Current Examples of Fascism Essay

Even though there aren’t any more fascist countries in the world, there are many groups or organizations that have still been running using fascist ideologies. The KKK, or the Ku Klux Klan, is a racist, anti-Semitic movement with a commitment to extreme violence to achieve its goals of racial segregation and white supremacy. Of all the types of right-wing hate groups that exist in the United States, the Klan remains the one with the greatest number of national and local organizations around the country. More than 40 different Klan groups exist, many having multiple chapters, or â€Å"klaverns,† including a few that boast a presence in a large number of states. There are over a hundred different Klan chapters around the country, with a combined strength of members and associates that may total around 5,000. After a period of relative quiet, Ku Klux Klan activity has spiked noticeably upwards in 2006, as Klan groups have attempted to exploit fears in America over gay marr iage, perceived â€Å"assaults† on Christianity, crime and especially immigration. The Ku Klux Klan first emerged following the Civil War as America’s first true terrorist group. Since its inception, the Ku Klux Klan has seen several cycles of growth and collapse, and in some of these cycles the Klan has been more extreme than in others. In all of its incarnations, however, the Klan has maintained its dual heritage of hate and violence. At first, the Ku Klux Klan focused its anger and violence on African-Americans, on white Americans who stood up for them, and against the federal government which supported their rights. Subsequent incarnations of the Klan, which typically emerged in times of rapid social change, added more categories to its enemies list, including Jews, Catholics (less so after the 1970s), homosexuals, and different groups of immigrants. In most of these cases, these perceived enemies were minority groups that came into direct economic competition with the lower- and working-class whites that formed the core constituency of the Klan in most of its incarnations. Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements. Neo-Nazism borrows elements from Nazi doctrine, including militant nationalism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and antisemitism. Holocaust denial is a common feature, as is incorporation of Nazi symbols and admiration of Adolf Hitler. It is related to the white nationalist and white power skinhead movements in many countries. Neo-Nazi activity appears to be a global phenomenon, with organized representation in many countries, as well as international networks. Some European and Latin American countries have laws prohibiting the expression of pro-Nazi, racist, anti-Semitic or anti-gay views. Many Nazi-related symbols are banned in European countries in an effort to curtail neo-Nazism. Countries that have the neo-nazism parties are mostly European countries, but the ones listed were 1 Europe.