Toni Morrison's observations on censorship show our collective unwillingness to address mainstreaming fascist ideas & iconography to be something larger: "The historical suppression of writers is the earliest harbinger of the steady peeling away of additional rights and liberties that will follow." - ThreadSky

wihorne.bsky.social • 41 days ago

Toni Morrison's observations on censorship show our collective unwillingness to address mainstreaming fascist ideas & iconography to be something larger:

"The historical suppression of writers is the earliest harbinger of the steady peeling away of additional rights and liberties that will follow."

Comments

irmagooddoggie.bsky.social•41 days ago

📌❤️🇺🇸

wihorne.bsky.social•41 days ago

The more I've grappled with Black antifascist thinkers like Morrison over the last few years, the more I've come to understand the ways that the "order" liberalism was fundamentally always committed to fascism & its ideological parent in colonialism.

websterzcat.bsky.social•41 days ago

An important read. That you for sharing.

wihorne.bsky.social•41 days ago

The first principle of fascism is chaos—that our lived, embodied experiences & desires are disorderly. While fascists famously resort to expanding existing liberal systems of repression to reign in this "chaos," what they also demand is silence.

wihorne.bsky.social•41 days ago

We would arguably better understand fascism by studying the FBI surveillance & sabotage or the Black Panther Party, under which Morrison was also targeted, than looking to timelines & scales of street fighting of "classical fascism."

brianjgriffith.bsky.social•41 days ago

Wouldn’t it be better to study scholarly histories of fascisms?

wihorne.bsky.social•41 days ago

I mean, do that too? But if we fail to account for the work of Black antifascists, as significant segments of the literature has, we're missing something crucial.

brianjgriffith.bsky.social•41 days ago

I get you. I’ve just seen so many Americanists responding to this context of fascist resurgence by stepping over the most obviously relevant historiography to say things like “It’s really about Reconstruction and Jim Crow.” Well, yes, maybe. But it’s mostly about fascism, which has a history.

wihorne.bsky.social•41 days ago

Likewise, we would better understand fascism by looking at the historical anti-immigrant & colonial policies of the 20th century U.S. Or the internal/external enemy tactics of the "War on Terror," both promoted by the "order" & profits of liberalism at the expense of targeted communities.

wihorne.bsky.social•41 days ago

Against this historical fascist/colonial production of silence, Morrison argues, "A writer’s life and work are not a gift to mankind; they are its necessity," a precondition not only of antifascism, but of living itself.

thomas-sparrevohn.bsky.social•40 days ago

I love her writing to too deeply do your comment justice - Having read a lot she still stands out - and her talent in terms of sheer technique are unmatched - not to belittle her message ❤️

wihorne.bsky.social•40 days ago

She's one of the most brilliant thinkers of our time.

thomas-sparrevohn.bsky.social•40 days ago

Oh - yes her and Seamus Heaney are my sort of commentary people - I read to much so I am being unfair to my book darlings - But Tove Janson springs to mind - Her summer and winder books spring to mind - But then again Max Frisch "Bin order die Raise nach Peiking" is embedded in my mind ❤️

thomas-sparrevohn.bsky.social•40 days ago

I love and admire all of her books - not just for the story telling but for the sheer ability technically - I have never come across an author - who will shift style that effortlessly - she was truly a master of her craft ❤️

thomas-sparrevohn.bsky.social•40 days ago

Well not just that which is true - but her craftsmanship was simply extraordinary - In the early books she plays with different forms - and it's a tour de force - first time I read Jazz it blew my mind - how do you keep a rhyming go through an entire book and still tell a story - master

writingallwrongs.bsky.social•40 days ago

Hmm, so much chaos in this apocalypse the recent book banning may be part of the plan.
WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO WAKE UP MAGA!!! JC

PAY ATTENTION & KEEP UP WILL YA 🤪🤪🤪

eliseflynn.bsky.social•40 days ago

Isn't buying up all the media to censor any and all other voices also one of the hallmarks of fascism? It's the insidious, treacherous silencing of those who don't tow the party line.

“Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.” - Joseph Goebbels

wihorne.bsky.social•40 days ago

That's exactly right! One thing that struck me as I was rereading this yesterday is the way the media already understands this & has self-censored & accepted fascist discourse even *before* being forced to do so.

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply