[lbo-talk] In control, yet "oppressed"

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Mon Dec 13 14:29:08 PST 2004



> The fundamental dilemma of the neo-Nazis: if the Jews are so inferior
> and the Aryans so superior, how is it that the Jews own everything and
> run every government on the planet while the Aryans are forced to wear
> bedsheets and meet in the Louisiana swamps lest they be wiped out?

That is not a dilemma at all. Fascism is a very dynamic ideology, a social movement par excellence - it aims to reverse a decline caused by "unnatural" ways of doing things and bring things back to its "natural normal. The "unnatural ways" include various forms of weakness (the "strong" Aryans failed to smash their enemies), perversion (anything from "bleeding heart" promiscuity to homosexuality became "normal"), and conspiracy (the untermenschen, such as Jews and other "inferior" species took the advantage of Aryan temporary weakness to spew a web of conspiracy to advance their interests).

Fascism is unmistakably the ideology of the oppressed - and promises that misery is about to be ended, and the salvations is around the corner - just read the lyrics of Die Fahne Hoch http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/horstwessel.html "The street free for the brown battalions, The street free for the Storm Troopers. Millions, full of hope, look up at the swastika; The day breaks for freedom and for bread.

For the last time the call will now be blown; For the struggle now we all stand ready. Soon will fly Hitler-flags over every street; Slavery will last only a short time longer."

More importantly - the work oppressed should not be included in the quotation marks, because the people to whom fascist ideology indeed feel oppressed - by weak economy, vanishing employment opportunities, bleak future, confusion, alienation etc. The feeling is real - it is the solution that fascism offers that is fake. But its fakeness is not immediately apparent because it appeals to popular myths and images - and thus creating the impression that the fascist movement is bringing back the familiar and secure, restoring normalcy, and by so doing, ending the misery felt by "common people." For that reason, fascism is usually more appealing than any socialist/communists ideology, which promises something new and unfamiliar - and thus appears even more threatening to many people who already have doubts about their own status and security.

People who feel that they are losing ground almost never embrace something new and untried - unless they have no other options. They will invariably embrace something familiar that gives the feeling of security and normalcy, no matter how illusive. That creates endless opportunities for demagogues.

Wojtek



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