Yes, It's Fascism

ICE Killings and Alleged Fascist Policing

• Many see recent ICE shootings as extrajudicial executions: unarmed or non-threatening people killed, then instantly branded “terrorists” by the administration.
• Commenters note ICE’s unusually high funding, large signing bonuses, recruitment from prisons, and a culture of impunity (agents back at work immediately after killings) as key warning signs.
• Some explicitly compare ICE to Nazi brownshirts, slave catchers, and secret police; others stress the continuity with historic U.S. racism and counterinsurgency, rather than needing German analogies.

Are Trump and MAGA Fascist?

• Many argue the situation now clearly meets definitions of fascism (citing Eco’s “Ur-Fascism” and historians who checked all 14 boxes years ago).
• Others say the term was overused since 2016, causing “semantic satiation,” but concede current behavior fits classic fascist patterns.
• One view: the U.S. is a “hybrid state” — a fascist leader atop a still-liberal constitution — with open questions about whether full fascist takeover occurs.

Nature of ICE Agents and System Design

• Split views: some say agents are poorly trained, misled, and pushed into tense situations; others argue there is strong selection for people who enjoy violence and know they’ll be protected.
• Historical psychology experiments (Milgram, disputed Stanford Prison) are invoked to argue both that ordinary people can be made cruel and that abusive roles attract abusers.
• Many emphasize that the deeper culpability lies with leadership and legal structures granting de facto immunity, not just individual shooters.

Democracy, Voters, and the Future

• One line of discussion: “the people voted for this,” so critics must confront the possibility that democracy itself is producing authoritarian outcomes.
• Others counter that constitutional rights are not up for majority vote and that gerrymandering, disenfranchisement, and institutional capture distort “the people’s will.”
• Deep anxiety about 2028–2029: whether Trumpism becomes normalized post-Trump, whether future Republicans will push further, and whether Democrats are offering serious structural remedies.

Protest, Apathy, and Media/Platform Dynamics

• Some are shocked there aren’t mass nationwide protests; others note there are large protests, but conservative media portray ICE actions as justified and dismiss critics as suffering “TDS.”
• Several argue protests are even desired by the administration to justify escalation, martial law narratives, or further crackdowns.
• Meta-debate on Hacker News itself: users allege political flag brigading and “soft censorship” of anti-fascist content; moderators respond that they’re trying to keep HN from becoming all-politics and apply rules symmetrically, but acknowledge the tension and user frustration.

What To Do / Possible Responses

• Proposals range from massive investigations and Nuremberg-style trials, to electoral reform and accountability for collaborators, to more radical ideas like disenfranchising committed fascists.
• Others look to nonviolent resistance models (Gandhi, Mandela) and stress appealing to shared values, while some are pessimistic that persuasion can reach hardened supporters.