r/dankmemes • u/themadkiller10 INFECTED • May 24 '25

OC Maymay ♨ The west has fallen

8.2k Upvotes

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370

u/Drunkguy767 May 25 '25

A bundle of sticks MEANT FOR BURNING. Is the full meaning. One of the reasons why it's so heinous in my opinion.

154

u/themadkiller10 INFECTED May 25 '25

I believe that’s untrue actually and the root is from a term for old women who would bundle sticks

8

u/Drunkguy767 May 25 '25

Yeah I can't remember where I read that. But I don't want that term in my search history. That sounds equally plausible.

18

u/SneakyDeaky123 May 25 '25

Facism comes from the ‘fasces’, which was a bundle of stick around an ax, which symbolized a Roman Magistrate’s authority to deliver corporal and capital punishment, carried by his Lictors (bodyguards and heralds, essentially)

9

u/PI_Miners May 25 '25

The Fasces Were The Sticks, And Usually Only Sticks. They Represented The Power Of The Consul / Praetor In The City Of Rome. When They Left The City, Then The Lictors Added An Axe, To Represent The Expanded Powers Of The Person.

The Fasces Were Probably Seen In The Same Way As The 'Seal Of The President Of The United States', Or The 'Coat Of Arms Of The United Kingdom' Is Today. It Represents Legal Power And Authority.

When A Consul Was 'In Charge' For The Month (It Alternated Between The Two Consuls Every Month, As Custom), it Was Refered To As "Holding Fasces".

6

u/Exoticpoptart63 May 25 '25

longest title ever

5

u/luttman23 INFECTED May 25 '25

Dude you don't need to and please don't capitalise the first letter of every word

1

u/SneakyDeaky123 May 26 '25

It’s not a history lesson buddy, I know what the fasces are. I doubt the guy I replied to cares about the specific symbology and legal details about ancient Roman bodyguards’s work implements in the dank memes subreddit.