I often see conservative Americans described with terms like “Nazi” or “fascist”. However, how prevalent is it for “liberals” to actually use this language when speaking about their own family members in casual, offline conversations?
Does anyone with conservative family members, actively describe their parents as nazis, or fascists in casual conversation? How often do you hear people casually refer to their own conservative family members as “Nazis,” “fascists,” or other similar extreme political labels?
Is there a noticeable gap between the severity of the labels applied in online discourse and the way people navigate these relationships in their everyday lives, and if so, what do you think accounts for this discrepancy?
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I often see conservative Americans described with terms like “Nazi” or “fascist”. However, how prevalent is it for “liberals” to actually use this language when speaking about their own family members in casual, offline conversations?
Does anyone with conservative family members, actively describe their parents as nazis, or fascists in casual conversation? How often do you hear people casually refer to their own conservative family members as “Nazis,” “fascists,” or other similar extreme political labels?
Is there a noticeable gap between the severity of the labels applied in online discourse and the way people navigate these relationships in their everyday lives, and if so, what do you think accounts for this discrepancy?
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I don’t use either on or offline, but obviously for people who do, it is a lot less.
Because the the average center right person isn’t a fascist or nazi. Hell I’d be generous and say the average conservative isn’t a full blown fascist. Being generous since the conservatives do support fascists. Fascists are Fascists. Nazis are Nazis. Don’t muddy the waters.
u/okratas, this is your second post about conservatives having issues with their liberal kids. What exactly are your kids so upset at you about? It’d probably he more helpful to talk about the issue there directly.
>Does anyone with conservative family members, actively describe their parents as nazis, or fascists in casual conversation?
I mean, I don’t do it to their faces, because I’m not overly confrontational when face-to-face.
But I have plenty of Republican family members who I would characterize as Christian fascists.
The ones I have left in my family don’t rise to the level where I’d call them Nazis, though I did have two diehard MAGA uncles who maybe would be at that point by now, if Covid hadn’t killed them 2+ years ago.
Just curious if conservatives call their liberal family members baby killers, socialist, communists and the like?
Yeah, when I’m anonymous I say what I really think, but I hold back IRL because I don’t want to deal with a bunch of family drama. So what?
I do. My dad regularly rants about how Derek Chauvin is a hero, and he is totally fine with the government blackbagging people with no accountability.
So yes, I do call him a Nazi, a fascist, etc.
Blackbagging is where I draw the line. Due Process is what makes America better than other countries. If you do not support due process, you are *evil*, treasonous, and un-American. If you want to encourage Gestapo-like behavior, I will call it like I see it.
Once again, we are not calling all conservatives nazis or fascists. We are calling the conservatives that actually are nazis or fascists, nazis or fascists. Once again, it is telling that you think we are calling all conservatives Nazis or fascists.
When my family does or says racist/fascist/nazi shit, yes, I call them out to their face.
I don’t call my conservative aunt that. I don’t hear anyone in my conservative community called that. But they also don’t do nazi salutes at cpac or elect a person who called himself a nazi. Maybe you get it because your views are far more repulsively extreme?
First off, the idea that the discourse on the left is anywhere near as toxic as that on the right is laughable. And I’m talking about online and IRL. I live in a deep red state and have experienced it first hand.
Personally, I do not bring up politics with people I know to be conservative. However, if they bring it up, I give them my honest opinion about the subject. And if they support a fascist, I am not shy about it.
I don’t hold back. I told a friend of over 20 years his support of Trump and fascism makes us enemies. Not merely political opponents, but “don’t come to my house, the reception won’t be pleasant.”
I’ve also been very vocal about my children having zero contact with certain MAGA in-laws. I’ve called them fascists and Nazis, in their presence. Because that’s what they are.
As far as I’m concerned you lot are the modern Southern Confederates. I really wish Biden would have taken action appropriate to that condition while he had the power to do so.
If they openly defend Nazi like actions, or straight up facist behavior from any conservative politician, then I will tell them “Hey, you do realize you’re endorsing facism or nazism right?” And if they continue then I would distance myself from them, and hang out with family members that aren’t like that. But if they are actively behaving like that, then in conversations about them I would label them as MAGA cultists or Nazi sympathizers because that’s what they are. I personally feel like the whole “preserving our traditional values” argument is pretty lame and old fashioned, especially if it’s being in denial about things like climate change or any other important issues brought up by real scientists. Also the traditional values are usually blatantly homophobic and transphobic and occasionally pretty racist too, so in my opinion we should forget about them and let everyone choose what ever values they want, if they are liberal or conservative or not who really cares, let people choose.
You do realize that most people who use terms like that actually believe what they’re saying right? Why would they make an exception for family members?
I don’t think most of the people throwing up the “Heil” sign understand the history and context of the Nazi’s.
I also think that they don’t understand what “fascism” means politically. My personal interactions with my conservative family are respectful because I know that they are misinformed and not aware of the reality of what the Republicans are in relation to conservative values.
Luckily most of my family is somewhere on the political spectrum between liberal and borderline socialist. The few that aren’t I’ve pretty much cut off since COVID, not that I was super close to then in the first place.
That said, I’m not sure if they are fascists or Nazis. I really don’t talk to them enough to know. I do know one aunt is an evangelical, which is a distinction I make when talking to my friends and partner to describe a person that twists the Bible into whatever it is that allows people to believe they’re going to heaven while idolizing Trump.
I do say that my conservative family supports a fascist form of government. They would also turn a blind eye and accept Nazi behavior.
When they argue, I point out all the Nazi behavior they currently support… Like sending a LEGAL resident to a death prison (aka death camp) without any due process. The fact that the vast, vast majority of all conservatives are now against due process is very much Nazi behavior.
I’ve talked about my fascist Nazi aunt with my niece, sure.
Literally not a single person in my family supports Trump. Even my far-right uncle hates him because he’s 83 and from Austria, so he’s heard Trumpish rhetoric before.
When speaking to Trump Supporters, I tend not to attack individuals as being nazis or fascists, unless they’re goose-stepping around with their arm outstretched. Instead, I focus on specific elements of Trump’s administration, and refuse to let the topic be shifted.
It’s much less “why are you a fascist” and much more “how can you justify X objectively fascist action?”
I don’t think most of his supporters are actual fascists, I just think they’re sleepwalking into fascism the same way so many populations have before.
Unlike most Conservatives, Liberals often do it correctly. Often in response to literal quotes from fascist/nazi rhetoric. If a Conservative family member is doing the Nazi salute, I and many others will [accurately] call them a Nazi.
I am not sure liberals, or the left more generally, is actually labeling every ordinary American conservative a Nazi or fascist. From what I can tell, they are generally calling the leaders of the Republican party Nazis and fascists, with somewhat understandable reasoning.
My grandmother is a sweet lady. She wouldn’t hurt a fly, and she is a Trump supporter. I don’t think she is a fascist, but I would concede that she is a bit of an idiot, and she has been duped. I don’t hate her for supporting Trump. I hate the MAGA movement for tricking her into voting against the Social Security and Medicare that she depends upon. Like, she genuinely believed that immigrants were eating people’s dogs and cats. Anyone that actively defends this sort of predatory behavior by politicians should be dismissed as a Nazi.
I think I’ve only personally called five people Nazis or Fascists…because they were.
One is into Asatru (look it up), and is unfortunately a very intelligent man who graduated from Stanford Business. Goes to show that even intelligent people can be gullible. I also called out a group of people because they all believed in pan-Slavicism and had the Black Sun flag at one point.
The group started distancing themselves from the more racist part of pan-Slavicism, and alas my friend is still Asatru.
I haven’t cut off any of these people because I believe that if a former Wizard of the Klan can change, these folks can too.
Without having read the rest of the comments…
I would say there’s a difference you’re not recognizing. I think a lot of the left calls extreme right wingers and MAGA supporters “Nazi” or “fascist,” not all conservatives. There are no conservatives in my family of any extreme, and still I call my father “Donald” to his face because he does/says things that remind me of Donald Trump. He thinks calling certain kinds of people out of their name is funny, and he lies to us knowing that we already know he’s lying. Others in my family see exactly what I’m saying, so they laugh and agree. So, yeah, I’d call an extreme right-wing conservative a Nazi or fascist to their face. Although, personally, my word of choice is “redneck,” not this “Nazi”/”fascist” stuff. I want people to understand exactly what I’m calling them, and I don’t think most people really get either of those terms–it’s like intellectuals using a big word to insult uneducated people who don’t know what the big word means.
All of my friends are conservatives and most of my family. I’ve never called anyone a Nazi, because I’ve never met one, and I don’t use the word “fascism” because most people don’t know what that word means, and fair enough. If I’m comparing modern right-wing statecraft, I compare it to Hungary and Orban, and if I’m talking about rhetoric I compare it to the Russian school of disinformation. I think these are pretty grounded comparisons.
I have a uncle who I no longer speak to who I refer to as a Nazi. I dont have Nazi friends, because why would I be friends with a Nazi?
My former dentist went MAGA. He made it clear, so I told him I dont do business with Nazis and found a new dentist.
I keep religion & politics out of my workplace as much as possible.
In general, I find conservatives to be largely rude and lacking in integrity, so I avoid having them in my life.
I don’t do either, in person or online. I have said Elon Musk gave a Nazi salute and denying it makes people look like ridiculous fools. Gaslighting yourself is one thing. But, don’t try to play the rest of us with your dumbass fantasies. I tend to focus on how actions don’t match their stated values rather than name calling – although I did tell my dad he has been a shitty father my entire life always choosing himself over his children. Again, that’s a factual pattern of behavior for him. Trump was just yet another example of that.
Your focus today on families falling apart being destructive is failing to acknowledge that the family is falling apart because of long-standing dysfunction. America falling apart is also because of long-standing dysfunction. Trump is both a symptom and a standard-bearer for that rot. The people pointing out the dysfunction are not the problem. The people choosing to distance themselves from the dysfunction and to let the families crumble are not the problem. Those expecting to be allowed their destructive behaviors while still feeling entitled to the appearance of a good family afterward are. If you are a parent that has failed spectacularly at understanding your children outside of your own worldview and outside of your own emotions, you failed at meeting the most basic needs of your children – to be emotionally seen, validated, heard, protected, and cherished by their parents. It’s not the kid’s job to do those things for you and yet many parents expect it from their children. A general failure to understand other people outside of the function you want them to serve for you within the familial/societal system is a massive blindspot for conservatives who simultaneously claim to prioritize individualism.
I’m curious OP. Did Elon musk do two Nazi salutes on stage?
I have a couple of friends who do that, because they’re Russian and their parents support Putin’s war and the German AfD.
And I can only imagine how much that must hurt if the people who raised you support mass murder on such a scale openly.
These Ukrainian victims could be their children and if it was that, they would suddenly talk a whole different game. This is why fascism is so disgusting and we would call our own family members out for it.
I am personally happy for not having monsters like that for parents, but if I did I would likewise go scorched earth on them.
We all live in this world together and we need to find a way to reasonably mediate our differences. If somebody endorses a way of life in which one group of people gets outright slaughtered or stripped of any rights whatsoever, my immediate first thought is: what if that happens to you? What if your actions lead to the kind of retaliation you would invite? With what right could you ask for mercy and humanity anymore?
People like that are an actual cancer on this world and should be excised accordingly.
American Republicans are likewise showing their sympathies for this way of thinking more and more. When JD Vance held his speech in Munich where he said he was more worried about “muh free speech” in the EU, than Russia’s war in Ukraine this was yet another chilling step towards barbarism.
I don’t notice such a gap in my own speech because I don’t have family (at least not family I talk to with any regularity) or friends who are conservative. Everyone I know is on the spectrum from centrists to actual socialists.
My aunt and uncle are fascists. Yeah
I mean, kinda depends on if your relatives are fascists, doesn’t it?
You seem to be suggesting that the “fascist” label is something thrown around online for effect but that people wouldn’t actually use it in real life as it would be deemed too hyperbolic or come across as ridiculous.
Or in other words, the “left” call everyone a fascist, the term has lost all meaning, very few people or maybe even no people, are actually fascist.
Honestly this is as much a red herring the right like to deploy as the overly motivated 1st year college student who thinks not having a vegan option in the cafeteria is fascism (or for that matter the conservative MAGA hat who thinks a vaccine mandate is the same as what they did to the Jews in the holocaust). We all know people who use fascism as absurdist hyperbole.
In reality though fascism is a real thing and is in fact quite a popular and common political tool. There have been fascist movements across the world pretty much non-stop since the early 20th century, many of which lead to enough support to produce governing fascist parties. There is obviously Italy and Germany in WW2, but since then there have been dozens more.
Fascism as an ideology that cannot be put back in its box, its out and people know it is often very popular and works to gain them power. It really was only a matter of time before it was used in the US again
Of course a bit like how racists used to proudly proclaim they are racists until “racist” became a dirty word, you are much less likely to find people admit or accept that they are fascists or support fascist ideology in this day and age.
This is true even if you list out all the parts of a fascist ideology and they nod along in complete agreement. The term has taken on negative connotations even if the ideology is still popular.
So to get back to your question, given the negative associations with the term, the question has to be asked what would the purpose of calling someone a “Nazi” or “fascist” be. In my experience they would just immediately shut down and get highly defensive.
Maybe that is what you want. But if you want to actually show them the problem with what they believe, or show them that their ideology is fascism, you need to start with the ideology first and after you have established yes this is what they believe then show them that this is in fact fascism.
Of course even then that might have no effect because by virtue of it being their ideology they may very well want fascism, even if they aren’t prepared to call it fascism again due to the negative connotations.
The preferred label is “Q” or “Qanon”. The sub /r/Qanoncasualties is basically the kind of people you describe.
[ Removed by Reddit ]
I mean, my mom’s a bigot. I’m pretty open about it. I usually have to apologize when we’re out in public together because she’ll say something off the wall or treat someone in a really disrespectful manner. It was really embarrassing when I was growing up.
I have a small circle of friends and acquaintances, and within that circle, I can only think of one far-right person. That person has told me I should be imprisoned by some resurrected Gestapo multiple times, so I feel perfectly justified in calling them an extremist. They are not a family member, for the record
There are other people outside that circle who are pretty far to the right, too, but there I have to say I don’t know everyone to every facet of their personality, and so I cannot necessarily tell you whether a given descriptor fits them. That said, I dont think I call people “fascist” online particularly often either, although I’m certainly more combative here than in real-life or even in online 1-on-1 interactions (I blame the need to perform to an audience instead of simply talking from eye to eye). So make of that what you will
(Feel free to check my history on me calling people “fascist”, “nazi” and the like in the last 12 months, if you like)
That’s an online thing. Most of us doing go around calling people Nazis or Fascists.
We tend to save that for people doing overtly Nazi or Fascist things.
You’re not a Nazi for wearing a Trump hat, but if you’re Sig Heiling… Yeah, you’re a fuck’in Nazi.
> However, how prevalent is it for “liberals” to actually use this language when speaking about their own family members in casual, offline conversations?
I don’t think my family is fascist, but I do think some of the ideas they support are fascist, and I use that term with respect to those ideas.
The only time I’ve used the word Nazi with my family in the last 6 months was about Musk’s Nazi salute.
> Is there a noticeable gap between the severity of the labels applied in online discourse and the way people navigate these relationships in their everyday lives, and if so, what do you think accounts for this discrepancy?
Our revealed preference for internet content is content that validates us and confirms we’re the good guys and the others are the bad guys. This means most people choose content sources that expose them to the worst behavior of the others, because that’s the most validating content to see about how the others behave. This shapes our conclusions about ourselves and the others, and consequently puts us in two alternate realities, much of which is pure delusion.
This guy literally has “far right” as his user flair. Why are we even letting him waste our time by indulging his bad-faith attempts to farm us for gotchas?
Yes, the death cult is right in front of us. The main Republican argument right now is whether we should suspend due process and taking over other countries by force. Why is their counterargument that calling me a fascist and Nazi hurts my feelings—rather than proving they’re not fascists or Nazis?
Let me give you a real world example- many years ago, pre-Trump, I had an uncle who made a number of comments that I found deeply unethical and frankly, disturbing. He’d frequently talk about shooting Africans during his time in the Army “because they all had AIDS” or suggesting that queer servicemen should be hanged for being “fags”. These weren’t isolated awkward incidents – it was a longstanding representation of his character, and at some point, I told him that’s what it was and explained that it was why I was severing our familial relationship.
You can use whatever terms you want to use, but the reality is that he shares the same inhumane beliefs as Nazis and fascists. I won’t have that shit around me or mine because a) it’s fucking repulsive and b) I refuse to provide the comfort of family to someone I personally view as a monster. If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, I have no problem calling it a duck to its face or otherwise.
>However, how prevalent is it for “liberals” to actually use this language when speaking about their own family members in casual, offline conversations?
I can only speak for myself and my family and friends (who all range from moderate to liberal). The answer is rarely. And if the term Nazi or fascist or whatever comes up, it’s in reference to a particular action the Trump administration has taken or is trying to take, or rhetoric coming from the Trump administration or pro-Trump media. It’s not used to smear Trump supporters / Trump voters / Republican voters.