American Fascism

 

Today the United States is facing its most serious threat of fascism since the years leading up to and including World War II. In one way the emergency is more dire. Now we have a white nationalist, aspiring fascist dictator on the presidential ballot.

How can this happen in America? 

Let’s have look at a snapshot of American history from 1936. FDR’s New Deal was kicking in and the Radical Right Republicans were calling him a communist.

A socialist author and speaker named Lawrence Dennis caught the attention of Hitler’s Nazis after giving a speech titled “Is Socialism Inevitable in the US?” Soon after, he published his book called, “The Coming American Socialism”. These political prognostications earned him an invitation from the Nazis to attend the infamous1936 Nuremberg “Rally of Honor”.

"Aha!” our Trumpists would declare. “This PROVES Hitler and his Nazis were SOCIALISTS!”

Except for one little detail. I was kidding. Lawrence Dennis was a fascist and a fan of Hitler. He was not a socialist. His speech and book were titled, “Is Fascism Inevitable in the US?” and “The Coming American Fascism”.

Sorry, Trump supporters. Hitler was a fascist, not a socialist. He had socialists sent to concentration camps. Nazis were no more socialists than Trump and his insurrectionist Republicans are heroic defenders of the Republic.

While in Germany for the big rally Dennis offered a suggestion to his hosts, “Why don’t you treat the Jews more or less like we treat the Negroes in America?”

The Nazis liked what they heard. The Klan were their Aryan kinsmen. They took notice on how Southern states clamped down on voting and civil rights for Blacks. Hitler admired the way the US government slaughtered and confined Native Americans to reservations. They loved seeing American Nazi rallies in Madison Square Garden. In fact, Hitler cited the viciously antisemitic Henry Ford as a role model. His portrait was hung in the Fuhrer’s office.

Let’s return to 21^st Century America, when Radical Right Republicans are embracing neo-Nazi lies and propaganda, and STILL calling their opposition communists.

We’re constantly hearing Trumpists, fascists, neo-Nazis, and other authoritarian white nationalists accusing and smearing those who challenge their mindless lies and their Leader.  No fabricated label or false accusation is too foul to attach to the objects of their loathing. They need to BELIEVE their vile BS to justify their hate.

Trump is blaming Democrats for the two deranged sickos who brought their rifles to his rally and golf course. During the 2016 campaign, Trump fantasized about assassinating Hillary Clinton: "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people — maybe there is, I don’t know.” 

The projection is astounding. Just as astounding is their need to bend the knee to their authoritarian leader.

Take the case of Mitch McConnell 

“January sixth was a disgrace. American citizens attacked their own government. They used terrorism to stop a specific piece of domestic (democratic) business…There is no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day."

Later he voted “not guilty” in Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate. So much for “morally responsible” accountability. This authoritarian flip was nearly unanimous among Republicans.

I’d like to offer another case study of this neo-Nazi fascist cult mentality that infects so many authoritarian white conservative Americans. There is a reason why they FEAR being “replaced” by the “others”.

By nurture (raised by authoritarian parents) or nature (the reactionary enlargement of the overactive fear/fight/flight center in their amygdalas), they conform to conservative ideology. Suspicion of others is their default reaction, while curiosity is generally ours. Conservatives have feared and resisted all progressive change throughout history. This is because conservatives fear the unknown more than most of us do.

A while back a fellow blogger named Darrell became extremely radicalized by Trump. This is what he wrote at my blog on Jan 8, 2021:

“Dave, Trump was wrong to give encouragement and a wink and a nod to the protestors and delaying any attempt to rein them back. He was complicit. Sadly this ego maniacal narcissist tarnished the myriad of good things he has done for our country with this latest escapade.”

This is what Darrell wrote on May 15, 2021:

“Trump instigates a riot according to the left and the media, but then I repeat myself. (He didn’t.)”

Presto! With the flick of a switch in his brain, he saw the light of true BELIEF in Trump and was reborn into the MAGA cult.

He got tired of the facts about J6 and Trump that made him FEEL uncomfortable, and he became ANGRY when I revealed his “leap of faith” into Trumpism. He felt he needed to put me in my place.

“When I called you a communist, it wasn’t necessarily meant as a pejorative but rather more as a descriptive term. You support many of the very tenets of the communist creed according to what you have written in the past that are antithetical to America, its values, and its Constitution. So while you see that is retaliatory name-calling, I meant it only as classifier of your stated beliefs in big-government, anti-capitalism, anti-faith, and anti-family rhetoric.”

He later wrote a post challenging me personally to, “Please, Tell Me What I am Thinking, Mr. Leftist”

Of course, he refused to allow me to respond and banned me. I could have said, “You think I’m a communist without any evidence or words of mine that would indicate I am.” (He hates it when I’m right.)

I couldn’t help myself after he more recently wrote about why he would vote for Donald Trump.

I was surprised he published my anonymous sarcastic comment: 

"They're EATING THE DOGS!"

"They EXECUTE BABIES after they're born!!"

KAMALA the Marxist HATES DOGS, hates babies, and HATES AMERICA!!!

Keep standing up for the TRUTH, Darrell!

(Note to Trump. “I lost by a whisker” fails to register on the sarcasm scale.)

Like Trump taking the bait from Kamala in their debate, he couldn’t resist setting me straight:

Darrell wrote:

And Anonymous Dave, there ARE leftist barbarians that kill viable babies, even after they are born. Kermit Gosnell comes to mind for starters, let alone the millions of viable babies in the womb that Planned Parenthood has slaughtered on the altar of choice.

As for the eating of dogs, I have no idea, but I do know that Venezuelan gangs and MS13 have come across the Biden/Harris open borders to wreak havoc on our communities and people. When you don't vet who is coming in, this is what happens. But hey! Maybe the Dems will get more votes from them in their attempt to save democracy, right?!

(He probably won’t publish my response, so I’ll include it here. Taking my cue from Trump’s playbook, it turns out that I also can claim, “I do the weave”. See how I go back to my theme later.)

~~~~

Dave Dubya wrote:

Kermit Gosnell is serving a life term in prison for murder. He is guilty of illegal late-term abortions. He is a criminal. Killing babies is a crime. Only the vile, hate-filled, fascist Right would say Democrats support this. Roe v Wade specifically protected viable fetuses. Now women are DYING for lack of treatment for pregnancy related emergencies.

Using Darrell’s same twisted, hateful, irrational, and delusional thinking, school shootings with AR-15s are ALL Republicans’ and DARRELL'S FAULT. They love their weapons more than they care for our kids.

Of course, the “executing babies” lie is absurd and irrational, but it is how they FEEL, not think. Although HE donates to the Russia-backed NRA that assures those weapons are available to any deranged person who wants one to slaughter kids.

Darrell admitted, “As for the eating of dogs, I have no idea.”

He’s not going to like the facts.

The Neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe has been active in Springfield, Ohio for weeks before Vance and Trump catapulted the propaganda. On August 27, Drake R. Berentz of the Neo-Nazi group Blood Pride spoke before the Springfield City Commission. It didn’t go over well.

On September 6, the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe posted on Gab: "Sorry Springfield, you’re just going to have to get used to the idea that your neighbors might eat your pets.”

Now they are celebrating Trump talking about Springfield and bragging: "BT pushed Springfield into the public consciousness."

Yes, Trump and Vance are parroting and promoting neo-Nazi LIES.

And Trump has declared his intention to deport these legal Haitian immigrants to Venezuela! 

Meanwhile Darrell thoughtfully suggested, “We need to discuss policies and ideas and cut out the name calling and Hitler comparisons.”

Right. But it’s OK for Darrell to call me a communist. Aren’t they SPECIAL?

To further establish his anti-democracy, white nationalism, Darrell needed to accuse me of being an "anti-family communist". (I’m neither, of course.)

In typical authoritarian fashion, he wasn't capable of citing ANY of my words to support his wildly false accusation, hate and lies.

Only poorly educated dupes, sleazy lying Republicans and neo-Nazis call Democrats commies. This begs a comparison to Hitler accusing opponents of the SAME thing. Honest historians understand this.

Darrell seems ignorant of the fact that MS 13 originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Falsely labeled as "Border Czar", Kamala was sent to El Salvador to convince them to do something about the gangs. In response El Salvador jailed more than 66,000 people in a crackdown on gangs, giving it the world's highest incarceration rate. 

But why admit this when he can blame Biden and Harris? It's no surprise Darrell also supports Trump’s order to KILL the border bill that would have provided 1,500 new officers, new immigration courts, and more fentanyl detectors. He thinks doing NOTHING about the border is better, just to support his malevolent mendacious messiah’s campaign.

But every white nationalist will endlessly whine that Dems want Venezuelan gangs and MS13 to come vote for them. Double demonization. Remember they need to BELIEVE their vile BS to justify their racist hate.

Speaking of criminal gangs.

“I must err on the side of the Republic,” declares Darrell.

Of course, Darrell's radicalized way of “siding with the Republic” is to vote for Trump and see him as blameless for his election lies and his thugs storming the Capitol, terrorizing Congress, and beating cops bloody to OVERTURN our election. The fact that Trump REFUSED to order them to leave for HOURS doesn’t disqualify him in the eyes of his true believers.

And Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch was just a friendly block party, amirite?

"One wonders what that reason is for ('Cackler') Kamala as she seems genetically incapable of putting together a coherent thought."

And there it is. The Master Race is goose-stepping in the dark recesses of Darrell’s fevered amygdala. 

Frightened and angry people aren’t amenable to introspection or examination of their beliefs. If anything, they are guided by beliefs they can’t question.

It’s heartening to know a few Trump supporters HAVE learned to gather verifiable information and to examine their trust and belief in Trump. I friend of mine voted for him twice, but finally concluded who Trump truly is and the threat he poses.

I think Darrell is similarly likeable and dependable, and even well-intentioned at some level. I hope he will detach himself from believing in Trump's lies, including the Radical Right playbook of mindless red-baiting. 

Sadly, most of them will never open their minds to anything their leaders and peers don’t want them to know.

In the deranged minds of the fanatics, NOTHING Trump can do would disqualify him from being president. Not his hate, not his criminal sexual conduct, not his lies, not his racism, not his admiration for dictators, not his giving secrets to Russians in the Oval Office, not his criminal attempts to overturn our election, not his theft, obstruction, and careless abuse of national security secrets. And not even spewing neo-Nazi lies that resulted in 36 bomb threats in Springfield Ohio… Nothing.

Character, honesty, decency, and following the rule of law no longer matter for Trump voters. When presented with verifiable information, they dismiss or deny it, showing us facts don’t matter to them either. Thus, the term “alternative facts” was fabricated just for their cult. Clearly to them, judging someone by the "content of their character" is reserved only for Blacks, not Republican politicians.

Trump and his racist thugs and liars can do whatever the hell they want. He will be given the power to order the DOJ to launch sham prosecutions of opponents, and to commit any crime he says is an “official act”. And with the immunity outrageously granted to a convicted felon by the most corrupt Supreme Court in history, he will. It will be Trump’s own “Triumph of the Will”.

Trumpism is fascism.