A Gang Fascism

During our last time in class we outlined the characteristic features of a gang from the musical Westside Story. It really stuck out to me that every single observation that we wrote on the board gravitated towards a single concept – fascism – a term I don’t easily throw around. Fascism is an ideology progressed and developed by the famous prime minister of Italy, Benito Mussolini, in the 1930s before he would be shot and hung from meat hooks in the middle of a town square in the last years of WWII. Fascism boasts a wholly male-dominated leadership and it is interesting to note that it is the opposite of socialism. Women are secondary class citizens in fascism; they may be respected but are painted as essentially weaker opposed to the masculine authority and power that rules all. The Jets do not allow for women to join their ranks or interfere with their decisions - like the character Anybody - which is what we called a “homosocial” type of organization. Fascism emphasizes race and nation above everything else, something clear in the fact that the Jets and Sharks are ethnically opposed gangs. What is most interesting is that fascism denies long spans of peace and that constant destruction and warfare is what gives society a sense of renewal and regenerates progress. There must be constant conflict. Loyalty to the clan and leader is essential, since there is always a leader, a hero of the state, who is supposed to embody the spirit and head the ideal community. The similarities can go on and on but the fact remains that they are two gangs who were fighting for one street when a whole city sprawled behind them.

Lyons, Matthew N. “What is Fascism? Some General Ideological Features.” 1995. http://www.publiceye.org/eyes/whatfasc.html.

Halsall, Paul. “Modern History Sourcebook:
Benito Mussolini: What is Fascism, 1932.” 1997. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.html.