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A textbook used for an Intro to Sociology class at DMACC drew the ire of some. The class is available to high school students as well.

Students read about fascism and fascists. They’re told white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups in the U.S. have “strong ideological and stylistic connections to the fascist systems of the past.”

“In the United Kingdom, the UK Independence Party — the party responsible for leading the push for Brexit — is a right-wing populist party with a strong focus on British nationalism that also supports the privatization of government-run services and industries. Although this does not match up perfectly with the way we have defined fascism, there are certainly some clear similarities that have been noted by UKIP’s critics.”

The book then states some critics of President Donald J. Trump have observed the tone of his anti-establishment, charisma-based campaigns for the presidency seems to revel in strength, masculinity and vitality while being dismissive of women, the infirm, and people of color — particularly refugees and immigrants of color.

“When that campaign is coupled with the nationalism, militarism and the privatization that have characterized his time in office, it is no surprise that those critics have asked if the United States is embracing fascism under President Trump,” the book says.

Trump supporters are also criticized by the text.

“The same people who believed and promoted fake news stories like ‘Pizzagate’ show up at Trump rallies with ‘Q’ (for QAnon) signs, indicating their allegiance to ‘an interactive conspiracy community’ that views President Trump as a hero battling ‘anti-American saboteurs who have taken over government, industry, media and various other institutions of public life.’ Alarmingly, this ‘paranoid worldview has crossed over from the internet into the real world several times.”

People believed to be QAnon followers have shown up in places the character told them were connected to anti-Trump conspiracies — sometimes with weapons, the book states.

“In this dark world, baseless conspiracy theories are facts, and facts are ‘fake news’ propagated by the news media, which President Trump describes as ‘the enemy of the American people.'”

After the 2016 election of President Trump, the text writes racial and ethnic hate crimes spiked, “as some people felt that it was suddenly acceptable to publicly vent their anger on minority group members.”

Author: Jacob Hall

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