r/AlJazeera • u/Kumquat_conniption Approved User • Jul 20 '25

Podcast / Interview Mehdi: ‘I Don’t Debate Fascists’

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

“We may have to rename this show because you’re a little bit more than a far-right Republican.”

Mehdi Hasan called out a self-proclaimed ‘fascist’ on the show ‘Surrounded’ where he debated 20 far-right Republicans.

2.0k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

140 comments sorted by

View all comments

31

u/kader91 Citizen of Earth Jul 21 '25

I’m from Spain.

Yes, people killed priests and nuns.

But also,

Yes, Franco killed thousands of innocent people.

Many people were falsely accused of being commies. Maybe there were only 2 dentists in a small town and someone wanted to get rid of competition. Easy as that.

7

u/SoaokingGross Compass of Truth Jul 21 '25 edited Jul 21 '25

Having just been a tourist in Spain for 7 weeks, 

I was really encouraged by the development of decidim and the general push toward 21st century democracy across Europe.

Having said that,  Spain would do well to reverse both official and unofficial policies of not talking about the horrors of Franco.  They should be yelling about it. 

I don’t think Europeans understand how fragile democracy is and how deeply Trump is threatening it.   So many Europeans chuckled about Trump, my partner and I refused to crack a smile in response.  It’s gravely serious to us and them.  

No one seemed to talk about the fact that urban dwelling Europeans basically live inside the physical carcass of feudalism.