“Divergent political opinions” my arse. When the “divergent political opinion” is that someone should be locked up or killed purely for what they are, call it what it is. Dude was a Nazi, getting up in the face of a Jew. I appreciate the Guardian reporting it, but fuck off with this “divergent political opinion” bullshit.
Divergent political opinion is Scared Speak for “Must not offend the Nazis” because…fucking Reasons, I guess.
I have seen a lot of people talking about the issues that were removed from the White House website. What I have seen little discussion of (or any, tbh) is what’s gone up in their place. There are exactly six issues now listed:
America First Energy Plan
America First Foreign Policy
Bringing Back Jobs And Growth
Making Our Military Strong Again
Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community
Trade Deals Working For All Americans
Just those headings should be terrifying enough: between the focus on state violence and the coded “America First” white ultranationalism, this is an unabashedly, literally fascist platform. But when you dive into the content, it becomes even more clear:
“Peace through strength will be at the center of that foreign policy.”
“[W]e will rebuild the American military.”
“President Trump is committed to reversing this trend [of a military that is marginally smaller in some areas than it was in 1991], because he knows that our military dominance must be unquestioned.”
“The world will be more peaceful and more prosperous with a stronger and more respected America.”
“Our military needs every asset at its disposal to defend America. We cannot allow other nations to surpass our military capability. The Trump Administration will pursue the highest level of military readiness.”
“For too long, Americans have been forced to accept trade deals that put the interests of insiders and the Washington elite over the hard-working men and women of this country.”
“The Trump Administration will be a law and order administration.”
“Our job is not to make life more comfortable for the rioter, the looter, or the violent disrupter.”
“President Trump is committed to building a border wall[.]”
“[Trump] is dedicated to enforcing our border laws, ending sanctuary cities, and stemming the tide of lawlessness associated with illegal immigration.”
“The dangerous anti-police atmosphere in America is wrong. The Trump Administration will end it.”
This is fascism. This is literally, unhyperbolically fascism. If you do not find this utterly terrifying down to the marrow of your bones, it is because
either
you do not think fascism will come for you and the people you love, or you have paid absolutely no attention to historical precedent about how these people operate and what their ultimate goals are.
Fascism does not stomp up to you, shouting its five-point plan for how it’s going to get rid of the Jews and the Muslims and the queers
the Black people
and the disabled people and the (”wrong kind of”) immigrants and and everybody else who stands in the way of a white nationalist state. It sidles up. It puts its arm around your shoulder. It says, “I am going to make you strong.” It says, “I am going to make you proud.” It says, “I am going to make you succeed, because I know exactly who’s been keeping you from all the things you know you deserve.”
This administration is telling us exactly who they are.
We need to believe them.
You know, I hadn’t even looked at the new website but you’re absolutely right – this is terrifying, and this is textbook.
I’m honestly scared.
Will it take them throwing people in concentration camps for us to say anything? Or will our prisons just become the camps?
“War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.”
Look under “appeasement”, it’s right before “Nazi Germany takes over Poland.”
If you have a problem with punching Nazis, I’m here to collect your copies of Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Hamilton, X-Men, and Firefly. Someone else will be by later for Star Wars, LOTR, Captain America/Marvel, etc. I don’t make the rules; you’re the one who thinks it’s wrong to resist oppression by violent means.
Right now, the black bloc protesters from the D.C. protest are facing a decade in jail and a fine (each) of $25,000. No one was hurt during their protest, but Starbucks and McDonald’s had to replace some windows and a limousine, a symbol of America’s wealth disparity, burned. And meanwhile, liberals are gleefully making memes of a black bloc protester engaging in the great American pastime of punching Nazis. Lots of people secretly really like the black bloc. If you doubt that, just Google ‘Richard Spencer gets punched in the face’ to see just how fond people are of the black bloc’s direct action approach to stopping Nazis in their tracks. And that’s what we need to do right now. Many progressives have been raised to tolerate outlandish ideologies in the spirit of inclusivity, but the far-right is now exploiting the sanctity of safe spaces in order to advance fascism, which will destroy our democracy. You don’t hug and coddle Nazis. It doesn’t work. Fascists only understand aggressive defeat. Radical protest creates the space for actions like the Women’s March. By pushing the Overton Window left, the black bloc makes the Women’s March look like a hyper-reasonable movement. ‘We’d better deal with these nice white ladies,’ some in power might say, ‘They’re nothing like those crazy kids dressed in black.’ I promise you: the Nazis don’t fear peaceful liberal protests, but they may think twice about marching in public if the black bloc is there to meet them.
Right now, the black bloc protesters from the D.C. protest are facing a decade in jail and a fine (each) of $25,000.
If you want to talk about their tactics, talk about their tactics, but if you enjoyed seeing that asshole get hit in the face, put $5 into their legal defense fund or the NLG defense fund. Your meme hero could easily have been among the ones arrested.