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Fascist??? Do you know what that means? 3/26/2008 2:30:44 AM
~~~ I know that Edwin doesn't need anyone to stand up for him...not least a woman who isn't (a) an American citizen and (b) very politically minded but the recent spate of political blogs have spurred me into posting up one of my own. I have lived in the States (with Edwin btw) for a few years and I know him very well. One of the reasons that the term 'fascist' offends me so deeply is that it has often been applied to white South Africans, regardless of their political standing or views about apartheid - a system that offended people around the world...and for good reason. I was born in the UK but have lived in South Africa for most of my life. In the past when I said that I was from South Africa, people so often made assumptions about my political views and would accuse me of being racist. Like I said, we (white South Africans) were often labeled as 'fascists' when in fact most English speaking people in South Africa were anti-apartheid and fought for democracy. Ignorance really irks me!
I am including a quote that I think best defines what the word means because I don't believe that those who bandy it about so glibly actually know what it means. I understand that it has been taken to extremes and is commonly applied in the political sense to describe those who have extreme right-wing views. Even by this definition, nobody in their right minds could call Edwin Larson a fascist. It would be more accurate to describe him as a Moderate who strongly stands up for what he believes to be right. I have heard him criticize the policies of both the democratic and republican parties at one time or another. He is vocal and not afraid to speak out against what he feels to be wrong and I know that this offends people but I'm shocked that it has provoked such an extreme reaction here. This is a man who has put his own life on the line for the country he loves. I won't go into more detail than that but I'm dismayed that those who defend their countries are so often slated and attacked.
What surprises me most when I read the political blogs in this forum is how personal they become. Why is it that this subject arouses such ire? Why can't you guys share your views in a rational and reasonable fashion? Present a convincing argument and provide facts to substantiate your specific points. When you feel the need to launch a personal attack, it is usually because you have taken an opposition view personally and have become defensive - in my mind proof that you're on the losing end of the argument. When you attack someone for opposing your point of view, don't be surprised when they attack in return.
Have a damn good debate even a heated one (that can be entertaining) but remember that 'Your argument fails when name-calling prevails'. Please quit now before this gets out of hand.
Thanks
Chanti out of deepest, darkest (thank you Eskom) Africa
DEFINITION OF 'FASCISM'
"A form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion." [Robert O. Paxton, "The Anatomy of Fascism," 2004]
