Alabama Rep. seeks to ban books by gay authors under the watchful eye of the Prez
An Alabama State Representative, Gerald Allen, has introduced legislation to ban books by gay authors from Public Schools. Mr. Allen, of course, has no concept of free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press or really freedom itself as it relates to the foundation of good government. He's a true Nazi.
I don't look at it as censorship," says State Representative Gerald Allen. "I look at it as protecting the hearts and souls and minds of our children.
This is very far afield indeed of what the American Experiment is all about. But let's be honest, there have been plenty of racist whack-jobs running around the US. And being homophopic is all the rage these days. It isn't surprising that some moral derelict will make political hay over it. I'm surprised that Michelle Bachman didn't think of it first, though. But even with all that, it's unlikely this monstrosity will get passed. But doesn't it give you just a little pause for thought that Mr. Allen is meeting with President Bush?
Earlier this week, Allen got a call from Washington. He will be meeting with President Bush on Monday. I asked him if this was his first invitation to the White House. "Oh no," he laughs. "It's my fifth meeting with Mr Bush."
Fascism: If you build it they will come. Well, here they are.
posted by Chris Dykstra @ 7:57 PM |
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12 Comments:
I was probably wrong to call him a Nazi (but don't feel particularly bent out of shape about it) which implies an entire political platform and right to call him a fascist.
Sorry, David. I appreciate your views. But if it isn't fascist, what is it?
This guy would happily stack all the "wrong books" in a pile and torch them. He would probably also advocate seperating out the wrong people and, if not kill them, send them off to a "special" place. It does not insult the people that died in the Holocaust to call fascism what it is or call a nazi a nazi. We dishonor them and every American that died in that war when we don't call this crap exactly what it is - fascist. What dilutes the meaning of the world is believing that it only applies to people who kill 6 million people. It doesn't. It applies very specifically to a range of political ideas, from the marriage of corporations with the State to the demonization of "odd" or "different" populations, such as the Jews, to the dissemination of state-sponsored propaganda, to the rise of intense nationalisitic patriotism... Fascism is a government structure. It isn't particular to the Holocaust, by any means.
And Yeti, I read Niewert. One of the central qualities of pseudo fascism is the advancement of fascist ideas up to the point of actual implementation. Well, this is implementation.
Well, I don't want to get into semantics, but I've stood in Berlin's Bebelplatz and read Heinrich Heine's words from the previous century. "Where books are burned, in the end people will burn."
The Alabama Rep. may not be engaging in facism, but please tell me when it gets to that point.
I don't suggest using the word "fascist" out of hand, but I just read "Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus" and I was struck by how often respectable people compared him to a Nazi or called him a fascist (he wasn't, really. He fought against the Nazis. But his campagin had some undesirable elements in it that definately had fascist tendencies). So this isn't exactly a new phenomenon.
Yes, but what do the French think?
http://pasnet.blogs.com/pas_net/2005/04/les_blogs_font_.html#comments
Babelfish translation:
The blogs make resistance
A network of American bloggeurs met on a common platform, that of New patriots. These resistant of the Web often proposes an alternative to the American media, hum, reconciling (version software) towards the capacity of Bush. Their post of the day returns account of a new case of official censure. Did a representative of the State d' Alabama, Gerald Allen, introduce a law prohibiting works of the homosexual authors into the public schools (it is what a homosexual author, an author who speaks about homosexuality or an author who have homosexual practices? In the second case, how it to recognize, the public sexual intercourse being (unfortunately) rare?). A censure which finds its justification in the fact of wanting to protect the small American fair heads and which points out time, not so remote, or the same conservatives censured the expression of the American blacks...
Another Godwin post.
-Censored
It is if it's actual fascism.
What, do you think fascism died with Musolini?
It didn't.
Funny how you all forget that the nazi's were socialists.
-Censored
This tired canard again? Did you fail world history?
Repeat after me. Just because the name of the party was "National Socialist" doesn't mean the Nazis were socialists any more than a country being named the a "Democratic Republic" means it is a democracy, or a republic.
The Nazis gained a political foothold in a time of economic chaos as a reaction against German socialists and communists. They were supported by German industrialists who thought Hitler's tin-horn theories wouldn't get in the way of their money.
Read a book sometime, OK?
Actually, David L., President Bush made a literally fascist comment at last night's press conference, as follows: "I don't think the American people want a president who relies upon polls and focus groups to make decisions for the American people." (emphasis added).
Reading that revisionist history again Luke?
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Just because you heard it on Sean Hannity doesn't make it true.
Like I said, try reading a book some time. You can start with any high school history text book. That ought to set you straight.
David, you seemed to think that I called the book ban bill fascist because just because I didn't like the bill. There is plenty of legislation I don't like and don't call fascist. It is not a random choice of words or one I choose lightly. "Immoral," "bad,""knuckle-headed," "evil" are all inaccurate. Fascist is the right word. If you don't agree, fine. The worst argument against something that might be true is the argument that people don't want to hear it.
What you are failing to notice in this particular case, is that the systematic demonization of gays, and in fact, liberals, by the right, combined with the GOP's fealty to corporate power, combined with their uber-christian, nationalistic campaigns and slogans, combined with the utter vindictivness with which they punish those that disagree with them, combined with their awsome propaganda machine -- all kind of stink like something fascisistic. As Yeti pointed out earlier - so far this has been more like Pseudo-Fascism. They walk to the brink, then step back. There is a link to Niewert's essays on this topic on the wikipedia reference you noted.
I'll give you, Herr Alabama Homophobe might not be your typical brownshirt. But his action is one of many pieces in a larger movement that has all the qualities of real thing, without actually being the real thing - yet.
At what point does it turn real for you?
Because I guarantee you, it is a fine line between the acceptance of banning books and organized persecution and violence.
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