Post #3716186

2026-07-10 12:08 UTC

FWIW, Mussolini didn't "make the trains run on time." He just ordered the Italian press to write that the trains were running on time. That's how authoritarianism works. Fascist sympathisers in other countries fell for it. #authoritarianism #hegemony #history #Italy

Replies (6)

@bovaz@misskey.social 2026-07-15 08:04

@david_megginson@mstdn.ca "Train ran on time" had always been a joke among the people I knew, until we realized (long ago), that some people were 100% serious and earnest.

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@BenAveling@mastodon.ie 2026-07-10 12:54

You couldn’t say the trains didn’t run on time under Mussolini. They didn’t, but you couldn’t say it. Not safely, anyway. @david_megginson@mstdn.ca

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@electricfusionQ@muenchen.social 2026-07-10 13:10

@david_megginson@mstdn.ca and he knew how it works since he was journalist beforehand.

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@PizzaDemon@mastodon.online 2026-07-10 15:48

@david_megginson@mstdn.ca Right. The preznit didn't get a new AF1 way ahead of schedule just by accepting an emolument and screaming at people. He got a working plane painted like Air Force One that can be shot down or have its comm jammed

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@audiodude@sfba.social 2026-07-10 15:57

@david_megginson@mstdn.ca interesting, but [citation needed]

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@lisp_1@social.vivaldi.net 2026-07-10 16:38

@david_megginson@mstdn.ca Septa runs on time.

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