Yesterday was fascinating and frightening all at once. I will stand by my assertion that people have the right to protest, regardless of political affiliation and I will always support that right. That said, I will not support the right to yell fire in a theatre, and - to a large extent - that was exactly what was happening all over the country.

It was like watching Sarah Palin rallies all over again. It was the same racist rhetoric, fear-mongering of the new administration, calls for God, cries of civil liberties being trampled, high taxes -- you name it. It was a regular potpourri of anger. It was all there. While many were trying to tell us that this was all about the over-spending of Government, and that this was not about Republicans or Democrats -- it was about Obama. It was about people being genuinely unhappy about who they have as a president. I would have more respect for these protestors if they would just come out and say it instead of being fed lies by a corporate-owned media center (Fox News) and then regurgitating them.

There were signs crying against nazism, communism, socialism and fascism. It was fascism that struck me as odd. In particular, this clip:



This man works for a major corporation, he is employed by what is known in some circles as the mouth-piece for the GOP and he's crying fascism?

It got me to thinking about the bad old days while we on the left were watching our country fall into obscurity. We cried those words as well. So I pulled up the old 14 Points of Fascism, to see what has changed, and what has not. What I found was disturbing. It isn't that we are still heading towards fascism, it was that many of these people were actually out protesting FOR further fascism, without realizing it. In particular, and with a direct reference to the Fox News Business reporter in the video I posted above I found this:
It struck me as disturbing that Fox was actually making itself the news. I found out later how true that was. It's full-blown media propaganda and it is very dangerous. It's exactly how Rwanda found itself in a full-blown genocide.

I understand people are not happy in this country, but the reality is that we had our revolution in November. It was called the election process. What is happening now is a mass manipulation by a small group of people that lost that power in November. They have whipped a few vocal Americans into a frenzy without explaining to them what is really happening. They might not be in the majority now, in regards to elected office, but that doesn't mean they don't still have power. Don't believe me? Watch this guy speak truth at a Tea Bag Party in Pensacola Florida Yesterday. Watch what happens:



The man was booed when he told them taxes have been lowered. Protesting is a wonderful thing in this country; I have long advocated that in order to change, you must get the government to listen. The problem is when the anger is unfocused and rampant and is based upon lies. When a media outlet fuels that anger by BEING the news instead of reporting it the result is civil unrest. If the wind blows the right way, riots will follow. Nothing good can come of putting out fire with gasoline, and yet that is exactly what Fox News is doing.
We need solutions, not scapegoats. The first step to stopping fascism is to know what it really is.

:peace: and
Raine