I was reminded of your diary today when listening to a speaker at a conference on religion and belief.  He was recounting a conversation he'd had with a colleague, discussing the different equality groups and the tensions that can arise where the practice of certain groups (eg some religions) breaches the right to equality for other groups (women, gay people etc).

Their conversation was overheard by a man who then decided to make the point that his rights were being breached at work and when asked to explain he stated his view that people in society who are weak should accept that and accept their place as submissives to the more dominant people (such as himself I assume).  He viewed it as a breach of his rights that he was not allowed to dominate over others who he considered to be 'weak' - this includes women not knowing their place, disabled people who should have no right to be in a workplace...

Then he was asked if he thought that Adolf Hitler got it right and his answer was yes, but he went a bit too far.

The speaker was cautioning us around how we use the word fascism, and how ill-use and over-use dilutes the meaning (as we've discussed on ET with 'genocide' or 'socialism', for example) but in his view this was an absolute example of a fascist.

And it is shocking to think that people hold these attitudes and truly believe that they should have every right to discriminate against others as they please, and are quite blatant in stating that view.  In the right environment, they will act on these views and this is what we see each time you report on the latest racist or fascist incident or protest.  

It would be pure fallacy to sit here and think, this wouldn't happen in my country, because if allowed to, it would and stark reminders such as this conversation that the conference speaker had point to how fragile a state we are in and the importance of bringing these things to attention of others.  Fascism by no means stopped with Hitler, even if the form of expression may differ somewhat.