Fascism wouldn’t exist without young men promoting and spreading this far-right ideology. Today’s guest, Craig Johnson, tackles how to intervene before young men get swept up in the contemporary fascist movement. He joins guest host Christina Lieffring today to discuss his new book, How to Talk to Your Son about Fascism. 

Though people argue about the definition of fascism all the time, Johnson says that there are two major differences between fascism and mainstream conservatism: fascists don’t play by the rules and they don’t care about law or established norms. They also think that violence is good. While many political movements may find violence necessary at times, fascists go farther and believe that violence is good for the world. 

Johnson also says that fascism’s relationship to masculinity differentiates it from other political movements. Instead of being rooted in a text or specific ideology, fascists care about power, speed, dominance. They promote the falsehood that there are “alpha” and “beta” males, those who are natural born leaders and followers. And fascist leaders target young men because they need young men to do their dirty work, which includes perpetrating violence. They’ve gotten very good at using the internet as a tool to do this. 

To stop young men from succumbing to fascist messaging, Johnson says we have to break the silence and inoculate young men against fascism. This means talking about what fascism is and what it looks like, much like a parent or caretaker would talk to their kids about sex or drugs. It also means modeling how to treat women, nonbinary folks, and people of color. The greatest tool for addressing fascism with those you know and love is empathy because fascists are unprepared for empathy. 

Craig A. Johnson is an independent journalist and an academic who hosts the podcast Fifteen Minutes of Fascism.

Featured image of the cover of How to Talk to Your Son about Fascism.

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