"Isn't it interesting how fascists always steal the word 'freedom' ?"

[smirkymonkey]

I am actually watching a movie right now. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" w/ Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. However I just watched a scene with DC speaking with the older patriarch of the family that he will be investigating (played by Christopher Plummer) and one line stood out to me that I hadn't noticed before.

CP's character is talking about his brother who joined the Nazis when he was 17 and who joined the "Nationalist Socialist Freedom League", or something like that in Swedish. And then he said the above quote. "Isn't it interesting how fascists always steal the word 'freedom'?"

It just struck me how the right has been pushing the "freedom" thing for years - even before Trump - and it occurred to me how the use of this word in their rhetoric was not an accident. It is a deliberate attempt to make people think that others are trying to take away their liberty, and that those people are the enemy.

[kimbutgar]

1. I also detest the word liberty

It is such a fake adjective for right wingers to spout their bs.

[Hortensis]

18. :) Ok, words freedom and liberty off the table. What word or terms

do you prefer for the concept? Or perhaps is it what type of you-know-what do you prefer? Anything to do with individualism?

[kimbutgar]

27. It's when I hear someone say those words I immediately know they are right wingers.

By the way your comment to me sounds kind of mean.

[Hortensis]

30. Ouch. Those words evoke the most basic principles of

humanism and liberalism to me. Although they're sincere, they don't mean quite the same things to most conservatives as they do to liberals, usually less commitment to individual rights and more to group hierarchical and even authoritarian roles within social hierarchies. Which is why I asked about individualism.

We can't let them appropriate and degrade these terms to serve authoritarian mindsets.

[kimbutgar]

31. +1

[Walleye]

2. It does sort of imply a persecution complex when they scream it

[Hortensis]

20. Bingo! That they are always FORCED by others to attack

in order to protect themselves is baked into the mentality, and the cause. False victimhood is a huge force behind the growing extremism across the board, from class based to white nationalism to just-wanna-hit-"back."

Victims of society don't just have a right but even a noble calling to take over, destroy the bad old establishment, and replace with whatever the leader they choose says they will.

[Walleye]

21. It's infuriating. Most of these assholes have had every advantage. Have never seen poverty

I don’t know what they think they are victims of except the age old, women won’t let them be monsters. I guess victimhood is very seductive

[Hortensis]

24. Sickening. Excuse for a syndrome of dangerous negativism

that ultimately can "justify" any behavior if it isn't defused and diffused. Most populist movements are potentially dangerously destructive, as are many, but not all, of the leaders who choose this means to power.
(It's noteworthy that Sanders couldn't control the aggressive hard-cores who joined his movement.)

The same genuine inequities and other problems used to radicalize complainers make sensible people want to solve them and create better.

That's where we come in. It's no accident that the Biden team is fighting for America's "soul" with building and working on solving the problems. Or that we elect builders.

[Poiuyt]

3. It's also interesting how they've co-opted the word "patriot"

I never thought patriotism meant destroying the country you supposedly love.

[LakeArenal]

4. They are FREEDUMB

[calimary]

22. Perfect fit.

[Busterscruggs]

5. They also managed to make

Democracy community and socialist sound awful when they really are the exact opposite

[Wounded Bear]

6. They steal all the patriotic terms...

[Progressive Jones]

7. They also like to whine about "tyranny", which none of them has experienced.

It's all about them spreading lies about being "persecuted".

[onecaliberal]

8. They bastardize everything.

[Doodley]

9. George Orwell would have something to say about it.

[patphil]

10. In actuality, they want to be free to take other people's freedom away.

[JHB]

11. Harry Turtledove wrote a series of alternative-history novels where the Confederates...

...gained a mostly-political victory in 1862 and successfully seceded. The novels took the situation through the Great War that broke out in 1914, with USA and CSA on opposite sides, with the CSA losing.

The Nazi-esque party that arose in the CSA in the war's aftermath, and took it over in the 30s, was the "Freedom Party."

It didn't take a lot of pondering to come up with that. It's pretty boilerplate American Wingnut.

[vercetti2021]

12. Great books

Okayish movies though

[I_UndergroundPanther]

13. To facists

Freedom means something different from the way we define it

To a facsist pig it means freedom to harm other people or kill people they dont like and it means freedom from responsibility and accountability and.
Freedom from the law.
.

[rampartc]

16. "freedom, in the slogans of the strong

means unfettered liberty to exploit the weak." will durant

[smirkymonkey]

25. Exactly!

Also, freedom from taxes. Can't forget that.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

32. Oh and freedom

From obligations to others.

[DFW]

14. One of the best depictions of the far right promoting "freedom" and getting an earful in return

0:21 to 0:26 for the smug "freedom" claim, and 2:05 to 2:25 for the brilliant reposte

It's fiction, but oh, so true nonetheless.

[dalton99a]

28. +1

[Emile]

17. With our right wing fascist it's spelled Freedumb!

[speak easy]

19. The BIG LIE: Fascism 101

[Hortensis]

23. Establishment, institution are also bad words to populists, tRump's and LW.

(Those are the people we're talking about.) All passionately agree the establishment and its institutions must be taken over and replaced.

Unfortunately, they typically have far less commitment left over for what comes next. That's where The Charismatic Leader comes in. His followers know he wants what they want (he says so, often!) and with their support will make it happen.

[Mr. Ected]

26. I know our politicians can't use this word, but we sure can, and so can the media: Fascist

It's as close as you can get to calling them out on their bullshit "freedom" claims and stick them with an altogether repulsive label.

[dalton99a]

29. Yep. Liberty University, Liberty Lobby, Freedom Caucus, American Freedom Party (of violent racists)

etc. etc.

[GoodRaisin]

33. It's kind of like when some car dealerships extol their "integrity".

Pushing the opposite traits of what they actually are. Or like when Fox News used to lead with “fair and balanced”. Yeah, sure.

I’ve pretty much learned that when they lead with these kind of claims you need to run the other way.