Fascism in Europe

This is a MUST-LISTEN TO interview in which the interviewee talks about the nature of facism and the freedom we have as individuals to manifest heroism or evil.

US-EU-Ukraine: basic course in homicide training

Ukrainians dressed in the SS Galychyna Division uniform

Voice of Russia,

9 May, 2014

The Western political ‘elite’ has been comfortably numb to the comeback of fascism right in the heart of Europe, less than 70 years after it was defeated. How could that be possible? Dr. Mark Mason, social and political analyst, based in Los Angeles, is analyzing the problem for the Voice of Russia.

These days as we are remembering 40 mln people killed in the Second World War against fascistm, pro-Kiev regular forces have launched another offensive - this time in Mariupol, a city in the South-East of the country. As locals walked in a huge crowd towards the tanks chanting “Fascists”, they were were met by gunshots, which killed and wounded several people, Alexander Rogers, a prominent Ukrainian political analyst and blogger has reported. The Donetsk mayor claims the army used chemical weapons in a previous attack on Mariupol on May, 6.

How could that be possible? We are discussing it with Dr. Mark Mason, social and political analyst, based in Los Angeles.

…Europe has a long history of inhumanity directed at itself. … If we go back to 1930s, there is a connection geographically and ideologically in terms of processes, in terms of problems that are perceived by groups of people. So, one of the problems that they have perceived is that is a commonality in the 20s and 1920s, in Italy and Germany, the conditions today in Ukraine, and in Greece, I will say, and Bulgaria for example where we have neo-fascist organizations organizing, becoming publically visible and exercising unbelievable unspeakable horrors here in Ukraine.

People are relatively destitute. They are poor. We see that there has been a relationship of poverty and autonomy - threads that go through recent European history and the rise of fascism.

How does it happen that seemingly normal people start to kill? This is a serious threshold to cross – killing someone, all the more so - killing with outstanding cruelty.

Practically it is common place and we see it throughout European and American culture, we have president of the US Barack Obama, he has killed somewhere between 3000 and 5000 people through the drone assassination program. It is just one example. So, we have this context, where groups and individuals are dehumanized. They are depersonalized. Their subjectivity is taken from them. 

They become objects rather than human beings in conflict. And this is a problem that can be addressed when we look at economic and political context we are in, there is some conflict that arises and that conflict is perceived as an existential threat. Humans have this capacity to express deep compassion for others and on the other extreme the capacity for unspeakable cruelty and it is driven by ideas in the skull.

Do you think there is some kind of complacency or rather irresponsibility on the part of broader society? We are waiting for a moment when the situation becomes irreversible.

I will point to you Germany’s response. If any people in Europe would have sensitivity towards the horrors of fascism, it would be German people. And yet we have Angela Merkel following orders from Barack Obama and in denial. Humans have capacity for denial at almost unlimited capacity for denial of reality and we are dealing with centers of power. We are dealing with modern equivalent of the Roman Empire and the US is an imperial global power, tragically Europeans just follow instructions from the US, from the president of the US.

It is astonishing to me. I am living here in the US and I see Europeans who claim to have these expensive wonderful education systems, and all this culture, arts and sciences, and they are embarrassing lap-dogs vis-à-vis the US. They have no dignity.

So, we have extremely dangerous situation here. We have unbelievably courageous people, anti-fascists who are standing up in the East and the South of Ukraine, non-violently protesting the brutality of the fascists in Kiev and we have the president of the US and Angela Merkel. They are simply lying. These people are simply lying when they stand in front of the TV camera and talk to the entire planet.

But they can’t do this without this expensive system of indoctrination that allows the educated class of the US and Western Europe with some notable exceptions to remain silent. It is not so much what president Obama or Angela Merkel do or do not say, it is the millions of people who claim to be among the educated classes of Western Europe with the supposed high culture, art and education, and they are silent. It is astonishing when you start to think about it for 2 minutes

To listen to the interview GO HERE