“Fascism is capitalist society’s ‘last word,’ the most brutal possible unmasking of its internal contradictions.”– Mihály Vajda
“(Fascism) came to power by exploiting and organizing the irresponsibility, cowardice, and stupidity of the petty bourgeoisie.”– Antonio Gramsci
Refusing to face reality when part of the population wants you confined or killed is a deadly game. As the political climate and conditions in the U.S. worsen daily, you will undoubtedly encounter many waves of denial. A growing rush of conservatism over the decades complained that the country was becoming something reactionaries felt was unrecognizable. They have longed for the “good old days” of racist apartheid, heteropatriarchal norms, and white supremacist exclusion in all walks of life. That fueled the flames of fascism. Now, as it burns uncontrollably, many liberals are nostalgic for a not-so-distant past, too.
The institutions now being dismantled or easily weaponized for fascism carried the seeds for this terrible situation. The contradictions being raised before us are met with constituents’ fantastical ideas about the Democratic establishment detouring from this direction the country was heading, regardless. This is an indication that history, both near and far, is being neglected in favor of a collective disconnect. The way we counter these misleading narratives is with honest recollection. We must acknowledge which problems inflamed fascism so that we can try to make this world better.
When multiple historically Black colleges and universities received bomb threats after the killing of Charlie Kirk and went into lockdown, much of the public was shocked. The Congressional Black Caucus released a statement saying the threats were a “chilling reminder of the relentless racism and extremism that continues to target and terrorize Black communities in this country.” However, absolutely nothing about it should be surprising. Not long ago, bombings plagued the U.S. South when the elder relatives of plenty of those walking among us cheered terror attacks on Black communities.
The city of Birmingham, for example, was dubbed “Bombingham” due to the frequency of such attacks, and one of its neighborhoods became known as “Dynamite Hill.” The 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four Black girls and wounded several others showed the world the everyday depravity of white supremacist violence. From slavery to lynchings to bombings and much more, it cannot be emphasized enough that this viciousness was celebrated by much of white society. That legacy thrives as attacks on our collective memory and Black history offer us insight.
This history is just a fraction of the record of the horrors Black people have been subjected to. These are the stories that are now being whitewashed and erased from the public by the Trump Administration directives targeting history that paints the U.S. in a “negative light.” There’s a reason that it’s essential to know about these atrocities and emphasize them. It’s not cliché to say that we’re at risk of repeating them if we fail to do so. It’s our reality now, and just because there might have been a deceptive calm, danger never went away. Surrounding us is a great body of evidence. You have to grasp how bad it’s been before to understand how much worse things can get. This tension is where one of the most significant aspects of denial’s danger is buried. Far too many people were coaxed into a deep sleep by the illusion of choice we know as party politics, where they assumed a safety and trust that they shouldn’t have.
History isn’t just about saying things used to be bad and they’re not anymore; it also warns us about inheritance. A liberal relationship with history creates a false romance with a happy ending that doesn’t exist. This self-selected deception is being brutally interrupted by what’s happening around us. Many are mourning the fact that they can no longer pretend that things were okay enough just to vote, win an election, and keep going. No, this situation was already here, and the white supremacy we’re seeing was going to resurrect itself one way or another, just as the January 6, 2021, insurrection forewarned.
This is why, as ICE snatches people off the streets, many members of the public don’t have any idea what to do but record in outrage and confusion. This is why, as National Guard troops occupy cities, some people only want to hide inside or pretend this is a standard directive about fighting crime. This is why, as this administration openly speaks about targeting leftists, many continue to talk about what it “can’t” and “won’t” dare do. No one is safe from what they choose not to see, and that helped engineer this hellish environment. Liberals have assumed that baiting right-wingers into dialogue and beating them in debate will change conditions, and it didn’t, and it still won’t. Liberals’ nonsensical “marketplace of ideas” approach legitimized fascism by reducing it to a difference of opinion and the right to “free speech.” Now, the same liberals who validated the absurd myth of “cancel culture” so that the right could openly talk about exterminating and imprisoning their enemies will be targeted by that which they helped facilitate.
So, unfortunately, there is no “gotcha” moment that liberal rationale suggested was coming to save everyone. The Epstein files will not magically appear and make this go away. Lawsuits and the courts will not suddenly start saving the vulnerable people they’ve always oppressed. This will not all be voted away as long as people hang on long enough. And the denial that makes people falsely believe these things also tricks people into confusing themselves about the fear of fascists and white supremacists. What they want us to do is keep waiting for a rescue. They’re not scared of lawsuits, being recorded, and shamed. They fear the masses of people who have collective power reacting to them with the same relentlessness they have. They are scared of people realizing their coalitional and focused potential. That’s why this administration is moving as quickly as possible to cause as much damage as possible. The moment people start reciprocating the energy that fascists are meeting them with is the moment things will start to change for the better. It’s important for us to understand the essence of what fascism processes at this current moment.
In his 1976 book, “Fascism as a Mass-Movement,” Hungarian left philosopher Mihály Vajda wrote about why fascism attacks liberal bourgeois representative democracy. He wrote, “In fascism the negation of the ideal of liberty appears as the negation of bourgeois democracy. Fascists identify bourgeois democracy with the right of various different groups to assert their own particular interests.” Think about today’s mounting attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion or past bombings of Black people in the South regarding anger over integration, to see fascism’s flowing roots. Vajda breaks down some critical differences between liberal democracy and fascism. He continues: “By revoking this ideal of liberty, fascist ideology is simply announcing the truth of the given society and uncovering the falsity of the ideal of liberty in the bourgeois world. It elevates the actual practice of this society to the status of a principle. But it also means a regression from the achievements of the bourgeois world.”
It’s certainly true that there were niceties, benefits, and comforts of the arrangement many of us had become accustomed to. However, those are being obliterated to reveal the core of what actually is. There’s no simple way to go back. Even if there was, it shouldn’t be something we desire if we’re not in denial. Back then is what gave us right now. So, the time for underestimating this moment is very much over. The mask of the society we once knew has been completely torn off. Don’t think that all of these politicians across both sides of the aisle, corporate interests, and these institutions have betrayed you. Calling it betrayal suggests that someone who was on your side has abandoned you. These forces weren’t on your side to begin with. They were steering us toward this, one way or the other, as the natural result of capitalism, white supremacy, and imperialism. The betrayal we should be invested in is the rejection of any past or present version of ourselves that accepted a measured response to a predicament that calls for unrestrained resistance.
Editorial Team:
Lara Witt, Lead Editor
Carolyn Copeland, Top Editor
Stephanie Harris, Copy Editor
