The Mystery Of Fascism
“One thing I noticed about fascism and trauma, from the intellectual side. I've seen people (former libertarians) who admitted to have been under the effects of trauma all their life, who then study the European intellectuals who were precursors of fascism, and then they admit to feeling "at home." Quite shockingly, traumatized people seek to re-experience the sensation of trauma, and if they are of an intellectual bent, they will fall in the fascist cul-de-sac and they will feel very well living there, for a long while. Until the next crisis.
Another aspect of this is the addict-like behavior. Traumatized people say that others suffer from trauma, but they don't. When other people investigate whether pathogenic viruses exists or not, those who live in the intellectual cul-de-sac of fascism get angry: "of course there was a virus, of course it is all true, you idiot!" That's part of fascist mentality: there can be no escape, no solution, no alternative, everyone must have the same mediocre and endless suffering, and learn to love it. Like addicts, they hate to see other people attempting anything, because then they look bad, as it is revealed that they are sitting comfortably in emotional misery. And it's also a matter of saving face, like in political fascism, like in everyday trauma. "No one can know how much we enjoy feeling defeated and enslaved."
That's the mystery of fascism. In a word: Masochism.”
—Agent Roger Twice Befuddled
(Submitted as comment here.)
I don't know what it is-- that so many of us need some kind of superficial sense of belonging to a fractured-off social group. I think it's some kind of numbing reaction. Taking the road less traveled and being willing to surrender to the fact that we're ALL connected in ways big and small is not easy. Many people have had trauma and painful childhoods, but turn what they've learned into something that can help others. I think Socialism, Facism and all those artificial ways of pretending to help the greater good are for cowards. It revolves around avoiding any kind of deep self-reflection and not being willing to truly surrender to that oneness that we're all a part of. They make up their own weird rules and gloat in their own senses of moral superiority like they're God.
It’s not just fascism -- people subject themselves to intellectual bondage under any number of headings: political, philosophical and religious being among them. They would prefer a life of stasis under authority rather than embarking on the rugged journey of the indefatigable pursuit of truth.