Echo

David Mader says something I've been harping on for years:

It's often said, but not taken nearly seriously enough, that the popular display of the hammer and sickle, or the red (or yellow) star, or the visage of Che, should be treated no differently than the public display of the swastika or the visage of Himmler. We are quite properly repulsed by such open displays of sympathy for the icons of Nazi fascism, even when they are made in jest.

His entire post is rife with insight, but it put me in mind of the reaction several of my Canadian friends had to a comment I made recently on the same subject. It went something like this: "Fascism is as inherently evil as Communism."

There were audible gasps, and a few odd looks - I suspect they were trying to figure out if I was saying Fascism wasn't inherently evil, or if Communism was, but whatever decision they reached, soon enough they were taken aback, too. Unfortunately, the conversation ended there, and that last bit turned into a throwaway comment. I have to admit that I was looking to shock them; but if saying "Communism is evil" shocks a person, that's very telling - not only about the individual, but also about the society and community surrounding them. Southern Ontario, how far you have fallen!
-- posted by Austin @ 12:36 AM (PermaLink/Comment) ¶