Read more
In the aftermath of the Christchurch mosques massacre, Jeff Sparrow explores the dark potential of fascism today whereby isolated individuals can operate destructively and influence one another, in some cases weaponising the despair brought about by climate change.
About the author
Jeff Sparrow is a writer, editor, broadcaster, and Walkley Award–winning journalist. He is a columnist for The Guardian Australia, a former Breakfaster at Melbourne’s 3RRR, and a past editor of Overland literary journal. His most recent books are Fascists Among Us: online hate and the Christchurch massacre; Trigger Warnings: political correctness and the rise of the right; and No Way But This: in search of Paul Robeson. He lectures at the Centre for Advancing Journalism at The University of Melbourne.
Summary
The first book to unearth the Christchurch massacre’s fascist roots and examine what it represents and threatens.
The massacre of more than fifty worshippers at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, shocked the world. The murders were not random. They expressed a particular ideology, one that the alleged perpetrator described as ‘fascism’.
But what does fascism mean today — and what kind of threat does it pose? Jeff Sparrow traces the history of the far right, showing how fascists have adapted to the new politics of the twenty-first century. Burgeoning in dark places online, contemporary fascism exults in violence and picks its targets strategically. Today, it is Muslims; tomorrow, it will be Jews or gays or Asians.
With imitative massacres already occurring around the world, Christchurch must be a wake-up call. This book makes a compelling, urgent case for a new response to an old menace.
Additional text
‘[A]rgues that we need more information, rather than information blackouts, in response to fascist terrorism … He shows how and where fellow fascists form shadowy internet communities to foment violence against immigrants and minorities and spur dialogue on the “Optics War,” “ecofascism,” and “accelerationism” … Sparrow convincingly argues that the more we understand about the last terrorist, the better we can prevent the next one.’
