Scroll down to read this post.

 

Readers!

 

The time has come for my annual short Thanksgiving/Christmas fund drive for Behind The Black. I must do this every year in order to make sure I have earned enough money to pay my bills.

 

For this two-week campaign, I am offering a special deal to encourage donations. Donations of $200 will get a free autographed copy of the new paperback edition of Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, while donations of $250 will get a free autographed copy of the new hardback edition. If you desire a copy, make sure you provide me your address with your donation.

 

As I noted in July, the support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.

 

In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.

 

Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:

 

4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.


Leftist fascism at the start of 2018

Beginning in October 2017, I began to do weekly posts listing the free speech atrocities that were occurring on American campuses. I finished the year with a summary which listed all the colleges where such tyranny appeared to be supported and encouraged. As I noted,

[A]lmost every college shown marks a moment when leftist members of an administration, facility, or student body acted to squelch the free speech rights of a conservative. Nor do I think this is because of bias on my part. From the beginning I have recognized the possibility that I might unfairly only report oppressive incidents committed by the left, and have tried to avoid that. Unfortunately, despite my sincere effort to report incidents where conservatives tried to silence liberals, during the whole year I only came across one event where a conservative college acted to shut down a dissenting liberal speaker. I admit that I might have missed a few, but even if I did I do not think this would change the overall pattern. 2017 was a year in which the left decided that it was acceptable to act like fascist thugs and do whatever they could to shut down the free speech of opposing points of view.

I have been lax posting these weekly reports since the beginning of 2018, and this post is my attempt to catch up. Interesting, I got inspired to do this by a story that isn’t directly related to academic fascism at all: Christian Bridal Shop Closes Down Over Fear of LGBT Law After Facing Death Threats.

The local government there is about to pass an ordinance that will make it illegal for these dressmakers to both practice their religion while also making wedding dresses. Rather than violate their conscience, they are shutting down. Worse however was the level of hate directed at them simply because they do not support same-sex marriage:

Because of the store’s refusal to sell dresses for same-sex weddings, Boucher and her family have faced a variety of different threats through social media, email and telephone since 2014. People have not only threatened to burn down their place of business but have also threatened to shoot them in the head. Last summer, the shop closed down temporarily to the public and was only accepting appointments because the harassment got so bad.

Much like the early days of Christianity in the Roman empire, faithful Christians are now finding that they must go underground to practice their faith in America.

It is for this reason that the title of this post uses the term “leftist fascism,” not “academic fascism.” Even though most of the events where jack-booted thugs have attacked innocent people, merely for expressing their freedom of speech, have occurred on college campuses, I realize that this problem has spread beyond the campus. We are now faced with a fascist movement in the U.S., linked to the Democratic Party, that is filled with hate for anyone who disagrees with it, and whose goal is to destroy all dissenters.

If you doubt me, then I dare you to read some of the following stories:

Nor is this fascist movement limited only to the United States:

In some cases the violence is perpetrated by the students, with either the support of the school or its willingness to appease by looking the other way. In other cases the school administration itself acts to silence debate and dissenting views. In all cases, the actions are of those who wish to not only silence debate, but to squelch knowledge and encourage ignorance. The demand at Notre Dame by students to remove murals of Columbus is a fine example of this. Anyone who has ever taken any history course about Columbus always learns about his participation in the slave trade. No one has ever whitewashed this fact. By demanding that he be wiped from history means that future students won’t know anything about him, except what these fascists thugs declare.

And then there are stories that, while not specifically about actions aimed at silencing political dissent, illustrate the genocidal, bigoted, oppressive, and foolish mindset of this fascist movement:

The freedom-loving people of the world had better start realizing that we are faced with the rise of a new fascism movement, and act to do something about it. In general the left here is made up of bullies. They don’t yet have any real legal power. You stand up to them and they fold like a house of cards. Sadly, too few people appear willing to stand up to them.

This must change. If it doesn’t, these thugs are going to soon actually have legal power, and they will then use it with all the thuggish force they can against anyone who stands in their way.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

7 comments

  • Phill O

    Did not Obama state he would follow a career of community organization after leaving the White House? Did not Obama have his coming out party at Bill Ayers? Did not Bill Clinton dodge the draft a go to Russia to campaign?

    IMO, the division in the USA is very similar to that seen during the Vietnam war. Only now, the dissenting organization includes the democrat party full blown.

    This division is not limited to the USA as leftist across the planet use the same tactics.

  • Cotour

    The solution in the age of Trump? (while it lasts)

    The president needs to issue an executive order that will deny funding to any college that accepts government funds who promotes any particular political or politically correct agenda or policy that denies and penalizes any individuals free speech.

    Political correctness and just plain stupid dress up as “the right thing to do” is what is going to kill everyone. And it is not by mistake or without thought.

  • Andrew_W

    Jonathan Haidt: How to Clean Up the Universities of Sjws
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL8OgZFQIT4
    [14:26]

  • Edward

    Robert wrote: “Much like the early days of Christianity in the Roman empire, faithful Christians are now finding that they must go underground to practice their faith in America.

    We need not go back to the Roman Empire. The Pilgrims came to America in order to practice their religion free from religious persecution by the King of England.

    Oh the irony. The nation that was founded in order to be free of religious oppression and persecution is now the instigator of the same treatment.

    To paraphrase a radio show: Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of the left wing? The right wing knows; from first hand persecution.

    Jonathan Haidt mentions the Heterodox Academy’s Guide to Colleges:
    https://heterodoxacademy.org/guide-to-colleges/

  • Max

    And executive order? Really? Do you think a dictator has all the answers? All this craziness has me upset too, but I’m not willing to allow the federal government to have any more power, they proven they cannot exercise it with any reliability, judiciously, or responsibly.
    ” it’s not by mistake or without thought”
    Bingo…… Withholding federal funding? It was federal funding with strings attached guided with behind the scenes groups like Obama supporters, the weather underground followers, Bill Gates, and foreign socialist interests, George Soros billions which is how this crap got started in the first place. Old hippies know their chance is now, that they are in charge, to change the world in a progressive/regressive way that Chairman Mao taught them would give them a socialist utopia.
    Actually, trump messed up their time table and they need to act now while all the players are still in their places. Big social movements take time and dedication and they are out of time, but they have the money to pay for the dedication.
    Face recognition software combined with everyone’s online permanent file will be more than enough to punish anyone guilty of stupidity when looking for a job in the future. All this stuff these kids have done will show up on a background check. There punishment is to live in the future of their own making.
    When I think of these children running our future, I see big brother of 1984 or Russia’s Stalin. Is it too soon for history to repeat itself?

  • wodun

    Most of the people I know who are not fans of homogamy don’t care what people do, they just don’t want to be forced to participate. When the state forces people to participate in ideological ceremonies, it is like having a state religion.

    Don’t think that just because our media isn’t reporting it that the violence at speaking events has stopped. Just a few weeks back there was a Patriot Prayer event at University of Washington that saw a lot of Democrats gone wild. I am sure the same is true for other events around the country that get no media coverage.

  • Cotour

    WE DEMAND THAT YOU ACCEPT WHAT IS AGAINST YOUR COMMON SENSE

    https://pjmedia.com/trending/lgbt-sports-group-drops-martina-navratilova-over-objections-to-transgender-athletes/

    Matina Navratalova thinks it not sensible to have natural born men who now call themselves “women” should not compete against natural born women. Makes perfect sense to me.

    LGBTQ group: You must love and accept us, because we say so, because we say its politically correct.

    Eventually this issue will find some common ground and the obvious inequity must be recognized.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *