Classic case of a person with a Ukraine flag in their bio talking about how Italy totally isn’t fascist to rule in favor of the right to nazi salute at a rally. Got the usual “You spout Russian propaganda.” and “Umm ackshully, nazi rallies have been happening all over Europe for decades, this isn’t a big deal” Like wtf, Nazi rallies no big deal? Europe is awful lol. Took way too long before I remembered I should just block and move on. And now I’m exhausted.
It’s not worth it to engage in debate with people who believe in the “marketplace of ideas.”
It’s basically libertarianism for the brain. If we both sold children’s cough medicine and mine contained anthrax only the die-hard anarcho-capitalist fuck heads would say “the free market will decide and nobody will buy the Coughrax Syrup.” Most people will say “actually we need some kind of standard or regulation to keep it off the shelf” because it’s not worth x number of dead kids to reach some kind of market based consensus.
But when it comes to fascist ideas poisoning brains it’s all “live and let live” and “freedom of speech.” They are wrong. We are inherently social animals and ideas that nurture anti-social misanthropic bullshit should not be tolerated. A society that uses the intellectual cowardice of free speech is a rich field to plant the seeds of fascism.
Fundamentally, liberals fail to understand that fascism is not just a fancy college word for totalitarianism. It is a unique political movement and ideology that is born out of liberalism and capitalism. The world they see as the only authentic opponent of fascism is the very thing that enables the rise of fascism.
Additionally, because of their misdiagnosis of totalitarian ideology or circumstance they fail to see the totalitarianism in liberal “free market” systems and western “democracies.” But that’s a whole other can of worms.