Umberto Eco Quote

We were interrupted by a girl with a strawberry birthmark on her nose; she had some papers in her hand and asked if we had signed the petition for the imprisoned Argentinean comrades. Belbo signed without reading it. They're even worse of than I am, he said to Diotallevi, who was regarding him with a bemused expression. He can't sign, Belbo said to the girl. He belongs to a small Indian sect that forbids its members to write their own names. Many of them are in jail because of government persecution. The girl looked sympathetically at Diotallevi and passed the petition to me.And who are they? I asked.What do you mean, who are they? Argentinean comrades.But what group do they belong to?The Tacuarus, I think.The Tacuarus are fascists, I said. As if I knew one group from the other.Fascist pig, the girl hissed at me. She left.

Umberto Eco

We were interrupted by a girl with a strawberry birthmark on her nose; she had some papers in her hand and asked if we had signed the petition for the imprisoned Argentinean comrades. Belbo signed without reading it. They're even worse of than I am, he said to Diotallevi, who was regarding him with a bemused expression. He can't sign, Belbo said to the girl. He belongs to a small Indian sect that forbids its members to write their own names. Many of them are in jail because of government persecution. The girl looked sympathetically at Diotallevi and passed the petition to me.And who are they? I asked.What do you mean, who are they? Argentinean comrades.But what group do they belong to?The Tacuarus, I think.The Tacuarus are fascists, I said. As if I knew one group from the other.Fascist pig, the girl hissed at me. She left.

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About Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel The Name of the Rose, a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory, as well as Foucault's Pendulum, his 1988 novel which touches on similar themes.
Eco wrote prolifically throughout his life, with his output including children's books, translations from French and English, in addition to a twice-monthly newspaper column "La Bustina di Minerva" (Minerva's Matchbook) in the magazine L'Espresso beginning in 1985, with his last column (a critical appraisal of the Romantic paintings of Francesco Hayez) appearing 27 January 2016. At the time of his death, he was an Emeritus professor at the University of Bologna, where he taught for much of his life. In the 21st century, he has continued to gain recognition for his 1995 essay "Ur-Fascism", where Eco lists fourteen general properties he believes comprise fascist ideologies.