guruilla » Mon May 21, 2018 11:57 pm wrote:I can't help think that if there are JBP supporters reading this thread, the chances of them posting are pretty slim. Is that the desired outcome and if so, why? A debate that banishes one side of the argument isn't much of a debate.
JBP is a fascist demagogue who will burn in Hell and his followers are all lemmings headed for destruction - not exactly conducive to a multi-leveled discussion of the guy, is it?
It's an indication of perspectives that are formed inside an ideological echo chamber, ironically the very kind of soft totalitarianism that JBP is railing against and that has led to there being such a massive upswelling of support for the guy. Do so many people at RI still associate irrational and violent intolerance and oppression exclusively (or even primarily) with the Right and not the Left? It just seems to be missing the mark by such a wide margin to pigeon-hole JBP and his followers this way. Even if it weren't wrong (it is, none of the JBP followers I know are even remotely right-wing or fascist-leaning), it's methodologically unsound to boot.
Supposing the guy were as bad as some people believe and his followers as deluded and as dangerous as they are making out. Isn't that all the more reason to attempt to understand what's occurring, to try and see things from their point of view and figure out what the appeal is, and then develop some more finely tuned and point-specific arguments to persuade them with? As opposed to deride, dismiss, and condemn them? As if that's an effective way to reduce the power and appeal of a dangerous mass movement, when, chances are, it has the very opposite effect.
Ever hear the phrase Know Thine Enemy? I recommend developing and applying the cognitive, discursive, and didactic equivalents of martial arts.
I didn’t call JBP a fascist as a lazy and generic insult. Fanatical anti-communism and insistence that women be confined to the roles of wife and mother (and whore on the side) are pillars of the fascist program and world view.
It’s not an ideological echo chamber. It’s called history.
My postings here are proof that I’m fed up with the left and recognize their failings. I’m seeking to understand the history and the current situation in order to find a way forward outside the left/right system that has clearly become dysfunctional. My observation was simply that JPB’s lazy embrace of fascist principles is destructive.
I agree that good can come of breaking down his discourse and understanding his appeal. But I'll leave that to you as you seem to have the required interest level. I on the other hand seem to have a visceral aversion to him, not to mention being bogged down with other activities and studies. So carry on.
“The Socialists ask what is our program? Our program is to smash the heads of the Socialists.” Benito Mussolini