With the New
British Union of Fascists looking to make Elgin in Moray the UK’s first fascist town, we decided to write a brief blog about the topic.
At its core,
fascism is based upon a single premise – that people have different intrinsic values.
It sees skin colour, religion, wealth, nationality, language and/or some other
differentiating feature as the key to determining this value.
An analogy
would be to ask a child why they love their parents. A fascist would say
because their parents are stronger, or richer, or more powerful than those of
other children. They value their identity because they believe it to be greater.
When asked
the same question a non-fascist would say “because they are my parents”. The
non-fascist values their identity because it is theirs. They see it as being neither
superior nor inferior to those of others as it doesn’t factor into their
thought process.
Individuals
believing that they are part of a master race are relatively harmless because
they can’t affect much change. Few people will take them seriously and it’s
difficult for them to work together as petty differences will always crop up
amongst those with this mind-set. The problem comes when fascism takes root. It
always leads to the conclusion that ‘lesser people’ deserve fewer rights. We
have countless examples from the 20th century of this happening, from
Nazi Germany, to Apartheid South Africa.
And the definitions
of inferior always grow broader over time. Eventually, even those who see
themselves as ‘better’ find out that those they have put in charge don’t agree.
Fundamentally,
you cannot support fascism if you believe people are equal or if you believe in
universal suffrage. And if you don’t believe in these things and if you
activity aid groups that attack these rights, then the chances are that you’ll eventually
find yourself within the groups that lose their rights.
But how can
we resist fascism? One of the primary arguments in favour of Scottish independence
was the prospect of written, codified constitution to guarantee the rights of
everyone. This is at the heart of why many fascists were backing ‘No’. A written
constitution protects people and ensures that the flawed eugenic concepts of
the past are resisted. It’s one of the most effective ways to fight fascism and
the importance of such a document is why you should first consider voting for
those political parties who campaign for it.
In Scotland,
the parties who believe in a written constitution are:
[If you know
of any other political party in Scotland that supports a written constitution
then please let us know!]
Fascism has
always failed because it is nonsense. Its appeal lies in its
simplicity. You’re a good person, and so people like you are the same and only want to do good
things. Therefore, if there are bad things happening, then it must be the fault
of people who aren’t like you. The logical fallacy is that you cannot group
people together in this way. You can have two siblings brought up in the same
house grow up to have very different personalities and values. Fascism can’t
account for this because it’s wrong.
I hate Illinois Nazis
People are
individuals, with their own experiences, values and ideas. I honestly couldn’t
care less what religion someone believes, or what nationality is in their
passport, or how wealthy they are. These things just don’t matter to me and for
a happy and fulfilling life they shouldn’t matter to you either. Whether you
live in Elgin or any of the other places that fascist groups are targeting,
remember that these people are wrong and don’t have anything meaningful to say.
They have latched on to an easy answer and have stopped thinking.
Fascist promotional video [probably]
Make sure
that you keep thinking. And if you ever start to judge a group of people then
just remember these words:
“If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.” William Shakespeare, the Merchant of Venice
Don’t turn
to fascists. We’re all people.
Drew
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