Temple, we have already spoken on this, and I agree your point about the “imagery” of the 1960’s. This may also be a factor in this election turning this year as “youtube” is playing a central role in exposing the hate that mainstream media would never cover on its own. And it is FORCING the mainstream to cover it. Without Internet blogs and video, I’m convinced McCain wins this easily.

Judging from Wise writings taken as a whole, i do not believe he means that fascism is a “uniquely dangerous threat to this generation”, but probably has an election-based focus given the stakes.

Temple, I believe in the last sentence you wrote as basically a life philosophy. One that ironically, a reading a few years ago of Tim Wise’s book “White Like Me” deeply aided in organizing in my mind. That book should be required reading for all white people. It is not so much that he says anything notably different than a 100 black authors before him, but what he does do is almost provide a handbook for whites to deal with other whites in uniquely all-white situations — situations that other white folks have found themselves in that require a level of increased awareness, resistance, responsibility, and renouncement of privilege.

His book helps to navigate what goes into this process from both a practical and emotional point of view. In other words, no matter what one believes intellectually and morally, it is still very hard to get to a point where one will continually fight, renounce, and even disown their own family members and close friends and comfortably live with those consequences. It takes a certain empowered level of continual conviction and growth, and his book helps whites work through this process.

I think I am more upset at the back handed insults to people of faith who believe in what they do

This is how fascism comes to an ostensible democracy.

It won’t be coming…it’s already been here. It’s as American as Apple Pie. This nation has already been fascist for much of its history. Wise is right that it’s an “ostensible democracy,” but that’s about it. The post-slavery fascism of American whites (north, south, east and west) is absolutely overwhelming. For 9 decades from 1870 through 1960, the US had a nearly unbroken pattern of serial fascism. Were it not for the IMAGERY of televised fascism, this might have continued unabated through the 1960’s.

I hope Tim Wise is not trying to make folks think that fascism is some uniquely dangerous threat to this generation of Americans. It’s more like a warm blanket and pillow for white folks face to face with a quasi-Negro president and the prospect of being out-numbered…with no options for dominance save ruthlessness.

Keep circulating Wise because the key to this biological affront will be to put white folks with sense in front of white folks with fear.