Politics of Hate category archive
The Inherent Violence of Supremacist Ideology 0
In the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Chris Johnson argues forcefully that the recent violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, traces back directly to the influence of white Southern culture and the racism in which is was conceived and which still undergirds far too much of it. Indeed, he goes so far as to posit that white supremacy (and, by extension, any ideology of supremacy), is inherently violent. Here’s a bit (emphasis added):
Such an ideology is inherently violent, because someone who thinks that way is not going to tolerate “just getting along” with those he views as inferior if they are granted equal treatment under the law. Supremacists view that as a source of grave injustice. And a sense of injustice has always been a motivator for violent acts.
Freedom of Screech 0
In The Seattle Times, Angela Uherbelau discusses how fascists, white supremacists, and their dupes, symps, and fellow travelers would use the freedoms guaranteed in the United States Constitution to undermine this very fragile experiment in democracy.
White supremacists — whether they’re marching in the streets or drafting memos in the White House — cloak themselves in the mantle of free speech because they know that term strikes a deep chord, a patriotic chord, in countless Americans. They aim to twist one of our country’s most sacred rights into a weapon to destroy our fragile web of civility and common decency.
Afterthought:
The Constitution protects freedom of speech. It does not promise freedom from consequences.
How Stuff Works, Sense of Supremacy Dept. 0
In The Roanoke Times, mental health professional Maurice Fisher offers a clinical profile of a white supremacist, stressing in the beginning that it is a theoretical exercise and not a case study of any particular individual.
Here’s one item; follow the link for the rest (emphasis in the original):
Aside:
Sound like anyone who is constantly in the news?
Tongue-Tied 0
In The Roanoke Times, Dan Casey imagines Donald Trump’s inner struggle to denounce racists. A snippet:
THERAPIST: Sir, do you mean you’re morally incapable of fingering the forces promoting racism, bigotry and hate?
TRUMP: Not exactly. A lot of those marchers in Charlottesville admire Hitler, and it’s easy for me to denounce him. But I can’t seem to condemn them. It’s no coincidence that 100 percent of ’em voted for me. My mouth won’t work when I try to denounce my own supporters. My tongue gets tied.
None Dare Call It Treason . . . 0
. . . but it was.
Push Comes to Shove 0
Here is the slightly edited text of an email I sent to my brother tonight. The subject line was “Trump” and it referred to his press conference and the coverage thereof today.
Jesus Christ. You couldn’t make this stuff up.
He’s even lost that [less than desirable person} Krauthammer. Either he’s going down in flames or we are, but there is no pretense left.
It will be amusing in a depressing way watching all the [south end of a northbound horse] pundits who’ve supported him run for cover, because their cover is blown and they know it.
Nixon’s Southern Strategy has come home to roost, and the roostees don’t like it. Their camouflage is gone.
At this point, news junkie that I am (I think I got that from Daddy), I can’t even deal. I’m going to read a Nero Wolfe mystery and pretend that America is sane.
Words fail me.
Translating Trumpery 0
Dick Polman tries to make sense of the language of Trumpery.
No excerpt or summary can do his article justice. Just read it.
The Shafts and the Spears 0
Elie Mystal explains the dangers of the enablers of evil, those self-styled “intellectuals” and pundits who provide the rationales for hatred and bigotry. A snippet:
The law can confiscate and incarcerate all the spear points in the world, but it’s powerless to do anything about the shafts. The shafts are protected, not by the Second Amendment, but by the First. And the white supremacists hiding in plain sight know that and celebrate that and dare you to challenge them. When you do, they slither up their Free Speech crosses and claim the “high ground.”
Hood and Winked 0
Petula Dvorak puts the blame where it belongs. A snippet (emphasis added):
Except today, there are no hoods.
Donald Trump gave everyone permission to take those hoods off with his winks, nods and refusal to take a moral stand on racial hatred and intimidation during his campaign and during the first six months of his presidency.
In a related article, Austin Gonzalez, who was present in Charlottesville, calls out Donald Trump’s “many-siderism,” which, I reckon, is sort of like both-siderism on siderism growth hormones.
Out, Out, Trumpled Spot 0
Dick Polman considers Donald Trump’s weaselly reaction to the racist terrorism by vehicle in Charlottesville, Virginia, yesterday. A snippet:
Of course, denying responsibility would’ve made him look even worse, because the sheer weight of the evidence renders him guilty as charged. Yesterday’s spilt blood is on his hands.
Read the rest.
The Trumpled Agenda (Updated) 0
Addendum, Later That Same Day:
The Charlottesville Daily Progress has more on today in hate. An excerpt:
There’s nothing like imported hate.
Full Disclosure:
I spent a year at U.Va. a long time ago, during which I realized I was not cut out to be an academician. (Dammit, it’s “academician,” not “academic.” “Academic” is an adjective, for Pete’s sake; “academician” is a noun. It’s called “grammar.” Grumble grumble.)
“Merchants of Death” 0
Little remembered now, in the 1920s and 1930s, the “merchants of death” theory was the notion that munitions manufacturers and banks had engineered World War I so as to sell arms. Indeed, the first couple of Leslie Charteris’s Saint novels used that theory as a background to their plots.
The origins of World War I were much more complex, far less coherent, and, frankly, much sillier than the reasons posited by the “merchants of death” theory. Nevertheless, as Solomon Jones points out as he recalls the death of Philandro Castile, the U. S. now has its own actual merchants of death.
A snippet:
Follow the link.
Twits on Twitter 0
Dick Polman investigates the Case of the Missing Twit.