 1918 originated in America, it became a worldwide pandemic not unlike the one now. What happened when it reached Italy and Spain? Nationalist politicians called it a hoax, downplayed it, and made it illegal to report death tolls.

Sound familiar?

That’s because Republicans are literally championing fascist ideology and wrapping it in a red, white, and blue flag.