The warning bell keeps clanging.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@mikewaghorne I don't hear anyone who is issuing these warnings expressing surprise that fascist strands are woven into the culture of the US — as they are woven into the culture of many nations around the world, something we're having to face all over again as fascism emerges in one culture after another. People commenting from afar who imagine many Americans are naive about this aspect of our history and culture aren't listening carefully to many of us — who deserve support.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@mikewaghorne Yes.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@philip_cardella Yes, that's right. Trump didn't emerge suddenly and out of the blue, like Athena springing from the head of Zeus. A whole lot of Republicans for years now have set the stage for this emergence.

The problem is hardly Trump alone. It's many of us, the shocking percentage of us who now cheer when told he'll round up and deport millons of immigrants.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@wood5y Thank you for pointing me to his site. I will read with interest.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@philip_cardella Yes, I agree — see my response to your other good comment about this today.

[djnst@mas.to]

@wdlindsy Even if orange maga gramps loses, the millions who are completely ok with #fascism will still be our neighbors. And they will be further enraged and ready for the next, more capable and more focused, white supremacist politician.

this is the cause of my ongoing anxiety.

#uspol

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@philip_cardella Yes, growing up in the US South, I often heard disparaging comments from fellow white Southerners who, unlike my family, were not fiercely devoted to FDR. For many of my compatriots, the story of FDR was like a reverse image of the one I heard in my family circle growing up: he sold us out. He was a traitor to his race. His wife was a lesbian communist. And on and on. The determination to turn back the New Deal has long legs.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@wood5y I hope so, too.

[piousunyn@universeodon.com]

@wdlindsy @philip_cardella Yes, they the elite have been chipping away at FDR's New Deal since day one. Ronald Reagan gutted the Fairness Doctrine or it may have become law. Law, which the GOP hates, unless it supports their biases.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Piousunyn @philip_cardella So it has long seemed to me….

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@djnst I share your anxiety about that reality, which I see, too.

[adrianlegg@mastodon.london]

@wdlindsy Y'already did the genocide.

[trez13@mastodon.social]

@wdlindsy I believe part of the problem is that these people (MAGA voters) do not understand what the word "fascism" means. And they most definitely do not make the effort to think about how their lives will be impacted by a dictatorship. They think it only affects the brown people. Niemoller, anyone?

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

"the reality is Trump could be a wannabe fascist all day. But without followers, he is just a guy screaming out anti-American garbage.

That is why to me it’s far more alarming that millions of Americans see Trump for who he is and love it. They want 'America’s Hitler'—as JD Vance warned in 2016 Trump could become. MAGA is what a modern day fascist movement looks like."

~ Dean Obeidallah

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #Hitler
/17

VP Harris is 100% correct that Trump is a Fascist—but that’s only half the alarming story.

MAGA is a full blown fascist movement!

(deanobeidallah.substack.com)

[holgerfiallo@mastodon.social]

@wdlindsy Those who keep saying undecided need a brain exam. They will vote for Trump and what others say about him does not make a difference. KH = America. Trump = Hate. He was right when he said that he could kill someone and people will still vote for him..

[greenroc@mastodon.social]

@wdlindsy I had thought people were being compliant and following the leader like so many people are conditioned to do...
Are we dealing with obedient sheep or are people actually wanting to exterminate people they dont like.

Scary thoughts.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

"We have been studying democratic crisis and authoritarianism for 30 years. Between the two of us, we have written five books on those subjects. We can think of few major national candidates for office in any democracy since World War II who have been this openly authoritarian….

The U.S. establishment is sleepwalking toward a crisis."

~ Steven Levitskiy and Daniel Ziblatt

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #Hitler
/18

nytimes.com

(www.nytimes.com)

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

"The U.S. Naval Academy’s history department invited NYU historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat to give a guest lecture this month about what happens to militaries under authoritarian rule, then the Heritage Foundation and other right-wing figures launched a pressure campaign and the academy disinvited her."

~ David Kurtz

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #Hitler #RuthBenGhiat
/19

Kamala Harris Plans To Close With A Strong Anti-Fascism Message

INSIDE: Ruth Ben-Ghiat ... Patrick Soon-Shiong ... Mike Flynn

(morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com)

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

Dan Froomkin reminds us that the US did once have news commentators fiercely committed to the truth, courageous, and intent to serve democracy by remaining true to their vocation – in a word:

Walter Cronkite.

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #Hitler
/20

Time for a 'Cronkite moment'

Network anchors must speak the unvarnished truth about Trump’s mental state

(criticalread.substack.com)

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

“Do you think somebody possibly has video of Trump mocking the handicapped, demeaning US prisoners of war, boasting about sexually assaulting women, praising Vladimir Putin, or urging a violent attack on the US Capitol? That would be huge.”

~ David Frum as quoted by Andrew Egger

Irony alert here.

#Trump #Republicans #fascism #Hitler
/21

The Soft Bigotry of Our Trump Expectations

One candidate gets graded like a normal candidate would. The other gets excused for talking about Arnold Palmer’s junk.

(www.thebulwark.com)