I don't think he comprehends he is what he is. Fascism, clearly, is when you have scary and highly iconic flags hanging from every building, and guys in uniform walking around harassing helpless people.
Ha-ha, that's already been a thing for a long, long time, but there is an image to fascism that you only need to look at Star Wars to nod your head, and say, yep, that's some bullshit authoritarian evil right there.
The realities of fascism are far more complex and fragmented. If I had the link, I'd refer to a post made here about how fascist plurality is more the norm: multiple fascist-aligned groups simultaneously competing and cooperating in an organic way that doesn't give that expected monolithic totalitarian aesthetic, but still destroys lives all the same. (here it is: The Coast of Dystopia, thanks @MxAmaranth)
So to tell him his views are fascistic would be fruitless, because he knows he isn't wearing a swastika on his shoulder. He considers himself “politically independent” and “conservative-leaning and libertarian-leaning”, which to him means less government (achieved via privatization), but more cops, more prisons, and a stronger military. Given that fascism is Capitalism's immune response to any kind of human rights, it does seem like this political bowling ball is rolling right down the centre of the fash lane.
But he was never taught that. Fascism is an aesthetic. What he wants is a tried-and-true worldview that rewards the good people for wisely keeping to a narrow path, and punishes the bad people for being foolish enough to stray from it.
And isn't that an innocent enough view? Isn't that sensible?
...but then there's the other things he drops in conversation, like wishing he had the money to buy Hogwarts Legacy just to spite “the freak parade” or sharing a ha-ha, Jews amirite? moment with a German member of chat who really should know better (but apparently doesn't if he posts Matt Walsh's “What is a woman?” video; oh, but don't you dare say he has fascist views, because that's a big deal to Germans).
He will also mutter now and again about how “you can't say anything anymore” and that he was banned from Facebook because Facebook (who will forever be Facebook to me, fuck that Meta shit) isn't a company that respects free speech.
He explicitly states that might makes right, wants Ukraine to surrender to the clearly more powerful Russia, and is annoyed that other countries are helping Ukraine because if Ukraine was meant to win this war, they would be able to do it all on their own. They seem eager at any news the United States might be cutting off military aide to Ukraine.
Then there's his views on trans children. He thinks calling in bomb threats to hospitals is crossing a line, but that those hospitals are asking for it by performing trans surgeries on minors. Trans adults he claims he doesn't care about; he just wants kids to be protected.
He also talks about how the world is full of “thugs” and there being a right way to raise a child that spares them from this path in a traditional two-parent family unit.
He doesn't want to hear anything about systemic problems. He explicitly and proudly admits he tunes out the moment he sees or hears the word “systemic”. He has trained himself to never consider outside viewpoints. I guess that might be what he means when he says he is politically independent? Who knows?
The man also gets into quite a huff if you shit-talk Donald Trump. He thinks Biden sucks, which is one of the few things I will agree with him on.
Oh, he also despises furries, and considers them to be degenerate. (Why he hangs out and talks with me, I have no idea, though I guess the same could be asked of me with him.)
I could go on, but I think I have painted a pretty comprehensive image of the man. Despite all these abhorrent views, he regularly posts pictures of pets or family—he is a nice guy who loves cats, dogs, and babies, how can he hold evil views? And he claims to be fully aware of how politicians and the media lie to people. It's just...truly strange how many of his beliefs align with Fox News or OAN talking points.
I don't consider him to be a threat in the right-wing militant sense. I know he isn't going to grab a gun and go to a drag queen story hour to light up “antifa thugs.” He is dangerous in other ways: in spreading toxic, fascistic ideals where ever he doesn't get banned from. He makes our chat server less welcoming to people who aren't fash-tolerant. But direct, physical acts of violence? No. He mostly wants to be left alone.
I've talked with many right-wing extremists. Went to college briefly to study why they are the way they are. I listened to their stories. There's a lot of commonalities amongst them that I won't go over here, because you can simply go out and read a book or article about it. I am saddened by the fact that for many of them, they don't seem to realize there is no place for them in whatever future their ideology strives for. A lot of it is denial, and shame that their bodies and minds can't perform as expected, as is the ideal. Some actually are aware, and throw in anyway knowing they will lose. Knowing what I know, this politically independent and conservative- and libertarian-leaning man would not survive—not be allowed to survive— in his idealized world. There are hints that he accepts this fact.
And that's kinda shit, eh? Like, when an ideology doesn't even have a place for you, it's just a death cult with a paint job.
Fuck fascism.
