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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes
@carantes.bsky.social
75 followers 7 following 42 posts
Celtic AntiRacist ANTifascist Egalitarian Society. Fighting fascism and fostering inclusivity in Celtic Studies. Newsletter at [email protected] Logo by Forfeda
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 28d
Our current obsession: Umberto Eco's 'Ur-Fascism'. In 1995, 50 years after the liberation of his native Italy, Eco—medievalist, philosopher, and a fascinating man—published this tract which presents 14 ways to spot a fascist. Now, 30 years later, we will discuss his points in the coming days:
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www.nybooks.com
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 9d
Whether you come to Ireland in the future or already call it home, know that you are welcome here and there is support for you. Míle buíochas to United Against Racism Ireland and Le Chéile for organising the march, speakers, and performers!
unitedagainstracismireland.com
lecheilednd.com
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 9d
Comrades from across unions and orgs came together this past Saturday for the Feck Fascism Carnival in Dublin. It was great to see so many marching and gathering together to visibly and vocally oppose racism, fascism, transphobia, misogyny, ableism, and all systems of oppression!
A crowd is gathered in front of a stage with performers waiting on the sides while a speaker in the centre talks into a microphone. People in the crowd hold flags and banners, such as the Irish tricolour, the Ukrainian flag, a banner that reads 'United Against Racism', and a sign that reads 'Blame the Government, not Migrants'. Clouds dominate the background behind the Dublin skyline. A crowd is gathered holding signs and flags, including the Palestinian flag, Ukrainian flag, the SIPTU flag, and a sign that reads 'Equality for All, Naturalization for Ukrainians'. A bridge is above the crowd with large rainclouds in the background. The Palestinian and Progress Pride flags are billowing in the air in front of a grey stone building. All that can be seen of the name of the building is 'R theatre'. A red umbrella is seen below the Progress Pride flag, and a redbrick building in the background. A small dog, perhaps a terrier-corgi mix, black body with reddish-brown legs and face, throws his head back. He is standing on road asphalt, humans standing in a crowd behind him, their backs to him. His mouth is open, eyes partially closed, clearly mid-bark. One may describe his appearance as angry.
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 16d
🔔☎️ RING RING ☎️🔔
Hello?
…
Slow down, what's that?
…
Oh, a new Carantes newsletter has been posted and sent out?
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And you can access it on our website linked below? Well now that's a reason to be excited!
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Bye, love you too!

carantes.org/2025/09/22/s...
September 2025 newsletter
Dear friends, We hope this finds you well. September is always an exciting month for us, not only because it marks the beginning of a new academic term, but because Carantes was founded in Septembe…
carantes.org
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 21d
It's the 3 year anniversary of Carantes! 'But Cassandra', you say, 'you're so smart and so pretty and so funny, but what IS Carantes??' Well, dear reader, firstly, thank you I really needed that, and secondly, allow me to explain:

#celtic #antiracist #antifascist #medieval #academia
Carantes formed in 2022 after a small group of us met at a Celtic Studies summer school. During our time there, we discussed something troubling: far-right appropriation of Celtic material, dubiously used to ‘justify’ their awful views. We were all postgrads or independent scholars, so we felt that our main goal ought to be to inoculate the field against the far-right and fascists. In doing so, we set out both to educate those in Celtic Studies about ways fascists appropriate material, and also to educate the public about Celtic Studies to make it more difficult for fascists to twist facts to suit their narratives. We chose our name from the Proto-Celtic word *karant(e)s, which means ‘friend(s)’; descendants of this word survive in all Celtic languages. It stands for Celtic AntiRacist ANTifascist Egalitarian Society. We wanted to highlight our desire to build a community where we all support one another. Our logo (by the wonderful Forfeda on tumblr) is a hound and raven, inspired by Ultimate La Tène style; the two animals feature in stories told by Celtic peoples, and typically they work together. About a year after we formed, we went public. Since then, we have sponsored talks at conferences; put out (mostly) monthly newsletters with suggested readings; held quarterly public meetings; and hosted an active Discord channel where people can ask questions, discuss topics, and have a sense of community. We are non-hierarchical by nature and encourage others to take on new ventures under our banner, and the community can help where possible. This anniversary post was meant to be a celebration (which it still is), but it is also a plea, a warning, a cry into the ether. Over the last three years the world has grown increasingly fascistic and hostile toward most of us. Organisations like Turning Point USA (ew) create blacklists of lecturers who they suspect of being left-leaning, harassing institutions and encouraging them to fire staff who oppose fascism. The FCC is strong-arming networks to cancel shows that critique the regime. The UK’s Supreme Court bowed to the pressure of TERFs and further institutionalised transphobia, not to mention the censorship of those protesting human-rights violations. And now, the US President is saying he will designate anti-fascism as a terrorist organisation (ignoring the fact that it is an ideology, not an organisation, but what are facts really worth these days?). In leading up to this post, we made a thread discussing Umberto Eco’s piece Ur-Fascism (admittedly, the thread is unwieldy, that’s on me). The points he makes in it, about how to spot fascists, couldn’t be more timely. Read that piece again. Reread it. Call out fascism where you see it. It’s hard, trust me I know, but don’t become complacent. This state of affairs is unacceptable. Support people of colour, trans people, immigrants, women, queer people, persons with disabilities, refugees. Reject billionaires’ generative AI, flex your own creativity: make and think critically for yourself. We are in this together. And if you aren’t anti-fascist, then what are you? Lots of love, your friends at Carantes
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 23d
*Ur-Fascism Finale*
The similarities between what Eco described and what we see now are far too many to list in this format, but we hope that seeing it all articulated gives you new ways of confronting fascism as it abounds today. Fascism cannot continue to grow unchecked. You are not alone.
(24/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 23d
*Ur-Fascism Conclusion*
Eco describes his feelings after learning how Mussolini had fallen. He warns us that Ur-Fascism is still around us. It may not look and sound exactly how it used to, but: 'Our duty is to uncover it and to point our finger at any of its new instances'.
(23/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 23d
*Ur-Fascism Point 14*
'Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak.' Fascists seek to deprive the population of rich vocabularies so that they are less able to critically think and talk about what is going on around them. Knowing how to structure arguments is suppressed by fascists.
(22/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 23d
*Ur-Fascism Point 13*
'Ur-Fascism is based upon a selective populism, a qualitative populism…' Individuals per se have no rights under fascism: the Leader directs the People, telling them what their Common Will is. Being 'The People' is performative, it is fiction; they do what they're told.
(21/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 24d
*Ur-Fascism Points 9–12*
The necessary result of the imaginary plot invented by fascists is constant war in which everyone needs to be a hero who faces and brings death. This war can't end under fascism, which requires vilification of 'weak' others. Fascism only survives on hate and violence.
(20/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 24d
*Ur-Fascism Point 12*
'…permanent war and heroism are difficult…, the Ur-Fascist transfers his will to power sexual matters.' Ideal for fascists is violent heteronormativity; deviations like queerness are condemned. Weapons become phallic substitutes for lack of true control over others' sex.
(19/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 24d
*Ur-Fascism Point 11*
'In such a perspective everybody is educated to become a hero.' Being a hero is expected of everyone in fascism. For them, being a hero is tied to death, creating an impatience to die, which usually results in fascists ending lives of others as well.
(18/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 24d
*Ur-Fascism Point 10*
'Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology…[which] cruelly implies contempt for the weak.' There can be no higher class without a lower class, and fascists say lower classes must be ruled. Fascist leaders despise their underlings, reinforcing mass elitism.
(17/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 24d
*Ur-Fascism Point 9*
'For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.' Fascists believe in 'permanent warfare' against their 'enemies'. There can be no peace under fascism as peace is contradictory to this martial struggle.
(16/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 24d
*4 days later edit that may mess up the thread*: I hadn't realised the link I gave was only free because it automatically used my university login! Here is a link to a truly free version of Eco's piece:
theanarchistlibrary.org/library/umbe...
Ur-Fascism
Umberto Eco Ur-Fascism June 22, 1995
theanarchistlibrary.org
carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 25d
*Ur-Fascism Points 4–8*
Note how fascists can't truly tolerate reasoned critiques. They say you must listen to them as they instil fear of the other into you. They invent a plot, necessarily racist, telling you to fear outsiders, and to fear those already in the country who are 'different'.
(15/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 25d
*Ur-Fascism Point 8*
'The followers must feel humiliated by the…force of their enemies…However, the followers must be convinced that they can overwhelm the enemies.' Fascism says the enemy is too strong AND too weak. Fascists lose because they fundamentally can't accurately assess enemies.
(14/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 25d
*Ur-Fascism Point 7*
'To people who feel deprived of a clear social identity, Ur-Fascism says that their only privilege is…to be born in the same country.' Nationalism makes fascists obsessed with a (fake) plot: being besieged. They say this 'threat' comes from the outside AND the inside.
(13/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 25d
*Ur-Fascism Point 6*
'Ur-Fascism derives from individual or social frustration.' This usually means an 'appeal to a frustrated middle class'. The middle class experiences class hardships, real and imagined, that fascists pretend to offer solutions to. Solutions which, invariably, are violence.
(12/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 25d
*Ur-Fascism Point 5*
'Besides, disagreement is a sign of diversity.' Fascists seek agreement by preying on people's fear of difference. This is the first step by fascists, to make people afraid of outsiders by equating them to intruders. 'Thus, Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.'
(11/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 25d
*Ur-Fascism Point 4*
'No syncretistic faith can withstand analytical criticism.' Syncretism, the combo of different and contradictory forms of belief in point 1, can't tolerate critiques as this requires disagreeing to improve knowledge. 'For Ur-Fascism, disagreement is treason.'
(10/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 26d
*Ur-Fascism Points 1–3*
What is striking, to us at least, is how true these points ring today. Parallels abound and it is helpful, if terrifying, to see it written down 30 years ago about events from over 50 years prior. These may be a lot to take in, so that's all for now, till tomorrow!
(9/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 26d
*Ur-Fascism Point 3*
'Irrationalism also depends on the cult of action for action's sake.' 'Thinking is a form of emasculation.' Fascists say critiques of culture by the intellectual world are suspect; action and feeling are more important than reason. To them, universities must be mistrusted.
(8/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 26d
*Ur-Fascism Point 2*
'Traditionalism implies the rejection of modernism.' Fascists see the Age of Reason as the start of the evils in the world and reject all that comes with it. This includes rationalism, making fascism necessarily irrational. They tolerate and celebrate contradictions.
(7/)
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carantes.bsky.social
Carantes @carantes.bsky.social · 26d
*Ur-Fascism Point 1*
'The first feature of Ur-Fascism is the cult of tradition.' Fascists prioritise and fetishise (their understanding of) the past, which is hidden in obscure texts. These interpretations must tolerate contradictions; and, the fascists say, only they can interpret it!
(6/)
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Reposted by Carantes
rhyskamjones.bsky.social
Rhys Kaminski-Jones @rhyskamjones.bsky.social · 28d
With @carantes.bsky.social I've organised a panel at the @yganolfangeltaidd.bsky.social 40th Anniversary conference, on Celtic Studies and the Contemporary Far-Right.

Papers on discourse analysis of far-right Celticism, reading transphobia in medieval Welsh poetry, and Celtic-American fascism.
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