The other f-word: fascist.
I have so far resisted saying that Trump is a fascist, and I have not used the H-word in any of my posts. But I have three such excellente articles to share,one of which dates back to well before the election, that all do use that word, that, well, here we are.
Two of the articles make the point that it’s probably not fair to call the PEOTUS a fascist or to compare him to Hitler (there it is!) because he doesn’t have a coherent enough ideology to have those labels.
But the one thing that seems to be consistent with Trump, no matter what else he waffles on, or changes completely, or whatever, is his bromance with Vlad the Impaler. I am working my way through Garry Kasparov’s book on Putin, and let me tell you something, folks: that is one scary dude. He’s a dictator. He’s authoritarian. He is, in every conceivable sense of the word, a fascist. His lust for power, and his willingness to use prison, torture, and murder to get it, is well-nigh bottomless. And we have no idea what ties our incoming President has with him. But Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State is a big red flag. I hope it proves to be a false flag, so to speak, but I’m honestly very worried.
Here are the links to the articles, of which I’m posting only one to Facebook. The illustration for the rather mild-mannered academic article about fascism’s being the word of the year is a bit inflammatory, by the way. I think it was an unfortunate choice, but the article is well worth reading. The article about Hannah Arendt is chilling. Don’t read it right before you go to bed; it will keep you awake.
“Trump Is Not Hitler–He’s Marion Berry”
“Let’s Talk about Fascism before It Becomes the Word of the Year”
“How Hannah Arendt’s Classic Work on Totalitarianism Illuminates Today’s America”