You're Not Overreacting, This Is Actually Fascism, 10 Signs. Rutger Bregman, Dutch Historian, Author

[appalachiablue]

You're not overreacting. This is actually fascism. March 10, 2025, 15 min. (More in *Description, click on YouTube icon in video).

⚔ 10 Signs of Fascism: Mythic Past, Humiliation, Dehumanization, Contempt for Weakness, Cult of Action, Savior, Purification, Propaganda, Power Merger, Violence.
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- Wiki, Rutger Christiaan Bregman (b. 26 April 1988) Dutch historian & author. Bregman published 4 books, most notably Utopia for Realists, translated into 32 languages. His work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Guardian & by the BBC. He has been described by The Guardian as the "Dutch wunderkind of new ideas" & by TED Talks as "one of Europe's most prominent young thinkers"...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutger_Bregman
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- Wiki, Robert Owen Paxton (b. June 15, 1932) is an American political scientist & historian specializing in Vichy France, fascism, & Europe during the WW II era. He is Mellon Professor Emeritus of Social Science in the Department of History at Columbia Univ. He is best known for his 1972 book Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order, which precipitated intense debate in France, and led to a paradigm shift in how the events of the Vichy regime are interpreted...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Paxton

[markodochartaigh]

1. I think that part of the problem in the US

is that terms have been purposely muddied in order to neuter criticism of our reich-wing. That, and basic ignorance about politics, government, and history, and we have a situation which makes it very difficult to educate and engage the one third of the electorate who are to ignorant and apathetic to vote.

[appalachiablue]

2. Definitely, real dilemma. To modify this would take effort & time is scarce. We carry on. Tx for posting.

[SheltieLover]

3. The inhabitants of the basket of deplorables is largely uneducable

They seem to function solely from their enlarged, hyperactive amygdalas. Always running around with their hair on fire.

[wnylib]

4. Instead of trying to educate people who lack the

Last edited Wed Mar 18, 2026, 04:32 PM - Edit history (1)

background for understanding fascism, I think we should just speak to them on how they are being directly affected. Why waste time and words on something they might not grasp anyway? Just speak to the violent way that people are treated by ICE, the US citizens being murdered by government officials, and remind them that the illegal force by ICE agents can and will happen in their community as it spreads.

Talk about the lost jobs and higher prices due to tariffs. Remind them that, while average Americans struggle to house, feed, and clothe their families, an elite group grows richer at our expense and that elite group is buying politicians who represent their own interests. not ours.

Remind them that wealthy corporations, CEOs, and investors are denying the working and middle classes adequate health care by paying politicians to vote against it.

Especially tell people that we are all in this together, regardless of ethnicity, race, or religion, so we need to stop pointing to one group or another as the cause of our problems and join together against the real cause -- the financial elites who work against our own best interests and scapegoat select groups.

People will understand and respond to those points better than any academic definitions of fascism.

[SheltieLover]

5. And tie it all to the repuke party!

Magats don't connect the dots well, either.

[appalachiablue]

7. Sad truths, too many people get a rush from hate and anger, and stew in resentment and ignorance.

https://youtube.com/shorts/nfDHf_hbo0c

Bernie Sanders, Trump is a demagogue.

[SheltieLover]

11. Yup.

[markodochartaigh]

8. I grew up in Amarillo Texas a half century ago.

To a large degree you are correct that the great majority of people who live in that authoritarian bubble will never leave the bubble, even if they move to a different area or obtain an education their basic values and opinions remain unchanged.
But the silver lining is that about one third of the US electorate is so ignorant and apathetic that they can't be bothered to vote as long as they get their hamberders and sportsball. The Republicans have bitten off a little more than they can chew and the hamberders and sportsball are going to be less abundant. A certain percentage of this third will wake up. They haven't been paying attention or understanding what they were seeing, so they will not know what is really going on when they do awaken. The Democratic party needs to be ready to educate and engage with these newly woke people en masse.

[alittlelark]

6. Very Well Done - I sent it to a few ppl.

[appalachiablue]

9. Super, thanks much. Forgot to mention interesting comments in the YouTube video section.

[alittlelark]

12. I'll rewatch it and check out the comments.

[nuxvomica]

10. Brilliant guy

I read Bregmans's Utopia for Realists years ago in which he makes thoughtful, data-sourced arguments for ideas like universal basic income, shortened work weeks, and open borders. I would listen closely to what he has to say, not that he's infallible but because he doesn't jump to conclusions and he is religious about backing up his arguments with facts.

[appalachiablue]

13. I first liked his style & views years back when he remarked about the annual Davos affair

and the current economic mess, 'just pay your taxes.'

I hope to read more of his writing, thanks for mentioning the book. Thanks for posting!