by
Ernest Hogan
I
originally wanted to just write about The Turner Diaries
as it related to science fiction, but then this Nazi punk committed
an atrocity in Charleston, S.C., and a big, flaming chingada broke
loose across the land. I read the book, took notes, and found I had
way too much material for one blog post, so I decided to to a book
review with the current-events angle over at Mondo Ernesto, and talk
about the sci-fi issue, and how it relates to Chicanos, here in this
Chicanonautica at La Bloga.
Yes,
The Turner Diaries is
science fiction, or more specifically, speculative fiction (there's
ain't must sci in that there fi). They would have called it social
science fiction back in the old days. It's also an example of a work of
spec fic that had an impact on the real world. “We all wanna change
the world, shoobie doo wah, oh, shoobie do wah,” as the Beatles
said.
Timothy
McVeigh, the infamous Oklahoma City Bomber, was a fan and promoter of
The Turner Diaries. He was into science fiction, and liked to use the pseudonym “Tuttle”
after the Robert De Niro character in Terry Gilliam's dystopian film
Brazil. When asked
about the people he killed, he said:
“Think
about the people as if they were storm troopers in Star Wars. They
may be individually innocent, but they are guilty because they work
for the Evil Empire.”
Just
categorize people in the right way, strip them of their humanity, and
the killing becomes easy. Like some perverse cosplay gone horribly
wrong. It's also the central lesson of The Turner Diaries.
In
a way, The Turner Diaries is a precursor to the now popular
zombie apocalypse genre. A lot of people find pleasure in imagining
that most of the people in the world aren't human, and it's okay to
commit acts of bloody violence against them, because, after all
you're human, and you have to survive.
But
how much of your humanity is left after you're covered in gore?
Replace
the word Black (for some reason Pierce capitalized it, but leaves white in lower case in the early chapters) with zombie, and a new audience
can be attracted!
You
probably will have to change Jew, Chicano, and non-White, too . . .
Yes,
Chicanos are mentioned, and recognized as a threat. The fact that we
are mixed-blooded makes us especially revolting. Though at one point
Turner and some of his Organization buddies (who all seem like clones
of Turner, maybe in a movie one actor could play all the parts, his
girlfriend could be him in drag, and he could also do black- and
brownface . . .) disguise themselves as Chicanos:
“.
. . we applied a dark stain to our faces and hands and pinned
Chicano-sounding nametags on our fatigue uniforms. We figured we
could pass as mestizos – so long as we didn't run into any real
Chicanos.”
Chicanos
and other mongrels – I'm a mongrel and damn proud of it, so I'm not
offended – along with “race-traitors” are all butchered in the
book's final act that goes on and on in a worldwide, bloody purge
that makes Earth an all-white utopia – like a lot of the science
fiction of the 20th century.
How
it must have delighted Timothy McVeigh. Dylann Roof too. And those I wonder how those who are disturbed by the growing
trend in diversity in speculative fiction would react?
But
what is utopia to some, is dystopia to others. I can read The
Turner Diaries because of my twisted sense of humor and
fascination with propaganda and the grotesque, but as a proud
Chicano/mongrel/Raza Cosmica kind of guy, I prefer books like George
S. Schuyler's Black Empire, Sam Greenlee's The Spook Who Sat by the Door, Hank Lopez's Afro-6, and Chester Himes'
Plan B, they're all better written, and are about fighting for
humanity rather than destroying it.
If you want to change the world, do it by creating, not destroying.
Ernest Hogan is guilty of impure acts of artistic and literary mayhem.
