Using outrage as a weapon to fight fascism

A smoke filled cafe just outside the headquarters of the Italian Democratic Liberal Party (PLD) , Rome, November 1923.

The Acerbo law has just been passed, setting up Mussolini’s fascist party to take complete power in the upcoming election of 1924.

Included amongst this group, socialists, PLD members, and some communists. Cast of characters includes Ezra, Enrico, Pietro.

Ezra: Anyone that voted for the nationalists is a racist and a bigot !

Enrico: OK, yes, that’s true. But we need to realise that many Catholics also supported him because of the promises he made around church education. Let’s talk about ways to undermine their support amongst the religious left.

Ezra: If they still support him after all that has happened, then they are definitely racists !

Enrico: Well, yes, that is true. But it’s a large voting block. We had good support in the south in the last election, if we can find a way to appeal to Catholic ideals, maybe we can swing the vote sufficiently in our favour to win…

Pietro: .. Anyway, calling them racists doesn’t help our cause.

Ezra: That’s easy for you to say Pietro, from your position of white Catholic privilege. Some of us have to live with repression on a daily basis.

Enrico: Let’s focus on what we need to do to win.

Pietro: Actually my wife is Jewish, so it’s a bit..

Ezra: He’s an actual Nazi !!!!

Pietro: Well, I mean, he’s not technically an actual ..

Ezra: Yes he is! Anyone that supports him is a racist and a bigot!

Enrico: Ezra, we need to…

Ezra: Pietro here was saying he’s some kind of worker’s saint ! I can’t be expected to work with racists like that. Kick him out !

Enrico: Well, this is an open air cafe, Ezra. Anyway I don’t think thats fair. Pietro was just saying that in terms of whether he’s technically a Nazi, it is perhaps worth distinguishing Italian Fascism and German National Socia..

Ezra: Mussolini actually said “a good beating did not hurt anyone.” that’s totally unacceptable !

Enrico: Yes we all know that. But we’re trying to figure out how we can win this next election.

Ezra: He’s a bully and an outrage. It is outrageous that anyone supports him at all.

Enrico: Absolutely. But that is exactly why we need to understand how he managed to get so much support and find a way to undermine that support.

Ezra: They are all racists and bigots !

Enrico: But is it just as simple as that? He has gained support amongst workers through his promises of an eight hour workday and support amongst the bosses through his support of reduced taxes.

Ezra: These are all lies !

Enrico: Yes, of course they are lies, but we need to find a way to counter those lies with something solid.

Ezra: Anyone that supports him is, literally, a fascist !

Enrico: But there are reasons they support him. We need to understand them better so we can find a way to appeal to them.

(Not that anybody would use this terminology in 1923, but.. )

Ezra: I find it personally offensive that everyone here wants to compromise with a dictator and a racist. I don’t feel safe even here amongst people who should be my colleagues. You have no idea the kind of day to day nightmare we have to face out on the streets.

Pietro: I never said I wanted to compromise, but we need to understand the enemy we are trying to trying to defeat..

Ezra: But he’s a fascist!