# Its coming, isn't it. Fascism. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 29, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245 "2010-11-29T02:35:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/41 "2010-11-29T17:32:20Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > “Show me your papers”, like in those old WW2 movies. Will we be required to carry identification at all times, and submit to search, including pat down, without cause? I heard a TSA official the other day say “If you don’t like it, don’t travel”. **Janet Napolitano** , head of Homeland Security isn’t shy about wanting more power. Seems to me we just might be on a slippery slope to the american version of an autocratic government. And a lot of travelers are being very accepting of the xrays and gropings. It’ll be interesting to see how far this thing goes. > Peace, > mangeorge Nitpick: What you’re describing is authoritarianism (not even totalitarianism), which is **not** the same thing as fascism; that is, fascist regimes are a subset of authoritarian governments. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/42 "2010-11-29T17:42:43Z")
Well, paranoia is already here. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/43 "2010-11-29T17:48:09Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > I dunno, but this summer I had to renew my driver’s license. I was informed that I needed to bring FIVE forms of ID, per Homeland Security. > > I brought: > •My old driver’s license (that counted) > • My car insurance card > •My social security card > • My birth certificate > • My voter registration card. > > It also cost about three times what the fee used to be. > > I went home, with my shiny new state-approved driver’s license and posted on my FB wall, “I’ve never lived in a fascist society, but I have to wonder if maybe it starts out a little bit like this.” I live in Utah, and when I renewed mine a couple months ago all I needed to take was my old Drivers license and my passport for proof of citizenship. An eye exam and I was renewed. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/44 "2010-11-29T17:49:22Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, paranoia is already here. :mad: We must stamp it out ruthlessly wherever it lurks! ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/45 "2010-11-29T17:52:06Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, paranoia is already here. Acknowledged. Doesn’t make what I’m seeing any less real though. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/46 "2010-11-29T17:58:30Z")
Naw, it’s not coming. We had fascism under Bush according to my fellow 'dopers. That would mean that what’s coming is communism this time, since hyperbole seems to be the order of the day… -XT ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/47 "2010-11-29T17:59:52Z")
Next, of course, is idiocracy. Bring on President Palin. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/48 "2010-11-29T18:00:54Z")
That’s not even funny in jest. -XT ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/49 "2010-11-29T18:01:43Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > I live in Utah, and when I renewed mine a couple months ago all I needed to take was my old Drivers license and my passport for proof of citizenship. An eye exam and I was renewed. A few years ago NJ instituted a requirement for renewal that required six “points” of ID, with various points to different types. The purpose actually had little to do with terrorism, but to the fact that a large number of false documents had been obtained previously by people who were not who they said they were. It was a pain for me because I had all of the required items, but some contained my middle name and some did not, and my birth certificate did not match because I had married and taken my husband’s name long ago. I had to hunt up my 40-year-old marriage license. Subsequent renewal was much easier. But it had nothing to do with fascism and everything to do with people simply using false IDs for driving. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/50 "2010-11-29T18:06:57Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > I live in Utah, and when I renewed mine a couple months ago all I needed to take was my old Drivers license and my passport for proof of citizenship. An eye exam and I was renewed. A passport will cover the need for birth certificate & SS Card ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/51 "2010-11-29T18:12:15Z")
> [@flickster](#): > > A passport will cover the need for birth certificate & SS Card So **Dogzilla** ’s need to bring in all those forms seems to be less about his state getting more fascist and more about the fact that he didn’t have a passport. I’m not really seeing why it being more expensive has anything to do with fascism either. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/52 "2010-11-29T18:16:37Z")
> [@villa](#): > > I can’t comment on Canada or Japan, but I think with Britain you might be suffering a little from “the grass is always greener” syndrome. Yes there are things in the US you won’t see in the UK - the stifling dominance of religion, for example. But there are things on the personal freedom side that are significantly more authoritarian in the UK - police powers that the LAPD would kill (probably literally) for, for example. Last time I went to visit friends/family, I was amazed at the prevalence of CCTV surveillance. I agree, Britain is much closer to being a police state than the U.S. There’s a small chance that the fiance and I will get an opportunity to move to London for a year or two, which I would gladly take, but I wouldn’t consider living there long-term. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/53 "2010-11-29T18:19:22Z")
To be fair, I don’t think either the UK or the US are close to being a police state. Just that in this area, the grass really does always seem greener. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/54 "2010-11-29T18:32:38Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Nitpick: What you’re describing is authoritarianism (not even totalitarianism), which is **not** the same thing as fascism; that is, fascist regimes are a subset of authoritarian governments. Which is why I mentioned the “slippery slope”. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/55 "2010-11-29T18:42:59Z")
**Buffalo Springfield** , “For What It’s Worth” : _Paranoia strikes deep Into your life it will creep It starts when you’re always afraid You step out of line, the man come and take you away_ For forty years, lefties have claiming there’s a fascist dictatorship just around the corner. And yet somehow, like the Rapture and the Apocalypse, it never quite gets here. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/56 "2010-11-29T18:43:50Z")
OK, place your bets here. Tell me when we’ll be under a fascist regime, and let’s put some money on it. Better hurry before Obama outlaws money!! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/57 "2010-11-29T18:45:26Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > For forty years, lefties have claiming there’s a fascist dictatorship just around the corner. And yet somehow, like the Rapture and the Apocalypse, it never quite gets here. Glenn Beck is claiming that a fascist dictatorship is _already here_, so it seems that lefties are well behind the curve when it comes to crazy. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/58 "2010-11-29T18:54:51Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > For forty years, lefties have claiming there’s a fascist dictatorship just around the corner. And yet somehow, like the Rapture and the Apocalypse, it never quite gets here. But, unlike the Rapture and the Apocalypse, fascist dictatorships _have_ existed here. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/59 "2010-11-29T19:06:21Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > For forty years, lefties have claiming there’s a fascist dictatorship just around the corner. And yet somehow, like the Rapture and the Apocalypse, it never quite gets here. For forty years, righties have [been] claiming the Democrats are going to take all their guns away. And yet somehow, like the Rapture and the Apocalypse, and the descent of the United States into full fledged fascism, it never quite happens. And why? Partially because there has never been a Democrat plan to take all guns away. But also partly because the right mobilizes against gun restrictions that are proposed and fights against them. See tha parallel, **LP**? ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245/60 "2010-11-29T19:13:17Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > It’s easy to say “I should be able to drink raw milk,” untill someone gets sick from it and sues everyone. It’s easy to say “The TSAs are too strict,” till someone blows up a plane and then everyone on this board will be screaming how incompetent people are. Sue the farmer, it’s not like you can or should sue the government for something you knowingly ingest. If the farmer wants protection, they can make customers sign waivers. The new TSA scanners would not have stopped the underwear bomber, yet they are in direct response to him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-coming-isnt-it-fascism/562245.md?page=4)