Is the USA a pseudo-fascist state? (Police constantly abusing people)

[Thundercrack85]

Feel free to doubt me. But speaking for myself, I certainly wouldn’t expect one of the busiest cities in the world to be shut down.

Also, the authorities knew roughly who they were looking for pretty soon, on account of the surveillance.

How would I have handled the situation? I would not have shut down Boston (again, they shut it down several days after the bombing). I would not have brought in APCs, nor a small army. Probably not as many helicopters. This could have easily been handled by the FBI, the ATF, and state police.

 

[jmc]

The US population more or less gave their government permission to spy on their citizens and shut down cities after September 11. You wanted protection, well you got it, I guess it's a case of be careful what you wish for.

 

[KevanG]

I think calling it any type of pseudo fascist state is overdoing it compared to many other countries out there. There are far far more freedoms in the US than in various places in the world that have it much worse off. They are intrusive to the point of being beyond illegal in some places but it's not as bad as it could be if they suddenly went totally nuts.

 

[Thundercrack85]

But that does annoy me. Just because some people here are so willing to sacrifice their civil liberties for the illusion of safety (and yes, it is an illusion), does not mean that I want mine sacrificed. Mine are not their's to give.

 

[jmc]

You are correct, it is an illusion.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

My liberty's moot if I'm dead.

Without liberty you're already dead.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Are we as obvious as other police states like Iran, China or North Korea? No but most of the signs of fascism are there if you look around you.

Dr Lawrence Britt defined fascism as the following. Some sentences have been deleted, none have been added:


1. "Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and. Flags are seen everywhere,

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights -

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread

domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding,

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. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

6. Controlled Mass Media -

7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined -

9. Corporate Power is Protected -

10. Labor Power is Suppressed -

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts -

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment -

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption -. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

 

[DarkSovereignty]

The fact that this thread exists yet the erectile dysfunction thread got deleted angers me to no end

 

[KevanG]

What happened to that one anyway?

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Thundercrack85, I seriously doubt you'd be saying the things you are right now if your family or friends were killed or seriously injured in the Boston Bombings. Nobody knew they were "two college kids" when it happened, it was a terrorist bombing. Who knew if there were more bombs or how many bombers there were, they acted accordingly. How would YOU have handled the situation?

A targeted investigation?

Anyone remember Oklahoma City going into martial law and being overridden by military/swat/police with tanks searching every home after the Oklahoma bombing that killed 168 people?

Yeah, me neither.

The FBI hunted down those responsible without trampling countless Americans civil liberties. So safety and civil liberties can co-exist, the police just have to do actual detective work and use things we used to call search warrants. Remember those??? They're required by something called the U.S. Constitution.

Crazy concepts, right?

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

The fact that this thread exists yet the erectile dysfunction thread got deleted angers me to no end

You're like the Comedian from Watchmen but instead your guns shoots apathy bullets.

 

[redhawk23]

Feel free to doubt me. But speaking for myself, I certainly wouldn’t expect one of the busiest cities in the world to be shut down.

Also, the authorities knew roughly who they were looking for pretty soon, on account of the surveillance.

How would I have handled the situation? I would not have shut down Boston (again, they shut it down several days after the bombing). I would not have brought in APCs, nor a small army. Probably not as many helicopters. This could have easily been handled by the FBI, the ATF, and state police.

It was a few days after but it was during an active shooter police chase. Listening to that whole thing live was unreal.

 

[redhawk23]

Nationalization of industries is not necessarily a bad thing.

Also quite the opposite is happening in many cases, in areas that should be squarely the responsibility of the government, with military operations being outsourced to contractors like Black Water, basic logistic functions the military used to take care of themselves being farmed out to Haliburton at insane non-competitive prices, and our prisons being ran by businesses creating a demand to constantly keep prisons full. If America is a police state, private industry is the root of it.

 

[Thundercrack85]

It was a few days after but it was during an active shooter police chase. Listening to that whole thing live was unreal.

I was here, listening to it. You would have thought an alien was running through the city.

Really was more like a live-action episode of COPS.

 

[DirtyHarry]

Is it bad that I'm not even scared of a terrorist attack but rather what our government will do if when another big one happens?

It's also really funny how people get labeled conspiracy theorists for stating facts

 

[Thundercrack85]

Well, the fact that you're eight times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist kind of says it all to me.

Terrorism is a minor threat compared to the ongoing militarization of police.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

It's also really funny how people get labeled conspiracy theorists for stating facts

It's funny how people that believe in conspiracy theories call other people "sheeple" and question those that don't agree with their world view's character and intelligence often while believing EVERY outlandish idea under the sun, even the ones that contradict each other, all while demonizing everybody else as "asleep tools of the FILL IN THE BLANK", which most often happen to be whatever group they happen to have a bug up their ass about, whether it's jews, blacks, Hispanics, homosexuals, the bankers, the lawyers, the feminists, the Democrats, the Republicans, the business elites, the college professors, the Hollywood stars, the Catholic church, the Lizard people....

It's FREAKING HILARIOUS!!

 

[Hotwire]

Are we as obvious as other police states like Iran, China or North Korea? No but most of the signs of fascism are there if you look around you.

That's list you posted pretty accurately described the Republican Party.

 

[Mike_D202]

If there was a bombing in my city, I have nothing to hide. if the NSA wants to see me looking up internet porn or hear me having conversations with my friends about how whipped they are with their wives then whatever, they can search my apartment all they want.

 

[DeadPresident]

There are few countries in which a large number of those characteristics aren't met.

 

[Octoberist]

There's plenty of good cops out there but the problem with the force especially in big cities is the 'unwritten codes' they have amongst each other.

Sometimes I wonder why women become cops especially in cities like LA where the police have a negative reputation. I've seen really young, dare I say attractive ones and I just wonder what their story is.

 

[Maximus One]

I always feel like this argument generally comes down to two types of people. Parents and non-parents. Not saying in any way that it is always the case but in real life it always seems that way to me. Parents always want more safety due to their protective instincts as parents and then non-parents just have the time to sit and think about it. I'm in no way a conspiracy theorist in fact, I usually make fun of conspiracy theorists cuz most of the stuff is just out there. But, when stuff doesn't hold up to logic i start to doubt it and I do think it is irresponsible to just go with every single thing you are told. Like, at this point, it's painfully obvious to me that mainstream news is manipulated to fit any number of corporate and political agendas and to serve as a distraction. I do think what happened in Boston was a gross over reaction. They were walking into people's homes without permission. How can anybody EVER say that's anything but an over reaction? I would've been dragged out of my home kicking and screaming if that had happened where I live. I dunno, I get both sides of the argument honestly. I still just don't see how it's not obvious that some people in this country are just too powerful. I don't know what should be done about it. The testosterone in me just screams "**** the system! We needa tear it all down!!!" But then, the sensible, logical side of me knows we need the system and are completely and utterly dependent on it. Plus, I'm ****ing 30 years old now and I just don't have that kind of energy in me anymore lol. I don't think anything can be done at this point. We've kinda dug our own graves it would seem. Like i said, it's parents and non-parents. As a non-parent I have no reason to give a **** about it other than what concerns my own ass and effects just me. Ya know, besides my undying love of humanity

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

It's funny how people that believe in conspiracy theories call other people "sheeple" and question those that don't agree with their world view's character and intelligence often while believing EVERY outlandish idea under the sun, even the ones that contradict each other, all while demonizing everybody else as "asleep tools of the FILL IN THE BLANK", which most often happen to be whatever group they happen to have a bug up their ass about, whether it's jews, blacks, Hispanics, homosexuals, the bankers, the lawyers, the feminists, the Democrats, the Republicans, the business elites, the college professors, the Hollywood stars, the Catholic church, the Lizard people....

It's FREAKING HILARIOUS!!

We're not talking about Lizard people. We're talking about obvious facts.

People use to say, "you think the government is spying on you? You need a tinfoil hat!"

Now they say,"you care the government is spying on you? You need a tinfoil hat!"

It's funny how that works.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

If there was a bombing in my city, I have nothing to hide. if the NSA wants to see me looking up internet porn or hear me having conversations with my friends about how whipped they are with their wives then whatever, they can search my apartment all they want.

Well then there should be a constitutional waiver for certain people giving the government permission to ignore their constitutional rights.

But you need to understand, not everyone wants to give up those rights to stop a terrorist attack that is less likely to kill someone than fast food, driving, or even water.