I’ve started reading the new book, The Anatomy of Facism, by Robert O. Paxton, so I’ll probably have plenty to add to my entry on Fascism below. So far, it’s a good overview of fascism as a phenomenon and takes a better approach; namely, that merely defining fascism (if that’s even possible) isn’t enough to fully understand it. [I’ll post a review over in the Print section at some point.]

Reading ahead, I see that Paxton lists several ‘mobilizing passions’ behind fascism:

’• A sense of overwhelming crisis beyond the reach of traditional solutions;

• The primacy of the group, toward which one has duties superior to every right, whether individual or universal, and the subordination of the individual to it;

• The belief that one’s group is a victim, a sentiment that justifies any action, without legal or moral limits, against its enemies, both internal and external;

• Dread of the group’s decline under the corrosive effects of individualistic liberalism, class conflict, and alien influences;

• The need for closer integration of a purer community, by consent if possible, or by exclusionary violence if necessary;

• The need for authority by natural chiefs (always male), culminating in a national chieftain who alone is capable of incarnating the group’s historical destiny;

• The superiority of the leader’s instincts over abstract and universal reason;

• The beauty of violence and the efficacy of will, when they are devoted to the group’s success;

• The right of the chosen people to dominate others without restraint from any kind of human or divine law, right being decided by the sole criterion of the group’s prowess within a Darwinian struggle.’

Interesting. More on this after I finish reading the book. In the meantime, I shall continue to call the ruling right-wing Republican hegemony in this country the Fascist FunDumbMentalists, until Paxton shows me where I’m wrong. And I’ll do so unapologetically.

While helping a (female) friend shop at the mall last night, I witnessed something rather odd for the midwest: two early twenty-something guys (with 70s hair and tattoos and sunglasses) in the women’s department of a store trying on size 4 women’s jeans. Inexplicably. And they seemed to be having a pretty good time. And no, they weren’t obviously gay or transvestites or anything … they apparently just wanted some tight-fitting jeans.

It prompted one of the salesgirls to say, ‘You sure have to be secure in your masculinity to carry this off!’

Metrosexuals in Ann Arbor?

There’s a lot of debate these days about how “polarized” the country is. If you were to base your conclusions simply on perusing the list of new non-fiction titles at the Ann Arbor District Library (or any other good-sized library, for that matter), you would have enough fuel to argue about the phenomenon (and isn’t that another sign that we’re polarized—that we have to argue about whether we are?) for weeks.

Just a sampler:

Gag Rule: On the Suppression of Dissent and Stifling of Democracy [Lewis Lapham]

A Hole in the World: A Story of War, Protest and the New American Order [Jonathan Schell]

Michael Moore Is A Big Fat Stupid White Man [David Hardy and Jason Clarke]

American Evita: Hillary Clinton’s Path to Power [Christopher Anderson]

How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office: The Anti-Politics, Un-Boring Guide to Power [Adrienne Brown, William Upski Wimsatt, and Davey D]

Inside the Asylum: Why the United Nations and Old Europe Are Worse Than You Think [Jed Babbin]

The Real Jimmy Carter: How Our Worst Ex-President Undermines American Foreign Policy, Coddles Dictators and Created the Party of Clinton and Kerry [Steven Hayward]

I guess as the titles get longer, the content gets more strident, shrill, and asinine.

As a followup to the post below about a white woman’s encounter with a group of suspicious swarthy men on a flight to L.A., « the truth is finally coming out »:

‘Undercover federal air marshals on board a June 29 Northwest airlines flight from Detroit to LAX identified themselves after a passenger, overreacted, to a group of middle-eastern men on board, federal officials and sources have told KFI NEWS. The passenger, later identified as Annie Jacobsen, was in danger of panicking other passengers and creating a larger problem on the plane, according to a source close to the secretive federal protective service. Jacobsen, a self-described freelance writer, has published two stories about her experience at womenswallstreet.com, a business advice web site designed for women. The lady was overreacting, said the source. A flight attendant was told to tell the passenger to calm down; that there were air marshals on the plane.

The source said the air marshals on the flight were partially concerned Jacobsens actions could have been an effort by terrorists or attackers to create a disturbance on the plane to force the agents to identify themselves. Air marshals only tactical advantage on a flight is their anonymity, the source said, and Jacobsen could have put the entire flight in danger. They have to be very cognizant of their surroundings, spokesman Adams confirmed, to make sure it isn’t a ruse to try and pull them out of their cover.’

Ain’t it grand? I’m keeping an eye on Women’s Wall Street to see if they post a followup or retreat from the story. So far, they’re only linking to followups on fascist websites.