Few words today are more worn out than “fascist.” As a mere term of abuse, particularly in the Obama era, it has lost all conceptual and political precision. Thus, Obama is a “fascist” as are Dick Cheney and a range of other people, from the Pope to the “Judeofascist Zionists,” to “Islamofascists,” to any third world satrap. “Tree huggers” are environmental fascists. Gay men in New York complain about “bodily fascism,” the high standards of muscularity that predominate in certain gay subcultures. “Fascist” has taken this increasingly clichéd side-road, it would seem, because actual fascist politics have virtually no relevance today, and so we have no point of reference when we say that so and so is a fascist. Of course, there is always the old Duce, Benito Mussolini and the History Channel. But the Duce has reemerged, transformed in the eyes of many consumers of the cultural industry, which often depicts him as a generic and predictably scripted evil character, a pompous lout in the business of world-domination (Charlie Chaplin’s Benzino Napaloni remains a personal favorite).
That Obama and Cheney are “fascists” is a clear indication that we no longer know who the Duce was, and what fascism meant; namely, a catastrophic collapse of modernity under its own ideological and technological weight, a breakdown of the project of the Enlightenment itself, as Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, two German philosophers concerned with fascism, may agree.
Yet, the triteness of the word aside, I have been wondering if fascist types, the personality characteristics that Adorno unsuccessfully tried to measure with the so called “F-scale” (F for fascist), are still around. I wonder if the regular guy who would have fitted well in the Duce’s ranks is with us in the subway and in the supermarket. And if so, I also wonder whether he (or she) may become politically relevant, even if by small degrees and at a local level.
In my Race and Ethnicity class, here in Abilene, the heart of Protestant Texas, I had a quiet, punctual, and occasionally agitated student who made no more than two comments throughout the semester. Uncharacteristically, by the end of the semester, he came to my office “just to talk.” Something was amiss, it seemed, something needed resolution and he needed to talk about it. Without ado, he straightforwardly explained the problem. His family, he said, was “very racist.” His parents were racists: his grandparents, “extremely racist,” his friends, “very racist.” His buddies, in their early twenties as well, had some fun calling him on the phone, after he moved to the university, to mock him for sharing the same grounds with black and Hispanic students. “I am not going to lie to you,” he said: “I was also racist.” Hence, he needed to talk.
He was facing the uncomfortable situation of seeing family and friends as though for the first time, and in an unflattering light at that. In one of my introductory classes we were talking about slavery in the U.S. A hand in the back of the class went up. The student, a woman in her early twenties, explained to the class that though slavery has had a bad rap in the U.S., it actually wasn’t that bad. After all, she reasoned, the slaves had food in their stomachs and a roof over their heads. I have other examples, but let me leave it here. (I must add, I have and have had here in Abilene many excellent students who are also excellent persons worthy of emulation; likewise many fine friends and acquaintances.) I moved to Abilene almost three years ago. During this time, KKK folk have done their rounds twice, to my knowledge, distributing “literature,” as the local paper reported, to their neighbors. (“Make no mistake, we are not here to entertain you”).
To clarify, in places such as New York, for instance, when someone says that so and so “is racist,” they mean, in general and save exceptions, that so and so is inappropriate and a bit of an embarrassment. But in this part of Texas, that so and so “is racist” means, it seems to me, that such person believes himself or herself to be a member of the superior human subspecies, and that this superior being has certain strong feelings and ideas about the world and other people. To be sure, I don’t know if these stories are isolated or if racism is actually prevalent in this area, but as a teacher of Race and Ethnicity who is in the business of discussing these things all the time, I easily bump into these sorts of narratives, from students, but also from friends and acquaintances who have witnessed such situations.
This doesn’t seem to be old school racism, however. Back to fascism, these narratives often involve properly fascist, Italian School plots and features. These expressions of racism seem to go hand in hand with strong religious beliefs, anti-intellectualism, stereotyping, sexism, including of course heterosexism, nationalism, a strong sense of “us” and “them,” and, one is tempted to add, working class pride mixed with such things as anti-unionism and what one may call a Spenserian economic sense (e.g., “some minorities are poor” because, “you know, survival of the fittest”). What I have not found in these conversations is one of the central characteristics of the Duce’s ideology: the idolatrous faith in the role of the state. I have found, so to speak, F-scale worldviews, attitudes and ideas without the love of the state.
Again, I am not sure if these narratives are very prevalent. And perhaps I exaggerate, but it seems to me that, as Adorno and Horkheimer feared, here in the middle of the country elements of fascism may be brewing. The ethnographer in me tells me, in any case, that when it comes to fascism today, the Pascalian wager is worth considering. Trite such as it is, the word “fascism” is nonetheless worth taking into account when thinking about the American future.
Fascism and racism are still useful concepts when used in a thoughtful manner; however, in popular usage they have become delinked from their conceptual foundations, and are now used to delegitimize the credibility of others, usually others from an alternative perspective. For me, the object is to get behind the hostility, and deal with the sources of antagonism. My guess is that economic turbulence is fueling class tensions that are being acerbated by the legacies left behind by racism and fascist tendencies. Perhaps, if we can remove more barriers to improving “life chances” in the Weberian sense, then many things that appear to be racism and fascism will devolve leaving true racism and fascism more exposed. Once exposed, racism and fascism will be easier to address.
Very insightful article. At the rate things are going in American politics, you would think that the word “fascist” might someday come to mean “someone who is in favor of a slight raise in taxes on the richest two percent.” The role of the state here is still implicit, and an “the idolatrous faith in the role of the state” might still be considered a primary criterion for classifying a “fascist.” On the one hand, it may seem peculiar why racists and neo-Nazis might seem so opposed to State power when they themselves might ultimately espouse a fascist ideology. I believe a quote, often attributed to Huey Long, is informative here: “If fascism ever comes to America, it will be call “anti-fascism.” Another variation is: “If fascism ever comes to American, it will be draped in a flag and carrying a cross.” It should be noticed that those currently most vehemently opposed to state-power (here I refer primarily to “extremists” and hate-groups) are primarily those out of power. If they should ever gain power, it is not beyond comprehension that they would implement draconian measures in order to “preserve liberty,” supposed against those that might seek to undermine it, as well as the nation, i.e. those not like them or not white, Christian, or ultra-patriotic. Which is to say I agree with Michael Corey, at least with respect to the term “Fascism”: it is primarily a tool with which to bludgeon one’s political opponents, whoever they may be.
Thanks Michael. I also hope that most of this is just a reaction to the economic crisis, and not an actually emerging and collectively relevant sensibility, a shared vision of the future kind of thing (but “hope” is the keyword here).
I have a couple of personal experiences which convinced me that “racism” can be diminished in a couple of ways. One was as a part of a combat unit during 1967/68 during the Vietnam War. It was later during the war when racial tensions became a major problem. In that unit, many of of professionals were “Black” and Latino, and they commanded a lot of respect from virtually everyone else in the unit. Concerns about survival trump racial preconceptions. In the 1970’s through the 1990’s I saw how the construction and operation of new manufacturing facilities could transform racial relationships in the workplace and in the local community. Unfortunately, manufacturing operations are hard to build virtually anywhere in the United States, and their ability to transform relationships are diminishing. I really believe that significant progress can be made in addressing racial and ethnic problems if we are willing to once again become a country which makes things and takes advantage of our natural resources in responsible ways.
This is an excellent response. It never occurred to me that if fascism were to come to the U.S., it would come as anti-fascism, but this s really food for thought. It would have to appear “mediated” in the Hegelian sense, and indeed carrying and defending “core American virtues.”
I agree. I am not sure if we are actually “bowling alone” as Putnam says (or working alone, etc.), but to the extent that we are, one would expect an increase in racism. The student in the example above began to question his racism only when dealing with Hispanic and black students (and professors and of course authors such as Frederick Douglass).
Update: first was Arizona, then Georgia, Utah, Indiana and more recently Alabama. Every country and every state has the right to control illegal immigration and to enforce legislation accordingly of course. But according to the Alabama legislation anyone could be stopped, interrogated, and detained based on the “reasonable suspicion” of a cop. Any teenager who doesn’t have a driver’s license or other form of id showing his/her legal status (e.g., birth certificate or passport) could be handcuffed and taken to jail until the good officers of the state determine his /her status. The Spanish newspaper El País showed a photo of a pro-legislation demonstration in Alabama: a guy wields a baseball bat with a taped sign that says, “MEX get the hell out of my county!” Concerns about illegal immigration are legitimate. Demonstrating in favor of any legislation is the heart of democracy. Legally harassing anyone who looks Mexican is nauseating.
See USA vs State of Alabama: http://media.al.com/bn/other/U.S.%20Justice%20Department%20lawsuit.pdf
Hi ,
I would like to know if you have any information regarding government sponsored gang stalking. They seem to know my location at all the time and able to hear me when ever speak in the vicinity of any phone. Usually I take battery off my phone, but that doesn’t help. This has been going on for more than two decades, but got much worse recent years. If you know of any lawyer that helps in this area please let me know. I live in new Haven CT.
Thanks
Travis
nori.travis@yahoo.com