Really? !roughromanmemes@piefed.social seems to be mostly made of history nerds posting mostly stuff like this.

I'm definitely progressive in the vast majority of my political leanings and still enjoy memes about historical happenings from a modern perspective

Mythologized history to serve their racist worldview:

Right, ancient Greece and Rome were actually quite diverse and the concept of “whiteness” didn’t have much meaning thousands of years ago. Race, as we know it, is a fairly recent category. But the far-right relies on this construct of Western civilization, which for them means white civilization and culture. So they craft a narrative that begins with Greece and Rome and then continues into the medieval period up through the emergence of modern Europe.

That explains why they hate my reaction to seeing a cybertruck. I hold my thumb out horizontally, until I know I have their attention. I then rotate it to a thumbs down. The sheer amount of road rage, at having had ancient roman iconography used against them, warms the cold dead cockles of my heart.

Paging @PugJesus

Unfortunately this makes sense - the original Italian and German fascists were also obsessed with it.

This is likely one of those cases of X is Y but not all Y are X. Roman history memes can be amusing for anyone.

Being obsessed with Roman and/or WWII history is a red flag, but not a conclusive indicator (unless the obsession with WWII involves praising Nazis).

They might be obsessed with them but they make really shitty ones that are factually inaccurate most of the time.

But just because somebody enjoys history is not a warning sign or red flag. You have to study history to learn political trends and how the world operates.

staning Rome has always been a fash tradition.

I thought almost everyone had a mild obsession with Romans

Why do you think those losers always side with the Legion in Fallout New Vegas?

Always was curious what the deal with the alarming amount of Roman and military memes that pop up.

That shit is just such a bizarre fetish of some people.

It’s the aesthetization of politics, it serves as a recruitment tool for fascist ideology. They present art and symbols (memes) designed to evoke appealing emotions or ideas. Through repetition, the emotions and ideas associated with these symbols become fused with the individual’s identity. The fascist ideology, introduced and linked to these symbols, is more readily accepted because the individual already holds a positive association with the original symbols. It’s basically classic conditioning to transform people into fascists.

Their kindred love of lead poisoning

This is an interesting prompt. I am fascinated by ancient Rome, both the memes and serious history, and I know for sure that I'm not a member of the alt-right (you might not believe me but that's irrelevant to my analysis of myself). So why do I find Rome so interesting?

Part of the reason is due to the fact that Rome was powerful. I suppose that I share this with the alt-right but I don't think that it is an inherently alt-right way of thinking. Ideologies, forms of government, and ways of organizing society must be able to compete in terms of raw power. Ancient Rome was, in these terms, exceptionally successful. It isn't sufficient for my modern-day values to be in accordance with my moral sense, which is very different from the moral sense of an ancient Roman. My values must also lead to, or at least be consistent with, a society that is able to exert more power (military, economic, and cultural) than other societies organized along different values. Looking at Rome is a way to see what that can look like.

With that said, the western world, organized largely in accord with liberal values which I share, has been not just the best place to live in all of human history but also the most powerful in this sense. I think the alt-right, to the extent that they prefer other values (like ancient Roman ones), are largely fools: the west in general and the USA in particular are far stronger than Rome ever was. This ties into the second part of the reason Rome is interesting: the Republic ended not at a time when it was under threat from external enemies (it was, in many ways, at its strongest when it was the most threatened) but rather at the height of its wealth and power - most of what we think of as the "Empire" was already conquered by then. Then the Empire declined and fell largely because of infighting (although the full explanation for the collapse is a lot more complicated and, frankly, beyond my level of historical expertise). Romans were each other's worst enemies. And when the Empire fell, it fell far. Things got a lot worse, not just for the Roman elite but for almost everyone, rich and poor. We're a lot higher up than they ever were so we have a lot further to fall, and yet a lot of people are willing to risk the integrity of our society due to a short-sighted view of history that fails to appreciate how good we do, in fact, have it. The alt-right is among these foolish people - I am lower-case-c conservative because I oppose making large, sudden changes, but the alt-right is not conservative in this sense.

Then the final part of the reason is that Rome is both alien and familiar - Roman ideas and aesthetics were deliberately preserved and spread, so that they are familiar to me in the modern day. Other ancient empires like China are also a source of useful lessons, and I'm sure they're fascinating to people who know enough to appreciate them, but to me they are far more alien and so I don't. If I were a professional historian, that wouldn't be an excuse, but I'm not so I prefer to read and think about Rome.

Are orgies and homo sex in style again?