Meloni heads Italy’s most rightwing government since the second world war. Italy’s criminal code punishes with a fine ranging from €1,000 to €5,000 anyone who “publicly defames the republic”, which includes the government, parliament, the courts and the army.

  • newcolour@reddthat.com
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    1 year ago

    Meloni is definitely far-right, and comes from a historically fascist party. So he is just stating the facts here.

  • thann@lemmy.world
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    how to tell if youre in a facist state:
    the person accusing the facist goes to jail

    • cisco877@lemmy.world
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      It’s the sign of a civilised state, where you can’t just randomly offend whoever you want a scale, you need to go to court and prove that you actually have proofs about what you’re saying. I applaud this move from the government, the left wings after years of cutting public services to bend to corporativism and ECB, leaving the country in the hands of all sort of migrants without doing anything for security, finally got what they deserve, and now everyone else is a fascist, but with no content

      • nadir@lemmy.world
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        Oh, Lemmy has fascists now.

        The left wing was cutting public services, right. Famous left wing policy. I think you’re thinking of liberals.

        • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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          It’s astounding these people still don’t realize how obvious their tells are. Blaming migrants? Almost certainly an insensible right winger.

        • Sarla@lemmy.world
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          One of the main ‘issues’ with decentralised social media is that it allows the fringes of the political spectrum to have a platform. We’ll have to find a way to get along.

        • cisco877@lemmy.world
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          It can’t be that whoever has a different opinion is a fascist, also because I was just having a conversation, it doesn’t make sense, if everyone else is a fascist, the term loses any meaning and it’s hard to fight back the real fascists. Guess another issue with the boom of lemmy is that all the judge juries and executors from twitter are arriving.

          • TwoGems@lemmy.world
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            No you’re just a fascist agreeing with a fascist government. Might as well call yourself what you are.

        • cisco877@lemmy.world
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          Seems like a great community with intelligent people able to sustain a conversation in the making, I’m understanding where twitter folks are moving

      • InternetTubes@lemmy.world
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        Except that the scales aren’t the same and that it favors those who have the power and money to persecute people who don’t through the legal system. Like, for example, prosecuting the someone randomly offending without any proof such as yourself.

        • cisco877@lemmy.world
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          That’s a fair point, I would agree in general, but those who are often asked to prove what they say are usually people in positions of power or with a huge base, like in this case a singer, not some poor working class. I can’t understand how why you people think that going to court for asserting guilt is fascist…

          • InternetTubes@lemmy.world
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            Courts are usually the last vestiges of authoritarian power in democracies, having to rely on the authority of life-long (and politically) appointed supreme court judges after all recourses have been tried and done (which for you may not be many if you don’t have a wealth of cash), and they are at their worst when tied to money, power, and lack of public transparency. Most countries don’t even have jury systems in their courts and you can’t represent yourself within it. The predominance of mafias in Italy and their spread internationally is more than a hint of how ineffective and biased they can be.

            • cisco877@lemmy.world
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              I am not sure I understand what you are saying, it seems a bunch of buzzwords put together in a random way, starting from a civil court trial for defamation up to mafia to supreme court and back, they’re not even the same courts. Sorry I am not interested in juggling, there is a guy who has to prove that what he said has basis and is not defamation, he has money to pay for a lawyer, if you think everyone should be able to offend anyone without effects, be it, i don’t agree

              • InternetTubes@lemmy.world
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                if you think everyone should be able to offend anyone without effects, be it, i don’t agree

                Sad that you don’t live by your own words, but unsurprising. And it was just 5 comments that had to be consistent with each other, too.

                the left wings after years of cutting public services to bend to corporativism and ECB, leaving the country in the hands of all sort of migrants without doing anything for security, finally got what they deserve

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    As Porco Rosso said: “I’d rather be a pig than a fascist”. Be like Porco Rosso…

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    I’m sure Placebo, a British band, doesn’t give a single dry fuck what this stupid Italian fascist wants to investigate.

    Someone is about to learn what “Streisand Effect” means.

  • Cyber Yuki@lemmy.world
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    Ah, yes, nothing like forbidding people from calling out fascism to prove your government isn’t fascist.

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    Didn’t the world fight a world war to stop this kind of government from taking full control over a people?

    • Damage@feddit.it
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      Nah, Italy’s fascists were never really purged, because the occupying Americans preferred them to the Communist partisans

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        I’m not saying that Americans didn’t play their dirty tricks as usual, but it was Italian voters that elected Meloni, not the US…

        • HughJanus@lemmy.ml
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          it was Italian voters that elected Meloni, not the US…

          As if that matters. As if Trump wasn’t elected by US voters after massive disinformation campaigns and international meddling.

          • iByteABit@lemmy.world
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            Whether the people are partially to blame or not is a complicated topic. Both in the US and Italy, about half of the population were educated/smart enough to see through their propaganda. The right wing party still won though because they picked their target audience effectively and tailored their whole campaign around that audience.

    • bstix@feddit.dk
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      WW2 was started by the Nazis, so it was really them fighting for something. The rest of the world just defended itself

      It’s a lot more problematic when the Nazis call from inside the house.

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      Nah, just the one. And it was because he was killing hordes of people, not controlling them.

  • socsa@lemmy.ml
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    She’s literally the head of a self proclaimed fascist party, isn’t she?

    • xikubs@lemmy.world
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      “Free speech bro’s would kindly request that all free speech is fully aligned with the party policies… thank you”

    • nadir@lemmy.world
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      You’re free to be super duper racist, sexist, ableist, pretty much any kind of discrimination you want. Isn’t that enough?

    • snor10@lemm.ee
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      Yeah, wtf?

      In a democratic state it is imperative that the population is free to criticize their government.

      What is the EU saying about this? Don’t they have demands on member states to uphold democratic values?

      • InternetTubes@lemmy.world
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        The EU is wiling to impose severe GDPR restrictions to stop its own citizens from revealing just how racist and oppressive their governments are on social networks, all the while and without a shred of irony criticizing the US, that does allow this liberty, when it is revealed through a means they do not afford their own citizens.

        The EU is a lot about appearance, not about reality. I’m sure the EU will form some committee or other to polite suggest to Italy to not be fascist.

          • InternetTubes@lemmy.world
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            In European countries, authorities and people use the GDPR to argue against dashcams, security cams recording public space, and even disseminating smartphone recordings on social media, whereas in the US not only is it a no-brainer that you can do it, it has been used to great effect in regards to recording and denouncing gross violations and abuses that European media has no problem reproducing on their news networks.

            Tell me what European country you are from and I will look up the fines people have received by doing things they could freely do in the US to report abuses due to the GDPR.

  • PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works
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    Meloni, 46, heads Italy’s most rightwing government since the second world war. Italy’s criminal code punishes with a fine ranging from €1,000 to €5,000 (£858 to £4,290) anyone who “publicly defames the republic”, which includes the government, parliament, the courts and the army.

    Wow. Ok then…I guess technically he did violate that law and so it shouldn’t matter how fucked up that law is with respect to an investigation being done about it, but can we still talk about how fucked up that law is in an EU country? Yeah I know Italy’s a little bit different and such, but goddamn.

    W would have loved to have had something like this when the Dixie Chicks got out of line over Iraq (though his response quoted there seems oddly…reasonable? ehh, fuck W): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Chicks_controversy

    • katy ✨@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      Person: “You’re a fascist”

      Government: “That’s wrong; we’re gonna use the power of the state to investigate and punish you for something you said”

      Person: “Oh well I stand corrected. Totally not fascist at all…”

      • electrogamerman@lemmy.world
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        Thats the fascist paradox.

        Call someone a fascist, if they want to oppress you because you lied, then you are right, so they can oppress you, but if they dont oppress you, then you are wrong and you are to be oppressed, but then you will be right.

      • Fisting for Freedom@sh.itjust.works
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        The USSR would also persecute people for criticizing the Soviet state or its leaders, but they weren’t fascist. Authoritarianism is something people on the left and right both get up to.

        • socsa@lemmy.ml
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          I mean we are kind of splitting hairs a bit then. The worst thing about fascism is mostly the autocracy and the “ends justify lots of murder” attitude. When people talk about the evils of fascism that’s what they’re talking about.

          Likewise, when people criticize Stalinism, they aren’t talking about the high minded ideals or even the questionable fashion choices. They are talking about the autocracy, and the “ends justify lots of murder” attitude.

          • Fisting for Freedom@sh.itjust.works
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            Oh, Mellonhead is definitely a fascist, I’m just pointing out that you get the same kinda of oppression at the other end of the lef-right spectrum, too.

            • ShittyBeatlesFCPres@lemmy.world
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              There’s plenty of oppression and violence smack dab in the center of the left right spectrum too. I’m not sure why horseshoe theory is so keen to equate Stalin, Mao, etc. with the violence of Hitler, Pinochet, etc. while ignoring the genocides of the Dutch East India Co. (and competitors), imperialism, the slave trade, settler colonialism, etc.

        • SuperApples@lemmy.world
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          If left-wing authoritarianism isn’t an oxymoron, then what the heck does left-wing mean?

          I agree that authoritarianism does not equal fascism, but the only meaningful definition of left-right politics (in my opinion) is a measure of belief in and adherence to social hierarchies. And the USSR was definitely heavily into hierarchy.

          • nadir@lemmy.world
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            Yeah, that’s where the left-right concept kinda breaks down.

            It feels wrong to say the USSR wasn’t left when you consider the many left policies they had and of course their origin.

            I also agree with your idea of what left-wing should mean. I guess there’s no way to avoid complexity with topics like this.

          • Shardikprime@lemmy.world
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            Why would it be an oxymoron? There is nothing on the political chart or inherent to it to forbid the left wing to be authoritarian.

        • Nukemin Herttua@sopuli.xyz
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          Yes, but that is a different conversation. Now we are talking about Meloni and her ties to the far right 🙂

        • MonsieurHedge@kbin.social
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          I’d argue the USSR was fascist the same way the DPRK is fascist. You aren’t necessarily left-wing just because you say you are.

          • EhList@lemmy.world
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            Neither state is fascist. The similarity you are noting is the authoritarian parts. Fascism opposes bolshevism and especially the USSR.

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            I can see the parallels but this really conflicts with the historical definition of fascist. Then again, practically everyone is a fascist these days at least according to someone, so maybe the historical definition doesn’t matter anymore. Guess that’s the downside of it being the universally despised bogeyman term in politics.

            • trafguy@midwest.social
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              Thought it might be helpful to compare the USSR to Wikipedia’s definitions of fascism and communism. These definitions can be wrong or could be different than what they were at the height of the USSR, but perhaps it’ll help with finding common definitions. I’ll admit that my knowledge of USSR culture/governance is limited, so feel free to critique/refute any of my interpretations.

              Fascism:

              Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement,characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation and race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.

              Checklist (hidden for brevity)
              1. +Dictatorial leader: Stalin wasn’t exactly a democratic ruler. Check.
              2. ?Centralized autocracy: AKA: One person has final say over any government decision. Probably, but maybe not depending on your definition?
              3. +Militarism: Definitely had a significant military focus. Check.
              4. +Forcible suppression of opposition: Yeah, that sounds par for the course for modern Russian government.
              5. ?Belief in natural social hierarchy: Does semi-deliberate wealth disparity and nationalistic superiority complex count?
              6. ?Subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation and race: Sounds likely, but not 100% sure.
              7. +Strong regimentation of society and the economy: Pretty sure the USSR had a planned centralized economy.

              It hits 4/7 pretty firmly and the remaining 3 are plausible.

              Communism:

              is a left-wing to far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology… whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered around common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange that allocates products to everyone in the society based on need. A communist society would entail the absence of private property and social classes, and ultimately money and the state.

              Checklist (hidden for brevity)
              1. XCommon ownership of the means of production of goods/services: Weren’t these state-owned?
              2. XCommon ownership of the means of distribution of goods/services: ^
              3. XCommon ownership of the means of exchange of goods/services: ^^
              4. ?Allocates products to everyone in the society based on need: Wasn’t there significant poverty while others’ were well-fed? If distribution wasn’t tied to labor, then it could be argued this fits, if somewhat imperfectly.
              5. XAbsence of private property: Oligarchs don’t exactly scream “lack of private property”
              6. XAbsence of social classes: Again, oligarchs and poverty
              7. ?Absence of money: Can’t comment on this one
              8. XAbsence of the state: There was 100% an overarching state

              Hits 2/8 at best, but I would be surprised to learn there wasn’t money in the USSR.

          • EhList@lemmy.world
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            No he was not. Fascism is vocally and clearly opposed to Stalinism, Marxism and any form of Bolshevism.

            You have no idea what fascism is if you honestly think Stalin was one. Stalin was a totalitarian Stalinist which is a form of Marxism.

              • EhList@lemmy.world
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                Still not applying to fucking Stalin. I mean seriously have you even read his speeches or those made by fascists against him? For some reason I doubt that entirely.

                Fascism is not just “a system I dislike”.

    • SuddenlyNope@lemmy.one
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      As Italian is worth mentioning that these nationalist dimwits we have now in charge have being elected with a genius grade new electoral law pushed by the centre left coalition and especially devised in a bipartisan accord between the centre left and the centre right coalition to counter the rise of Movimento 5 Stelle (or any new “small” party) which would then interfere, as indeed it did in the previous election, with the well established bi-partitism which had been instated from Berlusconi since the late 90’s (as per P2 Masonry Group Manifest bullet point, https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_di_rinascita_democratica and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_Due).

      As result of this new electoral law Meloni is holding Italian government by the balls with a mere actual 16,4% of votes on the voters total.

      Let’s go into numbers, indeed Meloni coalition (“centre” right, lol) got 43,79% of the total valid votes, of which 26% for Meloni’s own Fratelli d’Italia party, but you must consider that these percentages do not include the 36,91% of citizens holding voting rights which didn’t actually vote at all, which means this non-group missed to be the largest non-coalition by little and de-facto resulted in non-being the most non-representative non-party.
      So accounting for the 36.91% of non-voters Meloni is acting like an empress embodying the second coming of Mussolini with a scant 16.4% of actual voting preference. For this don’t forget to thank the center-left for pushing the afore mentioned new electoral law, because this only is what enabled her to act like she’s doing.

      BONUS: article on some buried past of Meloni as failed nerd wannabe career using public money
      https://kotaku.com/georgia-meloni-italian-pm-fps-shooter-game-pope-unreal-1850163072

      • nadir@lemmy.world
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        We have an old saying in Germany, from the times of the Weimar Republic’s communists, which roughly translates to:

        “Who has betrayed us? The Social Democrats”

        It rhymes in German.

        • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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          Wasn’t the Weimar communist party also the one who said “after Hitler, us”, and formed a coalition? I may be completely mistaken and misremembering. My impression was always that it wasn’t the center left nor the left at fault, it was their feuding with each other that allowed Hitler to rise.

          Had the two groups seen each other as rivals and not enemies, I think things would be way different.

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    Somebody once remarked that it’s funny how everyone acts like Italians all walk around being Mario Brothers but the Italians just roll with it.

    It’s because some Italians were the people who invented Fascism as a formal political movement, and you know damn well how that ended up, so if going “It’s-a me, Giancarlo!” every once in a while gets the world to forget, they’ll take it.

    But then this happens, and you have to start talking about spaghetti as much as possible.

    • Raltoid@lemmy.world
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      Don’t even have to go that far back: Italy is massively corrupt with organized crime running parts of the country and with a literal facsist representing them in the EU Parliment(Mussolinis granddaugher in fact). This current prime minister that is being referred to in the post is a self-proclaimed “national conservative”.

      And the fact that they kept letting Berlusconi run things is all the proof you need of how corrupt the entire country is(his “controversies” part on wikipedia is so large that it has its own page with 160 citations, he is also connected to the party of the person mentioned above).

      But it has some amazing tourist locations and food, so people gloss over that as well.

    • Shardikprime@lemmy.world
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      This has to be one of the most stereotypically racist remarks I’ve read in a while here on lemmy. They might be remarks, but still sheesh

      • Methylman@lemmy.world
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        Italians embrace their cultural and gastronomic exports while shunning certain parts of their history - I wouldn’t say that’s racist… In fact I would call that humanizing