Friday, June 12, 2009

Translating hate crimes into fiction

It's tough to know how to respond to the recent murders in Wichita and D.C. Both inspired (if that's the proper word) by hatred, motivated by crackpot philosophies (philosophy?) and perpetrated with firearms. If only crackpots had guns, only guns would be cracked pots. I'll keep working on that bumper sticker motto.

For thoughtful lefty (and sometimes vitriolic) responses, click on some of my sidebar blogs -- Daily Kos, Crooks & Liars, Huff Post, Lefty Blogs, etc. Pick a blog, any blog. Jim Wallis at Sojourners offers a response leavened with Christianity.

Over the years, I've written several short stories about white supremacists. "Mud Woman Gets Busy" is set in the mid-1990s in a Salt Lake City hotel and features neo-Nazis, immigrants (legal and Illegal) and a clueless young man from the former East Germany. If you've ever heard the term "mud woman" (as in "mud people") then you you know the story involves white supremacists. The story is included in my collection, "The Weight of a Body." "REV" imagines a future Afghanistan war in which our fundies have taken over the government and are waging holy war on their fundies. There are more, of course. "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood is a great example of a dystopian fundie future. Carl Hiaasen's comic novel "Lucky You" features some neo-Nazi baddies who get their just desserts. Any other books on similar subjects to recommend?

You can read the two stories at my web site. Go to http://ebiz.netopia.com/writingwyo/fiction/. Happy summer reading.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Farenheit 451, 1984, World Made By Hand, by Jim Kunstler. nancy S.

Anonymous said...
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Michael Shay said...

Great suggestions. Haven't read the Kunstler book but will.