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For those of you, like me, watching America’s rapid descent into fascism in abject horror from the sidelines in Europe, remember: where America goes, the West soon follows. If we don’t like where that is, we must do better than doing the same things and hoping for different outcomes.
What I’m saying is America is a warning, not an instruction manual.
@aral some European countries are even ahead of the curve 8-(
@aral I share your concerns. It is easy to imagine a rapid decline in Europe, sparked by what is happening overseas. Sweden and Denmark, for example, already have fascists in their governments, so the conditions there are ripe.
@chrisg And not just Sweden and Denmark, either. The Tories in the UK are a breath away from Trumpism, if that. We have our own Orbans and Le Pens. We can draw cautionary tales from what’s happening in the US and elsewhere (Türkiye, etc.) but we must not let the spectacle of America distract us from tackling the problem in our own back yards.
@IndyRichard @aral @chrisg The Tories are literally far right extremists, and have been for some years. But much of the mainstream media wants us to think it's the SNP that can't be trusted.
@IndyRichard @aral @chrisg I had always assumed that this was because the right wing party in the US was traditionally even more crazy.
Doesn't quite seem to hold up to what has been going on any time recently, but that's how I used to square it in my brain years ago.
@Anderson @aral @chrisg the truth of your assertion is nowhere better illustrated than by the elevation of the #Tories latest #populist #posterBoy #LeeAnderson
(no relation I hope
)
This BBC interview with him sent shivers down my spine to the point of being toe-curlingly troubling.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001jryp?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile
@greenaspen @aral @chrisg Absolutely no relation to that individual.
@greenaspen @Anderson @aral @chrisg I emailed Lee 'Ten Bob Nob' Anderson to see if he fancied a boxing match with me instead of Steve Bray, but I didn't get a reply. Strange that.
@UlrikeHahn @chrisg @aral but AfD also occupies over 10% of seats in parliament. Not to be discounted together with the more rightwing elements existing in the CSU and FDP parties.
@chrisg @aral
1/4
I share this concern.
...and #Italy's #PM #GiorgiaMeloni is a self-proclaimed "neo-fascist".
Also, the star guest of last year's #CPAC, #VictorOrban, cannot be discounted, #Macron rather barely faced of the #Russia co-financed #FrontNational, led by far-right #MarineLePen, who did all too well in last years elections to the Assemblée Nationale. She captured more than 40% of the vote.
And, alas, the biggest central European economy, #Poland,...
@chrisg @aral
(2/4)
...has becoming the testing ground for far-right legislation, in particular #abortion (see post below).
#AllThingsAreConnected, but in this regard not in the positive way that #LeonardoDaVinci, #ChiefSeattle meant it ir that the term is used in #biocentrism and #QuantumMechanics.
To appropriate a term from #GeorgeWBush, there are two reincarnations of the #AxisOfEvil emerging:
#China, #Russia, #Iran, and #NorthKorea...
(3/4)
...with their satellite countries (e.g. #Venezuela, #Nicaragua, #Cuba, #Syria, and #Belarus) in the tradtion of the original #AxisPowers of #WWII (chiefly #GermanReich, the Kingdom of #Italy, and the Empire of #Japan).
The other #AxisOfEvil are the authoritarian rulers having taken control of many far-right or fascist movements in the West and their increasing international cooperation, their ideologies...
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/15/far-right-extremism-global-problem-worldwide-solutions/
@aral s/America/US/g
@aral as someone living in the UK I fear it might be too late for a warning for some of us …
@aral since the people who talk the most about fascism happen to know the least about it, bar none, would you please explain what you think it is to prove you're not one of them?
@aral Europe could lend us a hand...a lot of Euros spent in Florida every year...
@aral I am not convinced the UK is actually any better. And the UK lacks the constitutional protections that could prevent it getting worse.
What few protections did exist have been removed by the current government; no longer is the judiciary able to hold the government to account for infringements.  And the legislative framework is in place for a complete de facto ban on protests.
@aral @glynmoody uh hate to break it to you but if you think they're only now descending into fascism, I've some bad news for you about what happened in 1945-46 to the vast majority of influential Nazi scientists...
@aral at what point in history did "the West" become something that the US supposedly wanted to be part of despite railing against Europe's central bankers from the word go?
@aral For those of us in the US watching our rapid descent into fascism in abject horror, I'm hoping Europe will accept refugees more willingly than we did during WWII. 
@aral #Fascism is a global problem, & democratic republics are always a couple of elections away from embracing #authoritarianism on a national scale.
With the exception of #Antarctica 
, Fascism has been creepingly gaining power on every continent & region.
But one thing I have noticed is that fascists support each other internationally & swap strategies with each other.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/04/viktor-orban-cpac-speech
Maybe it's time for those who oppose fascism to do the same‽
@aral meanwhile in #Israel, corrupt PM #Nethanyahu who's withstanding trials these days is actively changing the #court system so he has total control over it and the police, army, and #government. Being a classic fascist he doesn't care about the mass protests against him and his regime of fanatic terrorists, just like in #Germany 1932. #Fascism is indeed snowballing - where will #Europe go with it?
@aral Italy has started on that path in 1994 with Berlusconi.
Now, it has a chair of the Senate who keeps a bust of Mussolini at home.
@aral Italy is already there.
@aral you’re describing our foreign policy as well as domestic.
In regards to foreign policy, it’s not just half the population cheering for it. It’s nearly everybody.
The “anti war” left is now cheerleading for WWIII consuming corporate propaganda like meth addicts and programmed to accuse anyone speaking out against our proxy war as a tankie, a Russian bot or a Putin lover.
@aral I'm getting really depressed...
Democracies are under threat from moneyed interests
Putin is funding a war because "Ukraine isn't a real country", Republicans are funding a disinformation campaign because "Canada isn't a real country", noticing a theme here.
All of these right wing movements are linked to fundamentalist religions, tech libertarians, the oil industry & its financiers.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/01/tucker-carlson-invade-canada
https://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-us-armed-force-liberate-canada-2023-1
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2022/02/15/american-donors-freedom-convoy-zipcodes/
@aral No other Americans in this ENTIRE thread? Cute echo chamber you built here... American here... Literally like 60% of the country is perfectly fine.
I'm not saying things are great here, but really its no worse than its ever been.
Buncha fear mongering idiots, the lot of you....
It's an amazing day out and the people in my city are as beautiful and friendly as ever.
Unlike whatever cesspool the loudest of you grew up in, many of us still know how to take care of oneanother.
@haelos @aral I am American. I hope it’s just “fear mongering”! But I pay attention to the “echos” so I don’t just take in qual data only (well in my town
) in my assessment of what is really going on. There has been a shift in the US, and 60% imo is not enough when the rhetoric is about hate, suppressing rights, dehumanizing people. One person can make a movement we saw that happen. I don’t want to be fear mongered? but I also don’t want to ignore the signs.
@stellina @aral Just keep focusing on you, and we'll all be fine.
The worst of prophecy has already come and gone, and we survived everything that every supposed 'holy' book tried to throw at us. Since 2020 (2012 if you're being generous), we've survived plagues, pestilence, war, famines, locusts, explosions, civil unrest, uprisings, and real acts of terror. If you want to worry about the wellbeing of ANYONE, worry about the citizens of China right now, who are facing the worst of everything.
@aral That is very true.
@aral get me out of here!!! D:
It may look like we're not doing anything but trust me, we are.
@aral I think it's time other western countries start condemning America on the world stage for their policies that infringe on the human rights of its citizens.
@aral Suddenly feeling like a red white and blue canary...
There are plenty of European countries such as Hungary and Italy that are further along the road to fascism than the US. Europe has always been foremost in classic fascism, and the US should have taken a warning from what was happening there.