Book Review: Unflattering Photos of Fascists

 

Image: The cover of the book's left 2/3 of space is a photo of a fascist white supremacist rally attendant. He has white skin, a blue button down shirt, a padded grey helmet, a face covering with a cartoon smile with pointed teeth on the front, and mirrored ski goggles. In his left hand, he is holding the sticks of two american flags. Behind him is the branch of a tree and a ground covered in brown leaves. On the right third of the cover is a dark grayscale tesselation of american flags. On top in red letters is "unflattering photos of fascists." Below that in white letters, "Authoritarianism in Trump's America." And below that in blue letters, "photos by Jeff Schwilk, Edited by Christopher Ketcham, Essays by Christopher Ketcham, Jeff Schwilk, Paul Street, Shane Burley, Tizz Bee."

I have to admit that the first time I saw "Unflattering Photos of Fascists," I laughed out loud. It wasn't because I find fascism funny. It was pure schadenfreude, finding joy in the humiliation of a group of people whose beliefs, actions, and ideas I despise. I quickly became apprehensive, though. While the title of the book seems to take care to use wording that doesn't latch onto any oppressive insults, it is all too common for leftists to resort to attacks on size, health, ability, age, and other attributes about people that not only cannot be helped, but are attributes people on the left share equally. Sure, there can be a sweet irony in a member of a group claiming to be the master race not looking like the pinnacle of perfection he claims to be. However, this often overshadows the real dangers of fascism and white supremacy. When we devolve into body shaming, ableist, ageist, and other oppressive insults, we're actually punching down, as use of those things as insults harms the most vulnerable people of those groups across the political spectrum.

All of that said, I was pleased to see that the book did not do this. The exception is that the word "blind" is used as an insult twice in the book. While this is ableist, it is extremely common across the board. The word "unflattering" can describe just about anything. The photos in the book feature a variety of fascists (though, as you can imagine, not a racially diverse one which is an impossibility.) Across the board, these photos are unflattering because they show the actions, behavior, and belief systems of white supremacist people and groups to be abhorrent. Their costumes, sign choices, unabashed fascist pride, and frequent ignorance are the focus of the book. 

While the photos of these people can cause one to laugh, scoff, and shake one's head, they do not result in a book that is making light of fascism. The title grabs your attention, while the texts after the photos lead the reader on a short journey through recent fascist and white supremacist activity in the USA. They begin with a glossary of different symbols and names of groups currently active in the USA. It could have been a bit more expansive, but is helpful nonetheless- especially to someone unfamiliar with how many groups use symbols and names to exist as dog whistles for nazism while avoiding more widely recognized items such as the nazi swastika.

If you're looking for an unbiased book that takes a "both sides have merit" approach, you can probably tell from the title that this is not that, and rightfully so. We begin by hearing from photographer Jeff Schwilk who tells the story of a homeless punk he knew who was brutally beaten and murdered by Nazi skinheads posing as SHARPS. Later Schwilk himself was stalked and harassed by white supremacists in destructive and violent ways. 

 Paul Street's essay following Schwilk's is so insult laden, it is annoying at first. Yes, we are all here because Nazis are bad. But, the more powerful parts of his essay come when he calms down with the creative cursing and gets right into just how insidious these groups are. Especially important is the callout of neoliberals and how their behaviors and constant descent further to the right have helped embolden existing white supremacist groups along with Trump. The essays in this book do not in any way claim that this all began with the 2016 election, nor do they discount the rise of Trump as a motivating factor lifting up these groups.

Shane Burley and Tizz Bee turn their focus specifically on Oregon. Oregon is thought of by many to have a very "granola" persona as the authors put it. But, in reality, white supremacist groups have existed quite strongly throughout the state. Burley focuses more on their recent history, while Bee focuses a bit more on the antifascists aspects (though both essays include both elements.)

Overall, a short read with quite a bit of info for it's size. I also really enjoyed the graphic design and formatting of the text in the print version of the book. It surprised me a bit, looking like a book of casual ridicule on the cover, but delving much deeper into the subject matter within. I could see it on a coffee table or in your friendly neighborhood anarchist section of your bookshelf.

This was also posted to my goodreads.