I mean... you kinda were.
That implies some degree of equivalency when there is none in regards to Trump 2020. Again, casting doubt vs trying to cheat and overturn. Completely different things.
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AFLW 2024 - Round 10 - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
Politics Fascist takeover US 2025.
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That statement I made isn't wrong.
What happened on Jan 6th was the culmination of weeks of Trump spreading lies and sowing doubt over the election results. Hell, from memory he started before the election even took place. Jan 6th wasn't the beginning of the dissent, it was the end result of it.
Thankfully Democrats have never taken it that far obviously but it's a very fine example of what happens when a party refuses to back down.
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Ghost Patrol
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I think Occupy Wall Street for the left and the Tea Party for the right were two sides of the same rage against the machine in US politics. The tea party morphed into MAGA and has taken over the Republican party and Occupy could have morphed into something under Bernie Sanders but the Democrat establishment successfully strangled it in the crib and is now reaping the rewards.
RedStarUncle
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A good comment, but one that leads to a very scary question.
Is western democracy already in a death spiral with an inevitable evolution to either a left-style Occupy revolution or right-style MAGA revolution? In which case the fascists are already winning while the left was DOA?
I do think it still remains to be seen with Trump whether it's just his campaign theatrics that carry a blatant fascist tinge or whether the policy implementation will follow the rhetoric.
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I think the US is uniquely volatile due to the fact a populist can theoretically bypass the party system and begin reshaping the political status quo top down directly converting apathetic voters into political power. In the Australian system to get anywhere near serious power one has to grind away for years within one of the major parties (and wheel and deal all the genuine ideologogical convictions they may have had out of their system).
I think the defining aspect of our current climate is that people are incredibly disaffected, but are more apathetic and disengaged than they are angry. A populist can transform that apathy into political engagement, but they have an extremely short timeframe to convert rhetoric into political change before people lose interest. I think in the Aus/UK system it is impossible to receive the support necessary for a populist achieve change and gain any real influence before their base collapses to the point they are an extreme minority.
Another facet of the above dynamic I think is that politically apathetic individuals are a complete blank slate and can be activated by essentially any anti-establishment message. The more the status quo continues in a western democracy, the greater amount of apathetic individuals there are, and therefore the larger the recruitment base for a populist movement is (with what that populist movement is being completely irrelevant in my mind, the charisma and communication efficiency of the figurehead is the only important thing).
If economic factors continue trending towards slightly lower quality of life I do think western democracies are in danger of being radically altered, much in the same way as political apathy with aristocracy and monarchism lead to the French and American Revolutions. A key difference, however, is the presence of a vast array of entertainment which is highly effective in insulating apathetic individuals from political activation, and I think this realistically makes violence an impossibility (barring interruption of entertainment mechanisms, i.e.; long-term total internet outage).
An alternate path is perhaps what happened in the United Kingdom with monarchism evolving in a way which prevented apathy and disaffection being translated into complete upheaval, and perhaps western democracies will find a way to re-engage the populace in a way which evolves the status quo without disruption. Given the far greater difficulty associated with a radical movements path to power in the Australian system this is perhaps a more likely scenario.
Mofra
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This echoes truisms first posited by Aristotle, where 'inequality can trigger revolution' - in the modern era we can use a more broad interpretation of the word.
US wealth inequality is staggering by OECD standards. Not quite at French revolution standards, but getting worse and now approaching similar levels.
fear of fascism is somewhat analogous to the right's fear of sharia law. when pressed left-right will both agree they don't want either, their disagreement is really about at what point the public should worry about it.
'sharia law will never happen. there are measures in place so that sharia laws will never take root in wider society. so it's ok to have people that desire sharia law in elected positions.'
'christian fascism will never take hold. laws will prevent people enacting fascist ideals. it's totally fine if people vote for these loonies because society won't let it happen'.
i think though that it's much easier to sleepwalk into fascism if your pre-occupation is making other people miserable. principles on how we treat others have eroded into some kind of nihilism.
'sharia law will never happen. there are measures in place so that sharia laws will never take root in wider society. so it's ok to have people that desire sharia law in elected positions.'
'christian fascism will never take hold. laws will prevent people enacting fascist ideals. it's totally fine if people vote for these loonies because society won't let it happen'.
i think though that it's much easier to sleepwalk into fascism if your pre-occupation is making other people miserable. principles on how we treat others have eroded into some kind of nihilism.
Hes clearly trolling there bud
Ah, the good old "just joking". You know much about the bloke at all?
What to know about Nick Fuentes, the white supremacist who was just hosted by a major Texas PAC leader
Fuentes often praises Adolf Hitler and has publicly fantasized about marrying a 16-year-old. Last week, he visited the office of a Texas operative who runs a deep-pocketed political group.
www.texastribune.org
He's talked explicitly before about employing the above technique.
Clearly, seems it's had the desired effect.
Just wondering, is he also trolling when he calls for a “holy war” against Jews, says he wants the US government under authoritarian “Catholic Taliban rule,” and "All I want is revenge against my enemies and a total Aryan victory”?
Is it all "just joking", with the bloke himself being on record as using the whole irony/sarcasm shtick in order to smuggle his extremist views into mainstream discourse?
I mean.. come on. At least have a little familiarity with the bloke if you're going to assess him
I do know a bit about him mate, I know in this instance hes trolling. Its clearly NOT his choice, hes just trying to piss off the mentally weak lefties who dont know what a joke is.
Ah, the good old "just joking". You know much about the bloke at all?
What to know about Nick Fuentes, the white supremacist who was just hosted by a major Texas PAC leader
Fuentes often praises Adolf Hitler and has publicly fantasized about marrying a 16-year-old. Last week, he visited the office of a Texas operative who runs a deep-pocketed political group.
He's talked explicitly before about employing the above technique.
Hes clearly got the reaction he wanted lmao
It is possible to joke about some things, and not joke about others btwJust wondering, is he also trolling when he calls for a “holy war” against Jews, says he wants the US government under authoritarian “Catholic Taliban rule,” and "All I want is revenge against my enemies and a total Aryan victory”?
Is it all "just joking", with the bloke himself being on record as using the whole irony/sarcasm shtick in order to smuggle his extremist views into mainstream discourse?
I mean.. come on. At least have a little familiarity with the bloke if you're going to assess him
Ah cool, trolling/joking in this instance but not in others. And you totally know which is which.
Again this all sounds very convincing
Are you a redditor mate?Ah cool, trolling/joking in this instance but not in others. And you totally know which is which.
Again this all sounds very convincing
There wasn't a joke or punchline in that tweet but it's still pretty clear trolling. I have NFI who the guy is but I bet his follower count has gone up with the publicity and therefore his earning potential...
The fact people haven't figured out to not give airtime to it is beyond comprehension tbh. People just have to retweet their outrage (for **** knows what reason, morale superiority?) which spreads the posts reach further. Very stupid stuff
Whether its funny or not is subjective, same with any jokes
Its a joke that would be funny to his viewers, mostly because of the reaction it gets, like its getting right here lmao
Ghost Patrol
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And he's getting trolled in return.
Sounds like he couldn't handle it, and had to move back in with his mum lol
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