this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2024
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[–] vegeta@lemmy.world 243 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (8 children)

He's Schrödinger's Brandon: Too strong and too weak at the same time. I wonder if there is an ideology that typically uses this tactic to define an opponent?

[–] Veraxus@lemmy.world 151 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Fascism trait #8:

Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.
Ur-Fascism by Umberto Eco

[–] kautau@lemmy.world 25 points 8 months ago

This whole piece is excellent, thanks for sharing

[–] billiam0202@lemmy.world 96 points 8 months ago (1 children)

He's Schrödinger's Brandon: Too strong and too weak at the same time. I wonder if there is an ideology that typically uses this tactic to define an opponent?

There is, and the answer is as clear as the nose on your fascist.

Face! I meant face. Stupid autocorrect.

[–] jaemo@sh.itjust.works 7 points 8 months ago

Oh sure, it's clear to most, but today's conservative minds need to carefully do some warm up stretches before they can absorb this truth, or they'll tyranny ligament.

[–] SinningStromgald@lemmy.world 26 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's gotta be democracy because the Republicans are adamant they are defending it right?

[–] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 18 points 8 months ago

I'm pretty sure the republicans recently explicitly said they don't like democracy

[–] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 21 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Same as it ever was. The Nazis did the same thing with the groups they scapegoated, simultaneously an incompetent drain/liability and and a hyper-competent threat that cannot be ignored.

Critical thinking and reasoning must be taught, without that, people will follow their feelings anywhere, and those are easy to manipulate.

Starving public education into complete and utter ruins for half a century to cut rich sociopath's taxes, and the rise of tens of millions of proudly counterfactual, willfully ignorant nitwits as a political force is not a coincidence.

Garbage in (refusing to pay to educate kids to critically scrutinize the information they take in), garbage out (The United States of duhhhhhhhhhhh).

[–] billiam0202@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago

Hell, Republicans have been doing this for decades. Remember all the lazy handout-demanding Mexicans who are stealing all our jobs?

[–] Maeve@kbin.social 11 points 8 months ago

The saddest part for them is, I've read about studies that say a better-educated populace is a more compassionate populace. Guess who will care for them when they are too old to care for themselves?

[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 15 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

The followers must feel humiliated by the ostentatious wealth and force of their enemies. When I was a boy I was taught to think of Englishmen as the five-meal people. They ate more frequently than the poor but sober Italians. Jews are rich and help each other through a secret web of mutual assistance. However, the followers must be convinced that they can overwhelm the enemies. Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak. Fascist governments are condemned to lose wars because they are constitutionally incapable of objectively evaluating the force of the enemy.

Edit: I guess I can’t bold in a quoted passage, so here it is: Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.

Umberto Eco

Ur Fascism

[–] peopleproblems@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago

But my favorite piece is at the end. I remind everyone all the time and nauseum that facists are stupid:

Fascist governments are condemned to lose wars because they are constitutionally incapable of objectively evaluating the force of the enemy.

[–] Maeve@kbin.social 5 points 8 months ago

Also Sleepy Joe and over-caffeinated.