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"Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been
repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the
process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an
endless present in which the Party is always right." - George Orwell, "1984"
“People on the left have been quite busy these days downplaying the
significance of what is happening. To them, fascism can only be experienced on the right, and takes
the shape and form of a president who fires tear gas into a crowd of ‘peaceful protesters.’
“But as Orwell expressed so well, fascism is not a partisan phenomenon,
and can exist wherever and whenever a society decides to exert dominion over its citizens by usurping
the one true thing that sets them apart as human: their independent minds.
“Taking hold of a man's mind by denying him access to the truth can turn him
into something less than human. It makes him into an unthinking, unquestioning half-creature that might
breathe and eat and walk and work and even love, but who is a simple cog in the wheel of the state
machine.” (Ref. 1)
These days, here in 2020, in good Orwellian style, we have been witnessing an
effort to “honor black lives”. This is becoming the new normal: Honor one culture by insulting another.
We change the name of the “Columbus Day” holiday to “Indigenous People Day”. According to our American
history revisionists, Christopher Columbus was the great genocidal Satan.
In 2020, the thought police have taken over all civil discourse. These thought
police are “trying to teach our children that he {Columbus} was an evil man, crushing context, creating facts,
conning the naive. Orwell knew the playbook and blueprint intimately, and wrote it down for us.
“{Asylum seekers} and refugees from totalitarian states . . . understand what
it is to live in countries where society, either directly through the government or by the intimidation
of special interest groups, tells you what to think. They fled their own private hells to escape, to
find freedom.
“I am horrified to have them see those tragic histories repeat themselves
here.
“And so, I will not say the appropriate things. I will not apologize for a
guilt I do not bear. I will not engage in pithy, socially woke slogans. I will not grovel, bend the
knee or worry that my words might get me ostracized, unemployed or even killed.
“I choose to follow Orwell's warning. I hope I'll have company.”
(Ref. 1)
During the first half of the 20th century, the world witnessed the Orwellian
states of Communist Russia and Nazi Germany when Hitler and Stalin took control of the people, their
minds and their lives. Adolph Hitler and his Nazi thugs, along with Josef Stalin and his Communist
Party accomplices, decided what was acceptable in art, music, literature, and speech. “Unacceptable”
books and “decadent” literature were banned and burned. The Nazi and Communist parties, under
Hitler’s and Stain’s direction, controlled what was deemed permissible and ordered the destruction
of what they considered offensive. Those who dared oppose Hitler and Stalin, along with many who
simply sat quietly on the sidelines, were killed or imprisoned. Here in America, nearly a century
later, we are witnessing the suppression of free speech, the ostracizing of anyone who dares to speak
up, the empowering of “group-think”, and the forced obedience of the masses to those with the
most strident voices.
In many respects, America has now regressed to the status of a dictatorship
in which “free speech” is reserved for the anointed few. For daring to criticize rioting, looting,
and vandalism by protestors of the death of George Floyd, a local TV personality was forced to
apologize for speaking his mind and ended up losing his long-running television show. In this year
of 2020, George Orwell’s 1984 has definitely arrived. Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin must be
smiling in Hades.
“Dave Andelman, CEO of the Phantom Gourmet and co-owner of the Mendon
{Massachusetts} Twin Drive-In, apologized Saturday night after posting a series of Facebook posts
on his personal profile over the past several weeks disparaging protests happening around the state
and country.
“Andelman issued the apology using the Facebook page of his company, the
Phantom Gourmet, late Saturday night.
“ ‘I want to apologize. I maintain my own Facebook page,’ he wrote in the
post. ‘I made comments on that page that were inappropriate, hurtful and wrong regarding Boston
protests. . . I made a mistake. I apologize. I feel terrible. We all make mistakes. And I ask for
your forgiveness.’
“WBZ-TV has decided to place Phantom Gourmet on hiatus until further review,
WBZ {reported}.
“In a statement reported by WBZ, . . . ‘WBZ-TV is committed to our community,
by working together, listening to one another, and supporting each other. After careful consideration,
we have decided to place Phantom Gourmet on hiatus pending further review.’
“Andelman has since made his Facebook account private . . . There is no
mention of the controversy on the drive-in’s social media accounts.
- - -
“In a few of the posts, Andelman called out what he believed to be
unconstitutional and anti-businesses practices from the state.
“ ‘Blue states: If you’re a business owner who wants to protest or make a
living, stay home! If you’re ‘a protester’ violating every safety standard and law, come on down!
Blatantly anti-constitution and political, ’he wrote in a May 31 post.
“ 'Maybe if looters set fire to restaurants, we could allow them to open for
shish kebab and s’mores? MA govt doesn’t seem to care about law abiding and hard working people. Sad,’
he wrote in a June 1 post.
“ ‘Zero efforts to stop or distance these ‘protests’. Open business now
and stop this silly charade,” he wrote in a June 2 post.
“He also took to Facebook to defend New Orleans Saint quarterback Drew Brees,
who was in the spotlight earlier this month for saying he could ‘never agree with anybody disrespecting
the flag of the United States of America’ . . . Brees has {also been forced to apologize} for comments
that were ‘insensitive and completely missed the mark’ when he reiterated his opposition to Colin
Kaepernick’s kneeling during the national anthem in 2016.
“Additionally, Andelman criticized politicians, police officers and residents
who took a knee.
“ ‘If the people who fought to create and defend this country knew
politicians and police were ‘taking a knee’ after looting in major cities, while millions of law
abiding citizens were denied the right to make a living, they’d jam bayonets into their own heads,’
[Emphasis mine] he wrote in a June 10 post.
“ ‘We don’t take a knee here. This is America, not Game of Thrones. Your
desperate need for approval, from those who hate cops and country regardless, is pathetic. Have a
great day!,’ he wrote Friday morning.” (Ref. 2)
Be careful of what you say: it is guaranteed to offend someone. You
could be forced to retract what you said. Freedom of speech is now becoming an empty figure of
speech.
“Be careful as you read this, Comrade. Your waitress may be watching.
“Yes, as you sit outside waiting for your panini or plate of eggs, your server
could be surveilling. Your barkeep may be keeping abreast of your commentary.
“Welcome to Massachusetts, where every restaurant could be Cafe 1984.
“Just ask Swampscott Selectman Donald Hause. He was at the Mission on the
Bay last Thursday, having drinks with friends. Not surprisingly, the conversation ‘included many
topics of the day such as the Black Lives Matter movement, politics, media coverage, the police and
re-opening businesses,’ Hause says. ‘At one point, I shared my personal view that I believed the
rioting and looting was hurting the Black Lives Matter movement and its core message.’
“A person with a critical opinion about rioting and looting? Discussing
the current #BlackLivesMatter movement in less-than-laudatory terms? An outrage!
[Emphasis mine]
“Fortunately, social justice warrior and bartender Erik Heilman was nearby.
He overheard Hause voicing his opinion and once he was back home, Heilman outed the selectman for the
sinister nonconformist he is.
“ ‘I witnessed Don talk about the illegitimacy of the BLM civil rights
movement. He declared it was nothing but a bunch of ‘Liberal (expletive),’ Heilman posted on Facebook.
‘I was dumbfounded by the things … these people casually throw around as if nobody would hear
them.’
“Well, Comrade, they can hear you. In fact, members of the progressive mob
(#ProgMob) are probably listening right now.
“Like their predecessors — the Jacobins of France, the Reds of Russia, the
Stasi of Eastern Europe — they understand that their most powerful weapon is fear. Making the case
for #DefundThePolice is hard. But scaring people into submission by destroying the lives of dissenters?
That’s easy.
“And so Drew Brees, who said he didn’t agree with disrespecting the flag as
a strategy for political protest, was dragged to the progressive gallows and forced to apologize.
Dave Andelman of Phantom Gourmet criticizes ‘politicians and police (for) ‘taking a knee’ after
looting in major cities’ and has to resign from the business it took decades of hard work for him
to build. He also apologized for his remarks.
“Last week the Washington Post highlighted white Minneapolis liberals who
struggled with how to talk about the political protests, as well as the riots and looting, that swept
their city. ‘It felt wrong to say we’re with you until you start looting,’ said one 33-year-old
suburban mom.
“Of course it’s wrong! Anything other than ‘We’re with you — period!’ is wrong.
The Social Justice Jacobins will accept no less.
“ ‘I am trying to push myself to understand looting,’ she added later, and
not a minute too soon.
“You must learn to understand looting. You must not question policy proposals
like replacing cops with social workers, no matter how illogical they seem. Otherwise — you’re
out.
“Once again, ask our Comrades in Swampscott.
“When the pro-BLM bartender posted the customer’s private conversation, he
was promptly fired. When you run a business you have to have rules and you have to follow the rules,
according to Mission on the Bay co-owner Marty Bloom.
“ ‘If you’re here, you’re in Switzerland,’ Bloom said Tuesday. ‘People need
confidentiality in our restaurant.’
“It took less than 24 hours of ProgMob to turn Switzerland into
Soviet territory. [Emphasis mine]
“Firing Heilman ‘was a mistake,’ said fellow co-owner Wellington Augusto.
‘Erik is correct in standing up for what is right, and I am proud of what he has accomplished with
his message.’
“ ‘It is with that in mind we no longer can welcome Don Hause into our
establishment,’ Augusto added.
“Some people would say they don’t want to go to a restaurant where the
employees monitor your opinions. Some would say this is a lousy way to run a bar. Some might even
say there’s something unhinged about politically obsessed extremists, and tragic about the business
owners and institutions too frightened to stand up to them.
“Some people might say all these things, Comrade. As long as they don’t say
them . . . out loud.” (Ref. 3)
Adolph Hitler decided what was acceptable art in the 1930’s in Nazi Germany.
There are those here in the United States of America in the year 2020 who are trying to do the same
thing. Unbelievably, there are many Americans who are buying into this same form of Nazi style
censorship.
“Abraham Lincoln is now problematic. No, I’m not kidding. Our greatest
president who guided the nation through the American Civil War and expertly navigated the turbulent
political waters to get the 13th Amendment through Congress has been targeted by the progressive mob.
In Boston, the mayor is considering tearing down a statue of the 16th president of the United States
after a petition from a legion of morons said it was offensive (via WCVB 5):
“Calls to take down a statue of Abraham Lincoln in Boston's Park Square,
between the Park Plaza and the Transportation Building, {were growing in mid-2020}. The statue of
President Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, is depicted with a slave on his knees.
“A petition to remove the statue was spearheaded by an African American man
from Boston . . . who says he's been seeing the statue since he was a kid.
“ ‘It says that it's a statue that's supposed to represent freedom. But, to
me, it represents submissiveness,’ . . . ‘It represents: 'Know your place, because that's where you
belong.’
“. . . his petition {had} the attention of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh . . .
“ ‘This is a great opportunity to get some local black artists involved in the
creation of (a new) statue, to come up with something new that represents equality,’ {the African
American} said. ‘Right now, I have the momentum and leverage with everything going on in the world,
that we can actually make a difference here.’
“A spokesperson for City Hall said the mayor was in favor of removing the
statue and ‘willing to engage in a dialogue with the community about its future in Boston.’
“Okay, well this guy is a clown - and he’s just one opinion. Also, we’re
going to remove Lincoln because . . . other mental defectives agree with him. This isn’t about
equality, folks. You all know this. This is about American liberals hating this country, its history,
and their attempts at erasing it. It will not end with Confederate statues or names of U.S. Army bases.
It won’t end there. Lincoln is now targeted. And soon George Washington and Thomas Jefferson will be
added to the hit list. This retroactive application of ‘wokeness’ to American history is cancerous.
And for all the liberals who try and fail miserably to hurl the ‘snowflake’ label back at us - this
is why you can’t. We don’t throw tantrums and foam at the mouth over statues, especially one honoring
the nation’s greatest president.” (Ref. 4)
Subsequently, at the end of June 2020, ”The Boston Art Commission voted
unanimously . . . to remove from Park Square {the} statue that represents Abraham Lincoln freeing
the slaves.” (Ref. 5) What has America come to? Where is America going?
Did George Orwell correctly predict the future of America when he wrote 1984.
“Before entering politics Adolf Hitler was a painter. Twice rejected for a
place at Vienna's Akademie der bildenden Künste (Academy of Fine Arts), he had strident views on the
nature of art and its role in society . . .
- - -
“Attacks on art began almost immediately after Hitler's accession in 1933
. . .” (Ref. 6)
Art that didn’t meet the Fuhrer’s approval was removed
or destroyed at his whim. Such appears to be the case with statues that do not meet the approval of
the self-appointed American Gestapo of today. Such was foretold in Orwell’s 1984
George Orwell’s forecast missed by some 36 years, but here in 2020 his
predictions seems to be coming true at last. The thought police are running rampant. We are all
being subjected to the tyranny of the minority. Now, an American style of Fascist / Communist
dictatorship is taking hold and many are being forced to conform to the party line -
or else!
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References:
- Crusade to erase washes over us, Christine Flowers, The Korean Times,
15 June 2020.
- WBZ-TV puts Phantom Gourmet show on hiatus after controversy, Cesareo Contreras,
telegram.com,
15 June 2020.
- Raise a glass to vanishing right to voice an opinion, Michael Graham,
Boston Herald, Page 15, 18 June 2020.
- It's Happened: Abraham Lincoln Statues Become Target of the Left-Wing Mob,
Matt Vespa, Townhall,
15 June 2020.
- Boston Will Remove Park Square Statue Of Lincoln Freeing Slaves, Saraya Wintersmith,
WGBH NEWS,
30 June 2020.
- Degenerate Art: The Attack on Modern Art in Nazi Germany, 1937 review – What
Hitler dismissed as 'filth',
Jason Farago, The Guardian, 13 March 2014.
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