Potential Fascists

Just recently I've heard repeated that Hitler was a socialist, this time by YouTube "big idea superstar" Dave Rubin. So, was Hitler a socialist? The short and correct answer to this question is NO. If you're a regular reader you already know this. Using this knowledge, and attempting to place it in our times, the following statement is also true: if Hitler were alive today in America, he would be a Republican.

_{source: Wikimedia Commons}

Rubin, who honestly isn't the brightest light among the grifters in the so called Intellectual Dark Web, used the simplest argument to validate this opinion; he reminded listeners of the fact that "Nazi" is an acronym for National SOCIALIST German Workers Party... It's always amazing to me how so many people (the IDW has hundreds of millions of followers) seem to be unable to penetrate the third dimension and stay stuck in these simplistic two-dimensional thought-patterns, black and white worldviews. What's also amazing is that, not only in America but also western European countries where far-right populists have risen to power, people always seem to be confident in thinking that what happened in Nazi Germany will NEVER happen to them. Well, don't be so confident; after the Second World War and during the Nuremberg trials, the world was very curious to learn how what happened in Germany was possible. How could an entire people support and fight for a genocidal maniac like Hitler? Surely there had to be something wrong psychologically with these people, at the very least with the leadership. Well, you may be surprised to know that, even among the most murderous leaders, psychologists couldn't find anything wrong with them; they were people like you and me. And the same goes for the millions that followed their commands; this first video gives an in-depth explanation of how Germany itself for decades tried to cope with what happened, and how till this day the question "Was Every German Soldier Bad?" is not answered to everyone's satisfaction...

With all that in mind, let's now again focus on America and its steady descent into ever more open fascism under Trump. There are many psychologists who have for decades tried to find common personality traits among those who are prone to throw their support behind a strong fascist leader. Who are these people? Are they liberal or conservative? Religious or atheists? What are their likes and dislikes? Don't get me wrong here, s in the end I believe that under the "right" circumstance ANYONE can be lured to the Dark Side, so to speak. And there is no fool-proof profile to be had for people who most certainly will fall for the rhetoric of a fascist strong man. Nevertheless I'd invite you to watch the below linked video with the title "How to Spot a (Potential) Fasc!st: The Authoritarian Personality Explained"; it might help you to identify for yourself if the traits discussed within apply to yourself or people you know. I got the impression that the profile for "fascisticus potentialicus" nicely matches what I imagine to be an everyday conservative. Fascism indeed plays on nostalgia and a romanticized view of a lost past that needs to be regained or protected, and always fights against progressive forces that advocate "new" norms, for example a distinction between sex and gender which is sure to madden your run-of-the-mill religious conservative...

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