I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before. Behold a new sport for readers. Send me your examples of people just using “fascist” to describe things they don’t like. For example, Kevin Costner in Bull Durham: “Quit trying to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring and besides that, they’re fascist. Throw some ground balls. They’re more democratic.”
Anyway, from a reader:
This past week, Turner Classic Movies showed BRUTE FORCE (1947), a classic prison drama that launched the careers of Burt Lancaster, Howard Duff, and character actor Whit Bissell.
The main conflict in the movie is between prison guard Hume Cronyn and…well, just about everyone else. He’s mean, sadistic, and manipulative, turning prisoners against each other and driving some to suicide.
In the blurb that ran on the screen to describe the film, the plot was described as being about prisoners battling their “fascist prison guard.”
Another example of how “fascist” has just become a generic synonym for “someone I don’t like.”