this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2025
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That is not what I asked. You're saying it's being used incorrectly, which means you have a definition in mind which isn't being met. What is that definition?
The Encyclopaedia Britannica definition?
Or maybe the Webster's Dictionary definition?
Because by those definitions "fascism" is not being used incorrectly.
If you have an alternate definition which supports your claim, you'll need to provide it yourself.
You said people were using the word wrong. I asked you what the word means. You said it means the definition, so I provided the definition. You still have not provided a meaning that demonstrates that the word is being used incorrectly.
We're not calling people fascists because we don't like them, we don't like them because they fit the definition of a fascist. You have cause and effect reversed.
Again, if you would like to provide a definition for "fascism" that supports your claim, feel free to do so. Until then, the rest of us will continue to refer to the dictionary definition, and call the people who meet that definition "fascists".
You were called a Nazi because that's a reasonable response to someone claiming that fascists aren't really fascists. The word is being thrown around a lot lately because fascism itself is popping up a lot lately. That is how it is mostly used.
There are people using the term as a generic "insult to label someone something bad": actual fascists and their supporters for the purpose of, as you said, diluting the term to try to rob it of meaning and turn it into a joke. Their bad faith machinations do not prove that the rest of us aren't using it accurately.
That's why I provided the definition: to demonstrate that, yes, when we say "fascism" we are in fact using the term correctly because the definition aligns with the philosophy and actions we are witnessing. You still have yet to provide an alternative definition which is inconsistent with the way we are presently using the term.
I wasn't the one that called you a Nazi, but you have to admit that claiming the behaviors and ideology consistent with fascism aren't really fascism is precisely the sort of thing a closeted Nazi would do.