this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2024
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after St. Louis police unions instructed officers to publicly display The Punisher's insignia (the mark of a lawless, fascist murderer) the comic book community was quick to point out the stupidity, and the frankly horrifying message sent by supposed peace officers endorsing a maniac. So it's a good thing The Punisher personally confirms he hates cops who see him as a friend… making every cop who "wears his mark" or calls themselves a "fan" look like shameful fool in the process.

-- Andrew Dyce, The Punisher Confirms: He HATES Cops Who Support Him

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[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 148 points 9 months ago

If fascists could read they'd be very upset

[–] thecrimsonchin8@lemmy.world 108 points 9 months ago (2 children)

They like him because they want to LARP as a reckless, vengeance seeking gunslinger who eliminates anyone who they feel has wronged them or who is "wrong". As in so many other circumstances, they've missed the point and the intended message.

[–] Stern@lemmy.world 53 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The ol' Walter White/Rick Sanchez/Joker/Patrick Batemen "hes literally me fr fr" but for adult men doing an actual job. It'd be cringey if they weren't in a position of authority.

[–] thecrimsonchin8@lemmy.world 27 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Still pretty cringey tbh. The fact that there's so many people (mostly white men) who run around fantasizing about gunning down people they disagree with is sad, and terrifying. It's a whole subculture of violence obsessed gun nuts with a victim complex and low self esteem.

[–] mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 6 points 9 months ago

It is important to remember that even the actual brownshirts were a bunch of fucking dorks.

[–] kameecoding@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

There was a whole bunch of lenmings salivating when someone shot a youtube prankster for getting in his face, pathetic as fuck

[–] HiddenLayer5@lemmy.ml 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Most cops in North America barely even passed high school, you think they'd pick up on literary concepts like an anti-hero or even a morally gray character? They see protagonist, they probably automatically assume they're unambiguously the good guy for every story.

[–] BestBouclettes@jlai.lu 62 points 9 months ago (4 children)

The punisher is a murdering lawless maniac but I don't think he's a fascist, is he?

[–] Stern@lemmy.world 46 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Punisher 2099 was fascist (Wouldn't kill cops, and became part of Doom 2099's regime when he took over America.) but Frank Castle Punisher (A.k.a. the one we know.)? Pretty much equal opportunity murderer of criminals and baddies.

[–] MotoAsh@lemmy.world 17 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I don't think that makes him fascist, just a broken person with twisted morals attempting to do good (in his mind). IIRC, he makes no attempt to push his morals beyond himself.

In fact, doesn't he specifically tell people not to be like him?? That's very much NOT fascie behavior.

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee 13 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Idk, a lot of fascist ideology revolves around a single person being able to save society via strength and commitment. Instead of society being able to enact meaningful changes through the proper means, we need someone who can cut through the bureaucracy and just take out the "bad guys".

Unfortunately a lot of western writing reinforces the belief that individual greatness can overcome even the most difficult situations. This isn't saying that all western authors are fascist, rather that most of the stories we tell require a first person perspective for us to resonate with it.

This is why the most popular propaganda films in Nazi Germany weren't films like triumph of the will, but instead were films like The Lives of a Bengal Lancer and Gabriel Over the Whitehouse.

[–] MotoAsh@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I mean, isn't that literally why he tells people to not be like him?

I think he was created to point at that exact issue.

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee 7 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I think it highlights the difficulty of attempting to profit from attempting to satire fascism. The people who understand nuance aren't typically the crowd that needs to be reminded that fascism is bad, and the people who do need that reminder are so often selectively deaf to nuance that conflict with their ideology.

Punisher may have started as satire on fascism, but over the years there are going to be authors who are going to asses the importance of that aspect of the character differently. Some are going to take the original message to heart and make it the centerpiece of the story, others are just going to use it as a set piece to get to the vengeance and violence.

Over time the character turns from the cautionary tale of an antihero, to a piece of intellectual property used to sell stickers to chuds. Unfortunately the author has very little control of how people interpret their work.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern 4 points 9 months ago

See the entire collection of Warhammer lore.

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[–] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 23 points 9 months ago (2 children)

A fascist is someone who supports a single strong leader with total control of the nation. 'Dictator' was an actual position in the Roman Republic; the people could vote to give one man absolute power for a period of time. Makes sense if you're dealing with a natural disaster or invasion and don't have time to go through the usual channels. Fascism became popular in the chaos of the post WW1 era. Things were changing rapidly, and conservatives wanted to rein in the 'undesirables.' Ironically, the Communist Russian Revolution was a huge spur to the creation of numerous fascist parties across Europe.

Frank Castle, the Punisher, is not a fascist. He isn't interested in taking power for himself, and doesn't want a dictator. He often speaks of having the greatest respect for Captain America, the guy who always chooses the side of liberty and fair play. Frank knows that he's a criminal and a murderer. He just doesn't care. IMHO if he and the Joker were both locked up and unable to kill each other, the two would get along fine.

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[–] dmention7@lemm.ee 17 points 9 months ago

I don't really see how he could be construed as one, other than the kneejerk "fascism is when bad things".

The whole point is that he's not like cops.

[–] Five@slrpnk.net 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

How fascist he is depends on who is writing him. His symbol is literally a stylized Nazi totenkopf, and while he has never voiced support for totalitarian leaders, his solution to crime - escalating the violence - is consistent with fascist ideology.

[–] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 19 points 9 months ago

People used skulls as a symbol of death long before the Nazis.

[–] Tedrow@lemmy.world 14 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Associating his symbol with that is a huge stretch.

[–] Five@slrpnk.net 12 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Stretch? Gerry Conway, the original author, planned the character to use the totenkopf, and the artist re-worked the symbol.

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[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 43 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Last time I went through US customs the agent checking me had his backpack behind him with a punisher patch (plus a thin blue line one, because of course he did). Gotta use true fashy believers to check all them damn immigrants and all that...

[–] doingless@lemmy.world 39 points 9 months ago

Thin blue line is a gang symbol. We need to normalize asking people with thin blue line bullshit why they're flying gang symbols.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 38 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The way they cropped it, they leave out the best part. Here's the full interaction. 4 pages from Punisher #13:

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[–] WaxedWookie@lemmy.world 34 points 9 months ago (3 children)

He's definitely a lawless murderer, and the types of cops that display his insignia certainly seem to lean fascist, but what makes the Punisher fascist?

[–] IvanOverdrive@lemm.ee 14 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I think in this case "fascist" means "anything I don't like." You know, like "socialism".

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[–] CurlyWurlies4All@slrpnk.net 10 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Believes might makes right? But I read the headline here that he's a fascist-murderer not a Fascist who is a murderer

[–] pyromaster55@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Yeah, a murderer who targets fascists is how i read it.

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[–] cobysev@lemmy.world 23 points 9 months ago

Here's the full comic scene so you don't need to skim through the whole article to get the bits and pieces of it.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 21 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (3 children)

I saw a Don't Tread on Me sticker right next to a Thin Blue Line sticker the other day (on the back of a giant fuck-off Ford truck, of course) and was like "that dude needs to make up his fuckin' mind."

[–] scottywh@lemmy.world 14 points 9 months ago

"Tread harder, daddy!" seems more like it

[–] millie@slrpnk.net 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I mean, to me the meaning of that juxtaposition is pretty clear.

The Gadsden flag highlights individual primacy, but the thin blue line sticker makes it clear that it's his individual primacy that he's concerned with. For an anti-authoritarian evoking that symbolism, the 'me' refers to the general autonomy of humanity or at least Americans, but in this case it probably literally refers to that specific individual's autonomy or to the autonomy of the United States as a country in a nationalistic sense.

He's basically just representing his subculture and thumping his chest about how nobody better tell him what to do or get in his way, while also showing that he's affiliated with a big gang. Whether he's aware of the racist speech the symbol is referencing or the symbol's deeper meaning is kind of up in the air, but it still probably wouldn't produce much conflict with his sense of nationalist autonomy in an authoritarian context regardless.

Honestly, it's that context that I think makes the association with Punisher inevitable. Whether the character supports the current gang in charge or not, he clearly believes in an authoritarian model of crime and punishment; that's the lens he views the world through and the impetus for his actions. If it's satire, it certainly doesn't read that way. Though, to be fair, the show is probably a lot more egregious in that regard than the comic (while also likely being more widely consumed).

Frank Castle supports authoritarian measures so much that he goes beyond what the legal system allows for. He literally names himself after an action designed to reinforce authoritarian hierarchy. Sounds pretty on the nose to me.

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[–] Varyk@sh.itjust.works 15 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (10 children)

Is he fascist?

I don't read a lot of punisher comics.

To be perfectly clear about my experience with this character, I have watched the thomas jane punisher movie, which is a straight up vengeance movie.

But I never got the impression the punisher was fascist.

He doesn't seem like a pro-dictatorship kind of guy.

Is he, in the comics?

[–] JustUseMint@lemmy.world 18 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Did one of us misread? Title says fascist murderer like I took it as he kills them.

[–] Irishred88@lemmy.world 21 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Grammar is funny that way it could be interpreted your way or it could be interpreted as "fascist who murders"

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[–] Varyk@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I would guess you misread that, it seems like a grammatically unlikely interpretation given the context.

In the article, the phrase is describing the punisher in light of the police worship of a " lawless, fascist murderer", so I would expect both of those adjectives to be referring to the punisher.

And I don't think the punisher is known for killing fascists either, although I'm willing to defer to someone who has read any of the comics.

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago (3 children)

No he's not. The point is that cops wearing his symbol are fucking idiots. The punisher is a lawless vigilante who hates cops. Cops - an organization created to enforce laws - have no business wearing the symbol of a lawless vigilante, and they're stupid idiots for wearing the symbol of one that hates their whole organization.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern 6 points 9 months ago

He doesn't hate cops. He fully buys the thin blue line bullcrap for "the good ones."

He hates cops that would try to do what he does.

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[–] kameecoding@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Well I think the issue is that you equate fascism with pro dictatorship stuff, people being seen as exceptional and above the law and shouldn't be questioned are part of fascism, look at the adoration Trump gets despite his crimes, look how ready they are to excuse it and look at him like a savior that will fix it all, does that not feel similar to how superheroes are portrayed?

https://youtu.be/xLUvR8zKbh0?si=H-cHenS9AfuXbJiW

[–] Varyk@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 months ago (18 children)

I am using the definition of fascism, yes, to point out that the punisher does not fit that definition.

Your connection between Trump and the punisher is untenable; Trump is an immature wannabe dictator starving for attention living in a self-created world of illusions, deliberately and vocally ignoring the practical realities around him, and paying others to keep him in power as long as possible.

The punisher is a solo vigilante quietly skulking around in the shadows whose main purpose is revenge for his family with no interest in becoming a leader or even a part of society. He takes matters into his own hands, literally.

The video you posted has a pretty strong "i'm 14 and this is deep" vibe, it's a narrow conclusion-driven critique of extremely limited facets of a few pg-13 movie characters.

Superman was created by two Jewish teens who eventually used the hero to tell stories about fighting specifically fascism, and real world terrors like mine collapses.

None of those heroes want to be a leader, they all have special hideaway places that they self-inter themselves so that they won't become some sort of leader that they know they shouldn't be.

The video isn't a valid critique of any of those heroes. Culturally insensitive American movies making Americans look good or special as the heroes isn't exactly a new thing or particular to superheroes. Brendan Fraser did it in the mummy. Most movies with a hero from any country do that.

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[–] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 13 points 9 months ago

Cops are some of the biggest fan boys out there. The movie 'The French Connection*' inspired them to wear Popeye's hat and ankle holster. Magnum PI inspired them to grow mustaches. The TV show Hill Street Blues got them wearing turtlenecks.

*If you haven't seen it, watch 'The French Connection.' Great New York locations, Oscar winning actors, and one of the best car chases ever filmed.

[–] slumlordthanatos@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The Punisher is a monster whose only redeeming feature is that he preys on those worse than him.

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[–] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 10 points 9 months ago

Co-opting stuff isn’t about understanding.

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