What is Fascism? What is Anti-Fascism?
In Plain Language

This zine was written in plain language. That is because we believe everyone should have access to this information.

What is fascism? What is antifascism?

This article talks about that. We will first talk about what fascism is. Then we will talk about what anti-fascism is. And we will talk about why fascism and anti-fascism are not the same thing. This article does not talk about everything there is to know about fascism and anti-fascism. We will make more articles that go into more detail about fascism and anti-fascism.

What is fascism?

Fascism is a word you have probably heard before. But you might not know exactly what it means. Fascism is a kind of political ideology. Someone who believes in fascism is a fascist. A group that believes in fascism is fascist.

Let’s talk about what a political ideology is.

A political ideology is the opinion of a person or a group of people on politics. Usually it is about what they want the government to do. It can also be about what they do not want the government to do. Here are some examples of political ideologies you might have heard of:

• Liberal

• Conservative

• Libertarian

• Left wing

• Right Wing

There are a lot of political ideologies that are fascism. But every kind of fascism has something in common. All fascists believe in the government hurting and killing people they do not like. All fascists hate:

• Disabled people

• People of color

• Women

• LGBTQ people

• Jewish people

• People who try to stop fascists from hurting and killing people

Fascists want to kill these people. Fascists want to kill people who want to stop them from killing people. Fascism is a hateful ideology. Most people are not fascists. Most people do not like fascism. But some people are fascists. And fascists do like fascism.

Some people are not fascist but they are ableist. Ableist means hating and wanting to hurt disabled people. Someone who hates and wants to hurt disabled people is ableist. An ableist hates disabled people. They hate disabled people because they think disabled people do not deserve to live. You may have heard of eugenics. Eugenics is a kind of ableism. It is also a kind of racism. A lot of people are ableist.

Some people are not fascists but they are racist. Racist means hating and wanting to hurt people of color. Someone who hates and wants to hurt people of color is racist. A racist hates and wants to hurt people of color because people of color are not white. A lot of people are racist.

Some people are not fascist but they are sexist. Sexist means hating and wanting to hurt women. Someone who hates and wants to hurt women is sexist. A sexist hates women because they are not men. A sexist also hates some men because he thinks those men are women. Or he thinks some men act like women. A lot of people are sexist.

Some people are not fascist but they are homophobic and transphobic. Homophobic and transphobic means hating and wanting to hurt lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) people. Someone who hates and wants to hurt LGBTQ people are homophobic and transphobic. Homophobic and transphobic people hate LGBTQ people because they are LGBTQ. A lot of people are homophobic and transphobic.

Some people are not fascist but they are antisemitic. Antisemitic means hating and wanting to hurt Jewish people. Someone who hates and wants to hurt Jewish people is an antisemite. An antisemite hates Jewish people because they think Jewish people are out to get them. This is different from racism, ableism, and sexism. Antisemitism looks and sounds different from other hatreds. Most racist, ableist, and sexist people think people of color, disabled people, and women are not smart. Most antisemitic people think Jewish people are smart. They think that Jewish people are smart and want to hurt them. We will talk about this more in a bit.

People who hate and want to hurt, disabled people, people of color, women, LGBTQ people, or Jewish people are “bigots.” Bigot is not specific like racist or sexist. This article is going to use the word bigot. When we use the word bigot it means a person that hates and wants to hurt one or more of the kinds of people listed above.

A good place to learn more about bigotry is at this toolkit. This toolkit is called “Fighting for Fairness: it starts with you!” It was made by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. It is in plain language. It is also in the Easy Read format. Link: autisticadvocacy.org/resources/foundations.

Fascists like to talk to bigots. Fascists think someone who already hates people of color can learn to hate Jewish people. A lot of times that works. It works because that person was already racist. A lot of times when someone is very racist they also already hate other people. For example, Jewish people, disabled people, LGBTQ people, and women.

Fascists like to talk to bigots because bigots already agree with some parts of fascism. That is why bigots like to talk to each other. They think if someone already hates women then it will be easy to teach that person to hate people of color.

This happens a lot. Advocates of hurting women now advocate hurting people of color. One example is Roosh V. Roosh V advocated for hurting women. He now advocates for racism and fascism. He advocates hurting and killing people of color. He advocates for fascism.

Here are some examples of fascism that you might have heard of:

• National socialism (Nazis)

• White nationalism

• Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

There are more kinds of fascism than this. Fascists give a lot of different reasons for why they are fascists. None of them are good reasons. There is no good reason to be a fascist. There is no good reason to want to hurt and kill people of color, Jewish people, disabled people, LGBTQ people, women, and people who stand up to fascists.

A lot of times people are fascist because they believe a conspiracy theory. A lot of those conspiracy theories are antisemitic. Antisemitic means hating and wanting to hurt Jewish people.

A lot of fascists believe a conspiracy theory called the “great replacement.” They believe that Jewish people want to take away a “white majority.” A white majority is when there are more white people than people of color. They say Jewish people want to take away a white majority with immigration. Immigration is when one person moves from one country to another. Someone who moves from one country to another is an immigrant. You may know some immigrants.

Fascists say that Jewish people are tricking white people into advocating for immigration. Fascists say this will hurt white people. Fascists think that means there is a “white genocide.” This is a lie. This is a conspiracy theory. They believe in the conspiracy theory even though it is not true.

Fascists think that this lie means they should hurt Jewish people. They think this lie means they should hurt people of color. A lot of fascists have killed Jewish people and people of color. A lot of those fascists said it was because of this lie. You may have heard about fascists killing people because of this lie on the news. Fascists killed people because of this lie in many cities. And they have killed people because of this lie for many years. This is a few examples you may have heard on the news:

• Charleston African Methodist Episcopal Church

• Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue

• Christchurch Mosques

• El Paso Walmart

Fascists want to kill people. Fascists are killing people. That makes them dangerous. Fascists want to hurt and kill

• Disabled people

• People of color

• Women

• LGBTQ people

• Jewish people

• People who try to stop fascists from hurting and killing people

Fascists do hurt and kill

• Disabled people

• People of color

• Women

• LGBTQ people

• Jewish people

• People who try to stop fascists from hurting and killing people

What is anti-fascism?

Now that we have talked about fascism, let’s talk about anti-fascism.

Anti-fascism is not a group. Anti-fascism is the idea that fascism should not exist.

People who advocate for anti-fascism are anti-fascists. Anti-fascists have a lot of different ways of fighting fascism. Anti-fascists try to stop fascists from hurting and killing people.

Here are some things anti-fascists might do. Not all anti-fascists do all of these things.

1. Track fascists

2. Protest fascists

3. Write about fascists

4. Spy on fascists. This might be in their in-person meetings. It could also be online chats, like a Telegram server.

5. Warn people about fascists and fascist rallies

6. Use their bodies to stop fascist rallies. Some anti-fascists use weapons, like baseball bats. Some don’t.

Groups of antifascists using their bodies to stop fascist violence is called “antifascist action”. Here are some ways people shorten anti-fascist action: antiFA/antifa, AFA, 161. Antifa, AFA, and 161 all mean anti-fascist action. Some antifascist actions use something called a “black bloc.” Some don’t.

A black bloc action is when people protesting something dress in all black. They also hide their faces with black cloth. The black cloth might be a black bandanna or ski mask. The black bloc is used by a lot of groups. Anti-fascists are not the only people who use the black bloc.

Some anti-fascists sometimes use the black bloc. That is because the black bloc keeps anti-fascists safe from fascists. That is because of the clothing you put on in a black bloc. Black bloc clothing helps keeps people from recognizing you. Fascists try to hurt or kill people who stand up to them. Anti-fascists stand up to fascists. Most anti-fascists try not to be recognized. They could be hurt or killed by fascists if fascists recognize them. Most anti-fascists do not want to be recognized. That is why some anti-fascists use the black bloc.

Some people think that because some antifascists use the black bloc that anti-fascists are like fascists. That is not true. Anti-fascist action like this is not usually used. It is sometimes used when fascists threaten to commit acts of violence or grow their numbers.

Anti-fascists would not do anti-fascist action if there were no fascists. Remember, fascists want to hurt and kill people. Fascists want to hurt and kill hurt and kill

• Disabled people

• People of color

• Women

• LGBTQ people

• Jewish people

• People who try to stop fascists from hurting and killing people

Anti-fascists do not want to hurt or kill

That’s a big difference.

Fascists and anti-fascists are not the same. Some anti-fascists use violence to stop fascists. That does not make anti-fascists the same as fascists.

It’s okay to not like violence. You might uncomfortable with anti-fascists using their bodies to stop fascists. That could be because people have been violent to you.

Anti-fascists don’t like violence. Anti-fascists are anti-fascist because fascist violence hurts and kills people. Anti-fascists want to stop fascist violence. Anti-fascists want to stop fascists from hurting and killing

• Disabled people

• People of color

• Women

• LGBTQ people

• Jewish people

• People who try to stop fascists from hurting and killing people

Many anti-fascists say the only way to stop fascist violence is by using their body.

You do not need to be part of a black bloc to be an anti-fascist. There are many other ways to be an anti-fascist. Here are some other ways to be an anti-fascist:

1. Track fascists

2. Protest fascists

3. Write about fascists

4. Spy on fascists

5. Warn people about fascists and fascist rallies

The only thing you need to do to be an anti-fascist is find a way to fight fascism. You do not need to get into physical fights to fight fascism. That might not be safe for you. That might not be comfortable for you. That is okay. All you need to do is find out how you can help fight fascism.

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