To be honest, we already covered this piece once, when it was first published back in March of last year. For some reason, though, MSNBC has decided to dust it off and promote it again with a new tweet. They must think this piece on the far-right’s obsession with fitness is somehow relevant this week.

MSNBC opinion columnist Cynthia Miller-Idriss writes:

Physical fitness has always been central to the far right. In “Mein Kampf,” Hitler fixated on boxing and jujitsu, believing they could help him create an army of millions whose aggressive spirit and impeccably trained bodies, combined with “fanatical love of the fatherland,” would do more for the German nation than any “mediocre” tactical weapons training.

…

The intersection of extremism and fitness leans into a shared obsession with the male body, training, masculinity, testosterone, strength and competition. Physical fitness training, especially in combat sports, appeals to the far right for many reasons: fighters are trained to accept significant physical pain, to be “warriors,” and to embrace messaging around solidarity, heroism, and brotherhood. It’s championed as a tool to help fight the “coming race war” and the street battles that will precede it. Recruits are encouraged to link individual moral virtues such as willpower, decisiveness and courage, with desired collective traits such as virility and manliness.

You know who else championed fitness? Hitler.

Someone theorized that MSNBC keeps posting this article for the ratio — it gets clicks and engagement, which sells advertising. There’s no other explanation for having posted this more than once, and even once was a stretch.

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