Hitchens/ Rush/ Milosevic/Adolph/ Bush/ Vond ?charm?

[Bekah]

I think part of the attraction of fascism is the idea you don't have  
to think or make decisions.  This is probably true of other "isms" as  
well but when it's coming from a fascist - militarist, dictatorial- 
ish - it's dangerous.   So the young fall prey and into step with  
some lovely knee-jerk slogans and/or populist ideas and go marching  
along behind their piper.  All you have to do is spout the rhetoric  
and  "follow orders."   And then,  of course,  there's the attraction  
of the uniform which for the love of me I don't understand.

Back on page 83 Sasha says Frenesi inherited the uniform fetish.   
These are the descendants  of the Traverse clan who were somewhat  
inclined toward anarchy but later turned to union organizing.   (But  
that was way before Rose Parades.) -   Could it have been a result of  
WWII when the military uniform fetish was all the rage?

"Sasha believed her daughter had "gotten" this uniform fetish from  
her.   It was a strange idea even coming from Sasha, but since her  
very first Rose Parade up till the present she'd felt in herself a  
fatality, a helpless turn toward images of authority, especially  
uniformed men, whether they were athletes live or on the Tube, actors  
in movies of war through the ages, or maitre d's in restaurants, not  
to mention waters and busboys, and she further believed that it could  
be passed on, as if some Cosmic Fascist had spliced in a DNA sequence  
requiring this form of seduction and initiation into the dark joys of  
social control."

 From her very first Rose Parade?   Is the Rose Parade a fascist  
thing?  I don't think they have much military in it but there is a  
Grand Marshall and they have a lot of bands.   Also,  it's seriously  
not traditional to do war stuff in the Parade:
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june092008/pissed_grannies_6-9-08.php


Otoh,  does Frenesi hope to save Brock from himself - that her love  
will make him well?   (gads - but she might) That's not really  
supported by the text.  What is supported is that Brock's brand of  
fascism is sensually appealing, lures immature people in and traps them.
Bekah



On Mar 22, 2009, at 8:12 PM, Joseph Tracy wrote:

> I wonder if we could turn this conversation for a round or 2   
> anyway to Sasha's premise about the charm of fascists.
>
> This is kind of awful but do those of us who despise fascism miss  
> something about the phenomena by focusing on the monstrous  
> violence  of the fascist and the question of what is the proper  
> military or geopolitical response and missing the twinkle in his  
> eye  earlier in his career that makes his success possible.
>
> Is there a cultural response that  can heal  this  communicable  
> disease at the pre-pubescent  ambitious charm stage?