this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2026
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politics

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[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 188 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (30 children)

"I resisted calling it fascism until it was too late and people were dying at the hands of monsters."

Get fucked. It was fascism when it was George Floyd and it's fascism now. It's been a fascism white people were willing to ignore because it didn't impact them directly for fucking decades, if not a hundred years or more.

Great job joining us in reality.

[–] kylie_kraft@lemmy.world 103 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (3 children)

[Fascism] has been overused to the point of meaninglessness, especially by left-leaning types who call you a fascist if you oppose abortion or affirmative action.

Yeah, this guy can fuck right off.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 37 points 6 days ago (10 children)

Scratch a liberal and a fascist bleeds.

Maybe he's been in opposition of using the term because he's fucking fascist-lite himself. Fascist with half the calories.

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[–] daannii@lemmy.world 109 points 6 days ago (4 children)

It was fascism this time 12 months ago when Trump had women and people of colors plaques and images covered at national museums and at nasa.

When they banned words from research. Like: women. Female. Bias, transgender, equality. Privilege.

When they prosecuted women as murderers for having a safe first trimester termination of pregnancy.

When they started demanding a woman must die before any medical procedures would be performed that could harm a fetus, even if that fetus was dead or non viable.

When they removed black veterans stories from the VA websites and other government websites.

When they changed the dod to the department of war.

My gawd. This all started a year ago. It was fascism then.

[–] Hamartia@lemmy.world 39 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It was clearly fascism when Project 2025 was leaked.

[–] FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca 38 points 6 days ago (2 children)

It wasn't leaked. The people who made it made a website and publicly posted it. They announced their fascist agenda and still people ignored it

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[–] ReallyActuallyFrankenstein@lemmynsfw.com 24 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Maybe the mainstream will finally reach consensus on the label just as the last reporters are being onboarded at gunpoint to concentration camp trains.

[–] Lasherz12@lemmy.world 10 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Lots of corporations in Germany and more broadly supported the Nazis right up until there was significant power mounted in opposition to Hitler. Our media is captured by these ghouls, so I don't honestly know how long it will go. Maybe until the power shifts.

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[–] dantheclamman@lemmy.world 19 points 6 days ago

It was fascism in 2016 when he promised to ban people from entering the US based on religion.

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[–] architect@thelemmy.club 39 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Oh well now that YOU say it, king of the obvious, now we are allowed.

You know, Start by saying you’re fucking sorry for being an idiot. Because that’s what you’re actually reporting.

[–] Tiger666@lemmy.ca 9 points 6 days ago

How can I upvote this comment more than once?

I am so upset by articles like this, but the saddest part is that they're needed. Months ago a professor who studies fascism fled the country due to rising fascism. There were articles about it. I sent them to family and friends in an attempt to warn them about what was coming. Some did listen, but there are so many people we will have to pick up along the way and "meet where they're at". I wish all articles like this were "I'm a huge idiot and was horribly wrong and will devote myself to fixing this now", but in reality that helps no one. I can keep sending out articles like this and since it's not "wow! I and by extension you were a dumb idiot" people may feel like maybe realizing it now is smart and can have their minds changed. I would appreciate a better note at the end, once the reader may be swayed, that was about what to do going forward and how to learn to listen, but it is what it is.

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[–] xenomor@lemmy.world 69 points 6 days ago (6 children)

I’d like to take this opportunity to express the profoundly tragic failure of Democrats to mount any kind of meaningful opposition to this fascist project, that has been underway since at least the Reagan administration.

[–] WanderWisley@lemmy.world 31 points 6 days ago

Also the fact that Donny got off for January 6th still blows my fucking mind.

[–] Typhoon@lemmy.ca 17 points 6 days ago

That's because they're fine with fascism too. This isn't a fight between parties. It's a fight between the rich owner class and everyone else.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 12 points 6 days ago

They just voted to fund ICE. Again.

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[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 21 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Fascism is a big word with a lot of weight to it.

The more you get into politics and the more you debate with people across the aisle, the more you realize you have to be careful what words you use, so as not to lose credibility.

That being said.......this is fascism. Period.

It's happening. It's happening now. It's happening here. It's not debatable anymore.

[–] DirtyAnCom@discuss.online 5 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Well, the US has arguably always been fascist. Essentially fascism is copratist control of the economy and a merger of corporations and state. Of course corporations as entities have evolved after the US's conception, but we've never been a democracy of the people, with only wealthy white business owners calling the shots.

We stole the land with genocide and apartheid, then built it on the backs of slaves. The house the president lives in was even built by slaves. When we "abolished" slavery, we had to make sure that we had a way out through incarceration. Guess which nation incarcerates more citizens than any other nation?

Not only that, but the US was a major inspiration for both Hitler and Mousolini.

And not to mention how we are constantly starting wars and instability around the world for our oligarch's own benefit. And that out biggest enterprise is weaponry and war technology.

The US is and has always been a fascist nation.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 47 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I’m glad you got there eventually. Keep listening closely to the people who told you this years ago, they are clearly more perceptive than you.

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 6 days ago (3 children)

It was literally fucking YEARS of me dealing with variations of "he's not a fascist! He's just an impotent wannabe dictator, we'll be fine. You're overreacting!" from acquaintances and family. Not friends, I don't have friends that stupid.

I will stand arm in arm with every person who mocked me for "being a worrier", not just because it's the only way out of this, but because it's the best way, maybe the only way, to build a better future.

With that having been said, I hope each and every one of them gets a terrible case of genital lice at some point in their lives.

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[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 30 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Yes, we know.

See, everyone knows that fascism is a bad thing. That has been taught in every school since the end of WW2.

It's just a shame that most people never bothered to look up what fascism actually is, and it can be something your guys do as well.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 9 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Our general discourse has been so deeply and deliberately poisoned that people don't pay attention to words broadly anymore. So many different foreign and domestic forces have worked so tirelessly to amplify the chaos and boost the worst takes on both sides of every social issue, that the general population of the US stopped paying attention. (The horrific 2024 exit-polling confirms this too.)

This is why people are latching onto character over policy, it's why Trump retains power despite not having any clue what he's doing and is just obviously being led around by his cabinet. It's why we all seem to care a lot more about what our favorite internet streamer has to say about a candidate than AP our Routers or the evening news, because the words have been said so much that people stopped paying attention.

This is not a new, modern ploy either. The KGB and CIA both have written how to destabilize nations using these tactics as far back as the 50's or earlier.

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[–] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 37 points 6 days ago (2 children)

So the United States, once the world’s exemplary liberal democracy, is now a hybrid state combining a fascist leader and a liberal Constitution; but no, it has not fallen to fascism. And it will not.

Well that’s alright then. I almost thought the Atlantic was becoming less useless for a second there

[–] Hypnotoad_@sh.itjust.works 17 points 6 days ago

"I declare it"

Fucking ridiculous. "Hitler is a Nazi, but Germany isnt Nazi!"

If they keep plugging their ears it can't be true!

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[–] otacon239@lemmy.world 40 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I wonder which of the 3000 things over the past decade changed their minds.

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[–] Allero@lemmy.today 24 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I feel like this debate over whether it's fascism or not misses a big point:

It's an oppressive nationalist state with practically unchecked presidential power. It is responsible for numerous war crimes. It instates hardline policies targeting everyday Americans. It puts people in detention camps. It is fueled by exceptionalism on all levels, from foreign policy to religion. And at the same time, it doesn't provide for its people, cutting all forms of social support.

It also erodes democratic institutions in an attempt to cement itself, so that other powers couldn't change course.

You can call it fascism. You can call it authoritarianism. What matters is that America is turned into an angry shithole hostile to both others and it's own people. Isn't that a reason good enough to stand strongly against it? Why do people wait for a "fascist" label, like it's some sort of red cloth, and would it change much if tomorrow Trump would plead allegiance to Hitler?

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[–] merdaverse@lemmy.zip 33 points 6 days ago (1 children)
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[–] baller_w@lemmy.zip 26 points 6 days ago
[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 14 points 5 days ago

Thinking it a term best avoided for reasons of decorum is part of what got us here.

[–] But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 12 points 5 days ago (4 children)

You guys are so screwed, I left Reddit cause of all the censorship and siding with the government.

I’ve had comment removed from this community for being incendiary, for saying Trump and ICE agents need to feel the force of the second amendment.

You guys are not even allowed to discuss anything further than a useless peaceful protest, or you get banned or shut down and silenced.

Even regular folk who mod on Lemmy are tripping over themselves to stop us from actually doing anything

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 6 points 5 days ago

.world communities are particularly squeamish about not toeing the corpo line.

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[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 2 points 4 days ago

Some people are slower on the uptake than others.

[–] FreddiesLantern@leminal.space 17 points 6 days ago (1 children)

“Oh gee wiz, turns out he’s doing the dictator thing like he said he would”

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[–] TronBronson@lemmy.world 14 points 6 days ago

So you literally ignored hitlers plot playing out until it was to late, and now it’s okay to call them hurtful name. Another banger from the Atlantic.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 5 days ago

The Atlantic is trash. Lib bullshit late to the party and faking it. These are the same people who enable fascism. Not to mention the zios...

[–] nimble@lemmy.blahaj.zone 20 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Before the election, WSJ's presidential nominee highlights had something like "we've heard some people say Trump will lead America into fascism but we don't believe that to actually be true and think this is an exaggeration" or some other bullshit along those lines.

Would love to have the WSJ editorial staff follow up on that if they haven't already.

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[–] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 6 days ago

And too late to matter. Thanks.

[–] brachiosaurus@mander.xyz 6 points 5 days ago

Now it's fascism even for idiots to see

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Well, welcome to the party, I guess.

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[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)

For another, the term has been overused to the point of meaninglessness, especially by left-leaning types

Jonathan Rauch is holding out on the one thing we want to see: the websites of these left-leaning types, because they're the ones whose voices we should be hearing and promoting.

[–] untorquer@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago

LMAO they're calling people fascists for acting like a fascist 🤷 not sure how that makes it meaningless.

[–] sturmblast@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Fascism brought to you by full blown dementia and criminal behavior. Wheeee!

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 7 points 6 days ago

So now he will realize he doesn't know shit and shut up, right?

Right?

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