Video of unprovoked pepper spray attack by cops in Portland in 2002

by young anarchist Tue May 30, 2006 23:46

Don't you think comparing it to nazi germany is slightly immature and debases the suffering of those who suffered under the overt oppression under fascism? The regime in america is fucked up but it's not quite as bad as 1930's germany.

by T Wed May 31, 2006 12:32

>Do I think comparing it to nazi germany is debasing ......

Well yes and no. Actually the narrator in the video does this comparison too, but I think what they are comparing is not to the worst and late stages of nazi germany, but to the early stages when it all began, when the nazis gained power. You are right in the sense that no, what happens in the video certainly cannot be compared to the horrible things that happened later especially during the war.

What my comments and the video are trying to point out though is that when nazism arose there were certain things happening, like the introduction of represssive laws and the repression of dissent. The early years of the rise of nazis saw many cases of street clashes between rival groups, the growing power of the state, the use of the police to put down protests. The media at the time in the form of newspapers and radio also carried a lot of propaganda that was obviously swinging to the right and had begun to demonise certain groups and not just Jews, but also the handicapped, communists, gays and criminals and generally any voice of dissent. Most of these people subsequently were rounded up and killed. We see pretty much the same now. It's just that they the mass scale rounding up has not started yet.

What the video is showing very graphically is that the USA is already at the very earliest stages of these developments as they are so many uncanny similarities. Of course though we should not be too focused on a strict comparison as fascism arose elsewhere like Italy, but you can be sure much the same happened at the early stages.

Now the problem or should I say worry is how will things have unfolded in another 5 or 10 years if they continue their current course. The narrator in the video leaves that up to you but by virtue of the comparison to the early stages of nazism, it is quite obvious what is likely in store. She does say though that some people realize what is coming down the line, which is fairly explicit.

In the text that I added above, I spell it out a bit more because I realize that not everyone is going to look at the video and I was trying to write a brief synposis of it.

So in summary your criticism is not really valid and has been rather too quick off the mark.

by Antifa Wed May 31, 2006 15:35

Fascism doesn't start with concentration camps, that's where it ends.