#scapegoats — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #scapegoats, aggregated by home.social.
-
Early #Italian #Immigrants Were #SecondClass Citizens
March 2020
by Al Bruno"The perilous journey to America in the late 1800s and the early 20th century was extremely difficult for Italian #immigrant families. Worn out and exhausted, most toting an old foot locker and a couple of bags, they hoped for an opportunity to economically improve their family situations in America. Most arrived in stages, following Papa who usually ventured across the Atlantic first to establish citizenship and secure full-time employment.
"'When the Italian began arriving in New York City in large around 1880, they faced fierce competition from the #Irish who resented their working for less money and longer hours. And although they shared the same Catholic faith, Italians were viewed as superstitious because of their devotion to saints, which was expressed in the staging of elaborate feasts,' writes Haydee Camacho in 'Reflections of Irish and Italian Immigration, Animosity, and Eventual Understanding.' 'Irish pastors tried to accommodate their growing Italian communities by offering these Italian immigrants services in the basement of their churches, but pride would not have it. The stalemate led to the building of churches to serve Italians and other new immigrant groups, not only in New York but other major cities in America’s mid and northeastern, major cities.'
"Between 1876 and 1930, most of the five million Italian immigrants came to the U.S. from southern Italy as #FarmLaborers and unskilled workers known as #cantadini. Most of the newly-arrived were confused and lost in America, but earlier immigrants assisted them by introducing the Italians to the padrone, a boss and middleman between the immigrants and the American employers. In 'When America Barred Italians,' Helene Stapinski wrote, 'So our desperate great- and great-great-grandparents came in droves from Italy spurred by the #Industrial #barons in need of #CheapLabor who welcomed them with open arms to America. Often dangerous jobs no one else wanted awaited them. Some, like my relatives, came here illegally, under false names or as stowaways. On one ship alone, 200 stowaways were found.'
[...] "'Lambroso branded the Southern Italians savages and rapists, blaming them for the crime that was on the rise in the United States.' The U.S. Immigration Commission concluded in the infamous Dillingham report, 'Certain kinds of criminality are inherent in the Italian race. In the popular mind, crimes of personal violence, robbery, blackmail and extortion are peculiar to the people of Italy.'
"The #ImmigrationAct of 1924 barred most Italians from coming into the country, causing immigration from Italy to fall 90 percent, even though the vast majority of those coming to America were good, honest-working people and not criminals. There was also growing anti-immigration sentiment that posited the idea that Italians and eastern Europeans were morally unfit to be Americans. Of course, the same argument was made of the Irish. Eventually, this attitude would result in a 1924 federal immigration law that blocked Italians and southern and eastern Europeans from coming to America.
"Italian immigrants were chasing after the 'American Dream' and the 'gold in the streets' they had heard so much of and hoped for when they were growing up and working on the farmlands and vineyards in sunny Italy. Like other immigrant groups, they had sons who honorably served their country in WWII. Hall of famers Rocky Marciano, Lawrence 'Yogi' Berra and Joe DiMaggio, all first-generation Italian Americans, served in the war. These men and many other Italian immigrants persevered through the prejudice and 'second-class' treatment and achieved the '#AmericanDream.'"
-
#Alberta #antitrans #policy part of #farright #playbook, #critics say.
#Policies related to #transgender #youth are being used as a "#political #tactic" to "create #scapegoats, sow #division and #erode #trust in #public #institutions" like #schools, #critics say.
-
#Fascist much, #DonTheCon? Must be reading his copy of #MeinKampf again. Britt commentary refers to "14 Characteristics of Fascism" by #LawrenceBritt.
10 alarming things #Trump has promised to do in a second term
by Judd Legum
and Rebecca Crosby
Dec 12, 20231. Trump says he will "abuse power" and be a "dictator" on "day one."
2. Trump says #ElectionFraud in 2020 gives him the power to "terminate" the Constitution
[Britt: "Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by #SmearCampaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control #voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections."]3. Trump says he will issue "full pardons" to #January6 #insurrectionists
[Britt: "Rampant #Cronyism and #Corruption"]4. Trump says he will cut funding to schools that cover subjects he believes are "inappropriate"
[Britt: "Disdain for #Intellectuals and the #Arts"]5. Trump says he will legally erase trans people and ban them from military service
[Britt: "The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional #gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to #abortion is high, as is #homophobia and anti-#gay legislation."]6. Trump says he will end birthright citizenship by executive order
[Britt: Identification of #Enemies / #Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause"]7. Trump says he will impose a new 10% tax on all imported goods
[Britt: "Powerful and Continuing #Nationalism"]8. Trump says he will investigate NBC and MSNBC for treason and potentially remove the company from public airwaves
[Britt: "Controlled #MassMedia"]9. Trump says he will demand anyone convicted of selling drugs get the death penalty
[Britt: "Obsession with #Crime and #Punishment"]10. Trump says he will order the arrest of all urban homeless and relocate them to federally-run tent cities
[Britt: "Disdain for the Recognition of #HumanRights"]Full article:
https://popular.info/p/10-alarming-things-trump-has-promised#CharacteristicsOfFascism #MAGA #Fascism #History #RabidRight #ChristoFascism #Project2025
-
#Hozier #callsout #conservative #politicians for using the #LGBTQ+ #community as “#scapegoats”.
— Failed politicians and political parties should own up to their failure and not attempt to shift the blame on to others.
#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Entertainment #Music #Allies #Politics #Representation #Culture
-
Lawrence W. Britt: 14 Characteristics of #Fascism
[Unattributed, but based on the writings of #UmbertoEco]
"#Historian #LawrenceBritt studied the fascist regimes of #Hitler (Germany), #Mussolini (Italy), #Franco (Spain), #Suharto (Indonesia), and #Pinochet (Chile) and found they had 14 elements in common. He calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism.
1. Powerful and Continuing #Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of #patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. #Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of #HumanRights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, and long incarcerations of prisoners.3. Identification of #Enemies / #Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: #racial, #ethnic or #religious #minorities; #liberals; #communists; #socialists, #terrorists…4. Supremacy of the #Military
Even when there are widespread #domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.5. Rampant #Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional #gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to #abortion is high, as is #homophobia and anti-#gay legislation.6. Controlled #MassMedia
Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation or by sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Government #censorship and #secrecy especially in war time, are very common.7. Obsession with #NationalSecurity
Fear of hostile foreign powers is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.8. #Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.9. Protection of #Corporate Power
The #industrial and business #aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.10. Suppression of #Labor Power
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor #unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.11. Disdain for #Intellectuals and the #Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to #HigherEducation and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other #academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.12. Obsession with #Crime and #Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the #police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego #CivilLiberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.13. Rampant #Cronyism and #Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.14. #FraudulentElections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by #SmearCampaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control #voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.This post is a summary of Fascism, Anyone? by Lawrence W. Britt published in 2003 by Free Inquiry magazine."
https://voxpopulisphere.com/2017/08/23/lawrence-britt-14-characteristics-of-fascism/
#History #Histodon #RabidRight #Antifa #Antifascism #FarRight #Trump #Putin #Russia #MAGA #Project2025 #CharacteristicsOfFascism #DetentionCenters #VoterDisenfranchisement #VoterIDLaws #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingDissent