this post was submitted on 15 May 2024
66 points (100.0% liked)

chapotraphouse

13614 readers
685 users here now

Banned? DM Wmill to appeal.

No anti-nautilism posts. See: Eco-fascism Primer

Slop posts go in c/slop. Don't post low-hanging fruit here.

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/4551711

The USA senate has 2 fasces. You cannot get more obvious than that

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] HarryLime@hexbear.net 24 points 7 months ago (2 children)

This is kind of dumb tbh

They were there before Fascism existed

[–] 420blazeit69@hexbear.net 20 points 7 months ago (1 children)

A little dumb, a little "and here we see how the ideological seeds that underpin colonialism eventually mature into fascism"

[–] HarryLime@hexbear.net 12 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

Not really at all. TBH, the fasces as a symbol is downright contrary to American ideology. It's a symbol of collective strength through societal unity, but America is so embroiled in its cult of individualism that the idea of achieving a collective good through collective power is practically alien. (Of course then again, Italians never really lived up to the purported ideals of fascism either, so maybe it's not so out of place.)

[–] 420blazeit69@hexbear.net 11 points 7 months ago

American ideology is contradictory as hell haha

There's definitely the "I do what I want" aspect of it, but there's also tons of blind patriotism and willingness to sacrifice for the country (to say nothing of the half-mythical idea that the colonies were these fully independent sovereigns that chose to join together). I do think the former has been gaining serious ground since at least the 70s.

[–] rio@hexbear.net 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It’s a symbol of the estruscan kings and Roman magistrates right to order public floggings with sticks or beheadings with axes

[–] HarryLime@hexbear.net 3 points 7 months ago

My bad, I'd learned that it was a symbol of unity, like the people being stronger unified like the tied sticks.

[–] ProgAimerGirl@hexbear.net 11 points 7 months ago (2 children)

okay but they stayed there even after fascism adopted the imagery. the empire is at the very least unconcerned with the implication of hanging ornamental golden fasces in the halls of power

[–] HarryLime@hexbear.net 16 points 7 months ago

So what's the logic here? That they kept it up there to fuck with your head, as a semi-secret sign that they're fascist? That's anti-materialist thinking, little different than anti-Masonists seeing the eye pyramid on a dollar bill and imagining a vast conspiracy from it.

Let's say that there was a proposal to take the fasces down- what would the case be? That Mussolini's use of the fasces imbues it with a transcendental evil that reaches back in time and taints it as a symbol before he even used it? From the perspective of the political class, the whole debate would likely be tiresome and not worth having.

If the US is or becomes fascist, it's going to have very little to do with some old ornaments in the House of Representatives, it's going to be because of material conditions.

[–] Saeculum@hexbear.net 12 points 7 months ago

Not really sure if the best response to fascists using a common and ancient symbol is to rip out our artistic and cultural heritage.

There are buildings with Swastikas and Fasces all over Europe and the US that considerably pre-date the Nazis.

It's not like removing statues of slavers and criminals (which is based), since these older buildings and artworks aren't and weren't glorifying the horrendous crimes they later came to be associated with.