AZspot AZspot

blue bits. red rocks.
Friday 30 July 2010

When people hear the word fascism, they usually think of Nazi Germany or Mussolini’s Italy, where successful fascist movements seized state power and implemented totalitarian control of society. Yet fascism was an international phenomenon during the Depression, and the United States was not immune to its reach. General Smedley Butler, the most decorated Marine in US history, testified before the Senate that wealthy industrialists had approached him as part of a “Business Plot” and tried to convince him to march an army of 500,000 veterans on Washington, DC to install a fascist dictatorship. Today we are approaching a similar crossroads. When I hear the story of the Business Plot I think about the Tea Party, which has sprung from a base of white supremacist anger, facilitated by right-wing elements of the corporate structure like Fox News. This is an extremely dangerous phenomenon. The tea-partyers have moved from questioning Obama’s citizenship, to now trying to reverse the gains of the Civil Rights Movement, such as the ability of everyone, regardless of color, to enjoy public accommodations like restaurants. I think it’s fair to name the Tea Party, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, the Christian Right, etc. parts of a potential neo-fascist movement in the United States. Their words and actions too often encourage attacks on people of color, immigrants, Muslims, LGBT folks, and anyone they don’t see as legitimate members of US society. Ultimately, many in this movement are pushing for a different social system taking power in the United States: one that is more authoritarian, less compassionate, more exploitive of the environment, more militaristic, and based on a mythical return to national glory. This is not a throwback to Nazi Germany. It’s a new kind of fascism, a new American fascism. And it’s a serious threat. Alex Knight

53 notes

  1. kingmedicine reblogged this from bensgrabbag
  2. bdawg19 reblogged this from greenstate
  3. bessybadass reblogged this from greenstate
  4. ossafama reblogged this from azspot
  5. constant--vigilance reblogged this from greenstate
  6. ebenjamint reblogged this from revolutionnow
  7. pixieeve reblogged this from greenstate
  8. therodentqueen reblogged this from technipol
  9. technipol reblogged this from greenstate
  10. 4k8iw8 reblogged this from greenstate
  11. greenstate reblogged this from revolutionnow
  12. aaroncolbywilliams reblogged this from azspot
  13. silas216 reblogged this from azspot
  14. paperjay reblogged this from revolutionnow
  15. revolutionnow reblogged this from azspot
  16. bensgrabbag reblogged this from azspot
  17. highsee reblogged this from azspot
  18. azspot posted this

A GNT creation ©2007–2012