Post 2220136 by LuigiEsq@mastodon.social
 (DIR) More posts by LuigiEsq@mastodon.social
 (DIR) Post #2220136 by LuigiEsq@mastodon.social
       2018-12-23T14:39:49Z
       
       2 likes, 0 repeats
       
       I hate how leftists can’t articulate nuanced critiques of bad policy without immediately resorting to calling something literal fascism. The word has meaning - it’s not just, “anything opposed to what I think is good.”In an environment where actual fascists are re-emerging, this is not the time to start diluting the word because you’ve got no intellectual framework for criticism beyond jumping to whatever will get the person cancelled fastest.
       
 (DIR) Post #2220137 by bob@soc.freedombone.net
       2018-12-23T15:40:38.452582Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @LuigiEsq #notallwingnuttery is fascism, but there is a slippery slope which eventually ends in falling into the cesspool and drowning.Also I think it's not productive to spend time arguing over the precise definition of fascism. Instead you can identify threats and then try to mitigate them.
       
 (DIR) Post #2220138 by maiyannah@community.highlandarrow.com
       2018-12-23T15:42:55+00:00
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @bob @luigiesq Yeah, it's not like words have meanings and their over-usage makes people unsympathetic to you or anything.
       
 (DIR) Post #2332976 by LuigiEsq@mastodon.social
       2018-12-23T15:45:47Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @bob right, but going “fascism fascism” is not productive either, which is my point. You’ve got governments and organizations openly supporting fascist, nationalistic policies. It’s a powerful word and we need to reserve it for the people who actually meet its definition.And then we can call out the wingnuts for their bad, sometimes authoritarian, neoliberal and hegemonic views... just like that. If we just go “it’s bad because it’s bad” them nobody will take us seriously.
       
 (DIR) Post #2333014 by LuigiEsq@mastodon.social
       2018-12-23T14:40:52Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       it’s important to attack bad ideas on their merits and not just throw around buzzwords, otherwise nobody’s ever going to know why something’s bad. And if everything is fascism, then when it comes time to actually decry fascists, we’ll have no way to talk about it.
       
 (DIR) Post #2333019 by amylsacks@mastodon.social
       2018-12-23T14:55:33Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @LuigiEsq Agreed, but it seems to happen with every worthwhile descriptor: everyone builds their social media capital by misapplying it to everything and soon it has no meaning. See also: terms like "gaslighting" and "mansplaining," both of which also very quickly mutated into *you said something I don't like.*
       
 (DIR) Post #2333029 by capefeather@mastodon.social
       2018-12-23T15:22:52Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @LuigiEsq I mostly agree and personally wouldn’t throw around the f-word unless they’re spouting views consistent with or defending fascism. That said, I do think it’s important to identify authoritarian views for what they are, even if they don’t “feel” authoritarian because society at large has given them too much respect.