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Bolshies

Evelyn Waugh, 1938 Evelyn Waugh on the use of words and political bullying:
There was a time in the early twenties when the word 'Bolshie' was current. It was used indiscriminately of refractory schoolchildren, employees who asked for a rise wages, impertinent domestic servants, those who advocated the rights of property to the poor, and anything and anyone of whom the speaker disapproved. The only result was to impede reasonable discussion and clear thought. I believe we are in a danger of a similar, stultifying use of the word 'fascist.' There was recently a petition sent to English writers... asking them to describe themselves, categorically, as supporters of the Republican Party in Spain, or as 'fascists.' ... Is it too late to call for order?
Taken from Tolkien: Man and Myth, by Joseph Pearce. Emphasis mine. Some context: Waugh is not defending Facism. He is saying, a pox on both your houses. The Spanish Civil war was fought by Communists on one side and Fascists on the other. Rejecting one did not make you a supporter of the other. We at the Red Ensign are faced with precisely the same problem, and I think we ought to handle it the same way. We will insist on debating ideas and resist simple name calling. We will not stoop to be asked, "when did you stop beating your wife?"

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