14. fourteen defining characteristics of fascism

Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
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consider the information which has graced your brain, a frantic state with a certain face of disdain, disdain, disdain. Does a slight chance permit a past experience deep within your spiritual mind that matches the details within the static? notice the colors and banners tracing along in the blood vessels of “American normalcy”. Our “enemies” and “possible-enemies” tied up on rope and chain feeding THE MAN’s plan to squeeze our homes and cities of the only oxygen GOD THE CREATOR, OUR LORD YHWH has gifted us with. This tyrant of ivory and soot! our rights and humanity martyred in exchange for the security that we’ve all been so conditioned to DEMAND, WANT, ACHIEVE, GLORIFY for the sake of state and the company’s profits.
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200 years ago, the native people of greater north america (and almost anyplace around the world) were deemed animal, sub-human, savage by the newfound white, European, judeo-christian newcomers of “the new world”. it was allowed a history of abuse, rape, murder, theft, plague, destruction, genocide for the sake of manifest destiny, our fate to spread HIS DISEASE. GOD HAS GIVEN US THIS LAND AND WE TOOK IT BACK FROM THOSE NASTY “SAVAGES”. SAVAGE, BARBARIC HERETICS, BLASPHEMERS IN THE EYES OF THE LORD! WE MUST SAVE THEIR SOULS! Backwards and blind, our leaders grew to fanatics. Our dreams collided into light. slavery build this country from the ground up. A nation owes her debt to greed. You said “Our country”, meaning our people, meaning the ones who look like us, come from a similar background, have a similar financial state, etc, etc, etc. YOU FEAR. 60 years ago, Japanese Americans from all over the west coast (a large percentage of them second generation or older AND AMERICAN CITIZENS) were jailed and imprisoned in concentration camps (one of which is now the Santa Anita race track in Arcadia which is just 5 miles from here) newly built by the American government and American taxpayer money. Why??? 40 years ago, the black civil rights movement destroyed biased, unfair, racist, discriminatory legislation (but only on paper) and angels rejoiced! Songs were sung! Guns were shot! Graves were marked! Confetti was thrown! Things are fair now! I find it amazing how anyone could really be in such denial over race relationships in country BUT THAT IS BESIDES THE POINT!

We are sold fear, bought by our rights. “the enemy” is next door. “the enemy” is scheming. “the enemy” is about to strike! We are herded and hooked to swallow the shallow bits of disinformation we are allowed to believe. How would you know any better? How would live with yourself after you find out the truth?
I AM PLEADING WITH YOU: LIVE YOUR LIFE. DO NOT BE AFRAID. LOVE EACH OTHER WITH ALL YOUR HEART. YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS WORLD.
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9/11 happened for me on the first day of 7th grade. On the first day no one could tell me what was going on. On the second day, the television told me that muslim terrorists flew those planes into those towers. I thought about that for a few days. I thought about how deranged those men must’ve been to have been inspired by their religion to sacrifice themselves utterly and completely, UP IN FLAMES. Islam was a mystery to me then. About a month later, the clerk and owner of “international market”, just around the corner from my house, was shot dead. International Market was a small corner market that sold eastern, middle eastern, arab, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican groceries/products. The clerk was a Pakistani immigrant and a Sikh and wore a purple headturban and him and his family ran the store. He was murdered by a man who was angry over 9/11 and was out to start trouble with anyone who looked even remotely Muslim. His wife and daughter closed down the store and a community effort started to raise them a bit of money for the funeral and even had a candlelight vigil outside the store too. I was 13 then and I wish I still remember exactly how I felt about the whole thing while it was happening. When I think about it now, if it happened again somewhere in town this week . . . I wouldn’t be shocked. . . but I would be angry. People don’t surprise me anymore.
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We have more guns, more bombs, more missles, more tanks, more tanks, and more testosterone than any other nation on this fucking planet. We are self-proclaimed “saviors” and “protectors” of planet earth. We are warriors for Lady Democracy, jihadists under Uncle Sam. Except!............!!!!!!!!!!! OUR HEARTS LACK SUBSTANCE. OUR WILL IS WEAK. ARE YOU WILLING TO DIE FOR DEMOCRACY? WOULD YOU LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE IN THE NAME OF MAJORITY RULE? Which, in your heart, bears the most importance? God, family, or country? America fuckin’ needs you, man!!!

Here, take a yellow ribbon. Show your support for our troops! “I hate the war, but I support our troops.” It took me a few years to gain the courage to say “FUCK THE TROOPS!”. the thought of kids signing away their bodies and lives to submit to a big brother, sick fuck, murder/death industry just honestly just scares the shit out of me. Young men and women are primed and shipped off to die in defense of my rights and liberties. What are you fighting for? No one has given me a straight answer yet. There is no enemy. Millions of people all across our country are victims of homelessness, drug abuse, and poverty and our neo-conservative Christian right nationalist party have nothing better to do than to ban same-sex marriages, jail victimless crime offenders, and rally the mob to fight our “crusades”.

The motto still seems to be “U.S.A. is number one” but it doesn’t feel that way anymore. It doesn’t feel that way when you open up the day’s paper. When you turn on the morning news on the radio. When you start to notice more businesses closing down, more homes being foreclosed. We obviously have problems but we’re too blind and sold on the mantra at WE, THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES HAVE IN OUR HANDS, THE GREATEST COUNTRY ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET. No, that is not the case. Fuck cops, fuck bros, fuck religion, and fuck the system.
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I’m not exactly telling you to “fight the man”. I don’t just want you to go out and riot. I don’t want you to dismantle any governing body. Not just yet.

I want you to prepare.

Who in this country is truly ready for revolution when we get so up in arms over “outsiders”, “dissidents”, and “subversives”? “counter-culture” has been packaged and sold as a youth commodity. A movement has become nothing but a marketing campaign. you know in your hearts of which I speak. We all have felt it growing up. How many moments have you had were you stop and think “what is it all about?”. How many times have you questioned your existence, your purpose in all of divine creation?

I want you to go turn off your television. Turn off your top 40 radio. Close your People Magazine. close your eyes and open your mind to the possibilities of a true life of leisure. Life is so much more than what’s new at blockbuster. All the grand L.A. clubbing in the world, will never save your soul. Gluing your eyes to the tube, watching this week’s American Idol, will never fill your heart. The youth are fed fantasies of college frat parties, hip street fashion, and empty pop songs/really, really bad crunk but after the hangover, did it improve any aspect of your life? the kids have built idols of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. It’s momentum, greater than a rollercoaster, is coming close to it’s collision. that is not life. Be creative. Be productive. Be understanding. Be what your heart aspires to. Live the way you want to love.

We are the same animals we’ve been for millions of years. Our knowledge of the universe has grown and died with each passing civilization but our hearts have stayed the same with each additional generation birthed. Nothing has changed. I am not a perfect person but I try to be. If God really does exist, may he have mercy on all of us.
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Love your friends . . . die laughing . . .