by Joe Courter
Things are moving really fast right now, and I am much more concerned about this country slipping further into an authoritarian Christo-Fascist regime than ever.
Lawlessness by the government is rampant, unconstitutional edicts and actions are everywhere, firing, budget cuts, punishing Blue states with grant cutbacks. Look what we have in ICE, founded in 2003 in the civil liberties crackdowns we got from George W Bush & Co after the September 11 attacks. Many on the Left saw ICE as a danger right from the get go. It has now morphed into bands of well-armed, masked virtual gangs snatching people off the street. Its budget is hugely expanded, it is a frickin’ army unto itself, a para-military organization overruling local police. I do not know, and I have not seen any speculation, of how something like that can be decommissioned were we to actually get the votes to turn the government around.
All that had already been in my head, a great cause of concern. But that wasn’t what really triggered my larger concern now. It was the lionization of Charlie Kirk, and the knee-jerk outpouring of sympathy for a young guy, gunned down who’s now icon but who most people had hardly heard of before. Who was he? He was a well-funded and paid political operative of the Right, coached up over the last dozen years into a recruiter of young men and women with a big manufactured platform called Turning Point USA, hosting big conferences, and running slick messaging from social media platforms. He was a glib showman, a skilled rhetorician able to create well-edited sound bites as he would ambush college speaking tour questioners, and turn their flustering into videos for his social media platforms. He would gleefully spout sexism, racism and homophobia, which had influence with his followers. He was no hero to me. But the shocking moment of his death, played on screens over and over, is as traumatic a generational moment as 9/11, or for my generation JFK, Bobby Kennedy and the Mi Lai massacre.
His death became the focus of a very opportunistic campaign to create a Christian martyr, as his funeral repeatedly showcased. The rapid and unfounded blaming of the Left became a driving force in the messaging from the MAGA sphere, amplifying what was already being stated. But another thing caught my attention, especially regarding young men. Yes, some are into the Christian Right, others, exemplified by the Groypers, are leaning much more White Nationalist and violent, and related to the Proud Boys who were key to the January 6 insurrection. Some seem more just flat nihilistic, and just want to create havoc or simply mess with culture that they reject. This is all thriving below the surface on social media, facilitated by video gaming culture, and manifesting in the warped motivations of these shooters and attackers. Common bond in all them? They don’t like the Left, or Liberals. Some may lean Libertarian, as was the young guy who shot up an ICE detention center, only hitting prisoners, and who supposedly had written “ANTI-ICE” on the bullets. That anti Left view is of course primary in MAGA: “F. the Libs.”
As Kirk’s death is played as a Horst Wessel Reichstag (see eds pix on p. 13) moment, then the follow-up to that time 90 years ago was a lot more violence. Now with unwanted troops and ICE going places where they are not welcomed (or truthfully not needed), into LA, Chicago and Memphis, the danger of right-wing-incited violence is rising. Old riot footage of Portland in 2020 was used as if current by Fox news.
I am not sure there are enough Republicans in power that are willing to switch sides to make a difference, but I keep hoping. The Generals all got a firsthand view of Trump and Hegseth, maybe they can exert some influence. And I am not sure proclaiming a massive work stoppage and “hitting the streets” would help…heck they are willing to shut the government down on their own! We are in a mess.
The vulnerable people among us have every right to be fearful. Those not threatened or fearful have all the more reason to step up their resistance. Stay healthy, stay safe, but do what you can.