Call me autistic, but I seemingly have a *need* for precision in the use of terminology, defining our terms explicitly, and then calling things what they are relative to the explicitly offered definitions. So thank you, D.L., for this essay laying out definitions for fascism, pondering whether there are viable alternatives to fascism, and starting to grapple with what the alternatives might look like.
Particularly notable to me was how you pointed out that one of the mechanisms by which an oppressive system can persist is by convincing those trapped in that system to hate themselves (or some scapegoat) rather than the system itself. Well said. I can well, well, *well* identify with spinning one's wheels theologically, hating oneself all the while, trying to ****make**** what is arguably the worst news ever into good news. I did exactly that for so very many years. I did it by ceaseless striving, being at war with myself. All I had ever known, all I had ever been taught, was violence. Violence against god? Oh, no, of course never that. But violence against the self? Wonderful. Gold star. Way to go. Now you're gettin' it.
I also resonated with this quote:
Mussolini, similar to many members of the Republican Party in the US, seemed to think that if he called his framework a democracy then people would believe it was one.
Just because a politician labels some policy initiative as consistent with democracy or labels some nation as being a democracy does not necessarily make it so. What is the *definition of* a democracy, I ask. Does the initiative or nation conform to the agreed upon definition? If yes, then great. If not, then we've got a problem, don't we?
Similarly, just because a theologian labels some deity they have described as "loving" does not necessarily mean that is so. What, exactly, is the definition of "love" or "loving," I ask. If love is patient and kind and does not keep a record of wrongs, then the Christian deity is anything but loving. What is patient and kind about commanding the committing of atrocities such as genocide? What is patient and kind about condoning slavery? What is patient and kind about stoning people for breaking some rule? And how is it that sending someone to be tortured for all eternity in hell after they die in retribution for their failure to fawn and bow and scrape and sell out their values so as to replace themself so fully and completely they are transformed into someone totally different than who they were born as and who can "willingly" [sic] submit themselves to some unverifiable authority figure, how is sending someone to be tortured for their failure to do that not keeping a record of "wrongs"?
What is fascism? What is democracy? What is love? Whom or what is it permissible to hate? Whom or what are we called to love? On what basis? What is the actual argument?
Thank you for focusing our attention on definitions. And wrestling with the questions of how should we then live. I get a lot out of reading what you write, and this post is no exception. Thank you for who you are and what you do!
Yes, once you start to question the narratives (be they around democracy of good news) you see how much gaslighting we have experienced in SO many areas. This is why I find it to be so helpful to study and name and then process in a community like this!
What I struggle with is responding to/interacting with my parents, who on so many levels are so kind, caring, friendly and think critically; then as soon as it turns into religion/political thinking all that goes out the window and it's just close minded hate and inability to question. How did they manage to impart the values into me when I was younger of critical thinking, helping those around you, etc. Yet also support fascists and hate the oppressed? They've also experienced so much religious trauma (being ostracized for calling out fraud, abuse) yet they still can only attend white evangelical churches. They've been hurt so much by this religion and system, yet this is still the only way to God and if you aren't like them, you're going to hell to burn forever. These inherent contradiction upsets me so much, especially because they get so close sometimes to breaking through.
Luke, this is similar to my situation (except I don't really know if my parents put positive values into my life at this point if I am being honest). For me as an autistic person I don't find someone loving if they have deeply unloving beliefs towards others . . . and people who go all-in on religion have a really hard time hearing that. In fact, it's the basis of all of their reactionary shit! For myself I will just say it was the almost breaking through that kept me in constant conversation with my parents for decades. Decades! And finally this last year I realized that every time they are triggered they will go back to their fear-based responses and vote for Republicans and be silent in their churches and never ever call out or stand up to hatred and fear in their friends and in their community. So I gave up. And I used their own logic against them--they definitely DID raise me to know that actions and beliefs have consequences. I no longer pretend that they are good people with some distasteful views, and instead treat them as people who don't believe in human rights for all and who don't want to live in a democratic society. It's sad how much they want us to pretend everything is OK, when really it isn't! Stepping off that constant cycle of trying and being so bitterly disappointed has been great for my mental health just fyi! And I am sure I will write a bit about it in the future.
What I loved about it was that the tribe and many of indigenous tribes were all about community and what is good for everyone. They take care of each other and nobody is rich because if they were they would share it with those who were not. It just sounds so simple and beautiful and human. Everybody was equal. It brought me to tears.
I like democracy too, but I would like to see people problematising democracy more than currently happens. I think I am going to write about this myself. History is important and the history of democracy is not everyone getting a say. It’s the history of powerful men being in charge. We can add on our current values to it but I think we need to acknowledge the history.
America is clearly not a functioning democracy because if it were, there would be better gun control (for example). My understanding is most people want it but powerful interests prevent it from happening.
Australia (where I am) is bad as well - the government hasn’t taken adequate action on climate change. A report came out calling it ‘state capture’. The state is held hostage by big oil.
Yes acknowledging how far democracies miss the mark is vital! I personally think it is good to spend some time thinking about the idealistic principles inherent in a democracy, however. It gives me a good sense of what I want to work towards, and most of my favorite Americans have been the same way (Dr. King, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Dorothy Day, etc). I hope you do start a substack!
By half way through this piece I was like, “yes, this will be antifascist fall because you have supplied me with SO MUCH reading material. Thank you putting together this incredible research. I can’t wait to check out Dorothy Soelle especially
This was great. Like you said, it's relieving to hear something explicitly named. I have a question, and it's maybe a long-winded one...
I live in a town that is SUUUPERRRR conservative right-wing... I could tell tons of stories, TONS. Basically, any time there's anything progressive happening in town, a protest group made up of Trumpers, conservative Christians, and literal Nazis shows up. A wonderful church recently had a "Drag Show for a Cause" event, where their Love Choir sang "Jesus Loves Me" as everyone was walking in... and the group of protestors across the street would shout back, "NO HE DOESN'T!" The pastor, who is a lesbian, got tons of nasty, threatening voicemails and emails about the event, because another pastor in town wrote in op-ed about the event in the local paper. Also, my husband works at the library, and the local GOP headquarters is challenging allll the young adult books about gender/sexuality and race. One of the library board members went to the headquarters to inquire about their book challenge campaign, and was told that that they have a "mission from God to save the children of the city from the groomers at the library," and have hired a lawyer to "go after library staff." Did I mention that my town also loooves guns?.... So, I'm not nervous at all living here *sweats*. My queer friends are moving, and God bless them for doing so. I feel conflicted about bailing as a white, cishet, Christian woman... what about the people who can't leave, who's gonna fight for them?
ANYWAY, it's a shit show round these parts, and these extreme folks are unfortunately the majority (70% of the county voted for Trump in 2020). I appreciate what you said about how... Mussolini called his ideals democracy, and people believed him, even though his government was the opposite of democracy. I hear the "f" word used by folks on the right about folks on the left, like, sooo often. They say that you can't disagree with anything the leftist government says (about gender/sexuality, vaccines, etc.), without being punished for it. And they have just a myriad of examples to go with their claim. They're almost always false equivilancies, and essentially just a panic about losing their privilege, but gosh. It's WORK to have those sorts of conversations when you're using the same words, like "democracy", but have a fundamentally different perspective of what that means. I guess my question is... what do you do when people say it's "democracy" to consider their perspectives and wishes too? Their wishes like... having abstinence-only sex-ed, and forbidding gender-affirming language, in public schools? Or refusing to wear masks during the early stages of the pandemic? Etc., etc. I guess I'm just anticipating conversations about democracy to get into, like... epistemology, or what we believe as truth about the world we live in. Those conversations are sooo hard when... people believe actual lies to be true? Experts in any field are still largely disregarded. It's like things that are actually true don't exist anymore, and it sucks. Is it worth having those conversations... as someone who is not particularly vulnerable in society, so that others don't have to? Or is that a losing battle, particularly for my nervous system? Idk.
At least we can start by confronting these folks that they are anti-democratic. Start there. Ask them what their ideal government is, and then point out how it is the opposite of democracy. I am SO tired of having to cater to emotionally immature people (mostly Republicans) and I’m not going to do that anymore. A few years ago in 2020 we had some big protests/confrontations with trumpet and neo-nazis in my neighborhood. It was really scary and really intense. They ARE armed and I had to face off to them multiple times. But it’s really necessary and it sounds like where your town is at. If people don’t publicly resist then fascists get more bold. Also--I highly recommend sharing publicly about your experiences on social media. There is no point in protecting people and their reputation at this point. Logic doesn’t seem to work with fascists but public shaming can--and it can convince fringe people to get off their butts and face the reality that many Americans do not want a democracy. And they are fine with eradicating anyone who disagrees with them. Anyways these are quick thoughts, I’m sure we will be discussing more in the future.
“Logic doesn’t seem to work with fascists but public shaming can”... that’s interesting. One thing my partner & I have talked about is... what are we gonna do when we’re in town and see Trumpy acquaintances of ours who have participated in protests against the library-- and have called he & his coworkers groomers & pedophiles? One of those acquaintances recently wished us a Happy Anniversary on Instagram, “you two are beautiful inside and out!” and my partner almost had an angry aneurism. I talked him out of responding to her, but now I wish I hadn’t 🤨 I suppose... “taking the high road” doesn’t really work in this authoritarian moment. I’m gonna need to process that.
If it helps at all, we are doing the uncomfortable work so our kids/the younger generation doesn't have to. Since there is no apparatus to outwardly shame the US for its actions currently (like what happened in Japan and Germany after WWII) we have to do some of the public shaming work ourselves! I sometimes make myself giggle by just repeating "actions have consequences" which is something my parents told me often. People want to believe and act in horrible ways and then have us pretend everything is fine . . . which is a hallmark of emotionally immature and narcissistic people. Having that framework has also been beneficial to me personally, but every person gets to choose how to respond! I am truly, deeply sorry it has gotten to this point in your town. That sounds excruciating, and I am assuming this next year it is going to get even worse. Are there other folks organizing to resist these anti-democratic folks?
That is so hard. I’m sorry for you and your family to be dealing with that. There are a few people in my town that I’m trying to practice my responses now so that when I run into them in public I don’t chicken out.
I'm a library worker as well and those situations sound so hard! The effort that is now being put into making people distrust public libraries is truly evil.
My partner tends to be more confrontational and I tend to be avoidant, because I get really tired of the arguments. I am equally tired of people listening and seeming to care, but then disappearing.
In our case we live in a big urban area and most of the challenges come from extended family and the church/ethnic community in which we were both raised. Since everyone is connected by blood/marriage/school/employment multiple times over, including us, it's like a village within larger society.
Your question is where my mind went too. Finding myself in the same kinds of conversations. They are so scared that they are the ones who will be targeted, lose their jobs, children, free speech, even end up in concentration camps.
It’s so annoying to me that folks are so willfully blind to the dangers they pose to others and I personally will no longer listen to people spout out this kind of propaganda! I interrupt them, and also flat-out tell them I don’t want to talk to people who are anti-democratic and who don’t support human rights. Full-stop. Some of this kind of pressure has worked, but it’s incremental progress.
Another part of this that seems more and more to be absolutely necessary is working on finding other people to talk to and appreciating all the ones who are supportive.
Just wanted to add/share that I'm hearing/reading a lot pre-publication about Naomi Klein's new book Doppelganger and I think what she's describing as the "mirror world" is what we're noticing here.
Thank you for this work explaining things in a way that I can understand. I’ll be diving deeper, listening to the podcast you recommended and reading some of those things you mentioned.
Hey!!! Can I come back to this and toot my own horn for a minute?? I spoke up to anti-LGBTQ extremists (and literal Patriot Front fascists) tonight at my City Council meeting 😅 I’ve avoided it for sooo long because it feels like a fuckin bomb to my nervous system. But this post/conversation... and so much of your work, DL, about caring for autistic nervous systems & cold packs on the chest, etc., helped me to participate. Thank you 🥲
Oh my god Molly! How are you doing? You ok? Can I send you a care package?!?!? I’m seriously proud of you but I hope you are doing ok. It can totally feel like a bomb going off and you deserve all the safety and softness you can find!
Thank you!! You’re so sweet! I’m enjoying an old fashioned and working on a pastel art piece... gonna go to bed early tonight (I hope). I kinda feel euphoric? But I’m just letting it ride & trying to pay attention. And I also feel kinda nervous because I said my first & last name & people are kinda scary here. But idk. Altogether feels like growing more into who I wanna be-- and I made the CHOICE to participate rather than feeling like I was a terrible person if I didn’t (savior complex stuff). I really just wanted to express my own gratitude & let ya know you’re really doing thangs. I’m so freaking grateful for your writing during this weird af moment in America
Thank you for shedding light on this issue. I'm glad more and more people are talking about the rise of fascism in the US.
Also, unrelated sidenote: Where does one find a little wooden cabinet for trinkets, etc., like the one on your wall next to that fantastic bird art? I've started collecting smaller-scale items (handpainted wooden turtles! A dead moth in a tiny jar!) and have no clue how to keep them safe and protected lol.
I got mine at a place called Craft Warehouse . . . but if you check in the wooden box/trinkets section of a big craft store they might have them? It's not the most high quality object, but it instantly reminded me of how I would see cabinets like that growing up. And now it truly does delight me EVERY SINGLE DAY. Also usually these places have half off coupons and stuff that make it affordable.
I’m so glad you’re writing about this and a place to have a conversation about it. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Umberto Eco’s list of fascist qualities is so enlightening. One of them is actually turning words on their head to mean the opposite of what they mean, such as someone said about the word democracy. I encountered this list in the book American Fascists by Chris Hedges. Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobez du Mez is also excellent. I can twist to read the Dorothy Soelle book. I’ve been conceptualizing things in terms of covert and overt narcissism - the conception of God we’re given in these spaces is a narcissist and the dogma we’re given is ideological narcissism, and the church spaces are often ones with lots of subtle power and control tactics just like covert narcissists use - and that’s how we’re taught to relate to each other. I’ve been wondering if fascism is the national level experience of this, and there’s a connection between the two. So glad to be able to process this in a group. 🙌
Late commenting here, but thank you SO much for this article. You've so clearly laid out the mechanisms of fascism and how / why it's able to grow. Definitely something I will be bookmarking! I just ordered (like the night before you published this post, synchronicity much???) a book called "American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America." Originally published in 2006 (GWB era and the "war on terror," etc). And it's only gotten so much worse since then! This author and yourself I very much consider prophetic, if the term doesn't chafe you too much. Thank you for your work!
A neo-nazi group came to our small city to protest refugees at night this past weekend. Earlier in the year there was a small sign in front of a local monument from either the same or similar group. I live in a very blue state and it’s very alarming (and infuriating) how much of these ideas are gaining more visibility if not actual traction.
While this group showing up and everything else happening on a national scale can get me pretty discouraged and depressed, mustering up the courage to get more involved in the community (despite my pesky social anxiety) has been helpful. I’ve made some connections with a local art group who are also very active in local politics. It gives me a bit of hope because I can see opportunities to help support and protect our community.
Call me autistic, but I seemingly have a *need* for precision in the use of terminology, defining our terms explicitly, and then calling things what they are relative to the explicitly offered definitions. So thank you, D.L., for this essay laying out definitions for fascism, pondering whether there are viable alternatives to fascism, and starting to grapple with what the alternatives might look like.
Particularly notable to me was how you pointed out that one of the mechanisms by which an oppressive system can persist is by convincing those trapped in that system to hate themselves (or some scapegoat) rather than the system itself. Well said. I can well, well, *well* identify with spinning one's wheels theologically, hating oneself all the while, trying to ****make**** what is arguably the worst news ever into good news. I did exactly that for so very many years. I did it by ceaseless striving, being at war with myself. All I had ever known, all I had ever been taught, was violence. Violence against god? Oh, no, of course never that. But violence against the self? Wonderful. Gold star. Way to go. Now you're gettin' it.
I also resonated with this quote:
Mussolini, similar to many members of the Republican Party in the US, seemed to think that if he called his framework a democracy then people would believe it was one.
Just because a politician labels some policy initiative as consistent with democracy or labels some nation as being a democracy does not necessarily make it so. What is the *definition of* a democracy, I ask. Does the initiative or nation conform to the agreed upon definition? If yes, then great. If not, then we've got a problem, don't we?
Similarly, just because a theologian labels some deity they have described as "loving" does not necessarily mean that is so. What, exactly, is the definition of "love" or "loving," I ask. If love is patient and kind and does not keep a record of wrongs, then the Christian deity is anything but loving. What is patient and kind about commanding the committing of atrocities such as genocide? What is patient and kind about condoning slavery? What is patient and kind about stoning people for breaking some rule? And how is it that sending someone to be tortured for all eternity in hell after they die in retribution for their failure to fawn and bow and scrape and sell out their values so as to replace themself so fully and completely they are transformed into someone totally different than who they were born as and who can "willingly" [sic] submit themselves to some unverifiable authority figure, how is sending someone to be tortured for their failure to do that not keeping a record of "wrongs"?
What is fascism? What is democracy? What is love? Whom or what is it permissible to hate? Whom or what are we called to love? On what basis? What is the actual argument?
Thank you for focusing our attention on definitions. And wrestling with the questions of how should we then live. I get a lot out of reading what you write, and this post is no exception. Thank you for who you are and what you do!
Yes, once you start to question the narratives (be they around democracy of good news) you see how much gaslighting we have experienced in SO many areas. This is why I find it to be so helpful to study and name and then process in a community like this!
What I struggle with is responding to/interacting with my parents, who on so many levels are so kind, caring, friendly and think critically; then as soon as it turns into religion/political thinking all that goes out the window and it's just close minded hate and inability to question. How did they manage to impart the values into me when I was younger of critical thinking, helping those around you, etc. Yet also support fascists and hate the oppressed? They've also experienced so much religious trauma (being ostracized for calling out fraud, abuse) yet they still can only attend white evangelical churches. They've been hurt so much by this religion and system, yet this is still the only way to God and if you aren't like them, you're going to hell to burn forever. These inherent contradiction upsets me so much, especially because they get so close sometimes to breaking through.
Luke, this is similar to my situation (except I don't really know if my parents put positive values into my life at this point if I am being honest). For me as an autistic person I don't find someone loving if they have deeply unloving beliefs towards others . . . and people who go all-in on religion have a really hard time hearing that. In fact, it's the basis of all of their reactionary shit! For myself I will just say it was the almost breaking through that kept me in constant conversation with my parents for decades. Decades! And finally this last year I realized that every time they are triggered they will go back to their fear-based responses and vote for Republicans and be silent in their churches and never ever call out or stand up to hatred and fear in their friends and in their community. So I gave up. And I used their own logic against them--they definitely DID raise me to know that actions and beliefs have consequences. I no longer pretend that they are good people with some distasteful views, and instead treat them as people who don't believe in human rights for all and who don't want to live in a democratic society. It's sad how much they want us to pretend everything is OK, when really it isn't! Stepping off that constant cycle of trying and being so bitterly disappointed has been great for my mental health just fyi! And I am sure I will write a bit about it in the future.
Thank you for all your research and beautiful article. So incredibly helpful.
I recently read an article about Maslow's Hierarchy of needs and how it was inspired by the Blackfoot Tribe. https://www.resilience.org/stories/2021-06-18/the-blackfoot-wisdom-that-inspired-maslows-hierarchy/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
What I loved about it was that the tribe and many of indigenous tribes were all about community and what is good for everyone. They take care of each other and nobody is rich because if they were they would share it with those who were not. It just sounds so simple and beautiful and human. Everybody was equal. It brought me to tears.
Thank you for sharing the article! It’s very interesting.
Thanks for this article! It’s really helpful.
I like democracy too, but I would like to see people problematising democracy more than currently happens. I think I am going to write about this myself. History is important and the history of democracy is not everyone getting a say. It’s the history of powerful men being in charge. We can add on our current values to it but I think we need to acknowledge the history.
America is clearly not a functioning democracy because if it were, there would be better gun control (for example). My understanding is most people want it but powerful interests prevent it from happening.
Australia (where I am) is bad as well - the government hasn’t taken adequate action on climate change. A report came out calling it ‘state capture’. The state is held hostage by big oil.
I think I need to start my own substack 😂
Yes acknowledging how far democracies miss the mark is vital! I personally think it is good to spend some time thinking about the idealistic principles inherent in a democracy, however. It gives me a good sense of what I want to work towards, and most of my favorite Americans have been the same way (Dr. King, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Dorothy Day, etc). I hope you do start a substack!
Yes definitely!! I think we need to start by defining democracy and its values in the same way as you have done with fascism here
https://australiandemocracy.org.au/statecapture
I love your anti-fascist gallery wall, especially the "I Poop on Fascists" bird!
By half way through this piece I was like, “yes, this will be antifascist fall because you have supplied me with SO MUCH reading material. Thank you putting together this incredible research. I can’t wait to check out Dorothy Soelle especially
What a treasure trove of information you've compiled, friend. THANK YOU.
This was great. Like you said, it's relieving to hear something explicitly named. I have a question, and it's maybe a long-winded one...
I live in a town that is SUUUPERRRR conservative right-wing... I could tell tons of stories, TONS. Basically, any time there's anything progressive happening in town, a protest group made up of Trumpers, conservative Christians, and literal Nazis shows up. A wonderful church recently had a "Drag Show for a Cause" event, where their Love Choir sang "Jesus Loves Me" as everyone was walking in... and the group of protestors across the street would shout back, "NO HE DOESN'T!" The pastor, who is a lesbian, got tons of nasty, threatening voicemails and emails about the event, because another pastor in town wrote in op-ed about the event in the local paper. Also, my husband works at the library, and the local GOP headquarters is challenging allll the young adult books about gender/sexuality and race. One of the library board members went to the headquarters to inquire about their book challenge campaign, and was told that that they have a "mission from God to save the children of the city from the groomers at the library," and have hired a lawyer to "go after library staff." Did I mention that my town also loooves guns?.... So, I'm not nervous at all living here *sweats*. My queer friends are moving, and God bless them for doing so. I feel conflicted about bailing as a white, cishet, Christian woman... what about the people who can't leave, who's gonna fight for them?
ANYWAY, it's a shit show round these parts, and these extreme folks are unfortunately the majority (70% of the county voted for Trump in 2020). I appreciate what you said about how... Mussolini called his ideals democracy, and people believed him, even though his government was the opposite of democracy. I hear the "f" word used by folks on the right about folks on the left, like, sooo often. They say that you can't disagree with anything the leftist government says (about gender/sexuality, vaccines, etc.), without being punished for it. And they have just a myriad of examples to go with their claim. They're almost always false equivilancies, and essentially just a panic about losing their privilege, but gosh. It's WORK to have those sorts of conversations when you're using the same words, like "democracy", but have a fundamentally different perspective of what that means. I guess my question is... what do you do when people say it's "democracy" to consider their perspectives and wishes too? Their wishes like... having abstinence-only sex-ed, and forbidding gender-affirming language, in public schools? Or refusing to wear masks during the early stages of the pandemic? Etc., etc. I guess I'm just anticipating conversations about democracy to get into, like... epistemology, or what we believe as truth about the world we live in. Those conversations are sooo hard when... people believe actual lies to be true? Experts in any field are still largely disregarded. It's like things that are actually true don't exist anymore, and it sucks. Is it worth having those conversations... as someone who is not particularly vulnerable in society, so that others don't have to? Or is that a losing battle, particularly for my nervous system? Idk.
At least we can start by confronting these folks that they are anti-democratic. Start there. Ask them what their ideal government is, and then point out how it is the opposite of democracy. I am SO tired of having to cater to emotionally immature people (mostly Republicans) and I’m not going to do that anymore. A few years ago in 2020 we had some big protests/confrontations with trumpet and neo-nazis in my neighborhood. It was really scary and really intense. They ARE armed and I had to face off to them multiple times. But it’s really necessary and it sounds like where your town is at. If people don’t publicly resist then fascists get more bold. Also--I highly recommend sharing publicly about your experiences on social media. There is no point in protecting people and their reputation at this point. Logic doesn’t seem to work with fascists but public shaming can--and it can convince fringe people to get off their butts and face the reality that many Americans do not want a democracy. And they are fine with eradicating anyone who disagrees with them. Anyways these are quick thoughts, I’m sure we will be discussing more in the future.
“Logic doesn’t seem to work with fascists but public shaming can”... that’s interesting. One thing my partner & I have talked about is... what are we gonna do when we’re in town and see Trumpy acquaintances of ours who have participated in protests against the library-- and have called he & his coworkers groomers & pedophiles? One of those acquaintances recently wished us a Happy Anniversary on Instagram, “you two are beautiful inside and out!” and my partner almost had an angry aneurism. I talked him out of responding to her, but now I wish I hadn’t 🤨 I suppose... “taking the high road” doesn’t really work in this authoritarian moment. I’m gonna need to process that.
If it helps at all, we are doing the uncomfortable work so our kids/the younger generation doesn't have to. Since there is no apparatus to outwardly shame the US for its actions currently (like what happened in Japan and Germany after WWII) we have to do some of the public shaming work ourselves! I sometimes make myself giggle by just repeating "actions have consequences" which is something my parents told me often. People want to believe and act in horrible ways and then have us pretend everything is fine . . . which is a hallmark of emotionally immature and narcissistic people. Having that framework has also been beneficial to me personally, but every person gets to choose how to respond! I am truly, deeply sorry it has gotten to this point in your town. That sounds excruciating, and I am assuming this next year it is going to get even worse. Are there other folks organizing to resist these anti-democratic folks?
That is so hard. I’m sorry for you and your family to be dealing with that. There are a few people in my town that I’m trying to practice my responses now so that when I run into them in public I don’t chicken out.
I'm a library worker as well and those situations sound so hard! The effort that is now being put into making people distrust public libraries is truly evil.
My partner tends to be more confrontational and I tend to be avoidant, because I get really tired of the arguments. I am equally tired of people listening and seeming to care, but then disappearing.
In our case we live in a big urban area and most of the challenges come from extended family and the church/ethnic community in which we were both raised. Since everyone is connected by blood/marriage/school/employment multiple times over, including us, it's like a village within larger society.
Your question is where my mind went too. Finding myself in the same kinds of conversations. They are so scared that they are the ones who will be targeted, lose their jobs, children, free speech, even end up in concentration camps.
It’s so annoying to me that folks are so willfully blind to the dangers they pose to others and I personally will no longer listen to people spout out this kind of propaganda! I interrupt them, and also flat-out tell them I don’t want to talk to people who are anti-democratic and who don’t support human rights. Full-stop. Some of this kind of pressure has worked, but it’s incremental progress.
Another part of this that seems more and more to be absolutely necessary is working on finding other people to talk to and appreciating all the ones who are supportive.
Just wanted to add/share that I'm hearing/reading a lot pre-publication about Naomi Klein's new book Doppelganger and I think what she's describing as the "mirror world" is what we're noticing here.
Thank you for this work explaining things in a way that I can understand. I’ll be diving deeper, listening to the podcast you recommended and reading some of those things you mentioned.
Hey!!! Can I come back to this and toot my own horn for a minute?? I spoke up to anti-LGBTQ extremists (and literal Patriot Front fascists) tonight at my City Council meeting 😅 I’ve avoided it for sooo long because it feels like a fuckin bomb to my nervous system. But this post/conversation... and so much of your work, DL, about caring for autistic nervous systems & cold packs on the chest, etc., helped me to participate. Thank you 🥲
Oh my god Molly! How are you doing? You ok? Can I send you a care package?!?!? I’m seriously proud of you but I hope you are doing ok. It can totally feel like a bomb going off and you deserve all the safety and softness you can find!
Thank you!! You’re so sweet! I’m enjoying an old fashioned and working on a pastel art piece... gonna go to bed early tonight (I hope). I kinda feel euphoric? But I’m just letting it ride & trying to pay attention. And I also feel kinda nervous because I said my first & last name & people are kinda scary here. But idk. Altogether feels like growing more into who I wanna be-- and I made the CHOICE to participate rather than feeling like I was a terrible person if I didn’t (savior complex stuff). I really just wanted to express my own gratitude & let ya know you’re really doing thangs. I’m so freaking grateful for your writing during this weird af moment in America
Thank you for shedding light on this issue. I'm glad more and more people are talking about the rise of fascism in the US.
Also, unrelated sidenote: Where does one find a little wooden cabinet for trinkets, etc., like the one on your wall next to that fantastic bird art? I've started collecting smaller-scale items (handpainted wooden turtles! A dead moth in a tiny jar!) and have no clue how to keep them safe and protected lol.
I got mine at a place called Craft Warehouse . . . but if you check in the wooden box/trinkets section of a big craft store they might have them? It's not the most high quality object, but it instantly reminded me of how I would see cabinets like that growing up. And now it truly does delight me EVERY SINGLE DAY. Also usually these places have half off coupons and stuff that make it affordable.
I’m so glad you’re writing about this and a place to have a conversation about it. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Umberto Eco’s list of fascist qualities is so enlightening. One of them is actually turning words on their head to mean the opposite of what they mean, such as someone said about the word democracy. I encountered this list in the book American Fascists by Chris Hedges. Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobez du Mez is also excellent. I can twist to read the Dorothy Soelle book. I’ve been conceptualizing things in terms of covert and overt narcissism - the conception of God we’re given in these spaces is a narcissist and the dogma we’re given is ideological narcissism, and the church spaces are often ones with lots of subtle power and control tactics just like covert narcissists use - and that’s how we’re taught to relate to each other. I’ve been wondering if fascism is the national level experience of this, and there’s a connection between the two. So glad to be able to process this in a group. 🙌
Late commenting here, but thank you SO much for this article. You've so clearly laid out the mechanisms of fascism and how / why it's able to grow. Definitely something I will be bookmarking! I just ordered (like the night before you published this post, synchronicity much???) a book called "American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America." Originally published in 2006 (GWB era and the "war on terror," etc). And it's only gotten so much worse since then! This author and yourself I very much consider prophetic, if the term doesn't chafe you too much. Thank you for your work!
My kid & I didn’t love the fascist comment in Barbie either - it was flippant? I don’t know...but I loved pretty much everything else about it.
Thank you for this concise definition. Will reread and I just request 4 Dorothee books from my library! 😆
A neo-nazi group came to our small city to protest refugees at night this past weekend. Earlier in the year there was a small sign in front of a local monument from either the same or similar group. I live in a very blue state and it’s very alarming (and infuriating) how much of these ideas are gaining more visibility if not actual traction.
While this group showing up and everything else happening on a national scale can get me pretty discouraged and depressed, mustering up the courage to get more involved in the community (despite my pesky social anxiety) has been helpful. I’ve made some connections with a local art group who are also very active in local politics. It gives me a bit of hope because I can see opportunities to help support and protect our community.