I was looking at this real life horror show and thinking about how someday this is going to be part of the familiar aesthetic language of evil https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/us-border-patrol-migrant-camp-from-above-idUSRTS2HV7C">https://www.reuters.com/news/pict...
U.S. Border Patrol migrant camp from above | Pictures | Reuters

Migrants are seen outside the U.S. Border Patrol McAllen Station in a makeshift encampment in McAllen, Texas, May 15, 2019. Adults and children slept on the ground and rigged up makeshift awnings with

https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/us-border-patrol-migrant-camp-from-above-idUSRTS2HV7C
I made this meme image a while back and used the Auschwitz-Birkenau train gatehouse to help drive the point home because in the wake of WWII we engaged in an elaborate and mostly righteous propaganda campaign to vilify images of Naziism
I know there are people who have a legitimate hesitation to compare our current American concentration camps to the ones the Nazis built, but I made that meme as a result of talking about the way that comparison is appropriate and necessary https://twitter.com/miniver/status/1039994053373263872?s=21">https://twitter.com/miniver/s...
The effort to make Naziism familar and horrific we have inherited enables a smart and chilling artwork like this. This fake LEGO box works BECAUSE it doesn’t say what it depicts, but we recognize it immediately.
The campaign to make Nazi imagery an immediately recognizable metonym for evil has succeeded so well that it produces perverse results like how, as Lindsey Ellis pointedly observes, Disneyland now features cosplay fascism ... for kids https://youtu.be/XAVeyXwy3BE ">https://youtu.be/XAVeyXwy3...
My point is that these things all look like swastikas to me. If we don’t pull out of our tailspin in these United States, the whole kworld will teach a new generation to do the same.
My point is that these things all look like swastikas to me. If we don’t pull out of our tailspin in these United States, the whole kworld will teach a new generation to do the same.
My point is that these things all look like swastikas to me. If we don’t pull out of our tailspin in these United States, the whole kworld will teach a new generation to do the same.
My point is that these things all look like swastikas to me. If we don’t pull out of our tailspin in these United States, the whole kworld will teach a new generation to do the same.
My point is that these things all look like swastikas to me. If we don’t pull out of our tailspin in these United States, the whole kworld will teach a new generation to do the same.
This symbol has a dreadfully mixed valence: “endowed with inalienable rights” standing next to genocide, “of the people, for the people, by the people” beside slavery, defeating Nazis beside imperialism.

We can never shrug off its worst, but we are in danger of losing its best.
And here we see a smart propagandist looking to make other people read MAGA hats the way I do, leveraging other iconography of evil https://link.medium.com/c4C1i0DgSW ">https://link.medium.com/c4C1i0DgS...
Facebook Bans Artist For Transforming MAGA Hats:

A Cautionary Tale on Art, Censorship & Social Media

https://link.medium.com/c4C1i0DgSW
Again behold what future generations will know as the aesthetic signifiers of evil https://twitter.com/cbp/status/1134251906224857089?s=21">https://twitter.com/cbp/statu...
The shade of Jack Kirby is smiling
https://twitter.com/inthefade/status/1149711726117392385">https://twitter.com/inthefade...
The Thin Blue Line Flag gives me the Cold Spooky; it now reads to me as a symbol of fascist sentiment. Its history is complicated. https://twitter.com/gwensnyderphl/status/1149890693323788288?s=21">https://twitter.com/gwensnyde...
This is a good time to bump up this comment on para-fascist aesthetics in the US https://popula.com/2019/02/24/about-face/">https://popula.com/2019/02/2...
About Face

Death and surrender to power in the clothing of men.

https://popula.com/2019/02/24/about-face/
Police displaying their political allegiance to a fascist movement, using a fascist slogan https://www.huffpost.com/entry/san-antonio-police-donald-trump_n_57fea9a7e4b0e8c198a5dfb0">https://www.huffpost.com/entry/san...
On-Duty Texas Police Officers Wore Pro-Trump Hats

“You cannot take that position while in uniform,” said a San Antonio city councilman.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/san-antonio-police-donald-trump_n_57fea9a7e4b0e8c198a5dfb0
It might just mean that for us again, if we fight for it https://twitter.com/joshuapotash/status/1161061421054078976?s=21">https://twitter.com/joshuapot...
There are days when I wish I were a Christian just so I would have standing for how much things like this disgust me https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1162199739518971906?s=21">https://twitter.com/thrasherx...
The romanticization and fetishization of guns is para-fascist https://twitter.com/longwall26/status/1168539603848110080?s=21">https://twitter.com/longwall2...
I have been having this thought a lot about the kitschiness of American fascist and para-fascist iconography

https://twitter.com/girlziplocked/status/1178695399038738433?s=21">https://twitter.com/girlziplo...
A sharp look at more context for the Blue Lives Matter flag https://harpers.org/archive/2018/07/a-flag-for-trumps-america/">https://harpers.org/archive/2...
[Annotation] A Flag for Trump's America | Harper's Magazine

The power of strength

https://harpers.org/archive/2018/07/a-flag-for-trumps-america/
I attempted a thread explaining to an unsympathetic skeptic why the Blue Lives Matter flag is far right iconography https://twitter.com/miniver/status/1174561508837060608?s=21">https://twitter.com/miniver/s...
Fascism is, in part, building a system of threatening symbols https://twitter.com/dgolumbia/status/1186994395586945024?s=21">https://twitter.com/dgolumbia...
Understand that Team Trump are not just stumbling into creating and promoting fascist iconography — they are deliberately cultivating it

https://twitter.com/akil_n_awan/status/1214156261924769792?s=21">https://twitter.com/akil_n_aw... https://twitter.com/Akil_N_Awan/status/1214156261924769792">https://twitter.com/Akil_N_Aw...
Connecting American fascist iconography to their worldview and myths

https://twitter.com/jysexton/status/1214193844797018112?s=21">https://twitter.com/jysexton/... https://twitter.com/JYSexton/status/1214193844797018112">https://twitter.com/JYSexton/...
Adding this to the American fascist iconography thread; it merits viewing for a host of other reasons as well

https://twitter.com/mattstonephotog/status/1223333771543531522?s=21">https://twitter.com/mattstone... https://twitter.com/mattstonephotog/status/1223333771543531522">https://twitter.com/mattstone...
Fascist iconography

https://twitter.com/jeffsharlet/status/1238496281330360320?s=21">https://twitter.com/jeffsharl... https://twitter.com/JeffSharlet/status/1238496281330360320">https://twitter.com/JeffSharl...
Gerry Conway, creator of the Punisher, on cops using his logo:

“They are embracing an outlaw mentality. [...] He is a criminal. Police should not be embracing a criminal as their symbol.” https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/punisher-creator-gerry-conway-cops-using-the-skull-logo-are-like-people-using-the">https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/...
Punisher creator Gerry Conway: Cops using the skull logo are like

Boasting dozens of writing credits for both DC and Marvel, Gerry Conway helped shape the Bronze Age of comic books with stories like "The Night Gwen Stacy Died," the original Clone Saga, the creation

https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/punisher-creator-gerry-conway-cops-using-the-skull-logo-are-like-people-using-the
The Thin Blue Line masks on these San Francisco cops gave me a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach

https://twitter.com/reclaim_sf/status/1256333158762479616?s=21">https://twitter.com/reclaim_s... https://twitter.com/housethebay/status/1256333158762479616">https://twitter.com/housetheb...
Note the yellow Gasden Flag in there, which is another “patriot” symbol which now reads to me as a the same as a swastika

https://twitter.com/vicstoddard/status/1256697402700042241?s=21">https://twitter.com/vicstodda... https://twitter.com/VicStoddard/status/1256697402700042241">https://twitter.com/VicStodda...
Tying some things together, here are some police with troubling tattoos:

A Gasden Flag snake over a US flag, “We The People” paired with the III%er symbol, and most troubling of all, “Fatherland”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Percenters">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thre...
Tying some things together, here are some police with troubling tattoos:A Gasden Flag snake over a US flag, “We The People” paired with the III%er symbol, and most troubling of all, “Fatherland” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thre...
Tying some things together, here are some police with troubling tattoos:A Gasden Flag snake over a US flag, “We The People” paired with the III%er symbol, and most troubling of all, “Fatherland” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thre...
Tying some things together, here are some police with troubling tattoos:A Gasden Flag snake over a US flag, “We The People” paired with the III%er symbol, and most troubling of all, “Fatherland” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thre...
I have felt a cold chill when I have personally encountered police with the “We The People” tattoo.

It is galling to see this deeply democratic statement at the heart of our national traditions coöpted as an anti-democratic symbol.
Fascism is kitschy, scary, and nihilistic all at once

https://twitter.com/alsweigart/status/1260684034436247553?s=21">https://twitter.com/alsweigar... https://twitter.com/AlSweigart/status/1260684034436247553">https://twitter.com/AlSweigar...
The expanding range of fascist symbols in the US is a system of threats

https://twitter.com/drgonzo123/status/1262074244734701569?s=21">https://twitter.com/drgonzo12... https://twitter.com/drgonzo123/status/1262074244734701569">https://twitter.com/drgonzo12...
More American fascist iconography, from a thread explaining why some authoritarian yahoos yearning for a bloody civil war are, paradoxically, piggybacking on movements against racist authoritarian policing

https://twitter.com/wehearttrash/status/1265665779451801600?s=21">https://twitter.com/wehearttr... https://twitter.com/wehearttrash/status/1265665779451801600">https://twitter.com/wehearttr...
If you put this in a dystopian science fiction movie in 2000 people would have thought it was going cartoonishly over the top

https://twitter.com/p0kes/status/1267230163521191936?s=21">https://twitter.com/p0kes/sta... https://twitter.com/P0kes/status/1267230163521191936">https://twitter.com/P0kes/sta...
Nested threads on the Punisher skull as a fascist symbol used by police

https://twitter.com/caseyexplosion/status/1268250495107416066?s=21">https://twitter.com/caseyexpl... https://twitter.com/CaseyExplosion/status/1268250495107416066">https://twitter.com/CaseyExpl...
Fascist American aesthetics are not simply an accident.

They have been cultivated by people with fascist politics.

https://twitter.com/nate_powell_art/status/1269293097512558593?s=21">https://twitter.com/nate_powe... https://twitter.com/Nate_Powell_Art/status/1269293097512558593">https://twitter.com/Nate_Powe...
Police culture romanticizes the use of violence to purge society of corrupting influences.

There is a name for that. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-cop-tshirts-tell-us-_n_3479017">https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wha...
What Cop T-Shirts Tell Us About Police Culture

Earlier this week, an anonymous public defender sent Gothamist this photo of an NYPD warrant squad officer wearing a t-shirt with a pretty disturbing quo...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-cop-tshirts-tell-us-_n_3479017
“The [blue line] flag is the centerpiece in a world of merchandise and policing philosophy, all built around the idea that the police are an embattled tribe of warriors, maligned and reviled by a nation that fails to appreciate their unique importance …” https://theintercept.com/2020/06/06/police-brutality-protests-blue-lives-matter/">https://theintercept.com/2020/06/0...
Police Attacks on Protesters Are Rooted in a Violent Ideology of Reactionary Grievance

A peaceful protest movement confronts a lawless police culture.

https://theintercept.com/2020/06/06/police-brutality-protests-blue-lives-matter/
The Blue Lives Matter flag paired with Nazi iconography on the streets of the US

https://twitter.com/lilsarg/status/1276942692619038722?s=21">https://twitter.com/lilsarg/s... https://twitter.com/lilsarg/status/1276942692619038722">https://twitter.com/lilsarg/s...
Thread on defenses of American fascist symbols

https://twitter.com/jeffsharlet/status/1285269281593331713?s=21">https://twitter.com/jeffsharl... https://twitter.com/JeffSharlet/status/1285269281593331713">https://twitter.com/JeffSharl...
Maybe we don’t need to expand the iconography of political evil. A lot of it is just showing up in a familiar form.
Kitschy, mawkish clumsiness is not a bug in fascist aesthetics, it is a feature — a rejection of the tastes of effete intellectuals

https://twitter.com/nobonzo/status/1290179566485385218?s=21">https://twitter.com/nobonzo/s... https://twitter.com/NoBonzo/status/1290179566485385218">https://twitter.com/NoBonzo/s...
It is no longer possible to wear any kind of red ballcap in innocence

https://twitter.com/hareemmannan/status/1290088625355423745?s=21">https://twitter.com/hareemman... https://twitter.com/hareemmannan/status/1290088625355423745">https://twitter.com/hareemman...
Looking at the weird flag at the top of the final E, I count 8 stars and 8 stripes.

Looking at the rest of it I count 14 stars.

14 8 8

https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/1488">https://www.adl.org/education...
We should not pretend that we do not know what this signifies
Reflecting on this symbol of the shame of my nation

https://community.amplifier.org/art/land-of-the-free-2/">https://community.amplifier.org/art/land-...
RT @workingchris

Death Spade is a reference to the Ace of spades (13th in the suit) and is a biker icon/ tattoo.

Basically he& #39;s saying he is down to kill people who don& #39;t agree that pigs are special heros etc. https://twitter.com/siddalee_walker/status/1300711467143004160">https://twitter.com/siddalee_...
See upthread for the measure of my disgust https://twitter.com/atomicovermind/status/1301974043717926917">https://twitter.com/atomicove...
This looks like a fascist rally to me https://twitter.com/ByMikeBaker/status/1303053425471418369">https://twitter.com/ByMikeBak...
Sharing this link for the preview image.

In a place where it is illegal to fly a swastika, they use this instead. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/world/europe/germany-trump-far-right.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/0...
Trump Emerges as Inspiration for Germany’s Far Right

Among German conspiracy theorists, ultranationalists and neo-Nazis, the American president is surfacing as a rallying cry, or even as a potential “liberator.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/world/europe/germany-trump-far-right.html
Asked about the symbol, a cop offers a demonstration of what it means https://twitter.com/davenewworld_2/status/1304093126718615553">https://twitter.com/davenewwo...
My nation’s flag is now a symbol for global fascism https://twitter.com/JeffSharlet/status/1304871001709215750">https://twitter.com/JeffSharl...
Not just textbooks. The American gulag archipelago will be part of of the global popular image of evil for a century to come. https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1305586092477906951">https://twitter.com/socialist...
Mix and match fascist symbolism https://twitter.com/JewishWorker/status/1308474588419043338">https://twitter.com/JewishWor...
There is a lesson in how easily I found a bunch of these
There is a lesson in how easily I found a bunch of these
There is a lesson in how easily I found a bunch of these
There is a lesson in how easily I found a bunch of these
There is a lesson in how easily I found a bunch of these
This thread is too credulous of gun nuts’ BS claims about the 2A and citizens’ guns as a bulwark against tyranny. But it spots their self-refuting logic.

If the Thin Blue Line is your flag, you are no defense against the government’s jackbooted thugs. You are their brownshirts. https://twitter.com/pookleblinky/status/1310955004539408384">https://twitter.com/pooklebli...
In case you were waiting for them to replace the American flag with a modified version worn by jackbooted thugs before you call it “fascism” https://twitter.com/colvinj/status/1315788494296489988">https://twitter.com/colvinj/s...
Meme’d for your convenience
The kitschiness of fascist aesthetics is a rejection of “elites” and liberal (both as in “liberal democracy” and as in “not conservative”) cultural values https://twitter.com/idothethinking/status/1315845977098469376">https://twitter.com/idothethi...
The US is full of swastikas if you know how to look https://twitter.com/courtneymilan/status/1317881304621355008">https://twitter.com/courtneym...
In case you were waiting for them to replace the American flag with a modified version worn by jackbooted thugs before you call it “fascism” https://twitter.com/JeffSharlet/status/1320189238214799360">https://twitter.com/JeffSharl...
Many police unions appear to be explicitly fascist

(from last year) https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-louis-police-union-urges-members-to-post-controversial-symbol-on-social-media-pages/article_b7cdfecc-99e2-5927-8166-fdcf640eae41.html">https://www.stltoday.com/news/loca...
St. Louis police union urges members to post controversial symbol on social media pages

Blue Line Punisher symbol is reason why some officers have been blacklisted by prosecutors, so police union wants its members to post it in solidarity with them

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-louis-police-union-urges-members-to-post-controversial-symbol-on-social-media-pages/article_b7cdfecc-99e2-5927-8166-fdcf640eae41.html
A friend succinctly described what the Thin Blue Line implies
Sinclair Lewis did not actually say that thing about "wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross", but we have arrived at an American fascism which is very plain about its symbols https://twitter.com/IFDrinkLib/status/1321165934149599232">https://twitter.com/IFDrinkLi...
Kitschy, mawkish clumsiness is not a bug in fascist aesthetics, it is a feature — a rejection of the tastes of effete "elites"

via @mugrimm https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1321158320695267328">https://twitter.com/AndrewSol...
Voter intimidation by a fascist mob

(audio on) https://twitter.com/ajayrochester/status/1320148950398038016">https://twitter.com/ajayroche...
Brownshirts https://twitter.com/griffinmalone6/status/1321314420371443712">https://twitter.com/griffinma...
Brownshirt terrorism https://twitter.com/mmfa/status/1321476398951911424">https://twitter.com/mmfa/stat...
https://twitter.com/jeffsharlet/status/1321844577347772416">https://twitter.com/jeffsharl...
This excellent point from an excellent thread hits one of the major things I have been trying to get at with this thread of my own https://twitter.com/jeffsharlet/status/1321847925572423681">https://twitter.com/jeffsharl...
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