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Sometimes I see people saying things like: "Why is everyone arguing about politics all the time? Why can't we just put political differences aside, and talk among each other as friends and family?"
On the one hand, I get it: the constant bickering certainly gets exhausting. It's the reason I (almost) never read the comments, and the reason that I've blocked some of your family members (and my own parents) on Facebook.
On the other hand: lol wut?
A lot of people seem to have a curious understanding of the word "politics". To them, "politics" *is* the bickering. It's just a matter of Red Team vs. Blue Team; talking heads yelling at each other on TV; whether you were raised as a Yankees fan or a...fan of whoever the Yankees' rivals are (I don't know this shit).
It's just a bunch of tribalism and abstract policy – and (according to this understanding) we can simply choose to ignore it and get on with other things, if we prefer to.
At the very least, this understanding of "politics" rests on the assumption that – even if people have different political opinions – we're all coming to the table in good faith. That we all have the same basic values, and we simply have different ideas about how to *realize* those values. That if we could just exercise more patience and reason, we could sort through our differences and find a compromise that works for everyone.
That is manifestly not what the fuck is happening in the United States in 2020.
Here's what a political opinion actually *is*: it's a response to the question "how should power be distributed?"
And the faction that's currently in power has a response to that question which should be un-fucking-acceptable to any decent human being.
It's an act of incredible privilege to say "Gee, all this fighting sure is uncomfortable. Let's just agree to disagree on whether [black lives matter | children should be put in cages | trans people have human rights | it's okay to disappear protesters into unmarked vans | members of a major political party should routinely and openly degrade women | American citizens should be deported on the basis of their religious beliefs | we should cancel free and fair elections]. Then we can enjoy a beer together, without all of that unpleasant fighting!"
When we refer to Trumpism as fascism, we aren't using the word "fascist" as a slur. We aren't engaging in hyperbole. We literally mean that Trumpism is literally a fascist ideology – which, left unchallenged, will lead where fascist ideologies always lead. If you doubt this, then you simply don't understand how fascism works. Or you don't understand what this administration has been doing. Or both.
And when I'm enjoying myself at a barbecue, and a fucking fascist shows up, then I
will
fucking
not
stand there and pretend like I don't see the swastika on his arm.
There are certainly political positions that I disagree with, which are still within the realm of reasonable debate. If you earnestly believe that a purely market-based healthcare system will best provide for the common good – man, I have some very different thinking on that issue, but I'm not gonna kick you out of my barbecue.
Fascism is not one of those positions. Fascism is immediate "get the fuck off my property" material.
All the patience and reason in the world isn't going to resolve my conflict with fascists, because fascism is based on the premise that some people are less than fully human. That one category of people has the right to dominate another through violence.
That isn't good-faith difference of opinion. That's an irreconcilable moral difference. You show up at my barbecue arguing that it's okay to fuck kids, and you get kicked the fuck out. You show up at my barbecue arguing that Trump is good for America, and you get kicked the fuck out. Same thing.
The problem isn't that I've shown insufficient patience and kindness toward the child-fucker. The problem is that the child-fucker is a piece of shit. And our country is suddenly full of them.
So, I'm sorry that you have to witness the unpleasantness of fascists getting kicked out of barbecues. Believe me – you're getting off easy, compared to the people who are directly affected by their regime.
Now, one could certainly argue that – justified though it might be – blasting Trumpists on social media doesn't actually *achieve* anything. On that point, I concede that you may be right. These days, I mostly don't bother. They can't be reasoned with, and they can't be shamed. (And, much of the time, flipping out on them just gives them exactly what they want.)
But nor do I cluck my tongue at those who *do* try to reason with them and shame them. I think they're on a fool's errand – but I'm not going to say "Stop being so unpleasant to the fascist!"
I dunno. That's a long-winded way of saying: if you prefer for everyone to remain polite and friendly when fascists show up, then don't come to my barbecues. And...maybe spend some time considering what that says about you.
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