\u201cBut 9\/11, Terrorism, ISIS, Muslims, blah, blah, blah\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, but poverty, racism, Stuart Hall<\/a>, blah, blah, blah\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n And such is typical political debate on the internet: I\u2019m right, you\u2019re wrong, and any effort to try and find compromise is ridiculed as weakness of thought. To be fair, this political duality isn\u2019t new to the internet era. It has existed in the United States since we were an English colony: loyalist\/secessionist, Hamilton\/Jefferson, North\/South, prohibitionist\/progressive, capitalist\/socialist, conservative\/liberal, and on down the line. It\u2019s as American as apple pie, jazz, and war for profit.<\/p>\n All this brings us to the 45th President of the United States, reality show star and avowed snatch snatcher, Donald J. Trump.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not going to go into why I believe Trump as Chief Executive is dangerous for our country. If you want an inkling of what I think, read this<\/a>. Or this<\/a>. Maybe even this<\/a>. Then there\u2019s this<\/a>. And this<\/a>. Oh yeah, and this<\/a>. Shit, I forgot about this<\/a>! My cousin Larry did this<\/a> once. <\/p>\n Any right-winger who\u2019s made it this far is surely pulling out the already tired but very-soon-to-be-invalid comeback of \u201cYou lost. Get over it, sore loser!\u201d Even though it\u2019s falling on deaf ears, I think it\u2019s important to explain that this isn\u2019t about Hillary losing the election. (I wasn\u2019t all that crazy about her as a candidate myself, if we\u2019re being honest about it.) Initially after the election, I was like, \u201cWell, will of the people, peaceful transition, and all that jazz. Let\u2019s see how it goes.\u201d Quite a few things happened since November that changed my mind and made me realize that a Trump administration could be extremely dangerous to long term democracy in America. I\u2019m going to mention three.<\/p>\n The first is the serious conflict of interest with Trump\u2019s business dealings and his refusal to acknowledge this. If you\u2019re asking which conflicts I mean, I point you to this Atlantic article<\/a>. Warning: Its long. That\u2019s how many conflicts of interest this guy has. Look, I\u2019m not one of those anti-capitalist folks. (More on them in a minute.) However, I do believe there\u2019s a lot of corruption in our government due to corporate money being so easily funneled into political campaigns, campaign finance loopholes, and scumbag lobbyists. A guy with this many business interests isn\u2019t going be neutral when it comes to constructing financial policy.<\/p>\n The second, and this was the first that really set me on edge, was when, on January 5, the House GOP voted to reinstate an arcane procedural policy known as the Holman Rule that allows lawmakers to cut the pay of a federal worker to $1. This was followed by a string of proposals on federal hiring and firing rules<\/a> that basically amounted to a policy where federal workers \u201ccould be fired for no reason whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n Even in a vacuum, that sounded bad. Coupled with Trump\u2019s coziness with white nationalists<\/a>, implications of Russian blackmail<\/a>, obvious cronyism in cabinet choices<\/a>, an antagonism towards the press that has included outright lies<\/a>, and a host of other small yet scary things<\/a>, my wind went way up. It seemed in a Trump administration, only loyalty would be rewarded. It seemed like the kind of thing a Hollywood super-villain might do in a cheesy political thriller. Only this was happening on CNN, not HBO.<\/p>\n The third, the one which struck pure icy terror into my heart, was this picture taken during the #DistuptJ20 protests on January 20 by Devyn Powell<\/a>.<\/p>\n That, my friends, is how fascism starts – when ordinary citizens align themselves with the authorities against a particular but specific group of people, in this case anti-Trump protesters. It seems almost innocuous in this picture, just a couple of red hat wearing fellows thinking they’re \u201cprotecting\u201d the cops from protesters. But make no mistake, it\u2019s a harbinger of darker things possibly to come.<\/p>\n Has fascism, true fascism, finally reared its head here in the U.S.? That I\u2019m even considering this question makes me feel like I\u2019m in some surreal David Lynch fever dream. Yet every time I ask myself this question lately, I see clues pointing toward the affirmative. This is a case where I think I\u2019d rather overreact now and be embarrassingly wrong than do nothing and be fatally wrong.<\/p>\n Others agree. A lot of people marched, protested, and burned trash cans during Trump\u2019s inauguration. It was an amazing amount of resistant energy, and it\u2019s desperately needed right now. Yet even among the unified cause of resisting this strange new order, rifts have arisen. To that end, I\u2019m going to quickly review the three main groups which took center stage during the first weekend of the Trump era.<\/p>\n 1.)\tAnti-Capitalist Anarchists \u2013 I\u2019m going to start with these folks because they seem to be causing the most controversy. For the record, I think busting up a Starbucks<\/a> this early in the game was bad strategy. However, those more moderate protesters shouldn\u2019t simply dismiss the anarchists out of hand. Understand that by definition an ANTI-CAPITALIST ANARCHIST is there to a) cause chaos and b) attack capitalist symbols. Labeling them \u201cthugs,\u201d \u201cbros,\u201d \u201crioters,\u201d etc delegitimizes their ideology which if you look closely<\/a> isn\u2019t all that different from that of those opposed to corporate lobbyists influence over elections through campaign donations. #DisruptJ20 was not built on a plan of non-violent protest, but rather a strategy of civil-disobedience. They intended to use any method necessary, legal or not, to infiltrate and disrupt (natch) Trump\u2019s inauguration. Even the misguided property destruction shouldn\u2019t be interpreted as wanton chaos for its own sake. (Even if that\u2019s kind of all it really was.) That said, as much as even the most Zen pacifist took pleasure in watching Neo-Nazi tool Richard Spencer get punched in the face<\/a>, all violence does at this stage of the game is allow fascists to justify their own later violence<\/a>. Still, the anti-capitalist anarchists are not the moderates’ enemies. The key will be, of course, to find a way to bring them in under the larger umbrella. (They are after all, anarchists.)<\/p>\n 2.)\tAntifascists (or Antifa for short) \u2013 These activists were the true heart of the #DisruptJ20 movement. Originating in the UK, the core philosophy is built upon anti-racism and resisting fascism\u2019s rise nationally by insuring it can\u2019t get a foothold on the local level. They gave some great speeches and calls to action on January 20th, many of which were live streamed. (Just search \u201cAntifa,\u201d \u201cAntifascist,\u201d or \u201cDisruptJ20\u201d on Periscope.) The key word in their label is \u201canti.\u201d They are not necessarily for<\/em> anything. They are against<\/em> fascists. This isn\u2019t just semantics here. Antifa activists actively oppose<\/em> racists and fascists in their communities. The action they take is less civil disobedience than making sure any organized fascist display or march is met with a counter-protest. Fear and silence is fascism\u2019s greatest ally. The key is to let neither cow you. For more on joining or starting and anti-fascist group in your community check out the Anti-Fascist Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n 3.)\tWomen\u2019s Rights Activists \u2013 As far as I\u2019m concerned the core of the new resistance movement was on display January 21st during the Women\u2019s Marches that took place in cities all over the United States and the world. The largest protest in U.S. history was organized by a broad coalition of organizations with varying agendas that all had in common the protection of women\u2019s rights. Leaders from all walks of life spoke; politicians, artists, health providers, and activists all came together to rally against a leader whose policies threaten freedoms for which their mothers and grandmothers fought dearly. More importantly, they gathered women (and male allies) from a wide political spectrum. It\u2019s a very solid foundation from which a resistance can take the next steps. (Some of which they outline on their website<\/a>.)<\/p>\n And what are those next steps? No matter which of the three former groups you feel most aligned with, there are steps to be taken. Here are a few:<\/p>\n 1.)\tThink local. \u201cAll politics are local politics\u201d is the old adage. While large national campaigns should certainly be supported, it\u2019s essential to seek out and find like-minded individuals in your area. Attend your local city and\/or county government meetings. Get to know your local elected officials. Meet the leaders in your area already doing activist work within the community. See if there\u2019s anti-capitalist, antifascist, or Women\u2019s Rights organizations in your area doing work that you can join or support. If not, create one. Many national organizations can assist you in forming a local chapter. Again, fascism metastasizes on the local level.<\/p>\n 2.)\tContact your lawmakers<\/a>. God help me, I still believe in our system of checks and balances. They haven\u2019t been eradicated yet. There are many politicians on all levels of government fighting for the rights of all Americans. Let them know they have your support (or that they don\u2019t). Put pressure on them to stand up to inequitable policy where they can.<\/p>\n 3.)\tVote in any and all elections, including primaries. This seems like a no-brainer but people not voting is a large part of what got us into this mess.<\/p>\n 4.)\tSupport large scale protests by attending or staging concurrent ones in your community. There are two upcoming opportunities. As a response to the Women\u2019s March, anti-abortion activists are planning protests in support of defunding Planned Parenthood at locations nationwide<\/a> on February 11, 2017. Counter-protests are an excellent way to reiterate many of the messages seen by the Women\u2019s March. Contact your local Planned Parenthood location<\/a> to see how best to help them and organize\/join a counter protest. Calls have also been made to stage large scale protests for April 15, 2017 as a response to Trump\u2019s announcement that he will not publicly release his tax returns.<\/p>\n 5.)\tStay informed. Trust me that it\u2019s all too easy to hide your head in the sand and wait to see what happens. Again though, if you\u2019re paying attention, and are any student of history, something seems to be happening now. Study history. Study the world. Read news from other countries. Travel. Understand how others see what\u2019s happening. I lived in Prague for six months and it opened my eyes vastly to the difference between how the world perceives Americans and how we perceive ourselves. Globalism isn\u2019t just something we can turn back the clock on. We\u2019re connected whether we like it or not.<\/p>\n Lastly, but perhaps most important: Don\u2019t ignore the people who disagree with you and with whom you disagree. There are a lot of people who supported Trump because of economic fears. It\u2019s lazy to simply lump them in with the white supremacists. I don\u2019t care what that stupid meme<\/a> says. Try to talk to those people. Look at that person you emphatically oppose and find something you agree on. Anything. Who made the best Batman is fine. Start there. Try to see that even though Keaton was simply perfect, Bale was pretty badass too. It\u2019s easier to reason with someone you like so find something to like about the people you hate. If not, we really are doomed.<\/p>\n EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: rottingcorpse is Lonnie Martin<\/a>, an independent filmmaker and DMV native whose latest film ‘The Last of the Manson Girls<\/a>‘ will hopefully be playing film festivals this year. Unless of course he suddenly goes missing in a \u201cboating accident.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Until recently, I’ve normally keep my politics to myself. There are lots of reasons for this, but the main one is that even among friends, a political discussion is by far the easiest way to start an argument outside of …<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/greatsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/C2pazTjXcAU036n.jpg-large-300x169.jpeg\")
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