Gotta check to make sure the systems still work mā¦
Brb, about to reread Red Storm Rising
I feel like a Greek philosopher talking about the gods sending an omen.
Love it - well written and on point.
https://thevitalcenter.com/fall-2024/is-trump-a-fascist
Depressing piece from Bret Devereaux, where Betteridgeās Law may actually not apply and the answer is āprobably yesā.
He is a fascist, yes. I very much doubt he could define one if you asked him, but that goes for a lot of fascists. Whether the Republican party itself is fascist is irrelevant; theyāve elected one and heās not going to be moderated at all by elements within the party that arenāt fascist. Whether individual voters are fascists matters even less if theyāve voted one in to power.
Iām not sure āIām not a fascist, I just voted for one.ā really holds any water, and attempts to avoid labelling voters as fascists, because they voted for one, are pointless.
Quite. As the article says
And while right now you may have many reasons and many concerns, if you sign your name to this fascist and a fascist government takes power as a result, your many reasons will no longer matter. No one really cares what Franz von Papen or Victor Emmanuel III or NSDAP or Blocco Nazionale voters were concerned about or their pet issues. It no longer mattered. Once a fascist government took powerāthey were fascists.
The āStupid Coupā article from 4 years ago is also a depressing read. I just hope our US friends do have free and fair elections in just under four years.
I enjoyed the article, but this is such a complicated question. Fascism generally arises in reaction to fears about the growing power of the common people, or working class. The working class in the US right now has virtually no power and everyone knows it. Trumpās messaging acknowledges this in focusing on making white men believe they can take the power back. Fascists typically glorify their military might; Trump has routinely mocked our armed services and those who serve. Fascism, in practice, relies on a belief in the idea of the right of a very few strong to rule the masses of the weak. With MAGA, Trump portrays his masses of followers as being strong (see Jan 6) and often denigrates members of his own ruling party as it suits him.
I donāt think itās as simple as āIs Trump a fascist?ā I think what we have instead is āIs Trump comfortable using the tools of fascism when it suits him and using completely different (and possibly oppositional) tools at other times?ā And the answer is clearly yes to that.
To label Trump a fascist suggests that his goals are wide-ranging and focused on usurping democracy. I think thatās not very relevant to him. Heās shown over and over again that his goals are focused on doing whatever works to elevate himself. If replacing democracy with fascism accomplishes that, heās all for it. If something else comes along that better serves that goal, heāll board that train instead. And thatās what makes other people in his party so nervous about himāheās unpredictable because āwhat Trump wantsā can change at any moment, and it might not align with their goals.
The better question, IMO, is āHas the Republican party decided to ditch democracy and embrace being fascist?ā Thatās more dangerous. And the voter question is irrelevant. Most people who voted for him donāt understand what fascism is, much less identify as such. Itās a cult of personality vote, not a governmental theory vote. āIām MAGAā or āIām Republicanā, not āIām philosophically opposed to democracy.ā
Fascism, in practice, relies on a belief in the idea of the right of a very few strong to rule the masses of the weak. With MAGA, Trump portrays his masses of followers as being strong (see Jan 6) and often denigrates members of his own ruling party as it suits him.
Fascism relies upon an internal contradiction to power it; the Chosen People are unstoppable, but are always under an existential threat that is constantly trying to destroy them (Jews, gays, Democrats, whoever). This doesnāt make any sense but it serves to energize them. They are mighty but will become weak or be destroyed if they let their guard down for one second, compromise on one issue, etc.
And the answer is clearly yes to that.
Which makes him a fascist. Itās also, if I can be blunt, navel-gazing that should have been settled years ago, before he ever took office. The fact that this is still an ongoing conversation is incredible to me; and itās another step in the regression that has apparently paralysed a lot of people. Are you a fascist if you vote for fascists? Are you a fascist if you are part of a political party that is led by a fascist? Are you a fascist if you use fascist methods for fascist goals? The answer to all these things is: yes.
To label Trump a fascist suggests that his goals are wide-ranging and focused on usurping democracy.
His goals probably are wide-ranging even if they are ultimately self-serving. And in being self-serving, they can still be fascist. Neither Hitler nor Mussolini, to use two classic examples, did poorly out of their own involvement in fascism, both explicitly enriched themselves personally. I donāt think the distinction that āHeās not really a fascist because heās too stupid.ā is meaningful or helpful. Even if he personally spoke up and renounced fascism after undergoing a college course on what fascism is, his methods and goals would be unchanged.
A good chunk of the commentariat appear to be hand-wringing over whether he is or he isnāt, while by his actions he is, and he doesnāt waste a second even thinking about it.
This is grim as absolute fuck.
Could do without it, lads, got to be honest.
Llorando for David Lynch
Bob Uecker died today too. 
In fairness, you could lure me anywhere with rotisserie chicken.
I think the nuances of soft power are rather lost on the current administration.