Fw: fascism

[Jerky]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Jerky 
To: MalignD at aol.com 
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2004 6:49 PM
Subject: Re: fascism


Wait. 

Are you equating the myriad atrocities of two centuries worth of Manifest Destiny to a sitcom joke?

How do you answer this simple question: "Is America now, or has it ever been, what could fairly be described as a fascist nation?" 

YOPJ

<<Whether america can be characterized  by the word fascism  is far more complex than your arguments admit.>>

I think the argument as it is here is pretty simple, the same one had during the discussion of the intro to 1984; i.e., the often fast and loose use of the word fascism, as if there were no difference between Pol Pot and John Ashcroft.  Make the word broad enough and your boss is a fascist, your wife is a fascist, you're a fascist.  (I'm not a fascist, however.)

The Soup Nazi on Seinfeld was similar--a soup store proprietor compared to someone sending Jews to a gas chamber (if, ouf course, one is clown enough to get worked up over the soup nazi). 
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