CONTROL THROUGH IMPLIED AND ACTUAL VIOLENCE
CONTROL THROUGH IMPLIED AND ACTUAL VIOLENCE
The Right is seeking to reestablish its stranglehold over culture through the implication and practice of violence
To be honest, it’s a nightmare.
The possibility that the Right might resort to outright and widespread violence has been brewing for awhile now, but the current signs that those fears are coming to pass are no less disturbing. Recently, Right Wing provocateur and grifter Charlie Kirk was asked by an audience member at an event when it might be time to pick up guns and start killing the Left. Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time that would happen. Violence around the 2016 Election saw Donald Trump supporters assaulting protestors at rallies, the Alt-Right carrying out extensive brutality in one moment after another, and, tragically, the murder of two protesters in Wisconsin by Kyle Rittenhouse, whose trial judge has, notably, banned those people from being called “victims” and limiting discussion to referring to them as “rioters” or “looters.”
That decision was not a coincidence. Framing the murder as a lawful action and endorsing vigilante actions did not just happen. We are in the midst of a crucial moment of culture war in which all indications are that things will soon heat up. Or, at least, heat up more. The reason behind this is the same reason behind the crackdown on individual liberties and voting rights. It is the Right’s reaction to the loss of electoral viability and the combination of hard and soft measures in rectifying a loss of political power. And, at the pace we’re going, it’s only a matter of time before stupefying amounts of blood are running in the streets.
And the overarching goal, unfortunately, is to establish an environment where every moment is pregnant with the possibility.
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On the most recent episode of my Bourbon Talk Political Q&A Livestream show, a viewer asked a question that made me pause. “It’s ad to have to ask this,” Wobblies United posted, “but what can we expect our day-to-day lives to be like under fascist authoritarianism?”
The answer isn’t pretty. To think about an authoritarian state is to imagine a constant stream of bloodletting, windows smashed, dissenters hunted down. While all of this would happen, the norm would be relative quiet. The reason is that, in order for authoritarianism to take root, an environment would have to be crafted, through an orgy of skull-crushing and extensive inquisition-type actions, where the population at-large would be made terrified to even imagine disturbing the political order.
Where we are now is a crossroads. In the past, the United States existed in a relative “consensus” that, surprise surprise, benefited wealthy white men at the expensive of people of color, women, and the poor. This post-World War II reality was crafted through meticulous oppression, including a carefully constructed apartheid state that kept African Americans from participating in elections or the economy, laws and norms that put women in constant danger, and a society that, at all times, reminded LGTBQ citizens that to be themselves was tantamount to suicide.
Now that that framework is disintegrating, the Right has reacted by sounding the apocalyptic alarm. “Western Civilization” is at stake, and considering the circumstances, all options are on the table, including embracing neo-apartheid legislation and laws and a resurrection of the violence that fortified the so-called “consensus” in the first place. And, if that is allowed to happen, Right Wing efforts to combat accurate history will not only bury the evidence of their crimes but attempt to ensure it can never be found again while surrounding all Americans with a reality tailored to their own interests and power.
As this is carried out, small actions like demanding victims be called “rioters” or passing laws that allow Right Wing motorists to mow down protesters at will without consequence sets the foundation for the environment needed to enforce these oppressive measures. After all, the dream of the Right is to lord over a population that has rights in writing and in theory, but are too afraid to practice them. To have a country where workers strike, citizens protest, and the people advocate for themselves is simply too dangerous. What is required is a fixed nation where the powerful are free to plunder without fear of reprisal or uprising.
An “open society” in name only.
AMERICAN RULE: HOW A NATION CONQUERED THE WORLD is Jared Yates Sexton’s destruction of the myth of American exceptionalism and a reckoning with our actual, disturbing history. Detailing centuries’ worth of lies and oppression, the book is meant to provide a roadmap to how we have arrived at this moment and, through that information, give readers a sense of how we might escape this cycle of self-destruction
In the 1930’s, as Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Dealers combated the Great Depression, workers around the country noticed the sea change and began demanding their fair share. Workers who had grown tired of being exploited, overworked, underpaid, and suffering at the hands of private detectives and mercenaries paid by the likes of Henry Ford and other oligarchs began organizing and walking off the job.
What came next was horrific.
Frightened by FDR’s reforms and the prospect of having to shell out even a small portion of their profits, giants like Ford, DuPont, and General Motors turned to an unlikely ally: the Ku Klux Klan. By funding an even more violent and underhanded sector of the Klan, they created what came to be known as “the Black Legion,” a paramilitary, terror organization in the Midwest who hunted down labor members, murdered them, and attacked their organizations. These were the most bloodthirsty racists and conspiracy theorists imaginable, and the business magnates of the moment recognized their utility.
As discussed before, those in power recognize a natural alliance with Right Wing paramilitary groups. Capitalists and fascists go hand-in-hand as they are both interested in maintaining a semblance of the power structure and see the biggest danger to the status quo or white supremacy as organized labor and people of color. This partnership fosters incredible violence, including terrorism and outright slaughter. As labor issues and political circumstances spiral out of control for the wealthy, they are quick to turn to these monsters for support and aid.
The purpose is simple. To make collective action and protest as terrifying as possible, ensuring that even those people who are being worked to death and oppressed that being silent and alive is preferable to saying a single word and suffering a terrible and painful death. The turn from economic to personal happens when the threat of losing one’s job no longer does the trick and circumstances require a heavier hand.
Our current moment is another instance of this. Politically, the Right is endangered. Their electoral chances are slim, even while our systems are designed, specifically, to favor them and the interests of the wealthy. Employers are terrified as their squeezing of employees for every last penny has left them with an uprising in the labor market, leading to mass resignations, protests, and a spate of strikes that are inspiring people every day to take to the picket lines and demand something resembling basic, human decency.
The rise of Right Wing paramilitary groups, not to mention random acts of violence that have punctuated the Black Lives Matter protests and these labor disputes, hints at a potential near-future as these moments of political upheaval are always accompanied by rising tensions and outbreaks of actual violence. To be honest, the Right has always gone in this direction, and what we are watching at the moment is another iteration of a tired old song and dance.
They will protect their interests at any costs. The question is whether we can learn from the history before it’s too late.
this is terrifying - i fear too many people will not learn from history. i had a hard time getting the 5 other women in my work section to come with me to next level of management to address a bully, hostile supervisor. and this is an org where one wouldn't be fired for doing so. and it had great washington post headlines of women in hostile work environment being discriminated against based on gender. what you are writing is more terrifying and when i talk to people about it, they aren't that aware. one said it will happen or it won't; we can't stress about it every day. my heart plummeted.