Really sharp analysis. The distance factor you mention (historical, geographic, ethnic) explains alot about why Nazi nostalgia surfaces where it does. Spent some time in grad school looking at how symbols get repurposed across cultures and teh Hitler-as-alter-Muslim concept fits perfectly. When Western moral order becomes the target, Hitler becomes a weapon rather than history, which is disturbing but makes sense.
A lot of normies or olds understandably see "Hitler was cool" as claiming identity with neo-Nazis and Faurissons, and it was partly that way for younger 4chan-era Fuentes but in general the thrust of it has been totemic and in that sense very similar to the Arab world's Hitlerism as you point out. He also knows this misunderstanding is to his benefit in terms of both provocation and his ability to somewhat undercut the expectations of extremism people have while still being extremist. Good find on the Weil article she really got it right.
It's also just that for some people it's cool to be different and edgy. The actual content of the cult is not that important as long as it sets you apart from the mass of others who you might perceive as malignant or hostile or just boring.
Really sharp analysis. The distance factor you mention (historical, geographic, ethnic) explains alot about why Nazi nostalgia surfaces where it does. Spent some time in grad school looking at how symbols get repurposed across cultures and teh Hitler-as-alter-Muslim concept fits perfectly. When Western moral order becomes the target, Hitler becomes a weapon rather than history, which is disturbing but makes sense.
A lot of normies or olds understandably see "Hitler was cool" as claiming identity with neo-Nazis and Faurissons, and it was partly that way for younger 4chan-era Fuentes but in general the thrust of it has been totemic and in that sense very similar to the Arab world's Hitlerism as you point out. He also knows this misunderstanding is to his benefit in terms of both provocation and his ability to somewhat undercut the expectations of extremism people have while still being extremist. Good find on the Weil article she really got it right.
It's also just that for some people it's cool to be different and edgy. The actual content of the cult is not that important as long as it sets you apart from the mass of others who you might perceive as malignant or hostile or just boring.
"People aren’t coincidentally attracted to social taboos. The outsideness of a fetish is the source of its power." (https://substack.com/inbox/post/182894291)