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Let me make two points:
There is a difference between a racist and a racist remark. I have co-workers that make racist remarks to me or in conversation with others. I do not necessarily think that they are racists (perhaps some are), but they definitely reflect the racist thinking and practices that exist in US society. A part of racism is the de-humanizing of a group, and the building up of rationalizations to excuse the practice of racism. For instance, in the Anti-Bellum South a common rationalization was that Africans were intellectually and morally inferior to whites, and that therefore it was actually "the white man's burden" to bring Christian religion to Africans, whether they wanted it or not. It was further rationalized that slavery was actually an institution that provided the opportunity for Africans to benefit from contact with "superior" civilizations, whether they wanted it or not. Of course, the cruder, more dehumanizing aspects of racism grew along with this "benevolent" view. Racism, of course, still exists in this society ( and others), although it has been weakened by the victories of the Civil Rights movement, and by revolutions in countries such as South Africa and Algeria. An outcome of continued racist practices in this country, is the reaction against those practices and behaviors. I think John was reacting against what he perceived to be a racist remark---whether the person who made the remark is a racist is something that, I think, John may be uncertain of, but still it's not surprising that John, or anyone who has faced consistent discrimination, would react in such a way. However, on the other hand, baiting, whether it's race-baiting, or red-baiting, does nothing to achieve any meaningful discussion, and always devolves into, you guessed it, name-calling hysterics.
Secondly, most of the definitions of fascism are useless, because they are so broad that they could include Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, the slave-owning South, and maybe the Roman Empire. To find a useful definition of fascism, I think it's necessary to read books such as "Fascism and Big Business" by Daniel Guerin, a French journalist who lived in Germany and France prior to WWII.
Soliday
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