Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Advice from history

Willamette University historian Seth Cotlar shared this fascinating artifact of another era when people in the United States had to struggle to combat anti-Semitism. Published in 1943 by the American Jewish Committee,  "What to Do When the Rabble-Rouser Comes to Town" was distributed to Jewish communities to warn people against doing and saying things which stirred up controversy with anti-Semitics [sic]..." 

In today's hyper-polarized world, we might not take the same tack with our homegrown fascists and nativist thugs. We cannot simply deny them a microphone; that's no longer possible. But we can still expose them. And we can sure recognize the type: the crooked fat cat with his lawyers and his army of muscle men.





Let's send him slinking away once again.

1 comment:

R P Mitchell said...

In my youth, a blanket party was simply, a beating...Administered with enthusiasm and accuracy, ensuring that the subject would NEVER, EVER appear again...Problem?