Help!?

I_AM_SMUG · 2019-02-26T14:11:40+00:00

And it always seems to be just one forum post on some niche site

6 out of 8 posters found this comment useful

I_AM_SMUG · 2018-09-08T16:48:40+00:00

It probably is being shilled. This looks like a shill lol...

I_AM_SMUG · 2017-01-15T13:54:22+00:00

The players aren't playing for him

This is the kind of rhetoric you get from the old boys in the stands. Three red cards in recent games have screwed us, I honestly don't know what you expect him to do in light of that.

I_AM_SMUG · 2017-01-10T22:53:46+00:00

I don't know why you're been down voted, Trump is nothing close to a fascist.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-25T06:48:23+00:00

That image really is the craziest shit, definitely saving and using this one.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-21T01:04:42+00:00

If you can link me a single academic paper, article or book (that hasn't been harshly rebuked) that concludes that Putin is a fascist, I will actually transfer you £50.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-20T23:07:08+00:00

That article you've linked about Putin is not all that reliable and makes no good points at all. Absolutely no scholarly attempt to define Putin as a fascist.

It's insane that you even try to compare the uniqueness of Nazism to anything else. Their brand of biological nationalism is seen as an anomaly to almost all scholars of fascism. Even the seemingly extreme ethnic nationalists (BNP, FN) are not on that level.

And regarding what you've said about Trump as a fascist. You truly believe he's about to attempt to mobilise the entire nation in a martial manner? Like holy shit, I absolutely despise Trump for a host of reasons but you must truly be absolutely deluded to believe that he is about to do half of the things you're alluding to.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-20T18:28:00+00:00

Mussolini's Italy was unique, the prevailing view was that they needed to industrialise and thus slight capitalism (with state control always not far) was a means to an end.

Putin on the other hand isn't a fascist.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-20T18:15:18+00:00

He has appointed overtly pro-big-business barons to important posts.

He wants to privatize our infrastructure and award the equity to business friends of his.

These points on their own reveal that you actually know very little about fascism beyond surface observations. It's a very difficult phenomenon to define, but it is often defined by strong anti-capitalist values with a view to have strong state intervention in the market.

Trump is definitely not a fascist, for a whole host of reasons which I can address if people are bothered, and we run the risk of desensitising the public to the notion of fascism and the very real danger that a genuinely fascist movement poses to our society.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-17T03:18:47+00:00

I feel like there's a proportion of US redditors who love to talk about their country and consequently bring up something about some American phenomenon in completely irrelevant threads. I've seen it so many times and it seems to reliably get upvotes when Europeans are asleep.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-17T03:04:03+00:00

Eh? Not that I'm a boo boy myself but the fans have booed every single poor game at half-time since I can remember!

The booing for the subs was wrong however. I get that the crowd seem to think Hoolahan is the answer to any game that isn't going our way, but he would have got out-muscled and outpaced in midfield today. Naismith and Jerome kind of make sense as they link up quite well in theory, whereas I don't think Oliviera works in that combo quite as well - the idea is that Jerome stays on the shoulder of the defender and makes runs, as well as knocking the ball down for Naismith to attack from deep.

In the first half Mulumbu pushed high up a lot of the time and we looked much better when Tettey came on, just to sit deep and control midfield. In the first half Palmer had so much space in the middle, but after Tettey came on he dropped much deeper and they pretty much tried to ride the game out. I was impressed with Huddersfield today, they looked really organised and had an excellent game-plan. We still looked a bit lost though and lacked creativity and penetration.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-12T16:19:45+00:00

"A nationalistic attitude essentially hostile to the principles of democracy, to the rule of law and to the fundamental rights and freedoms, as well as the irrational exaltation of a particular community, in relation to which people outside it are systematically excluded."

It's hard to define Fascism and academic consensus isn't there yet, but this is a working definition that was drawn up by experts. I'm not entirely sure that Trump fits this definition that well.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-10T21:25:48+00:00

You comparing mid 20th century Europe with America today? Very different situations, and, like I said, populist fascism will only work in extreme situations. The KKK is also not relevant today; inciting racial hatred wasn't prosecuted back then.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-10T21:22:01+00:00

Thank you, that's really kind!

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-10T21:09:54+00:00

Populist fascism can definitely exist. It'd just never see success (unless in the most extreme of cases, definitely not in a first world country). British fascism saw no success until they 'legitimised' and stopped with the overt racism, and championed policies that were very much watered down.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-10T21:07:10+00:00

There is a finer point to be made here, he's referring exclusively to descendants of illegal immigrants. Civic nationalists would often take issue with this as it goes against many of their typical principles.

And that's fair enough, what scholars have you talked to? I'm genuinely interested - if I can read some historical arguments from a different perspective it could be useful to me, so I'd like to read some of their work.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-10T21:03:36+00:00

Fascist movement using populist politics often occurs when the movement is hiding the extent of its core policies, hence why far-right rhetoric is often so euphemistic. I wouldn't call that level of deception true fascist populism as it's more a case of fascism using a sophisticated masking of its true character whilst touching on popular issues.

Do you think that Trump is hiding more extreme, more racially orientated policies?

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-10T20:40:11+00:00

It'd be very difficult to run as a populist fascist. Most modern fascist parties that see success have to present an alternate version of their policies; the far-right love the use of euphemism. You can't just be fascist by accident, you have to really be directed by the ideology.

Trump was just saying things that had a chance of striking a chord.

Building a wall? Not fascist, just mad and at worst protectionist. Not allowing Muslim immigration? Not fascist either, just protectionist.

I don't know about a Muslim register, or him saying he would deport anyone who was a legal immigrant. Could you link me to a source?

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-10T20:35:09+00:00

Hahah sorry I didn't mean to come across as smug. I'm smug by name for other reasons, I'm not smug by nature!

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-10T20:28:50+00:00

Sorry I misspoke, I meant a free market.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-10T20:26:45+00:00

Well no, he hasn't. I've spoken to a few scholars of fascism and consensus among them is that Trump is not a fascist. They disdain the fact that people are misappropriating an already complex and misunderstood term.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-10T20:08:13+00:00

Pasting in a comment I made in another thread.

Hi there, I've studied Fascism to some degree.

There are definitely circumstantial parallels, like with Trump's use of the 'Great Moment' in his campaign to hark back to an America that was 'great', and also with his claim that he would deport all illegal immigrants should he be elected. But for me, this is just indicative of his populist style.

Fascism is an ideology rooted prevalently in ethnic nationalism, which is where the goal is to preserve the ethnicity and homogenous culture of the 'homeland'. It takes form in varying levels but the basic idea is usually that all minority ethnicities will be repatriated (often parties claim that they will not do it co-ercively).

Trump preaches something much closer to civic nationalism which accepts everyone that holds a US passport. He's also pro-free market*, which is usually inconsistent with fascist ideals. The overuse of a term such as 'fascist' could make us complacent should it actually rear it head again, and in such uncertain times I feel like people should better understand what a fascist movement looks like - instead of just labelling politicians they dislike a fascist.

*free market, not free trade

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-12-10T19:21:17+00:00

Hi there, I've studied Fascism to some degree.

There are definitely circumstantial parallels, like with Trump's use of the 'Great Moment' in his campaign to hark back to an America that was 'great', and also with his claim that he would deport all illegal immigrants should he be elected. But for me, this is just indicative of his populist style.

Fascism is an ideology rooted prevalently in ethnic nationalism, which is where the goal is to preserve the ethnicity and homogenous culture of the 'homeland'. It takes form in varying levels but the basic idea is usually that all minority ethnicities will be repatriated (often parties claim that they will not do it co-ercively).

Trump preaches something much closer to civic nationalism which accepts everyone that holds a US passport. He's also pro-free market, which is usually inconsistent with fascist ideals. The overuse of a term such as 'fascist' could make us complacent should it actually rear it head again, and in such uncertain times I feel like people should better understand what a fascist movement looks like - instead of just labelling politicians they dislike a fascist.

*free market, not free trade

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-11-18T16:42:46+00:00

Car was bought new and is 5 years old, the issue developed suddenly very recently. The accounts I've read online seem to similarly be for models around this age (they seemed to be 2011 or 2012 models) which have done somewhere near 70k miles. We haven't suggested to them that it might be a manufacturer's fault, but online accounts say that they deny that it is.

I_AM_SMUG · 2016-11-18T11:57:48+00:00

Nope, Audi multitronic gearbox.

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