How "Some" Go Off The Rails

Sometimes people and events from the past pop into my mind. This man was one of those people I have never forgotten, even though I didn't really know him all that well. The final part of his life (mentioned below) certainly reinforced my memory about him, although time has taken a toll on many of the details I once knew.   

Back in the 1980s this man rented an apartment at a building I managed. He was older, smoked a pipe and had retired (about 1984?). The 1980s saw the rise and explosion of AIDS around the world. This man was very solitary, which certainly isn't a crime, but did it contribute to an increasing eccentricity that eventually overwhelmed him? Now, when I say "he was solitary," I don't mean he never spoke to others, because he did, but it was limited and he was not a conversationalist, and the housekeeper for the building had known him for quite a number of years, and she had told how he could be somewhat to the abrupt and cantankerous side. There was a legal case pending in the court system about the building, a battle between the building owner and the owner of an office building next to it, over "air rights," so many things were on hold, but I offered to have the man's apartment painted, as he had been there for a number of years, but he said he didn't want to be bothered. Basically the man stayed in his apartment and watched television news (nowhere as extensive in those days compared to today) and listened to talk radio, which became a focus of a conservative to a growing right wing effort in the time of Ronald Reagan, who was the then president of the U.S.

One day in I'd say about 1987 the man came down to the office just as the serviceman for the elevator company was having me sign his paperwork for his regular maintenance visit. The man was agitated about some things he had heard on talk radio about AIDS. I cannot recall the radio show host who had helped work the man into a hateful frenzy. The tenant condemned everyone to death who had AIDS, and when the elevator guy asked him if that meant children, he said "Yes," without any hesitation. The two of us tried to reason with him about the things he was saying, but he was adamant. I have no idea what his overall religious beliefs were; and by that I mean, whether he had some strong religious belief about AIDS and its ties to gay people in those times, as some so called "religious" leaders of the "religious right" loved to condemn others to death or suffering, until of course, they got busted for some transgression, which then miraculously turned them into preachers of forgiveness and redemption for themselves. Then again, the man said "EVERYONE with AIDS" should die, including children, so maybe there was no religious connection. I never saw the guy intoxicated and he certainly did not seem to be "under the influence of any alcohol" that day. I don't believe he drank alcohol. The man with the elevator company was totally appalled by the tenant's hateful rant.

Well the man eventually rented part of a house approximately a mile away, and about 10 to 12 years later, when I worked at a different building, a report came over the radio that a man was shooting at people from a house that had been then surrounded by police. A little while later came the report that the man had been killed. I don't believe he killed or wounded anyone before his end came, but I just cannot remember. It was not until further reports came in and the man's name and address were released that I knew it was the former tenant from the other apartment building.

WORD HISTORY:
Mercury (mercurial)-The ultimate origin of the name/word "Mercury" is uncertain, with it possibly being a Latin borrowing from Etruscan,^ and the Etruscan word that "may" have provided the basis for the word "market." There is a tie between the name "Mercury" and "market" in meaning, as the Roman god Mercury was the god of trade and business initially, with other powers added over time. If true, "Mercury" would go back to Latin "merx," a noun meaning "things for sale, wares," which then would have spawned "Mercurius," the name for the god of business. English borrowed this as "Mercurie" in the mid 1100s, with the planet name also being taken from Latin in about 1300. Latin "Mercurius" came to be applied to the silvery scientific element, "perhaps" because of its quick flowing characteristic, as "Mercury," the god, had also come to be seen as the god of news, and was often depicted with wings on his shoes to convey his fleetness as a messenger. This scientific use was borrowed by English in the latter part of the 1300s. "Mercurial" came as a borrowing in circa 1400 from the Latin adjective "Mercurialis," which meant "associated with or having to do with the god Mercury;" thus from Latin "Mercurius." It "seems" astrologists also added the meaning, "influenced by the planet Mercury," which was supposed to have characteristics from the god Mercury; thus, "quick, fleet;" but also, "quickly changeable, volatile in temperament," the meaning that has remained in English since the middle of the 1600s. 
 
^ Etruscan is not an Indo European language, or at least, linguists have not thus far connected it to Indo European. The modern Italian region of "Tuscany" is named after the Etruscans. Latin is an Indo European language related to English further down the family tree, and it obviously came into much contact with Etruscan in Italy. Etruscan is a mystery language, but it was "possibly" related to some languages of the Aegean Sea area, including "Minoan." Etruscan was spoken in a fairly large part of what is now Italy, but it eventually died out when Latin came to the area, although some of its words were borrowed into Latin.               

Unilever Warns Facebook & Google

In recent days international corporate giant "Unilever," the maker of such products as "Hellman's Mayonnaise," "Dove Soap" and "Lipton Tea," and, from what I understand, the second largest advertiser in the world, has issued a stern warning to tech powerhouses "Google" and "Facebook," that Unilever will pull advertising from these companies, if the tech leaders don't deal with what Unilever termed platforms that are "little better than a swamp." Unilever wants the tech companies to help clean up "fake news," work to protect children and to stop groups from using social media that seek to heighten divisions in society and to "promote hate." DAMN! Donald Trump, watch out! I'm not sure why "Twitter" was left out of the companies, unless Unilever doesn't advertise there? Overall, I'm for it, but the problem is, the devil is in the details. We'll have to see how any of this develops, as, on the surface, some may feel this should be pretty easily done, but in the world of the Internet, where someone can be in Antarctica, but can make themselves appear to be in Des Moines, Iowa, and where the tech companies have had such tremendous leeway to make money, it's going to COST money to police these websites, and my guess is, LOTS of money. If other companies follow Unilever's lead, the tech companies will essentially be left with no choice, but to act.         

It's been my own opinion for quite some time, that Internet companies should not have been given such tremendous leeway to start with, and both major political parties have their fingerprints on this mess, sort of, "the Wild West of the Web." All of the tech companies, not just Facebook and Google, follow their users around the Internet and keep track of which sites users go to and what items and information they search for. Of course, they ONLY want their users to have a great experience, part of which seems to include the sale of  information they have on all of us to advertisers, who can then target us with ads tied to our website visits and searches. So, the tech companies make money from YOUR information, but you get "a great experience on the Web," whatever the hell that means.

WORD HISTORY:
Tame-This word goes back to Indo European "demeh," which had the notion, "to compel, to force;" thus also, "to break the wildness from, to get an animal accustomed to being around humans." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "tamaz," with the same meaning as the latter Indo European meaning;" thus, "to tame." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "tam," an adjective, meaning, "tame(d)." This then became "tame," initially with the ending "e" pronounced "eh/ah." Old English had the verb "temian," ("to tame, to make mild, to subdue"), but the modern verb "seems" to have come from the adjective. The other Germanic languages have (adjective forms): German "zahm," Low German Saxon "tamm," West Frisian "tam" (no longer used??), Dutch "tam," Danish "tam," Icelandic "tam" (this is the root, but apparently there are various endings; that is, inflections, on the root depending upon usage), Norwegian "tam," Swedish "tam."

2017, Another Year, We Aren't Here Long

The lights flash and 2016 becomes 2017. No, we aren't here for long, and some are here for a very short time. As 2016 gasped for breath, lives were shortened by the religion of hate at a celebration of life. Oh Berlin!* So, we enter 2017 with more bloodshed. At least 39 lives shortened by the criminality of hate and done in the name of religion. Oh Istanbul!** And the new political order of American government plans its own hateful assault on the planet, on the poor, on the sick. It comes twisted and tangled with religion; religion concocted by greedy and hateful minds to sanctify their hateful actions. More religion of hate. Oh Washington, DC!

No, we aren't here for long. We go through life meeting people, with some people drifting into our lives, while others disappear. What happened to them? The people we knew as children, how many have we seen since those times? The kids we met throughout our schooling, how many of them have we seen since those days? We feel the passing of time and we witness the loss of those around us; family members, friends and those who entertained us. Fewer and fewer to comfort us or to make us laugh. Can we work together to keep ourselves alive a while longer? Or do we want the religion of hate to keep us divided until we too are no more?

* Just prior to Christmas in 2016, a truck was driven into a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany by a Tunisian man with connections to the ISIS terrorist network. A dozen people were killed and more than three times that number were injured. The truck used in the attack had been hijacked by the  Tunisian terrorist who shot and killed the driver.

** In December 2016 a car bombing and a suicide bombing in Istanbul, Turkey killed dozens and injured more than 160. The attack was planned and executed by a Kurdish independence group. Earlier in 2016, there was a ISIS related attack on the Istanbul airport killing some 45 and injuring more than 200.  

WORD HISTORY:
We-This common pronoun goes back to Indo European "we/wey," which, indeed, meant "we." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "wiz," with the same meaning. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "we," and it has remained as such for all of these centuries. The other Germanic languages have: German "wir," Low German Saxon "wi," Dutch "wij," West Frisian "wy," Danish, Norwegian, Swedish "vi," and Icelandic "við" (essentially equivalent to "vith," and the "ð" is called an "eth," which was once also used in English). 

Trump Is Just Like Their Führer

Just like the original fanatical, furious Führer, Donald Trump is half nuts and half manipulator. He fears all sorts of things, mainly other human beings, which distorts his ... ah, judgment, but he knows what he's doing. Giving voice to concerns about trade, border security, crime and some other issues, doesn't bother me in the least. We need such discussions, but wanting to build walls to keep people out, using bigoted and racist descriptions of Mexicans, women and others, as well as disparaging veterans captured in the service of this country, and mocking a disabled man, is stoking the fears, bigotry and racism of people to his own perceived advantage. It isn't unifying, it is divisive. The same with using the grieving mother of one of those killed in Benghazi. A true leader would try to console this woman, not exploit her grief and stoke her anger. That's manipulation. I've never been much of a John McCain fan, but in 2008, he at least had the decency to set the record straight when a woman at one of his rallies said Barack Obama was "an Arab." That took guts. And some in the crowd did not like McCain for his comments, nor his asking them to tone down the rhetoric against then presidential candidate, Obama. You know Trump's bad, when his running mate, Mike Pence, himself a fanatical fascist, hiding his nastiness behind fundamentalist Christianity, looks more reasonable than Trump. 

Hitler too, knew what he was doing.* As he sought to gain power, Adolf Hitler was known for his fiery and provocative speeches given to cheering crowds, while he was protected by brown-shirted stormtroopers, who beat up and carted off any protesters. The thing is, "I'm not sure" that even Hitler yelled to his bullies to, "get him outta here," about protesters, or ever told his audiences, that a protester "would be carried out on a stretcher." No matter what Hitler brought about, even death and destruction to to his homeland, his faithful remained loyal to him.** Sound familiar? How about this Trump quote: "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot someone, and I wouldn't lose any voters. OK? It's like incredible."

* This is NOT meant as a comparison to Trump, so I'm putting it in this separate note, as even I don't think Trump has gone this far, although he seems to be trying hard to work toward similar hate. More troubling is that Trump knows his rhetoric has prompted avowed racists and bigots to endorse him and has "inspired" supporters at his rallies to confront and bully protesters:
 
While in some of his public speeches Hitler ranted against Jews, and some of his lines were dripping with venom, he watched his language, so as not to give away his real long term goal of mass murder. But such speeches by Hitler and other Nazi leaders stoked hatred, dehumanized minorities and began to prepare Germans for the ultimate hatred ... murder. Even later, while his killing machine murdered millions of innocent people, Hitler kept these events as quiet as possible (although rumors and stories circulated). Traudl Junge, one of his secretaries for the last couple years of his life, said the subject of Jews was never discussed in his private times, and she and the other secretaries saw him every day, even having lunch, dinner or tea with him. He knew what he was doing. After the war, much was made by Hitler apologists that he never knew about the death camps and executions, because there were no written orders from him to carry out these atrocities. It was all a bunch of nonsense. One case shows he knew exactly what was going on.  See next note

** Hitler's secretary, Traudl Junge, cited one telling incident, which took place in 1943 at Hitler's villa, "the Berghof," above the town of Berchtesgaden. She admits that she only heard about it from others who were present in the dining room, including her husband, who was one of Hitler's personal aides. The Schirachs had been invited to the Berghof, at Henriette von Schirach's request, to see and dine with Hitler. The husband, Baldur, had been head of the Hitler Youth in the 1930s and then the Nazi Party leader of Vienna, and if you've seen any of the documentaries on the Nazi Hitler Youth, you've undoubtedly seen Baldur von Schirach in the films or still photos from that time. By the way, Schirach was under lots of American influence from both sides of his family, as his mother was an American and his paternal grandfather served in the Union army during the American Civil War, and Baldur grew up speaking both English and German. At the time of the dinner with Hitler, Henriette von Schirach had recently been in Amsterdam, where she had witnessed the brutal round up of Dutch Jewish women, who were then packed into railway cars and sent to the "east," which was another Nazi euphemism for "sending Jews to their death," as the extermination camps, designed to kill Jews and others as quickly as possible, were located primarily in Poland. "Auschwitz," the most infamous of all, was located there, as were others. Mrs. Schirach told Hitler the terrible things she had witnessed in Amsterdam, adding that people in Amsterdam felt these Jews would never be heard from again. She was under the impression that Hitler was unaware of such things, but upon mentioning the information to Hitler, the conversation at the dinner table stopped, Hitler momentarily went silent, then he told Mrs. Schirach not to get involved in matters that she didn't understand, adding that she was "too sentimental." Hitler abruptly arose from the table, left the room and did not return, nor did the Schirachs ever return to Hitler's company, as he never invited them back. Even here though, Mrs. Schirach apparently thought Hitler could not possibly know of what was happening, and she sought to inform him, only to be told to mind her own business by the fanatical, furious Führer. He knew what he was doing. 

WORD HISTORY:
Manipulation-This word, made up of three parts: "mani," "pul" and "ation," and meaning, "skilled use of the hands to work something, skilled direction of situations, the managing of other's emotions and mental state or faculty for a purpose either good or bad." The first part, related to "manual" and "manager," goes back to Indo European "man," which meant "hand." This gave Latin "manus," also meaning "hand." This then was combined with the second part to give Latin "manipulus," which literally meant "handful," and its derived form in Old French, a Latin-based language, "manipuler" which was used for, "take as many medicinal herbs are you can hold in your hand; take a handful of herbs (medication)." This was combined in French with the third part to form "manipulation," which was then borrowed into English in the first half of the 1700s, with the general meaning of using the hands, including "to mine for ore or minerals," in those times, of course," done "by hand." The second part of the word, distantly related to both "fill" and "full," ^ goes back to Indo European "pleh," which meant "to fill, to complete," and this gave Latin "pleo," also meaning, "to fill, to complete," the root of which, rendered as "pul," in Latin, then joined with the first part, as noted above. Finally, the Indo European suffix "te/tis," gave Latin "(a)tio," which became the third part of "manipulation." 

^ The connection goes back to Indo European, as both "fill" and "full" are from Germanic, which had its own form derived from Indo European

On Your Death Bed ... Reflecting

Lying on your death bed, what will you be thinking? Will it be, "Wow, I'm so proud of the nastiness and hatred I felt and tried to spread in my life. It makes me feel so good! I'm so happy I supported and witnessed the way Donald Trump made America hate again; how Ted Cruz and other far right wing supporters ranted against modern times and opposed the rights of some people to love one another. Gee they make me proud. There weren't many as brave as Trump, Cruz, Limbaugh, Michelle Bachmann, Hannity, and of course, Ann Coulter, who might be a better hater than all of them combined, well, except for maybe the Westboro Baptist Church, whose members cloaked their hate in religion. What a great bunch! 

Yes, I'm proud of my hate and nastiness and I celebrate the hater in chief, Adolf Hitler. Now Hitler was a hater to make other haters super proud, a role model any want to be hater can look up to. Even as his life ticked down in its last hours, old Adolf kept hating, he never quit. In those last hours, he even had his own brother-in-law shot and he ranted against Jews in his final testament, so he never changed his positions, he stayed true to his hate. Wow, what a guy! And how about that Magda Goebbels? She was the wife of Joseph Goebbels, a great hater in his own right. It takes quite a hater to murder your own six kids, but Magda proved she was up to the task of being a true hater, supported by Joe, of course. So to all of you liberals, see, I don't discriminate against women.

So, like my hero, old Adolf, as I prepare to leave this world, I remain true to the cause of hate and I offer a big 'thank you' to all who have ever helped to prevent other human beings from receiving food, shelter or medical care, and an even bigger shout out, if it was to give tax cuts to billionaires, the truly needy among us; also to those who worked or spoke against military veterans and their families; who promoted war over peace; who knowingly trashed the planet, especially to pad their bank accounts; who promoted hatred against different races, religions, ethnicities, or hell, anything different from themselves, especially to derive political power. There are so many hateful things people do, I can't even think of all of them, but you've all earned the thanks of this grateful hater. And unlike some of you, I and Adolf don't claim to have our hate sanctified by a deity or deities, we just plain HATE!"

So is this how you would like to be remembered, even if not quite as extreme as I've presented here? None of us is perfect, but some are so hate filled and show little or no attempt to retreat from their hate. Assessing your own life and feelings is a start, so reflect now, before you go to your death bed.  

WORD HISTORY: 
Legacy-This word is related to "legation" and "delegation," but its distant Indo European origin presented here is not firm, although I am "definitely maybe" convinced. It was borrowed in the latter part of the 1300s from French "legacie," which meant, "group of envoys or deputies with written orders to fulfill a given task or tasks." This came from Latin "legatia," "an area over which a deputy has jurisdiction," from Latin "legatus," which meant, "deputy, envoy, official, officer, someone given power by a higher authority," from Latin "legare," a verb with the broad meaning, "to pick, to gather;" ^ thus, "choose," and in a specific sense, "to send a 'chosen' person or group (thus, "authorized") on a mission." This came from Latin "lex," which meant "law," perhaps from the idea, "gathered words used to rule, or in a contract." This went back to Indo European "leg-," which had the notion, "to gather, collect, pick."  

^ It also meant "to read," from the notion of picking out written markings and deciphering them." 

Orlando: Our Tears Show Sadness, Not Weakness

At this terrible time of mourning, parents and family members who scorn, reject or isolate gay children or other family members, let this tremendous loss of life show you how misplaced your feelings and fears are. Our lives are fleeting enough, without hate seeking to do us in. Some parents may have only found out their child was gay when they were informed of their death or wounding in this massacre of innocent people. Religion used as a cover to spread hate needs to be called out. DON'T BE STILL, SPEAK OUT! Our tears show sadness, not weakness. Remember the victims, their families, their friends. Donate in some way to help comfort those who suffered loss and to help those who survived, for even those untouched by bullets will bear the scars of this tragedy for the rest of their lives. No matter how much our hearts ache, WE ARE STRONG, WE HAVE STRENGTH!

WORD HISTORY:
Strength-This word, derived from the ancestor of "strong," goes back to Indo European "streng/strenk," which had the notion of "tight, taut." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "strangiþu" (þ essentially equals "th"), meaning "strongness." This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "strengþu," with the general meaning, "physical strongness, firmness in body or spirit." This then became "strengthe" (ending 'e' pronounced 'eh'), before the modern form. The close relationship between "strong" and "strength" makes it difficult to separate the exact meanings, as they often overlap, so I will list only a few, but German has "Strenge" (hardness, toughness, strictness, harshness), Low German "Strengde" (harshness, strictness), Dutch "strengte" (strict, stern, severe).  

Talk About Tolerance, This Is Tolerance

Back in the latter part of the 1970s a group of American Nazis announced plans to hold a political demonstration in Chicago. The city required a large insurance bond be paid to cover the possible damages that would result from such a provocative demonstration. The amount of the bond effectively terminated the Nazi plans to go forward, but they then decided to organize a march through the Chicago suburb of Skokie, an area where not only a substantial part of the community was Jewish, but in those days a large number of Jewish immigrants were survivors of Nazi atrocities and concentration camps in Europe. In an effort to tone down the Nazi march, a local court said the Nazis could not display swastikas, nor wear Nazi Party uniforms, as these things were essentially equivalent to provoking violence.* The whole issue garnered national and even international attention, even more so when the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged the court ruling as a violation of the First Amendment (specifically the right to free speech and the right to peaceably assemble). The main attorney for the ACLU was Burton Joseph, who was Jewish and a partner in a Chicago law firm. While it's been so many years ago, my recollection is, a number of other Jewish ACLU attorneys openly supported Joseph's view. After a number of hearings, including by the U.S. Supreme Court, and much coverage by the international media, the march was allowed to go forward, along with the display of swastikas and the wearing of Nazi uniforms. Anti-Nazi demonstrations were organized by many Americans across the country, and the Nazis then asked to change the march back to Chicago, which was granted.

While such actions by the ACLU have not always been popular over the years, and this one was not popular with many Americans, as veterans' groups, among others, also protested, as I recall, such legal challenges bring focus to various decisions, along with the accompanying discussions, sometimes very heated discussions. Democracy is not easy, and I suppose all of us at one time or another would like to stop someone with whom we disagree from expressing contrary opinions. The question is always, "how much freedom do we want?" There are limits to freedom, as for example, we don't have the right to shout "fire" in a crowded theater, just for the hell of it. Ah, that's not a direct quote.

For Jewish attorneys to defend the right of Nazis to march tells you just how much these attorneys appreciate the law. It certainly doesn't mean they liked Nazis, but they loved the law. To be quite honest, I'm not sure I could do such a thing, but this is how you defeat the crazies and the anti-democracy elements. We can't be so insecure that we are afraid of differing viewpoints. Talk about tolerance, this is tolerance and a respect for law which should earn respect from all of us; of course, there are those racists and haters out there ...

* These are my words, not the court's words, but this was essentially the argument.

WORD HISTORY:
Hate-This word goes back to Indo European "khedo," which had the notion of "strong emotional feeling." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "hatojan(an)," which became the more specific "to hate," in Germanic. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hatian," which then became "haten," before the modern version. The noun was derived from the Old Germanic form "hatiz," which then gave Old English "hete." Other Germanic languages have (noun then verb): German "Hass" and "hassen," Low German and Dutch "haat" and "haten," West Frisian "hate" and "haatsje," Danish "had" and "hade," Icelandic "hata" (same for noun and verb), Norwegian and Swedish "hate" (same for both noun and verb, with the ending "e" pronounced like "ah").

When 'E Pluribus Unum' Meant Something

"E Pluribus Unum" is Latin for "out of many, one." The United States has had periods of shakiness in the "United" part dating clear back to the founding of the nation, as a number of the colonists remained loyal to Britain. How many? Who the hell knows, since Gallup wasn't in business back then, but it all makes sense, because established British rule was bound to have its supporters. Even after the successful severance from Britain, unity remained shaky, as the individual states, which had come out of the individual colonies, pulled in their own directions, and the battle over how much power the national government should have continued, culminating in the biggest breakdown to "E Pluribus Unum" yet, with the Civil War and its aftermath. American involvement in World War One began an era in which a sense of national unity improved, amazingly only 52 years after the end of the bitterly contested and costly Civil War, although Southern resentment continued to linger, expressed most openly by Southern contempt for Republicans, "the Party of Lincoln," and by outward hostility to the substantial Black American population located in the South (most being former slaves, or the children or grandchildren of slaves). The Great Depression and World War Two furthered the sense of national unity and the sense of "we're all in this together" and "we need to help one another," rather than "this doesn't affect me, the hell with it," or "I've got mine, the hell with you," which has translated into the selfish and divisive philosophy of "we're all in this alone," of more recent decades.

There were still intense debates and divisions, along with some way out divisiveness on the fringes, but there wasn't this pervasive "totally destroy the other side," or the, "bring the country down so we can take over," philosophy. The way out stuff was generally marginalized in both parties, because there was a great political middle of the country that provided stability through common national purpose, and many in that middle ground loyally voted Republican or Democratic, but they were also willing to work with the other party in the interest of the nation. Time has eroded our sense of how we need each other, and Korea, and most certainly Vietnam, undermined the nation's sense of common purpose in wartime, as many Americans didn't really much take to the idea of the country being a superpower watchdog for the world, brought about by the U.S. contribution to the winning of World War Two, although the Soviet Union, and then China (then always called "Red China" in America), made Americans uneasy, with the idea that such regimes had to be opposed, before they came knocking at our own front door, a lesson equated with Hitler's behavior leading up to the outbreak of World War Two.

America is not a perfect country, nor has it ever been. Our insecurity seems readily shown when national problems such as homelessness or the lack of national medical care for our citizens are mentioned, only to be met with the slogans "we're the greatest country" and "we have the best health care system in the world," regardless of any facts that contradict the latter. These kinds of slogans are a way of hiding from problems (denial), but the problems persist and hiding from them will not provide one iota of solution to them. Some Americans love to quote the Statue of Liberty verse about "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," but just look at what many are now seeking to do, implement cuts to the poorest of Americans, yet they espouse giving tax cuts to the wealthiest of the wealthy. So much for the "tired and poor." And of course "equality" is another touchy subject for "some" Americans who never seem to realize the privilege they've often enjoyed by having been born of European heritage, although they claim to love the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Oh, and they also often "claim" to be religious, often Christian. I'll be trite, but in all cases "actions speak louder than words." 

Longing for this lost virtue of "the American nation" will not bring it back, although 9/11 temporarily brought many Americans to their senses, but again, it was temporary, and I wonder if Al Gore had been president at that time, or better yet, if some such similar incident happened now with Obama as president, if the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, Bachmann, Cruz, Trump, Hannity, O'Reilly, et al, would call for national unity or use the incident to try to destroy the President by inciting hatred and divisiveness? Think about it.

WORD HISTORY:
Roll/Role- "Role" was an offshoot of "roll," but it's meaning was actually derived from the parent word (see below). "Roll" goes back to Indo European "roto," which had the notion of "to turn over or around repeatedly." This gave its Italic/Latin offspring "rota," which meant "wheel," and its diminutive form,^ "rotula," gave Latin the verb "rotulare," with the meaning "to roll." This gave Old French, a Latin-based language, "roeler," with the same basic meaning. English borrowed the word from French during the 1300s as "rollen," and grammatical changes in English soon lopped off the ending leaving us "roll." The noun form has the same basic history, except Latin had a noun "rotulus," which meant "roll of paper, often used for records or documents." This gave Old French "rolle," by then with only the "record, document" meaning. English borrowed the word from French with that same meaning, but the word has expanded in meanings since then, including "dough rolled out in pieces before baking," a usage very common today. Of course the addition of "er" gave English "roller," a device used for rolling out some material like dough or metal. "Role" has the same history as the above words, but the meaning "paper record or document" provided the notion for French "rôle," meaning "a part in a play written on a roll of paper." English borrowed the word from French in the late 1500s or early 1600s. Time has obscured the "written part in a play" idea and the word's meaning has expanded to include "part in a job," and more. Other Germanic languages besides English have borrowed "roll," and, for example, German has "rollen" (verb=to roll) and "Rolle" (noun=role, roll, reel).

^ A diminutive form makes the meaning of a root word (or even a separate word) "smaller" or "more endearing;" thus the Latin word for wheel, "rota," spawned "rotula," which simply means "little wheel." Other examples of diminutives: pig/piglet; duck/duckling; mother/mama/mom/mommy; tiny/teensy/teeny. We also use such in names to show affection or friendship: Margaret/Maggie; Richard/Ricky; Elizabeth/Lizzie; Thomas/Tommy.

Nowhere In Africa (Nirgendwo in Afrika)

"Nowhere in Africa" (German: "Nirgendwo in Afrika") is an absolutely wonderful film. It was released in late 2001 in Europe and in late 2002 in the United States. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It is in German, but with very good subtitles, so please don't let that stop you from missing this great picture. The main characters are a German-Jewish family (the Redlichs) of husband ("Walter," played by Merab Ninidze), wife ("Jettel," pronounced as if "Yettel," as German "J" is pronounced like English "Y," played by Juliane Köhler) and little girl ("Regina," pronounced like "re-geenah," played by Lea Kurka as a young child and by Karoline Eckertz as a teenager), and their Kenyan cook ("Owuor," played by Sidede Onyulo), who really becomes a part of their family. The movie is based on a book by the same name written by Stefanie Zweig, the real life name of the little girl, with many of her real life experiences incorporated into the book. The DVD, available in the U.S., has an interview segment with Stefanie Zweig, who is now about 80 years old (UPDATE: Stefanie Zweig passed away in the spring of 2014 in Frankfurt, Germany, age 81). There is much to this movie, but here are a few things:

What would you do if your homeland were turned into hell? That's the first question of the movie. Germany, the homeland of the Redlich family, has been taken over by the Nazis, who are turning it into a living hell for German Jews and others.* Walter Redlich leaves Germany in 1937 to take a low income job managing a farm in Kenya, an East African nation, then under British rule. He doesn't want to leave his homeland, and he had been an attorney, but survival demands it. He later sends for his wife and young daughter, but he can never convince his father, his sister and his in-laws to leave too, as they believe the Nazi terror will all soon pass. Walter is living on the farm with a tall, thin Kenyan named "Owuor," who is an employee of the English owner. Walter and Owuor become close friends and Owuor begins to teach Walter the local language, Swahili, as Owuor speaks no German. When Regina meets Owuor he picks her up and hugs her and she feels his hair, which is different from her own. This scene is the scene that sticks with me about the picture and it comes into play again later. Jettel is then shown sitting and admiring the scenery when a young Kenyan boy runs up behind her and feels her hair to the delight of his friends. While Regina and Owuor become almost inseparable and he teaches her the language and customs of the local people, which she wholeheartedly welcomes, Jettel misses Germany, her family and familiar surroundings and wants to return "home." She often snaps at Owuor when he tries to help her understand the local customs and she once tells him to learn German if he wants to talk to her (remember, she's in HIS country). She and Walter begin to quarrel, but Walter has been given a radio by another German Jewish farmer who left Germany right when the Nazis took power in 1933, and he has heard the news on a Swiss German station of the infamous "Kristallnacht," a night of terror for Germany's Jews, as Nazi thugs burned and looted synagogues and Jewish shops, beat and arrested Jews, with some Jews being killed. In one argument between Walter and Jettel, he tells her that her treatment of Owuor is awful and comparable to some people back in Germany to whom she would not want to be compared. All of this begins to sink in with Jettel and she finally begins to adopt to her new home.

When the war begins, the British send troops to arrest the male German/German Jewish residents, as they are "enemy aliens;" sort of a supreme irony, as the Nazis had revoked the citizenship of its Jews. They finally release Walter, but he's lost his job, as the British farm owner says he can't have an enemy alien running the farm. Walter and Jettel get another farm job and Owuor tracks them down to join them. The couple send Regina to a British run "white" school. The first day at an assembly, the headmaster tells all Jews to move to the side of the room so that the rest of the students can say a Christian prayer. Later, as Regina does very well in her classes, the headmaster calls her into his office, where, upon her entering he says, "So you're the little Jewish girl." He then wants to know why she is learning so well, to which Regina responds that her father has little money and can't afford for her to fail, so she studies hard. The headmaster then wants to know if it is some Jewish custom to always want to talk about money. So, even in Kenya, far from the Nazis, and among some  "supposed" Christians, anti-Jewish sentiment and bigotry is present.

Both Walter and Jettel receive letters from "home," which stirs their anxiety about the safety of their families back in Germany. Jettel's mother later tells her that she's being "sent to Poland," and Walter tells Jettel it is a virtual death sentence. This sets off a fit of denial by Jettel, but Walter tells her that at least she's lucky in a way, and that he suffers every day, because he doesn't know what has happened to his father and sister. (He finds out later, but I'll let you see the movie for the answer.) Regina becomes a young teenager and asks her mother why people hate Jews so much. Jettel, now fully acclimated to Kenya, tells her that some people can't accept differences in others, but that Africa has taught her that differences are good and that it would be silly if we were all the same.

Walter joins the British Army to find some sort of purpose in his life at that time; a way of striking back at Hitler and the Nazis. When the war ends, Walter is offered a judgeship in Germany, and he and the family must now decide if they want to leave "home" again, for their former "home," filled with so many memories, including the memory of hatred by the Nazis. I'll end it there, so as not to spoil things, but I hope you'll watch this superb film which will leave you feeling good. If you know an "Archie Bunker," have them watch this film. We can't change the world all at once, but we can change it one person at a time.

* The film uses Regina as a sometimes narrator and she tells early on that her father had been an attorney, but that the Nazis then forbid Jews to hold positions in various professions, thus depriving Jews of their means of earning a living. 

Photo is of the Columbia Tristar Special Edition (2 disc) DVD   

WORD HISTORY:
Churl (Churlish)-This word, closely related to the names "Carl/Karl/Charles," is no longer a common word, at least in America, although its adjective form "churlish" is still used. The ancient origin of "churl" is uncertain, but Old Germanic had "karlaz/karilaz," which meant " grown man, mature man." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "ceorl," which had numerous meanings tied to "man/male," like "male peasant, common man, layman, husband." This then became "cherl," before the modern version. The adjective "churlish" in Old English was "cierlisc," and simply meant "having to do with churls." The idea of "peasant or rustic behavior" as opposed to "educated, refined behavior" led to its meaning "rude, surly behavior or disposition," the meaning which still exists today. The other Germanic relatives of "churl" are: German "Kerl," which means "guy, fellow;" Low German Saxon "Keerl" (also guy, fellow); Dutch "kerel" (man, fellow); West Frisian "tsjirl" (guy, fellow); Icelandic and Swedish "karl" (husband, man); Danish "karl" (male farm worker, guy); and Norwegian "kar" (man, guy, fellow).

Bob Dole Hits A Homer!

Former Republican presidential candidate and long time member of Congress, Senator Bob Dole, told it bluntly in a television interview that today's GOP is negative and that it needs to develop a positive agenda. Where I might have to add more is, when Senator Dole says Ronald Reagan could not be in today's GOP, that's because the people who took over your party were invited in by REAGAN, the cheerleader in chief of the anti government and the 'hate government' theme that has been preached like religion by the right wing fanatics who have captured your party, Senator Dole. I like you and respect you and you had many friends across the Senate aisle like Senator Byrd, Senator Kennedy and your recently deceased fellow World War Two veteran, Senator Inouye. I remember the day you resigned from the Senate to campaign for president in 1996 and all Senate Democrats were there; that's how much respect they had for you. Good that you're speaking out, it's a start, but the root problem is there, preached by Limbaugh, Beck, Bachmann and other haters. I've got to believe if you look closely at Lincoln in his memorial, there are some tears to be seen, as he realizes that "the party of Lincoln," has become dominated by a bunch of intolerant, bigoted, and even racist, fanatics. You know, like the ones Lincoln so opposed.  

WORD HISTORY:
Agenda-The word traces back to Indo European "aeg," which had the idea of "move, drive forth." This gave its Latin offspring the verb "agere," which meant "to do." This then produced the Latin noun "agendus," which meant "something to be done," and its plural "agenda." English borrowed the word from Latin in the mid 1600s, seemingly from religious writings, with many English speaking people first using the Anglicized form "agend" for the singular and "agends" for the plural, but the more modern Latin forms, "agendum" and the plural "agenda," prevailed in high speaking society. Most people, however, use only the plural form "agenda," even when meaning the singular. 

Big Man On Campus, A Real Lesson: Beauty's Only Skin Deep

Main Cast:

Allan Katz as Bob, Corey Parker as Alex, Melora Hardin as Cathy, Cindy Williams as Diane Girard, Tom Skerritt as Dr. Webster, Jessica Harper as Dr. Victoria Fisk

"Big Man On Campus" was a movie released in 1989. If you've never seen it, please watch it, it's hilarious. A man is found to be living in the bell tower of a university. He's sort of a combination "hunchback" and "Neanderthal man," with long stringy hair, mismatched clothing, and an unkempt appearance. He speaks little English, but no wisecracks about him therefore fitting in on a college campus. He speaks a strange language (see previous remark), later admitting that he just made it up (okay, one more time; see previous remark. Just teasing, college people). He has the hots for Cathy, one of the students, and if anyone dares to try to harm her, he comes bounding out of the tower building to teach them a quick lesson (you see, it was a university... a lesson... oh forget it). One of the university counselors wants the guy locked up so he'll never be heard from again, but others, including Cathy, want him to be given a chance to learn and to prove he can live in society. Cathy's boyfriend, Alex, is chosen to live with the guy and to try to teach him how to get along in the modern world. Up to that point, the guy's best friend had been a rat he's named "Mocha" or "Moocha," sorry, I'm not a Todd Akin or Michele Bachmann supporter, so I don't speak Neanderthal. Besides the rat, whatever the hell its name is, the guy loves two things: Cathy and chocolate. There's a funny scene in the university cafeteria where Alex tries to get the guy to eat a proper meal, but he tries sneaking some chocolate pudding or mousse. He then gets into trouble when Alex leaves him alone for a few minutes.

The guy gradually learns English, but he has trouble with some expressions, as he takes everything literally, although his quick progress leads him to read some of the classics of literature. The psychology professor decides it's time for the guy to have a name, thank God, as I'm tired of writing, "the guy." By that time, "the guy" is pretty far advanced, and he chooses the name "William F. Buckley," after the famous political commentator. When told that name already belongs to a famous person, he tries "William G. Buckley," only to be told to pick a name that will distinguish him from others. He picks Bob, but with a sentence long last name (I won't spoil it for you, if you haven't seen the picture), after which, he asks the professor if there's anyone famous with that name. In a touching moment, he also tells how his mother died and how he was then left all alone. People made fun of him and he went off and lived in the bell tower.

The counselor who wanted Bob locked up still wants to prove she was right in her judgment and she schemes to get him committed to an asylum. All along Bob proves himself to be brilliant, getting good grades and learning far more than anyone thought possible. This brings jealousy from some, and when Bob is lured out by the counselor, who tells him Cathy is in trouble, the police start a manhunt for Bob. While on the run there's another funny scene, where Bob peeks into a living room window of a house, and the family has the television tuned to the news. Bob hears a television reporter telling about the manhunt, only to hear the reporter get his last name wrong. Meanwhile, a talk show host, patterned after the then fairly popular Morton Downey, Jr. Show,* is ranting how Bob, and all "social misfits," should be locked up, because it's those damned liberals who want to help everyone have a chance in America. The host whips his audience into a frenzy as they pretty much call for Bob's head. The movie ends shortly thereafter, but I won't spoil it for you.

So, the movie is about a "physically deformed" man who is not nearly as deformed as his persecutors, who are warped in their minds. No, Bob is not handsome, but that doesn't affect his mind, which is shown to be topnotch, when he's given a chance to learn, and he has a good heart, compared to the small minds and heartlessness of those who oppose him. The movie's theme song is "Beauty's Only Skin Deep," which says it all.

* Morton Downey, Jr. hosted a syndicated "in your face" talk show (actually a "shout" show), giving "voice" to those angry Americans (Downey's followers were dubbed "Loudmouths") who, I'm sure, not long thereafter formed much of the core of Ross Perot's presidential bids, and undoubtedly latched onto propagandist Rush Limbaugh, who was about to gain traction back in those times. Those still around now most certainly would belong to the Tea Party (update: Trumpists). The shouting and anger displayed during the shows, often whipped up to fever pitch by Downey, was often directed at Americans who actually cared about helping those who faced poverty, medical problems, bigotry or terrible discrimination; thus, while I'm sure some portion of those trying to help people had little or no religious beliefs, they actually espoused Christian values, likely the values of other religious groups too, far more than some percentage of people who actually called themselves "Christian," or some other religious designation. To my recollection, shouting, threatening and bellowing hatred toward others isn't a religious value (certainly NOT Christian). Many guests were those who still dared to call themselves "liberals" in the age of Reagan and the early days of George Bush's presidency, when angry conservative elements referred to liberals as "the 'L' word." The sheer nastiness of the show proved to be its undoing, as advertisers feared a backlash for sponsoring it, and the show was eventually cancelled. To Downey's credit, he did stand by his gay brother, who was also HIV positive and he later admitted the show got to be too extreme. Downey may have had an awakening of sorts, as he went bankrupt not long after his show was cancelled. It's often a hell of a lot easier to spout to others, "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps," than to actually do so successfully ourselves. While he tried a comeback in several locations, including here in Cleveland, he never regained his popularity. A chain smoker who once touted tobacco use as "cool" (maybe I should say, "Kool"), Downey died of lung cancer, but not before he admitted his mistake about tobacco and he advised others not to use it, a case of too little, too late.

  WORD HISTORY:
Tale-This word goes back to Indo European "del/dal/dol," which had the meaning of  "to count, to count off (recount) events of a story." This gave its Old Germanic offspring the noun "talo," which meant "number, a reckoning of numbers." This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "talu," which meant "list of numbers or events, something told/stated (recounted), a story." This then became "tale," presumably with the final "e" being pronounced "eh/ah," before the modern pronunciation, and the meaning became more specific to "a story," although it expanded to "exaggerated, or untruthful story," with the expression "tall tale." There was once a common verb form also, which is now obviously obsolete, although it "apparently" is still used in parts of England and Scotland. The verb was "talian" in Old English, which then became "talen," and finally "tale." A variation, "tael," was the English word for "number," until "number" was borrowed from French (likely the Anglo-Norman dialect) in the late 1200s or early 1300s. Also, if you guessed that "tale" is related to "tell," you are right. Forms of the word "tale," both nouns and verbs, are extremely common in the other Germanic languages, but they often have meanings related to "number" or "reckoning," as German has "Erzählung" (story, tale, narrative),^ Dutch has "taal" (language/speech), Danish has "tale" (speech, speaking voice), Icelandic "tala" (speech, number), and the verb "tala" (to talk, to speak), Norwegian "tale" (speech, voice), Swedish "tala" (to speak) and "tal" (speech). 

^ German "z" is pronounced "ts," like the end of "hits."    

Rolling Back Fascism Is Not Easy, Part Five/Final

Ingrained within fascism has been a "survival of the fittest" code. This seems to appeal to some of the wealthiest people in society (and some others), but certainly not all.  When you aren't particularly worried about how you'll get your next meal or how you're going to pay your rent or electric bill, there might just be a tendency for a disconnect with those struggling to make ends meet, although there are certainly people who abuse the system. The thing is, not everyone getting some sort of assistance is a freeloader; yet, to hear those on the political right talk, the country is just teeming with a bunch of bums. Some of those who have screamed and whined the loudest, like Mitt Romney, have done very well in this country, and I just wonder if they've ever considered how much corporate welfare and questionable, if not outright wasteful, government money from government at all levels (federal, state, local), including for defense, has gone into the bank accounts of some of our wealthiest citizens. My "guess" is, there's been more of that abuse than by those citizens far, far down the economic ladder. The wealthy wouldn't have lobbyists otherwise. The poor can't afford to hire big time lobbyists. Unlike many poorer Americans, the wealthy aren't fighting for survival, they're fighting for "mo' money, mo' money, mo' money." Remember this slogan, "Success, not excess." We need to stop paying heed to those concerned with the plight of billionaires and millionaires, and get back to paying attention to America's struggling middle class and poor. The rich can and will take very good care of themselves, as they always have, but they will have to take less and workers at all levels will have to get more, and that means the wealthy will be kicking and screaming all the way, such is their sense of "entitlement." 

The survival of the fittest part of fascism also appeals to those who want virtually no rules or regulations, as that's true "survival of the fittest." They like the idea of returning to the pre-civilization era, before some humans started worrying about others and sharing certain things. Nope, in their narrow little world, you're on your own, except when it comes to fighting wars, then you MUST belong to their community or face severe consequences, including death.* Their ultimate point is to keep the government and economy from functioning so that people will turn to them. "Hate the government, shut down the government, try to stop the economy from recovering, stop Obama from succeeding, then let us establish a government," this lies behind their ideas.

Unions have declined, but that hasn't stopped the whining by wealthy interests, who have been rather successful in convincing many average people to support the war on unions with the tactic, "Support our anti-union plans and we'll give a job for $8.00 an hour." Of course, said under their breath and with a snicker is, "How you get by on such wages is YOUR problem, but we'll do just fine paying you eight bucks." Fascism always seeks to destroy unions to keep wealthy interests supporting them and to eliminate a source of organized opposition. Beware before it's too late! As I just noted, the economic meltdown brought on by deregulation and poor oversight of financial markets and banks has given wealthy interests a chance to exploit the fear of many average Americans by getting them to take less money and benefits and pitting workers against unions; "divide and conquer." Of course, the wealthiest Americans don't take less money, they take more! There's been little shared sacrifice; in fact, some wealthy interests have whined that they deserve more! As I've mentioned in previous articles, the Mr. Thurston Howell multimillionaire character from "Gilligan's Island" perhaps put it best when he heard that someone was spending some of his money, he said something to the effect, "Little does he care how hard other people worked to make me that money." This survival of the fittest mentality, if carried to its ultimate, would lead to the demise of mankind, as only one person, the most ruthless of all, would survive, and their ultimate death would extinguish humans. And of course, with no other humans to exploit, their death would probably come rather quickly.

Fascists seek to exclude others from their own self created little worlds where they dominate as an elite. Their warped minds build up false enemies as Hitler did with Jews. In this country the hate has spewed forth against African-Americans, Latinos, unions, and yes, sometimes Jews or Muslims. You can't maintain a nation by exclusion, including "undesirables" only when you want them to fight wars or to exploit their labor. The survivalist, ultra nationalist fascists feel a devout hatred for people they see as "foreigners," and they'll use any lie, seeing themselves as above reproach because of their duty to protect others from the people they hate. The "birthers" prove this point all the time, led by one Donald Trump, a survival of the fittest fascist if there ever was one. Roger Ailes has provided the drumbeat of propaganda for the increased fascism in our country, using the technique of  "keep repeating the same lies until enough people accept them as truth." No political party or philosophy has a monopoly on truth, but this is orchestrated by Ailes-led "Fox News," a propaganda organization devoid of any shame as Ailes promotes it as "fair and balanced." 

So, you don't want to be called a "fascist?" Don't act like one and don't support those who are. I suppose all of us at one time or another needs to look into a mirror and ask ourselves some tough questions. If you have been trending toward fascism, take a deep breath, look into the mirror and face reality, you'll feel a lot better than being on the side of evil. We're all part of selfishness, that's why we have to keep reminding ourselves about reaching out to those less fortunate. We have to keep fighting the fight against our own worst inclinations and fears. We aren't perfect individually and we won't be perfect as a nation, but we don't have to be fascists! 

* See "Note ** " in the previous part of this series:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2013/01/rolling-back-fascim-is-not-easy-part.html

WORD HISTORY:
Frock-This word's meaning has varied over time, but generally it came to mean "a long, loose, gown-like garment worn by people of the clergy," but also used as a term for "a hunting coat," and "a formal coat for men," which evolved into the "tails," for white tie, and as part of the term "frock coat," a coat previously used for formal daytime dress for men. The word is still around, but I suppose its most common usage in today's English is as part of "defrock;" that is, "to dismiss someone from the clergy." It "seems" to go back to Indo European "ruk/rugk," which meant "to spin (cloth/fabric)." Its Old Germanic offspring was "rukkaz," which meant "a jacket," but also could mean "a skirt" (Old English had "rocc," meaning "over garment," and German still has "Rock," which means both "jacket" and "skirt," and the other Germanic languages have forms, too). Latin borrowed a form of the word from Germanic, which was then inherited by its Old French offspring, or Old French borrowed a form from Frankish, a Germanic dialect/language, and then passed it to Latin. In any case, the Old French form became "froc," with the religious garment/gown meaning, which was then borrowed into English in the 1300s as "frok," before the modern version. The "f" beginning in the French word "could" be from the influence of Latin "floccus," which meant "a lock of wool," thus; if true, making "froc" something of a compound meaning "wool gown/garment." German borrowed the word from English in the 1700s as "Frack" (the "a" is pronounced as in "father," making it very similar to English "frock") and in modern German it means "a man's formal evening dress, tails."

Rolling Back Fascism Is Not Easy, Part Four

First published January 2013

"Right Wing Extremism" 

Maybe we humans need a certain amount of fear in our lives, I don't know. Is that why we stand in long lines to ride roller coasters and try to find the spookiest haunted houses at Halloween time? Scaring the hell out of us is a pretty major industry. With communism not providing the scariness of times past, the political right has looked around for a new form of "haunted house," although some still like to return to the "communist threat," calling some people, usually Democrats, "communists," or "socialists," a word many people don't really understand. Islamist extremists, likened to fascists by some, galvanized Americans and others to oppose such extremism in other countries, all the while letting our own fascists hide out and grow under the guise of patriotism, as they wrapped themselves in the flag, and some also, in religion, usually Christianity, proving only that anyone can call themselves a Christian, without ever really understanding Christianity.

 In case you haven't noticed, right wingers also like to "claim" to be protectors of the Constitution, like over gun control, for instance; but, like their perversion of Christianity, their misunderstanding (deliberate or not) of "socialism," especially as it relates to Christianity, they have conveniently interpreted the Constitution favorably toward their own extremist views. This is the Second Amendment: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." They continuously quote the last part, without reference to the first part about a "well regulated Militia." It is not a coincidence, in my opinion, that many American fascist groups call their groups "militias." They use the false argument of " they want to take our guns away," when "most" supporters of gun control simply want some reasonable restrictions like the ban on assault weapons reinstated and bans on large magazines of ammunition implemented, but the fascists and the far right continue to maintain  that gun control supporters "want to ban guns." Former Governor Haley Barbour, also a former Republican Chairman, should have been challenged for spouting this nonsense on a recent Meet the Press, but host David Gregory was silent, as were other members on the panel. You don't defeat such nonsense by letting it go unchallenged. Some of the outspoken right wingers have noted that the possession of guns can be used to "protect" them from the government, or I suppose, be used in some violent overthrow of the government. You don't need machine guns and other automatic weapons, or huge arsenals, to go hunt ducks.

It's much the same with the right wing argument, "we just want to scale back the size of government before it takes over." Such a basic concept (and the fear behind it) appeals to some people because it deliberately fails to spell out what their vision of "scaling back government" actually means, which is essentially "we don't want Americans to have heath care, or unemployment benefits, or job training dammit! I've got mine, the hell with you!" Don't be surprised if they interrupt to say, "Oh excuse me, I can't discuss this any more, I've got to go to church. I'm a Christian." They give people truly trying to be Christians a bad name; thus, those trying to be Christians also need to set the record straight and let everyone know that the reprehensible talk and actions of these extremists, who cloak themselves in Christianity, do NOT represent them. What is both exasperating and frightening to me is, however, that some people who have benefited from government programs or unions (by directly belonging to a union, or benefiting from the standards set by union negotiations) are now on the side of the right wing. "Do as I say, not as I do." All of us have disconnects at times, but these folks need to reestablish contact with their own lives and pasts, quickly.

Having debates about the size and operations of government is legitimate and does not make one a fascist, but don't forget the company you are keeping and how to keep that company on the fringe of American politics, where it belongs.

Next.. Final part.

WORD HISTORY:
Gnaw-The ultimate origin of this word is uncertain, although it "may" be from sound imitation. Old Germanic had "gnaganan," which meant "to bite something consistently for a period of time in the hope of wearing it down, to bite off small pieces over a period of time." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "gnagan," with the same meaning. This then became "gnawen," before the modern version. Other Germanic languages have: German "nagen" (previously spelled "gnagan"), Dutch "knagen," Low German Saxon "gnagen," Danish "gnave," Icelandic "naga," Norwegian "gnage," Swedish "gnaga." Frisian apparently does not use a form of the word, at least not in this context.

Rolling Back Fascism Is Not Easy, Part Two

This was first published in January 2013. I'm adding this note 5/25/16: On May 22, Austrian voters narrowly defeated a far right candidate for president, Norbert Hofer, choosing instead, Alexander Van der Bellen.

Nazism differed from Italian Fascism, and indeed from most other European fascist movements, at least to some degree, in that Hitler's fascism was strongly based upon "race" and "ethnic" identity, with the fanatical furious Führer the proponent of mass murder against people he deemed to be racially unfit, with his number one target being Europe's Jews. Members of other fascist movements tended not to emphasize this hatred as much as did Hitler, but they acquiesced to the dominant German dictator by participating in many a crime against minorities.* 

A post World War Two Nazi revival in Germany didn't materialize, although the fear of such remained for decades,** and still does for some. First the Allied occupation forces, and then the Germans themselves cracked down on Nazis and Nazi sympathizers, by banning the display or use of the swastika, even banning medals for veterans of the war, as they virtually all contained a swastika somewhere on the medal, by forbidding the Nazi salute (Hitlergruss, in German; that is, "Hitler greeting"), by banning Nazi songs, and by making the third verse of the national anthem the official version, thus removing the first verse, which had been exploited by the Nazis and other super German nationalists to support conquest, as it touted "Germany over all," but it was originally meant to promote German unity, not conquest, and the third verse more clearly defines that principle with the words "unity, justice and freedom."*** The right wing fanatics have stomped, huffed and puffed, but German democracy has flourished, showing that sometimes national law may need to be to some degree undemocratic to protect the basic principle of democracy from those who would destroy that democracy to gain power, and let's not forget, this was all started under the Allied occupation in West Germany, enforced by three democracies, the U.S., Britain, and France.**** The last I checked, Germany was still a model democracy and the tough anti-Nazi laws haven't diminished that, nor ended civilization. Laws must be flexible and what might be good for one country may not be good for all, or others. Similar measures were put into effect in postwar Austria, but right wing political groups in Hitler's homeland have tended to be more successful than those across the border in Germany, but this is in no way meant to suggest that Austrians are about to lead an establishment of a Fourth Reich, as Austria too seems to be a solid democracy.

Next, Rightwing Extremism In The United States

* Croatian fascism during World War Two manifested itself in hatred of Serbs, their close kin. The only real difference between the two groups is, Croats are Roman Catholic and use the Latin alphabet (some call it the "Roman" alphabet), while Serbs are Eastern Orthodox and use the Cyrillic alphabet (most prominently used in Russia). Religion can be used by some as a powerful motivator, including in the motivation and justification of hatred. In this case religion determined the "ethnicity" of people and several hundred thousand Serbs were murdered and many more were forced to convert to Roman Catholicism by Croats, especially by their militia forces. As to fascist collaborators with the Nazis, this could be an article or series of articles on its own, but briefly, the greatest number of Europe's Jews and Gypsies lived in eastern Europe, especially in the then Soviet Union, Poland, Lithuania, Rumania and Hungary. Fascists in these countries eventually helped the Nazis in their murderous deeds committed right in those regions, or in the sending of Jews to "resettlement areas," a euphemism for "concentration camps," where many were murdered. Only a small percentage survived the Nazi defeat. Mussolini, the Italian dictator, was not a racist anywhere near the likes of his Axis partner Hitler, but he too came under the sway of the man with the toothbrush mustache, and I don't mean Charlie Chaplin, and the "Duce" had his fascist thugs persecute and terrorize Italy's small, but vibrant, Jewish community. Hungary, an Axis ally, held out against deportation of their Jews for much of the war, but by 1944 they too gave in to Nazi pressure and outright force. Earlier, Hungary persecuted and repressed their Jewish population, even murdering Jews, but the vast number of the country's Jewish population lived until the Nazi takeover in 1944. This is in no way meant to suggest that Hungary's pre-1944 treatment of Jews was okay.  

** The plot of "The Quiller Memorandum," a movie from the mid 1960s starring George Segal, was based on a neo Nazi group in West Germany and an agent sent to get information on it. As he meets various Germans, you can never be sure if they are Nazis, Nazi sympathizers, or anti-Nazis. The movie is well worth watching. The link to my article on the movie: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-quiller-memorandum-anti-nazi.html

*** For more on the German anthem, see my article:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2010/09/german-question-part-forty.html

**** East Germany was occupied by the Soviet Union and any inclination by former Nazis to regain power would have been met by severe penalties, and possibly death. "In theory" Soviet Communism was not supposed to be racist and bigoted, but in reality, Stalin was another nutcase whose paranoia brought suppression to some of the Soviet Union's many ethnic and national groups, including to German communities living there, like the Volga Germans (German: "Wolgadeutsche"), who had been living in southern Russia since the 1700s. They had been invited and encouraged to settle there by the German-born Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great. 

WORD HISTORY:
Crime-The ultimate origins of this word are unclear. It traces back to Latin "crimen," which meant "accusation of wrongdoing, offense." Some say this was derived from another Latin word, which itself was borrowed from Old Greek, but I'm not really sold on this. Anyway, "crimen" was inherited by Old French, a Latin-based language, the form of which is uncertain to me, perhaps "crimne," which was then borrowed by English in the 1200s, seemingly as "crime," and with the meaning "sin, evil deed." Within a couple of hundred years this had taken on the more legalistic sense of "act that violates the law." 

Rolling Back Fascism Is Not Easy, Part One

This was first published in January 2013


I spent a good part of my life reading about a favorite historical subject of mine, World War Two. People my age grew up at a time when the subject of the war was a very hot topic, and movies and documentaries were common fare at theaters and on television. Books on the subject were frequently on the best seller lists. Our fathers, uncles, and neighbors served in the armed forces during the war in some capacity, likely overseas. I'm not deliberately slighting the women, as many women served during the war, and many more left their homes to work in factories and other workplaces to take the place of the men serving in the military, although I don't recall any of our women neighbors or family members having served in the military back then, but if I've erred on this, I'm sure I'll hear, and rightly so. The common thread was the fight against fascism. Perhaps naively, people seemed to believe fascism had been so badly bludgeoned, so overtly exposed as murderous, it would remain relegated to small groups of fanatics. If there was any likely threat of a fascist resurgence, it was thought to be in West Germany, where unrepentant Nazis still lingered among the populace, or in South America, where a number of Nazi bigwigs and ...ah ... "smallwigs," had found sanctuary, at least to some extent, after the war.* Evil adapts to exploit fear and make itself acceptable. Nazis and other fascists made themselves important in the fight against communism (the Cold War), as they had military or economic information on the Soviet Union or scientific expertise for the new era of nuclear weapons and rocketry. Western nations cut some of them slack to an extent, as communism was the feared enemy after World War Two, not fascism. Like "Jason" in the "Friday the 13th" movies, we may think we've killed evil, but it always comes back. We must be vigilant; thus, we must repeatedly remind ourselves "never forget" and "never again."

So what is "fascism," anyway? Attempting to give a concise and comprehensive definition of fascism is pretty much akin to trying to nail gelatin to the wall. There are characteristics of fascism, but one of those characteristics, "extreme nationalism," makes it impossible to lump all fascist elements in the world together, because the very concept of this nationalism means "my country is better than your country," and that kind of shoots the idea of international fascism in the ass... ah, I mean, butt. Fascism rather seems to be "nationalistic," but also with characteristics that draw people from various nations to other characteristics, often anti-communism. Fascist nationalism may become more palatable to segments of a national population when a nation is seen by many of its people as in decline, real or imagined. Fascism likes to dwell on the past, the good old days, when the nation was riding high (see more further below).

During World War Two there were fascist movements throughout Europe, and many men from these movements volunteered to fight in Hitler's campaign against the Soviet Union, even later, when the tide of war had shifted against the Nazi dictator. One of Hitler's devout followers was Leon Degrelle. He was from the Walloon region of Belgium; the Walloons being from the French-speaking southern segment of Belgium, which constitutes nearly 40% of the country. Initially he served in a Walloon unit that had been made part of the German Armed Forces (the "Wehrmacht"), but which then became a part of the Nazi Waffen SS; that is, the militarized branch of the SS.**

Besides the characteristic of extreme nationalism, the two most prominent fascist movements, Italian Fascism and German Nazism, had socialist characteristics. Mussolini had even previously been a socialist and after World War One, Hitler joined the small "German Workers Party," which was renamed the "National Socialist German Workers Party, the shortened form of which became "Nazi." Two powerful characteristics, nationalism and socialism, therefore joined forces and eventually gained power in Germany when Hitler was appointed chancellor in January 1933. The "socialism" of both movements was closely tied to the nationalism and the idea of "national community." Interestingly, fascism is fiercely anti-communist, yet it embraces, in part, the major element of communism... socialism. Hm, you think this might all be about just gaining power, pure and simple?

Other important and generally common characteristics of fascism are domination of the state and anti-democratic ideas, with democracy often seen as weak in the fascist ideal society of "survival of the fittest." Big business tended to support both Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany, since once you've got lots of money, "survival of the fittest" doesn't scare you, but workers and those less well off trying to survive, or advance, can be seen as the enemy. Another element is anti-unionism, as unions represent organized workers, and thus they are a threat to the fascist control of the state. Without unions, business had no organized worker groups to fear. As mentioned earlier, emphasis on a nation's past is an extremely important part of fascism. Both Mussolini and Hitler staged parades and rallies promoting their respective national pasts, with Mussolini tying Italian Fascism to the Roman Empire of about fifteen hundred years before. Hitler and the Nazis linked themselves to Medieval times and knights, but also further back to the time of the old Germanic tribes, seemingly in an effort to unite the Germanic peoples in some sort of world domination, but with certain Germanic physical characteristics being an elite. Interestingly, Hitler was dark haired and not like the ideal Nazi racial type with blond hair and blue eyes, more typical of the Nordic Germanic people,*** than many Germans, who, like Hitler himself, were likely of mixed background, including from various Slavic peoples, Latins, Magyars (Hungarians), Baltic peoples, and Jews.****    

More in Part Two

* The most famous, or I should say, "infamous," of these Nazis was Adolf Eichmann, the SS officer charged with overseeing the transport of Europe's Jews to extermination camps in eastern Europe, where millions died. Eichmann was captured by Israeli agents in Argentina, taken to Israel, tried and executed. The trial reminded the world to some degree of how inhuman the Nazis had been, with actual films taken by Nazis themselves and by Allied photographers as concentration camps were liberated late in the war. I say "reminded the world to some degree," because there is really nothing that can convey the mind boggling atrocities and the horrible suffering and terror of those victims trapped by such evil. 

** The German word "Waffe" is closely related to English "weapon," and indeed, that's what it means. Centuries ago, middle and southern Germanic dialects in central Europe, in generally higher terrain, underwent sound shifts, one of which often changed the "p" sound to "f" or "pf." This all happened after the Anglo-Saxons had already left what is now northern Germany and taken control of a good portion of Britain and were founding England; thus, English was unaffected by this shift, although it likely would not have been affected anyhow, as its close cousins, Frisian and Low German, located in the same area of northern Germany (lowlands), were unaffected by the sound shift. Since the dialects affected were in more elevated, even mountainous, areas, the term "High German" is often applied by many people, although that term also equates to "standard German." .

*** Nordic is usually meant of Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes.

**** Jews had scattered from the Middle East into North Africa and parts of Europe over time. Hitler seemingly was troubled for some time that he might be part Jewish, a distinct possibility, now that we have DNA testing. One of Hitler's secretaries said in an interview from about a dozen years ago (she may have said it previously, too), that if she had a chance to see Hitler again in this life or in another, she would ask him what he would have done if he had found out that he was part Jewish, gassed himself? For more on Hitler's ancestry, see my article: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2010/10/hitler-jew.html

WORD HISTORY:
Murder-This word traces back to the Indo European root "mer/mor," which meant "die," and its offspring "mertro," which meant "kill." This gave the Old Germanic offshoot "murthran," which meant "murder, death." This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "murthor," which meant "sinful act, punishable killing, murder," and also "myrthra," which meant "murder." These later merged to become "murder." The verb form came from Old Germanic "murthjan," which gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "myrthrian." Other Germanic languages have: German "Mord" (noun) and "ermorden" (verb), Low German Saxon "Moord" (noun) and some dialects have "morde" (verb), Dutch "moord(en)" (noun) and "vermoorden" (verb"), West Frisian "moard" (noun) and "moardzje" (verb), "Danish "mord" (noun) and "myrde" (verb), Icelandic "Morð" (noun-essentially equivalent to "morth") and "myrða/myrtha" (verb), Norwegian "mord" (noun) and "myrde" (verb), Swedish "mord" (noun) and "mörda" (verb).