The Fire This Time

Full-scale fascism has hit home in the U.S. In Ferguson, Missouri, to be exact. Granted that some people have turned to violence and looting as part of the protests over Michael Brown's death, but, by all accounts, the police have gone overboard themselves.They have gone so far as to arrest journalists from The Washington Post and The Huffington Post, as well as impeding coverage from other sources. In other words, law enforcement has turned lawless.

These events should be an eye-opening experience for all those who naively believe in the silly "exceptionalism" of the United States. There are still too many people who think that these kinds of things only happen in barbaric and inferior countries, but not in the good ol' USA.

Things haven't changed all that much since James Baldwin wrote The Fire Next Time. Next time is now.

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