Holy Terror, Batman!

[Elrohir]

My first reaction was: "I don't think anyone (not even American) would be so gullible to swallow this propaganda"
My second reaction was: "I think some are ..."

That's one thing I'll never buy -except for its historical value. "Look at the comic-book signs of the early millenium when the USA was morphing into the fascist state it is now".

Yep, it's such a fascist state that by this time the NSA has tracked your treasonous message, and is even now busting down your front door and arresting you.

I don't see the problem. Al Qaeda is bad, Batman is good, why can't they fight if they want to? I think it sounds funny.

 

[Pasi Nurminen]

It's fascist in nature because it encourages a sheeplike pro-war mentality (by presenting the enemies of the state as an absolute evil, and the heroes as iconic do-gooders), which is something that fascists do.

 

[Dr. Yoshi]

Yep, it's such a fascist state that by this time the NSA has tracked your treasonous message, and is even now busting down your front door and arresting you.

Well they would if they had any authority in Holland.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Batman has the same right to free speech as all Americans. The government isn't publishing this, is it?

What's the problem, then?

 

[Pasi Nurminen]

Batman has the same right to free speech as all Americans. The government isn't publishing this, is it?

What's the problem, then?

It doesn't matter that the government isn't publishing the piece of propaganda in question, it's still propaganda. It's just that a private corporation is encouraging a sheeplike, pro-war, don't-question-the-government's-motives type mentality.

 

[Elrohir]

It's fascist in nature because it encourages a sheeplike pro-war mentality (by presenting the enemies of the state as an absolute evil, and the heroes as iconic do-gooders), which is something that fascists do.

Well, in this case the enemies of the state ARE evil, and the hero IS good.

So what if it's blatant propoganda? We had Superman with [political incorrectness] "Slap a Jap - Buy War bonds"[/political incorrectness] comics, and America survived as a democracy. I doubt that this'll break that down and turn America into a fascist state.

 

[marioh]

Main Entry: fas·cism
Pronunciation: 'fa-"shi-z&m also 'fa-"si-
Function: noun
Etymology: Italian fascismo, from fascio bundle, fasces, group, from Latin fascis bundle & fasces fasces
1 often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
2 : a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control <early instances of army fascism and brutality -- J. W. Aldridge>

Nation = maybe
race = no
centralized autocratic govt = no
dictatorial leader = no
severe economic and social regimentation = no
forcible suppression of opposition = no

English comprehension > a few posters in this thread

I'm not even close to being pro-government, but I do have the common sense to realize that facism isn't happening here. Nationalistic fervor ? Yes, to a certain extent. Fascism ? No.

 

[Xanikk999]

Nation = maybe
race = no
centralized autocratic govt = no
dictatorial leader = no
severe economic and social regimentation = no
forcible suppression of opposition = no

English comprehension > a few posters in this thread

I'm not even close to being pro-government, but I do have the common sense to realize that facism isn't happening here. Nationalistic fervor ? Yes, to a certain extent. Fascism ? No.

In case you havent noticed... Many words do evolve over time and dont portray thier intentional meaning.

Example: The word gay before the 60s was NOT defined in any way to mean a homosexual. I dont care what you think if you called someone gay he would think you thought he was happy. It can still mean happy but it also means homosexual.

Fascism can include many different things nowadays.

 

[Irish Caesar]

It doesn't matter that the government isn't publishing the piece of propaganda in question, it's still propaganda. It's just that a private corporation is encouraging a sheeplike, pro-war, don't-question-the-government's-motives type mentality.

Shutting the free expression of this opinion would be a thousand times worse.

 

[marioh]

In case you havent noticed... Many words do evolve over time and dont portray thier intentional meaning.

Example: The word gay before the 60s was NOT defined in any way to mean a homosexual. I dont care what you think if you called someone gay he would think you thought he was happy. It can still mean happy but it also means homosexual.

Fascism can include many different things nowadays.

That's true. But I haven't seen the Republicans round up the Democrats and arrest them all. Fascism implies a heavy handed type of rule by the ruling party (or person). GW has certainly done many questionable things that I'm not too happy with, but to claim that this country is going down the road to fascism is, to put it mildly, stupid.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Fascism can include many different things nowadays.

However, throwing it around on an internet forum in an attempt to make anything sound more outrageous than it is is a gross misuse of the term. Unless it is meant to be blatant hyperbole, but I haven't seen the term used that way in this thread lately.

 

[Pasi Nurminen]

Well, in this case the enemies of the state ARE evil, and the hero IS good.

So what if it's blatant propoganda? We had Superman with [political incorrectness] "Slap a Jap - Buy War bonds"[/political incorrectness] comics, and America survived as a democracy. I doubt that this'll break that down and turn America into a fascist state.

No, in this case the enemies of the state don't exist. I'm tired of people buying into the lie that Al Qaeda is an organization, or that it's "lurking" to attack America. Al Qaeda is a loose ideology, you can't attack it, you can't destroy it, and the majority of it's adherants aren't actively trying to hurt America, other than maybe inciting a good "death to America" march every now and then.

Which brings me to my point: this comic is just disseminating bullfeathers propaganda that serves the states unjust and misleading goals.

Oh, and America is no democracy any more. You've already eroded your own democracy to such a pathetic level it's unbelievable. Case in point: electronic voting. Do you realize how many hundreds of thousands of voting irregularities were present in the last election? Or how many companies manufacture these electronic voting machines? Here's a hint: it's not many.

I could go on and on listing ways America's democracy isn't a democracy anymore, but I'm going to go do something less painful like bounce my head off a telephone pole.

 

[Irish Caesar]

No, in this case the enemies of the state don't exist. I'm tired of people buying into the lie that Al Qaeda is an organization, or that it's "lurking" to attack America. Al Qaeda is a loose ideology, you can't attack it, you can't destroy it, and the majority of it's adherants aren't actively trying to hurt America, other than maybe inciting a good "death to America" march every now and then.

If you substitute "Radical Islam" for "al-Qaeda," that is true. Otherwise, it is false.

I could go on and on listing ways America's democracy isn't a democracy anymore, but I'm going to go do something less painful like bounce my head off a telephone pole.

Enjoy!

 

[Elrohir]

Yep, I guess you're right, which is why Dailykos was shut down and Hillary Clinton arrested. Oh, wait, Dailykos is still up, and Hillary Clinton was never arrested? Imagine that....Excuse me, but I have better things to do with my time than debate whether Al Qaeda exists or the US is a democracy. Both are empiraclly obvious; I'd nearly as soon debate whether water is wet.

 

[El_Machinae]

Um ... since when has Batman been the paragon of virtue?

He's a vengeful psychopath. A LOVABLE vengeful psychopath, but that doesn't make him a 'good guy' any more than The Punisher is a good guy.

 

[marioh]

Um ... since when has Batman been the paragon of virtue?

He's a vengeful psychopath. A LOVABLE vengeful psychopath, but that doesn't make him a 'good guy' any more than The Punisher is a good guy.

Please stop trying to inject logic and fact into the "America is turning into a fascist state !" thread.
k, thx.

 

[Xanikk999]

However, throwing it around on an internet forum in an attempt to make anything sound more outrageous than it is is a gross misuse of the term. Unless it is meant to be blatant hyperbole, but I haven't seen the term used that way in this thread lately.

I wasnt supporting the fact that so and so reffered to the american government is fascist i was just stating that words do evolve and some of his points were moot.

 

[h4ppy]

The Punisher is a good guy.

The Punisher is a good guy. He cleans up crime in a way that doesn't have the same criminals coming back time and again.

I mean imagine how many people's lives would have been saved if Batman had just had the nerve to kill the Joker. When it comes to villians killing is good.

 

[El_Machinae]

I don't disagree completely. There are many types of criminals that I would love to be shot (drug dealers over 25, for one).

However, a rogue vigilante like the Punisher is not good for a society. The killings make the populace scared and upset their view of their city ... I know that when drug killings occur in my city, the populace gets really worried about rising crime rates (even though it's just dealers killing each other).

As well, resources are taken off of reducing real crime and devoted to tracking down the serial killer. These resources could have been spent better. Serial killer investigations are really costly, especially for what they produce.

Finally, the Punisher tends to not be very sure that the person he's killing is actually a bad person ... he tends to lump people into catagories quite easily. And I don't think that people like that should be killing people.

 

[Zoso318]

Am i missing something? Frank Miller said it was propaganda. idont know I just skimmed but It seems to be more sarcastic than actually trying to convince people.