The rise of Fascism in Europe

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Okay... I don't dispute your point. HOWEVER, I think that during tough economic times more people, especially working class, lower educated people, become more politically involved. I also think this angry, right-wing fascist message tents to appeal to these people. So, as a result, fascism becomes a much more powerful/influential force...

Just look at the Hitler's brown shirts or Mussolini's black shirts. Both were made up of economically displaced/disgruntled WWI vets. Without the economic hardship of the great depression, I think many of these guys would have been too busy with life (working and raising a family) to get involved with extreme politics.

With reference to disgruntled/economically displaced vets and radical politics, the same thing almost happened in the US of the 1930s. There was a group known as the bonus army. They were WWI vets who needed money and wanted the US government to pay them a promised bonus for service during the war early. The government refused. So, the bonus army 'occupied' Washington (camped out in a shantytown) until Douglas McArthur and the real army forcibly evicted them...

A group of business men opposed to FDR's radical reforms tried to recruit a guy named Smedly Butler (former commandant of the USMC turned political speaker/activist) to lead the bonus army in a coup to displace FDR. This is known as the Business Plot.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot.

It is BAD. Time for a communist revival from the East!

The objective of fascism historically was to wipe out the middle class. In Germany, Jews comprised the middle class in the early 20th century so Hitler's message appealed not only to working class Germans, but to wealthy industrialists and landed gentry.

No, it isn't. Last I checked, parties such as Golden Dawn and Front National who are the most anti semitic are also the farthest right.

One issue here is when 'Islam' becomes, and has become a catch all word for 'the brown people'. The fact that muslims aren't protected from religious hate speech to the same extent that say for example, Jews are, has been exploited to the hilt by right wing parties such as the BNP and other fascist parties across Europe.

No, he said that the USA and Israel created ISIS. If you're going to link an article, it helps if you can at least quote it correctly. Not all Jews believe in nationalist Judaism. What are you, some kind of anti-semite?

Ja, I have seen Muslims attack the West for banning Holocaust denialism, but not blasphemy against the Islamic religion. They consider that to be hypocritical of the West.

Of course, they often forget that the U.S. doesn't fall under this because no one in the U.S. has the authority to ban either Holocaust denialism or blasphemy against the Islamic religion, because of the 1st Amendment (q.v.).

What i meant is that right wing parties are able to channel into the ignorance of the general public. The general voter isn't that discerning between muslim and non muslim immigration (nor often is likely to care). The feeling of general alienation at the perception of 'becoming foreign in ones own land' rightly or wrongly by being in close proximity with other races is exploited by demagogues that feed on the kind of frenzy fuelled by the Charlie Hesbo circus.

Leftists are not the only ones characterized by anti-Semitic attitudes. Nazis and Muslims are, to varying degrees, also sharing the same sentiment, but the left is arguably the largest anti-Semitic faction in Greece.

Of note, what are we talking about when we say "fascism" here?

/\ To some, anything right of wherever they are on the left is facist.

As for fascism in Europe, if it exists there it's only because the current socio-political climate is right for it.

I think it's entirely wrong to class "anti-immigration" itself as fascism, as that's only the possible consequence of nationalism; as far as I can tell, the people that are for that aren't for conquest of their neighbors, rather the lawful removal of people they see as causing undue civil disturbance. Fascists can use this social disturbance to aid in extreme nationalism, but it's going to be for a far more nefarious reason (i.e., killing the undesirable people and garnering military support, whereas most people will tend to just want them gone from their country who're anti-immigration).

I would like to see this accusation qualified with a source.

I wouldnt get too cocky. America is also on a slippery slope towards the same circumstances.

Europe is only different because we have a historical precedence of fascism.

I keep hearing this observation as if it is supposed to be some sort of critique of fascism. But to me the fact that the liberal-democracies keep experiencing these economic crises, and that the liberal democratic propaganda machine (which lectures the masses from birth about the "dangers of fascism") still can't prevent people from periodically supporting so-called "fascist" parties, seems to be more of an embarrassment for liberal democracy.

If the EU elites could simply improve Europe's economy without abandoning their main objective (the dissolution of Europe's national identities and the miscegenation of their populations) no doubt they would, at least to keep the masses quiet.

As for "extreme politics" - it's really quite amazing how liberal democratic governments can start any number of pointless, destructive wars against foreign countries, but to the average person it's only the people who merely want to keep foreigners out of their country who deserve the label "extreme".

Last edited by Rollo on 22 Jan 2015, 4:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Yes, there are plenty of countries that have Sharia, but Islam is expansionist, so those Muslims who move to non-Muslim lands and say they want Sharia law are not being as irrational as you seem to imply. Really, it is Westerners who act surprised at the sight of Muslims doing what their religion tells them who are being irrational - what caused them to become so confused is another matter.