• 4am@lemmy.zip
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    2 hours ago

    useless eaters

    Isn’t this a fucking Nazi trope for disabled people and the “lazy”?

    • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
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      33 minutes ago

      It is, but it’s also an image that has very frequently been used to depict billionaires / the aristocracy / royalty, etc. See Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the Eaters from Ian Banks’ Consider Phlebas, Denethor in Return of the King (movie version), Baron Harkonnen in Dune, Dorian Grey, Parasite, Snow Piercer… I mean that’s random stuff flying off the top of my head, you could easily come up with many, many more. Basically name a piece of even vaguely egalitarian art and you’ll probably find an image of conspicuous consumption tied to the wealthy and powerful somewhere in there.

      I think, contextually, it was clear what they were talking about, and I don’t think that conspicuous consumption can in any way be deemed a purely fascist imagery.

      You can also argue that “parasites” has been used to refer to the poor and disabled, but I don’t think that should stop people from using it as a label for billionaires.