Refuse Fascism received this solidarity statement from Rachel Wachstein who has organized Protect the Vote vigils in the northern suburbs of Chicago for several months, and has been the target of vicious on-line attacks by MAGA thugs. Below, video of the statement being read at the Trump: You Lost. Get the Hell Out! Rally and Speak-Out in front of the White House in Washington, DC, December 12.
Thank you Refuse Fascism for recognizing the danger we’re in, the danger we’ll continue to be in long after the Trump/Pence regime leaves the White House. Their fascist tendencies and lies have added fuel to the already burning fires of racism, sexism, antisemitism, xenophobia and homophobia across this country.
It now seems entirely possible for a smarter, more capable tyrant to take power, bringing our country and the world to the edge of extinction.
Unless we recognize this fact and admit that what we have experienced under the Trump/Pence regime is NOT normal, we’ll be fighting fascists at the polls every four years.
So what are we facing? We are facing the reality that when things get tough, people often find comfort in a strongman, an authoritarian leader who promises to deliver law and order to protect the privileged classes.
We are facing chaos disguised as law and order. Where peaceful protesters are sold as dangerous criminals and terrorists to justify turning military and security forces trained to deal harshly with foreign elements on the American people.
We are facing police and security forces being used as weapons for ultra-nationalism in the service of a cult leader.
We are facing the proven tactics of fascism to divide and conquer, to dehumanize “the other”, to confuse and confound all while claiming victimhood for themselves.
We face all of these things in a world in which nothing is real and anything is possible. But please don’t ignore the fascist social movement sweeping this country because it won’t go away on its own.
It is up to everyone of us to push back against fascist narratives and expose them for what they are… lies and a danger to humanity.
It wasn’t that long ago that the Jews of Germany miscalculated the dangers of fascism. Every time things got worse, they somehow figured out how to adapt… until it was too late.
We’ve seen the horrors of European fascism in the past but fascism isn’t in our past. It is in our present and future. It is reemerging in Europe in places like Hungry. It is sweeping through Brazil, Turkey and the Philippines.
It is here in the US in the form of fascist institutions like the immigrant detention camps. It’s in the mass incarceration and killing of Black people.
It’s at the core of Trump supporters’ beliefs… us vs. them, good vs. evil. deserving vs undeserving. Lazy vs wealthy. Fascism is a movement and a mentality that leaves no room for anyone else. There are no valid opponents, only enemies to be conquered.
If we are to stay free people, we must recognize the danger we face and stand up together as a coalition of decent people to refuse fascism.