Behind every fascism, there is a failed revolution,” said the early-20th century German philosopher Walter Benjamin, warning of how unfulfilled utopian promises can create a vacuum of terror.

Berlin - Mesut Ozil's decision to quit playing for Germany unleashed a racism storm in Berlin on Monday, but earned the applause of Ankara with a Turkish minister hailing "a goal against the virus of fascism".

Re: “Frankfurt School unmasked fascism, lay foundations for democracy”, Have Your Say, January 30.

Re: “Frankfurt School unmasked fascism, laid foundations for democracy”, Have Your Say, yesterday.

Re: “Now I know how Trump feels...”, Have Your Say, January 27.

Re: “Stealth fascism and the banality of evil”, Have Your Say, December 7.

Re: “Trump vilified for tweeting inconvenient truth about UK”, Have Your Say, December 5.

Despite being rather old for scholarly pastimes, I prefer researching on the Internet to the horrors of modern TV.

The pleasures of life may include having a cuppa in a Burmese teashop, downing a pint in the Red Lion in Willingdon, and admiring the pier in Wigan, all of which I have done. However when it comes to Fascism, George Orwell must speak for himself as he did in the Tribune in 1944. He wrote:

In 1949 George Orwell was inspired to write his satire “1984”. Having witnessed and experienced Nazi and Communist fascism he projected fascism to its ultimate totalitarian conclusion.

Re: “Stick to the facts, my friend”, Letters, April 11.

We swing from freedom without accountability to the other extreme of fascism, all in the name of "Thai-style democracy". I suggest we should walk the middle way of freedom with accountability.

I sympathise with Richard Bowler's advice for the red mob at Bang Na to consult an English dictionary regarding the meaning of "justice", "fair play", and "democracy", but I would like to add a fourth word - "fascism".