Thread by @JYSexton

I want to talk about why I wrote my book AMERICAN RULE, the truth of American history, and why it is vital we defeat Donald Trump.

Trumpism is fascism. Literally. We are fighting for the future of America and the human race. And we must win.

1/

penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611439/a…

Donald Trump's victory in 2016 was made possible through a variety of factors, but it was the culmination of a generation-long project by the Republican Party to reestablish white aristocratic supremacy.

It was a rewinding of the clock and inherently fascist.

2/

The disturbing truth we must wrestle with is that American history has been manipulated, edited, and weaponized.

Trumpism is an attempt to roll back time to hidden white aristocratic supremacy and if he wins we might be trapped forever.

3/

The truth is that our founding was an attempt by the white and wealthy elites of our country to control our society in order to suppress common people while consolidating power and expediting their own pursuit of wealth.

Our myths hide this disturbing fact.

4/

To read the notes from our Constitution's drafting, you find the Founding Fathers believed that only white and wealthy men should be able to control our country and that the people were not to be trusted.

This is what Trump and company want to reaffirm.

5/

In order to hide the real truths behind our Founding, that it was intended to help the white and wealthy few, a story was developed that claimed America was ordained by God to become a champion for freedom and liberty and equality.

This was a sales pitch. Propaganda.

6/

The lie that America is exceptional and chosen by God to fulfill his favor has legitimized terrible abuses, including slavery, the genocide of native peoples, and the suppression of vulnerable populations.

It is a weaponized myth that allows fascism to fester.

7/

Let us be clear. The concept of American exceptionalism and white supremacy have riddled our history, but in the early 20th century it was realized in eugenics programs and "philosophy" by American writers who found an audience both in America and in pre-fascist Europe.

8/

American white supremacy and racial superiority myths found purchase with Adolf Hitler, who brought Americans to Germany to help create his philosophy and manufacture the eugenics laws and programs that would lead to the Holocaust.

9/

Our ideas about fascism and Nazism are incomplete. America inspired these movements, gave them their ideas and power, and Hitler actually wanted to partner with the US.

There were fascists groups here that wanted to join him and the Axis Powers before Pearl Harbor.

10/

It's necessary to examine fascism and its beliefs, namely that "truth" and "facts" are useless and that democracy is failed.

Fascism believes in "deeper truths" held by "strongmen" who are unrestrained by reality and empirical evidence.

11/

Trump's "Make America Great Again" is an inherently fascist propaganda that weaponizes a past that never existed.

Like other fascists, Trump and company want to literally rewind history to a point where a white aristocracy ruled without challenge.

12/

Like fascist countries, America has long oppressed its vulnerable populations by means of scapegoating paranoid conspiracy theories that posit people of color and political opponents as parts of a conspiracy to unseat the "exceptional" nation.

This legitimizes violence.

13/

Every time an oppressed people mentions their oppression, the power group in a fascist country claims there's a conspiracy that involves outside enemies, internal traitors, and people of color who are being manipulated.

This is dependent on the myth of exceptionalism.

14/

By claiming protesters are part of a conspiracy against America, violence is legitimized.

They're not protesters anymore. They're terrorists. Traitors. And so the full force and power and violence of the state is made legitimate in protecting the nation.

15/

In our modern era, the Republican Party has become a fascist movement as the aristocratically-focused GOP merged with the Neo-Confederate Evangelical Right, positioning politics as a battle between God and Satan in determining the future of America and the world.

16/

Things seem odd now with the conspiracies and supernatural claims, but the groundwork was laid in the 1980's as the Evangelical Right and GOP positioned America as a "godly" nation beset by attacks from Satan and liberals out to destroy God.

17/

Meanwhile, the GOP made economics into a religious battle as well. If you were rich, you were godly. If you were poor, you were suffering because of your moral rot.

This created an environment where poverty became a side-effect of sin and personal failings.

18/

In this reality, the wealthy and powerful deserved their status.

They had been chosen by God to enjoy their riches and influence. People like Donald Trump were held as bastions of holy economic favor.

19/

In the 1990's, Reagan's political reality, charged with hypercapitalism and supernatural paranoia, was so successful that even his Democratic opponents had to use it as the framework for their political appeals.

But the GOP needed a political edge against them.

20/

The Right began using white supremacist paranoia as a potent weapon. They told their voters that Democrats would take their guns and their money, leaving them vulnerable to marauding gangs and the UN to conquer them.

It was incredibly lucrative.

21/

These appeals became the basis of what we now know as the New World Order conspiracy theory.

Later it would become the Deep State and then Qanon. It is an alternate reality where the GOP can continue to win elections and the rich can continue to profit wildly.

22/

Of course, fearmongering has consequences.

The Right has continued to tell its followers that they are in mortal danger. This leads to terrorist attacks like the OKC Bombing and the mass shootings we've experienced for years now.

This will only get worse.

23/

Regardless of consequences, the Right has become submerged in these conspiracy theories because they can't win elections without them.

They've grown worse, more dangerous, more twisted, and they've all but destroyed our reality.

24/

In the Right's twisted paranoid reality, Democrats are part of a larger conspiracy to destroy America and are in league with "puppetmasters" and manipulating people of color into rioting and protesting.

This is inherently a fascistic worldview meant to legitimize violence.

25/

Donald Trump's candidacy and political life is inherently fascistic.

He is an authoritarian who wields white supremacist paranoia for his own ends and profit and has created around him a cult of personality that is both violent and completely submissive to him.

26/

Like other fascist leaders with these cults, Trump enjoys a status of godliness that transforms everything he does into a perfect action.

This isn't just politics as usual. It's a fascist cult in theory, practice, and action.

27/

Trump's rise has been aided by a partnership with the Evangelical Right. They view him as a messiah and their champion as long as he gives them priority and preferred status.

It is a continuation of the partnership between Reagan and Falwell from the 1980's.

28/

The other part of Trump's base is the extremely wealthy who are interested in continuing to amass personal wealth while dismantling the government as a roadblock to their profit and power while eliminating the use of government as a public good for regular people.

29/

Let's be very clear.

Trumpism represents the reaffirmation of White Aristocratic Supremacy.

It is the culmination of a project undertaken by the GOP and Evangelical Right to reestablish total control over the people.

30/

Like the fascists, Trump and the GOP have pushed to wind back time to a place before pluralism and emerging demographics could challenge their control.

They literally want to plunge America into an anti-democratic reality where dissent is completely impossible.

31/

Bizarre moments like Trump declaring "Antifa" a "terrorist organization" are examples of what is coming.

Fascism is about determining that opponents are traitorous and dangerous, no matter who they are. It's about affirming your reality through violence and intimidation.

32/

In order to realize this fascist reality, your base and supporters need to be sufficiently paranoid, radicalized, armed, and ready to dole out daily violence against dissenters and critics.

You need a society ready to police itself by means of individual violence.

33/

Meanwhile, a religion of the fascist needs to be established that makes everything the leader does perfect and godly in order to twist reality to your pursuits.

The Right has been prepared for years by fearmongering to fully accept this twisted alternate reality.

34/

This needs said.

If we do not defeat Trumpism, future events like climate catastrophe will take on even more dangerous connotations.

MANY will die, but the cruelty and oppression under a Trumpist regime will be unfathomable.

35/

Already the "othering" of human being has led to terrible abuses, forced sterilization.

We're looking at future genocides on a mindblowing scale if Trumpism persists. This moment with the pandemic should give you an idea of just what is possible with these people.

36/

In addition, the erosion of our government, institutions, and politics has allowed a minority party to gain complete control over our government and society.

History tells us this does not end well. It leads to mass oppression and a fascistic reality.

37/

We must defeat Trump in the election.

But that's only the beginning. The myths and lies that enabled Trump must be unlearned and cast aside. We're dealing with honest to god fascism and the stakes could not be higher.

We must win. There's no alternative.

38/38