FAKE NEWS EXPOSED: A Service of PoliticalChat.com

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by whell

Bullshit. First, Sanders is a self-described Democratic-Socializt. You'd split hairs by suggesting that Sanders doesn't define himself as a "so************************t", therefore he isn't one. Except that most folks don't see a nickel's worth of difference between those two terms. Whether Democratic-Socializt or garden-variety Socializt, they both have a central tenet the surrender of individual freedom.

And as far as AOC goes, she doesn't dispute she's a full-on Socializt. Frankly, listening to her talk about classisn and economics, she sounds like more like a Marxist.
https://www.dsausa.org/democratic-left/aoc/

So screw Oxford, because it doesn't seem to understand these two far leftists, and apparently neither do you.

And you obviously count yourself among those who don't understand the difference between a soci@list and a social democrat (the former being autocratic, the latter democratic).

Also, FWIW, what people call themselves isn't necessarily accurate. Trump called himself "the most honest human being, perhaps, that God ever created." That doesn't make it so.

So, who are these people and what have they done to earn your "semi-fascist" label (whatever that means)?

My label is protofascist. As you don't know what it means, I'll allow Encyclopedia Britannica to define it for you:

"Protofascism is a political movement that predates and usually contributes to the emergence of fascism in a given country, sometimes by evolving into a fascist movement itself. The term protofascism is also used in a slightly more general sense to refer to any political movement whose activities make the emergence of fascism more likely. By definition, protofascist movements display some of the common characteristics of fascism—such as the scapegoating of ethnic or religious minorities, the glorification of violence, and the promotion of the Führerprinzip (“leadership principle”), the belief that the party and the state should have a single leader with absolute power...

Protofascism has been applied to contemporary (post-World War II) political movements and parties that are not clearly fascist or neofascist but which resemble historical fascist movements and regimes in certain respects. Protofascist in this sense is sometimes used interchangeably with semifascist, quasifascist, and borderline fascist...

In the second decade of the 21st century, protofascist and neofascist parties and movements in Europe enjoyed a surge of popularity, fueled in part by a large influx of Muslim immigrants following the Arab Spring revolts in 2010–11. At about the same time, a similar wave of right-wing populism spread across the United States, leading in 2016 to the election of Republican Pres. Donald Trump, whose campaign had gained the support of right-wing militias, white supremacists, and neo-Nazis—none of whom he disavowed. In the estimation of some scholars, Trump was properly categorized as a protofascist or borderline fascist, because his behaviour and attitudes resembled in relevant respects those of historical fascist leaders. Such similarities included demagoguery, appeals to racism, the exploitation of scapegoats, and contempt for democratic values and the rule of law—as demonstrated most dramatically in Trump’s incitement of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the goal of which was to overturn the 2020 election of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden."

At a minimum, Trump, those in Congress, his administration and campaign who tried to steal the election; his Brownshirts (Proud Boys, III Percenters, Oathkeepers, Patriot Front, other militias) and other violent participants in Jan 6 (and Charlottesville); and those in Congress (and elsewhere) who continue to defend/support them are protofascists. This includes MTG, Gosart, Biggs, Scott Perry, Jeff Clark, Steve Bannon and many others. If you support and defend what happened on Jan 6, it applies to you too.

Pro tip: Just because you don't know or understand something doesn't mean it doesn't exist or isn't true.

Let me make it simple for you. Democratic soci@lism is not the same as soci@lism. Protofascism is not the same as fascism. The difference, however, is that Democratic Soci@lism is still democratic and protofascism is not. Pick your side.