[Side note: it's been well over a week since I had the second infusion treatment with Ritrxan, and so far, knock my wooden head, I have not experienced a flare or even any pain to speak of associated with RA. I'm astonished and pleased. Let's see if this lasts.)
I've been seeing signs of consolidation of the White Rightist cohorts among us. I try not to follow it too closely because it is genuinely toxic to living things, but they seem to have an extensive and spreading presence online -- probably always been there but I didn't notice -- and a genuine belief that "now is our hour."
Hm.
Of course we've known for a long time that the State will crush any perceived threat from the (so-called) Left with extreme prejudice. We've seen it happen over and over, two recent examples being the Occupy movement and the NoDAPL actions in North Dakota.
The violence inherent in the system was on full display -- as a means of educating the masses to know and stay in Their Place, subservient and obedient to their Betters.
But we note with interest that no such violent repression of white rightist/supremacist agitation takes place. Bluntly, the State tends to molly-coddle white rightists, most clearly apparent during the arrest of Dylan Roof in Carolina (which one, I forget at the moment), for the murder of so many black Bible students at the Mother Emmanuel Church. The police treated him with kid gloves and took him to Burger King because he was hungry.
That's the way it goes. It''s one way we know where we are, and who is important to the Powers That Be.
What I've noticed recently (well, since before the election) is a significant uptick in white rightist propaganda and violent rhetoric, not solely online but penetrating the mainstream news media as well.
I guess I'm lucky to live in a rural area that voted for Trump overwhelmingly (something like 70%) but which so far mostly rejects as ridiculous the white-rightist thrust of Trumpism. An exception down the road about ten miles (in Santa Fe County, for criminy sakes) is a cracker household that proudly flies the Stars and Bars (multiple examples fluttering in the wind beside the interstate) and appears to be trying to recruit more of its ilk to The Cause.
So special.
Of course flying the Stars and Bars is one way these people can know their own. For a few days before the election, some dude flying a huge Stars and Bars flag from the back of his pick up was frequenting a local park -- maybe to recruit, I don't know-- but he disappeared fairly quickly, and I doubt he found much support.
A rallying cry for many white rightists seems to be "You will not replace us," perhaps a co-optation of "He will not divide us" that was frequently heard among anti-Trumpists (particularly among those participating in Shia LeBeouf's project).
Other means of knowing their own include incessant references to "globalists," "Clintonites," "Snowflakes" and mockery of "identity politics," "safe spaces" and other "liberal" ideas primarily confined to the academic realm.
While I think it is stupid, it is surprisingly effective. Or maybe not so surprising. They are by no means a majority, far from it -- except in certain regional enclaves. (The irony being their belief that their enemies -- all "he" live only in coastal enclaves.)
They get their news -- such as it is -- from Fox, Breitbart, Stormfront, the Red Elephants and the like.
They believe a wide range of falsehoods and seem to be especially frightened of the Clintonites who rule the world, mostly through their tentacles in academia and the Deep State.
They may have a point about some of what they fear, but they have no answers except paranoia and more and more frequently murder.
Is this what we're coming to?
Looks like it.
["Other means of knowing their own include incessant references to "globalists," "Clintonites," "Snowflakes" and mockery of "identity politics," "safe spaces" and other "liberal" ideas primarily confined to the academic realm."]
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that the very people who used to identify themselves as "progressives" and "liberals" are also mocking progressive and liberal ideas and referring to "liberals" with the codewords you mention ("snowflakes", "identity politics", etc.). I understand they are trying to distance themselves from the Clinton wing, which is anything BUT truly progressive or liberal. Unfortunately, by using the same words that the right-wing uses to denigrate liberals ("those special snowflakes") this allows the neoliberal Clintonistas to co-opt not only the terms progressive and liberal, but to leave true progressives without representation at all. Progressives should be screaming, "the Clinton camp is not liberal, nor are they progressive and they don't represent us!"; instead, they are ceding the territory and joining in with the right-wing mocking of THEMSELVES.
Clinton has successfully engineered the left into holding no position at all. And she ain't even in a political office any more. The Tea-baggers did the same to the Republican party a few years ago. The Republicans are no longer the party of fiscal conservatism, which could be considered reasonable in some cases - they are now so hard rightwing on every issue that they have become rancid, hateful anti-humans and are, to a man, against any sort of governmental support of the commons at all. They will not willingly allow any taxpayer money to be spent on the welfare of Americans. (Bombing multiple countries into smithereens so that Raytheon makes some fast hard cash does not count as being pro-American.)
I hate to see the left go along with Clinton's taking over the entire left spectrum this way. More, I hate to see liberals letting her do it and joining in - perhaps unconsciously - in destroying themselves. By not loudly denouncing her as a neoliberal, fake progressive, and instead denouncing the progressives as simply the "special snowflakes" who "only care about gays", they are leaving themselves with nowhere to go. Same thing is noticeable with "Obama legacy" supporters. They let Obama be touted as a kinda-sorta socialist and liberal when he is neither and never was.
We are left with only the hard right and the hard-hard right as the two major parties. Progressives and liberals are embarrassed to even use those terms to describe themselves, and it's all because we let the Clintons own the words.
I don't know how much of that is engineered -- a kind of manipulation and propaganda designed to prevent any consolidation on the left.
DeleteBut you're right, there is no left in American politics, only right and further right. Becoming more and more so around the world.
What I worry is that by default, the neoliberal Clinton/Obama line will ultimately become "The Left" just as the rightists have been saying all these years. With no viable political option on the left, what can one expect?
We'll see what happens with Corbyn in Britain (not holding my breath). Even if Labour does manage to pull off a victory, we saw what happened in Greece, et al.
Your point about language is well taken. As is the sight of former "progressives" and "liberals" using the rightist identity terms to attack other (albeit neoliberal) "liberals/progressives." Again, I suspect a good deal of this is manipulated, propaganda. Some of it is perhaps ill-thought out strategy. I don't know. But it is... interesting.
Our political realm is such a shit-show (pardon my French), made worse by the fact that there is essentially no one and no institution acting on behalf of the People. Gah.