[Ads-l] Saying: Fascism will come disguised as anti-fascism

[Dan Goncharoff]

The "one-armed man"? The guy from The Fugitive??

On Mar 1, 2017 10:06 PM, "Peter Reitan" <pjreitan at hotmail.com> wrote:

> I found the 1938 Mencken citation when the discussion was going on here
> last week, but didn't mention it here because I was under the impression
> that someone had already found an early citation.
>
>
> I also found a news item from 1933 that expressed the general idea that
> anti-fascists could act with fascist-style violence, although not in a
> pithy phrase and not by a notable personage.  Interestingly (at least to
> me) the news item involves a "The Fugitive"-style manhunt for a one-armed
> man:
>
>
> "Possibility that the bomb explosion which demolished the home of John M.
> Di Silvestro, 1619 S. Broad st., on January 28 [(1933)], may have been
> perpetrated by a notorious group of New York anarchists was suggested by
> Mr. Di Silvestro yesterday. . . .
>
>
> "Police, meanwhile, revealed yesterday that they are searching for "a
> one-armed man" who was described to them in an anonymous tip as holding 'an
> everlasting hatred against Di Silvestro.' . . . .
>
>
> "'Rev. Di Domenica,' he added, 'speaks today the same language as the
> notorious anarchist group in New York which believes in intimidation and
> terrorism, under the guise of Anti-Fascism, to foster violent revolt
> against all constituted authorities and government.'"
>
>
> Philadelphia Inquirer, February 7, 1933, page 2 (Newspapers.com).
>
>
>
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> ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 1, 2017 5:30 PM
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> Subject: Re: Saying: Fascism will come disguised as anti-fascism
>
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
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> Subject:      Re: Saying: Fascism will come disguised as anti-fascism
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> -------------------
>
> Great thanks to Dan and Stephen. The earliest match I've located is
> still February 22, 1936. Here are some more instances. The first one
> below ascribes the comment to Bruce Bliven.
>
> H. L. Mencken expressed the same idea in a column dated November 6,
> 1938. I found the Mencken citation several days ago, but I now see a
> note at newspapers.com saying: "clipped by pjreitan 6 days ago". So I
> think Peter Reitan found it first.
>
> [ref] 1937 June 22, The Evening Herald (The Daily Herald), Not All
> Fascists Wear Funny Colored Shirts (Editorial), Section 2, Quote Page
> 2, Column 1, Provo, Utah. (Newspapers_com)[/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Bruce Bliven, editor of the New Republic, sagely remarked not long ago
> that if or when Fascism ever makes any headway in America, it will
> probably be known as "Anti-Fascism."
> [End excerpt]
>
>
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>

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