In the U.S. censorship is more in effect than your summary seems to acknowledge. Many people, at home and abroad, are afraid to speak their opinion, worry about what they write in email or post on a public web page forum, even in the form of a rather mild remark.
U.S. citizens leaving and returning to the country in private travel as well as foreigners coming to the U.S. are afraid even to carry their own cellphones across the border because they might have clicked on or looked at a link that our government will consider justification for disappearing that person into a foreign prison with no recourse.
In Germany Jews and Poles and Gypsies couldn't believe, as they were herded onto trains, that they were actually headed to concentration camp ovens, even when word had traveled back home that that was the case.
Yes, this is true ...and possibly will be come worse than it is right now...But at this point...while we have still a 'bit' of free speech left...I plan to use it as long as I can...IF it falls on deaf ears...at least I will have tried.. The horrors of fascism are raising it's UGLY head...I will go down fighting as long as I can..WE ARE AMERICA!!! It IS happening here...and I can think of no way better than to scream my bloody head off.. Thank you for your accurate statement.
And I thank you in turn for speaking out so strongly and eloquently. In my own little way I will speak out as well, as I have by my posting here, even though, frankly, even posting here feels risky.
We are there, no question. One exogenous crisis, one Reichstag fire, away from emergency declarations and martial law. Wait until the tariffs hit, the shelves are empty and the shitbirds at DHS start filling their disappear quotas.
He may not be totally there yet, but that is the road he is deliberately taking and that is the destination he (and the Stephen Millers of his entourage) have in mind. Better brand him as such early on, overreach or not, than wait until it is a done deal.
He's severely mentally handicapped by his narcissism. It drives him while at the same time constrains him. He's a poor authoritarian because he's incompetent. His coterie of followers whom he's placed in key government positions mirror that incompetence. But he and they are doing their best to be fascists.
We’re there. At less than 6 months into his first term, and’s already this far along, I think it’s only a matter of time until the rest of your criteria show up. The fact that he’s already threatening institutions, businesses and individuals who dare to stand against him also counts toward the definition, though you didn’t include that overtly. What worries me is that many people keep pulling the line back, as he crosses the ones already laid down. The most commonly mentioned one is defying the Supreme Court, which he has already done, by completely ignoring the directive to bring back Kilmar Albego Garcia, as well as the lower court rulings on other deportation cases. They seem to want an overt statement which isn’t going to happen. But yeah, I think Trump’s regime is a fascist one.
I think that’s exactly the point — the alignment of corporate interests and financial power with the state’s monopoly on law supported its use of sanctioned violence.
I spent a few months thinking about this before I decided to start using the F-word in my commentary. I feel pretty strident in my position that it's intellectually defensible and morally necessary to call it what it is.
With the remains of Republican Party now in control of House and Senate, and nominally the White House, they are within striking distance of the goal lusted for ever since they were the party in disgrace during the Depression: reversing the New Deal, liberal legislative progress made since 1933, and turning America back (waaay back) to a golden, Conservative past. Where White men were in control (and White women and everyone else knew their place).
This accession to power did not occur naturally. Republicans succeeded by adopting the fascist playbook -- as described by Mr. Sellers and his sources -- and by jettisoning any pretense of following the democratic norms adhered to by most of their former Republican standard-bearers. This is an historic aberration in my book -- where I come from (mid-Century middle class America), Republicans were steadfast defenders of the traditional American values: respect for the Law, and above al, the Constitution.
We can only hope that it will not take another Great Depression or World War to get Republicans to snap out of their dream-world in order to realize that gaining power is meaningless if you have to sell your soul to get it. Faust learned this, the hard way.
Are we there yet? I am convinced that, if not now, this will be a fascist nation, sooner than anyone anticipates.
trump and his lackeys are pushing our buttons, just waiting to implement martial law, be it through these abductions/kidnappings by ICE, cracking down on protectors, regardless of the level of peace being displayed, or by just being himself. In spite of his age, soon to be 79, trump actually behaves like a spoiled, rotten 2-year-old, and anything can trigger bad behavior on his part.
I know that we, the liberals/progressives, want to maintain cool heads (sorely needed by all human beings), but the MAGA Mafia are more than eager to provoke the worst within us. If trump succeeds in trying to provoke us into violence, he enacts martial law, cracks down on journalists, arrests politicians who disagree with him, and goes after private individuals who have written or spoken out against him. He wins this way.
And yet, even if these provocations fail, he may still carry out these objectives. Personally, I do not know if we can stop this madman using peaceful, legal methods, as he and his cronies just ignore the courts and Congress.
Including today, having passed jammed into the budget bill, a removal of the ability of the courts to hold government actors in contempt. This is an essence leaving the legal system powerless.
this overview is very helpful, if I were to make a comment it would be that I have to regard 6 Jan as well beyond a flirtation, Capitol and other police officers died, are permanently maimed and most certainly traumatized as well as no longer so employed, including the head of it who resigned. Secret Service agents are reported to have said goodbye to loved ones anticipating their own death. Flirtation is suggestion, death, injury and trauma are actual.
A good book to read is " The Rise of The Fourth Reich" by Jim Mars published in 2008. He really talks about how we got here and the possibility of a new American Empire.
You've written pretty much the article that I was going to write.
My comment would be that, although not all the criteria are demonstrably engaged, it's early days. I just wonder how long it takes for a regime to become fully fascist. Trump, his minions, and the present GOP are well on the way. So, fascist enough.
The USA is in the stormy area at the edge of the world. It won't take much to push you off the edge.
In the U.S. censorship is more in effect than your summary seems to acknowledge. Many people, at home and abroad, are afraid to speak their opinion, worry about what they write in email or post on a public web page forum, even in the form of a rather mild remark.
U.S. citizens leaving and returning to the country in private travel as well as foreigners coming to the U.S. are afraid even to carry their own cellphones across the border because they might have clicked on or looked at a link that our government will consider justification for disappearing that person into a foreign prison with no recourse.
In Germany Jews and Poles and Gypsies couldn't believe, as they were herded onto trains, that they were actually headed to concentration camp ovens, even when word had traveled back home that that was the case.
We're facing dark times.
Yes, this is true ...and possibly will be come worse than it is right now...But at this point...while we have still a 'bit' of free speech left...I plan to use it as long as I can...IF it falls on deaf ears...at least I will have tried.. The horrors of fascism are raising it's UGLY head...I will go down fighting as long as I can..WE ARE AMERICA!!! It IS happening here...and I can think of no way better than to scream my bloody head off.. Thank you for your accurate statement.
And I thank you in turn for speaking out so strongly and eloquently. In my own little way I will speak out as well, as I have by my posting here, even though, frankly, even posting here feels risky.
Mike, Thanks for taking the time to put together this excellent article. You're a very STRONG WRITER? 💪 Good stuff, well done!
We are there, no question. One exogenous crisis, one Reichstag fire, away from emergency declarations and martial law. Wait until the tariffs hit, the shelves are empty and the shitbirds at DHS start filling their disappear quotas.
Okay, how about Neo-Fascist?
He may not be totally there yet, but that is the road he is deliberately taking and that is the destination he (and the Stephen Millers of his entourage) have in mind. Better brand him as such early on, overreach or not, than wait until it is a done deal.
He's severely mentally handicapped by his narcissism. It drives him while at the same time constrains him. He's a poor authoritarian because he's incompetent. His coterie of followers whom he's placed in key government positions mirror that incompetence. But he and they are doing their best to be fascists.
I guess we won't know for sure until they start building crematoriums.
We’re there. At less than 6 months into his first term, and’s already this far along, I think it’s only a matter of time until the rest of your criteria show up. The fact that he’s already threatening institutions, businesses and individuals who dare to stand against him also counts toward the definition, though you didn’t include that overtly. What worries me is that many people keep pulling the line back, as he crosses the ones already laid down. The most commonly mentioned one is defying the Supreme Court, which he has already done, by completely ignoring the directive to bring back Kilmar Albego Garcia, as well as the lower court rulings on other deportation cases. They seem to want an overt statement which isn’t going to happen. But yeah, I think Trump’s regime is a fascist one.
I think it's actually really simple to discern when you look at "Trumpism" through the lens of a particular type of fascism which is corporatism.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/corporatism
When you look at the United States through this lens, it is pretty obvious that it IS a fascist regime...and has been for some time.
The same goes for almost every single developed nation on Earth, whether a "democracy" prima facie or not.
I think that’s exactly the point — the alignment of corporate interests and financial power with the state’s monopoly on law supported its use of sanctioned violence.
I spent a few months thinking about this before I decided to start using the F-word in my commentary. I feel pretty strident in my position that it's intellectually defensible and morally necessary to call it what it is.
Pretty close on most counts but short of the all pervasive party of totalitarian regimes. It is strong authoritarianism but may still morph!!
With the remains of Republican Party now in control of House and Senate, and nominally the White House, they are within striking distance of the goal lusted for ever since they were the party in disgrace during the Depression: reversing the New Deal, liberal legislative progress made since 1933, and turning America back (waaay back) to a golden, Conservative past. Where White men were in control (and White women and everyone else knew their place).
This accession to power did not occur naturally. Republicans succeeded by adopting the fascist playbook -- as described by Mr. Sellers and his sources -- and by jettisoning any pretense of following the democratic norms adhered to by most of their former Republican standard-bearers. This is an historic aberration in my book -- where I come from (mid-Century middle class America), Republicans were steadfast defenders of the traditional American values: respect for the Law, and above al, the Constitution.
We can only hope that it will not take another Great Depression or World War to get Republicans to snap out of their dream-world in order to realize that gaining power is meaningless if you have to sell your soul to get it. Faust learned this, the hard way.
Are we there yet? I am convinced that, if not now, this will be a fascist nation, sooner than anyone anticipates.
trump and his lackeys are pushing our buttons, just waiting to implement martial law, be it through these abductions/kidnappings by ICE, cracking down on protectors, regardless of the level of peace being displayed, or by just being himself. In spite of his age, soon to be 79, trump actually behaves like a spoiled, rotten 2-year-old, and anything can trigger bad behavior on his part.
I know that we, the liberals/progressives, want to maintain cool heads (sorely needed by all human beings), but the MAGA Mafia are more than eager to provoke the worst within us. If trump succeeds in trying to provoke us into violence, he enacts martial law, cracks down on journalists, arrests politicians who disagree with him, and goes after private individuals who have written or spoken out against him. He wins this way.
And yet, even if these provocations fail, he may still carry out these objectives. Personally, I do not know if we can stop this madman using peaceful, legal methods, as he and his cronies just ignore the courts and Congress.
Including today, having passed jammed into the budget bill, a removal of the ability of the courts to hold government actors in contempt. This is an essence leaving the legal system powerless.
this overview is very helpful, if I were to make a comment it would be that I have to regard 6 Jan as well beyond a flirtation, Capitol and other police officers died, are permanently maimed and most certainly traumatized as well as no longer so employed, including the head of it who resigned. Secret Service agents are reported to have said goodbye to loved ones anticipating their own death. Flirtation is suggestion, death, injury and trauma are actual.
We are well on the road.
A good book to read is " The Rise of The Fourth Reich" by Jim Mars published in 2008. He really talks about how we got here and the possibility of a new American Empire.
You've written pretty much the article that I was going to write.
My comment would be that, although not all the criteria are demonstrably engaged, it's early days. I just wonder how long it takes for a regime to become fully fascist. Trump, his minions, and the present GOP are well on the way. So, fascist enough.
The USA is in the stormy area at the edge of the world. It won't take much to push you off the edge.