I have long been struck by the similarity of the current state of the far-right rhetoric (quite ably displayed in many Pages and articles via sharp-eyed Lizards) to the rhetoric of 50 years ago. I can’t remember when I saw it, but I saw a snippet of an early-’60s interview with G L Rockwell a while back, and my jaw hit the ground. His phraseology and use of terminology could have come from the mouth of any number of so-called “conservatives” these days. Word for word.

I won’t link to anything of his, nor do I intend to list quotes. (Note I also did not use the full name.) Several generic quotes websites have some of his choicest quotes identified — but exercise caution, because many of the search results link to abysmal filth that no sane person wants to see.

But, I digress. A bit.

US News recently published an editorial on Rosa Parks’ 100th birthday that reprinted a “Pro and Con” story they ran in 1956 regarding the Montgomery bus boycott. The “Pro” response was penned by Dr. King, the “Con” by the editor of the Montgomery Advertiser. The level of condescension is breathtaking:

Southerners would evince their not-unadvertised superiority to the undeveloped colored mass by restraint and coolness in the teeth of the exasperating, rash demands of the Negro and his tedious, officious exploiters among Northern politicians. Southerners would cease exalting what they call the “Southern way of life” into the grandeur of Monticello and the heroism of the Battle of the Clouds; instead the prevailing social system should be matter-of-factly accounted simply the best that long experience has contrived, one which the North has flattered with clandestine, pharisaical imitation. The Southern shibboleth should be kept simple and basic: Go on wishing the Negro well despite his unrealistic aggressions, giving him every assistance even in the face of his taunts, recognizing that the whites have a best interest in his development—so long as it is apart.

Read the rest here.

In moments of frustration, I find it’s useful to remember how deeply embedded this attitude is, and how long it has been going on. We’re in a long game here, and I think we may be at least another 50 years away from this attitude becoming only a memory.

Somehow, we have to keep chipping away.