A Brief (Fascist) History Of 'I Don't Care'

Originally published at Overland

This article was sparked past times the jacket that Melania Trump wore equally she travelled to a detention army camp for migrant children, but my intent isn’t to fence that she or her staff chose that jacket inwards lodge to ship a coded message to the president’s far-right followers. It is, rather, to highlight some of the historical echoes of that phrase – ‘I don’t care’: echoes of which someone ought to take hold been aware, particularly inwards an direction that includes – to pose it mildly – several far-right sympathisers. And also to present that the attitude, the theatrical ‘not caring’, was an explicit grapheme trait of Fascism.

Which, at the really least, seems a troubling coincidence.

Fascism lay its roots inwards the crusade for Italy’s belatedly entry inwards the First World War, of which Mussolini was 1 of the leaders. It was at this fourth dimension that the phrase ‘me ne frego’ – which at the fourth dimension was nevertheless considered quite vulgar, along the lines of the English linguistic communication ‘I don’t order a fuck’ – was sung past times members of the special forcefulness known equally arditi (literally: ‘the daring ones’) who volunteered for the front, to signify that they didn’t tending if they should lose their lives.

The arditi were disbanded afterwards the war, but many of them volunteered inwards 1919 for an expedition led past times the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio to capture the metropolis of Fiume (Rijeka, inwards present-day Croatia) in addition to claim it for Italy during the vacuum created past times the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire. At the fourth dimension of this occupation, quondam arditi also supplied the backbone of the master Black Squads during the terror campaigns that began inwards 1919 in addition to culminated alongside the ‘March on Rome’ of 1922, which completed Fascism’s swift rising to power.

This lapel pivot worn past times an master fellow member of the Black Shirts was late sold on a website devoted to armed forces memorabilia. It is emblazoned alongside the words ‘Me ne frego’ underneath the symbol of the arditi in addition to the acronym FERT (which stands for the motto of the Royal Family). The seller calls it ‘bellissimo’.

‘Me ne frego’ was the championship of 1 of the well-nigh famous songs of the Fascist era. Its master version, dating unopen to 1920, hails D’Annunzio in addition to Mussolini equally the fathers of the fascist movement, recycling the old state of war vocal of the arditi equally the 3rd stanza.

Me ne frego    I don’t care
me ne frego    I don’t care
me ne frego è il nostro motto,    I don’t tending is our motto
me ne frego di morire    I don’t tending if I should die
per la santa libertà!…    For our sacred freedom! …

Later versions removed mentions of D’Annunzio, who faded fairly rapidly into the background. In the meantime, Mussolini made the slogan his own, in addition to explicitly elevated it to the philosophy of the regime.

The pregnant of ‘Me ne frego’

The proud Black-Shirt motto ‘I don’t care’ written on the bandages that comprehend a injure isn’t only an human action of stoic philosophy or the summary of a political doctrine. It’s an educational activity to fighting, in addition to the credence of the risks it implies. It’s a novel Italian lifestyle. This is how the Fascist welcomes in addition to loves life, piece rejecting in addition to regarding suicide equally an human action of cowardice; this is how the Fascist understands life equally duty, exaltation, conquest. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 life that must live lived highly in addition to fully, both for oneself but particularly for others, close in addition to far, acquaint in addition to future.

(Benito Mussolini)

The connotations of altruism at the halt of the quote are inwards direct contrast alongside the pregnant taken on past times the give-and-take menefreghismo (literally, ‘Idontcareism’), which always since the authorities has meant inwards mutual parlance a form of detached self-reliance, or moral autocracy. Just equally Italy broke alongside its quondam allies in addition to charted a stubborn path towards the ruin in addition to destruction of the Second World War, in addition to thus equally good the Fascist citizen was encouraged to decline the sentence of others in addition to hold back direct ahead. It should live remembered inwards this regard that the authorities treated ignorance in addition to proclivity to violence equally desirable qualities to live rewarded alongside positions of influence in addition to power. This required a swift redrawing of the old social norms, in addition to of the linguistic communication used to signify the moral worth of individuals. ‘Me ne frego’ was the perfect slogan for the people inwards accuse of overseeing such a program.

Four years ago, speaking at a First World War commemoration inwards the pocket-size town of Redipuglia, Pope Francis linked ‘me ne frego’ non solely alongside the carnage of that conflict, but also alongside the horrors of Fascism, recognising its ideological in addition to propaganda value for Mussolini’s project. This is the shape inwards which the slogan has survived until the acquaint day, equally a linguistic signifier non of generic indifference, but of ideological nostalgia. And because the attempts inwards Italy in addition to beyond to stalk the spread of such signifiers take hold been comprehensively abandoned, nosotros readily notice those words appearing non only on seemingly ubiquitous Fascist-era memorabilia but also on posters,

t-shirts,

or this line of stickers that tin dismiss live purchased for $.193 from Redbubble (motto ‘awesome products designed past times independent artists’), where it was uploaded past times user ‘fashdivision’.

The international neofascist motility is of course of instruction good aware of this lineage. By agency of example, if you lot search for it online you’ll notice a long-running English-language podcast called Me ne frego which recycles this imagery inwards back upwards of arguments against immigration in addition to multiculturalism, or to opine on the dependent champaign of ‘the Jewish question’. I don’t uncertainty that people unopen both to the Trump direction in addition to this basis are similarly cognisant of the uses to which those iii words take hold been put. But fifty-fifty for those who aren’t, claims to indifference take hold a history which nosotros mustn’t allow ourselves to forget.

Image: jacket Melania Trump wore to U.S. of A. detention camps.