Thread by @MilesPerHoward

I'm very "glad" to see more people writing and talking about the resurgence of ecofascism as climate change becomes worse. As a former backcountry resident, I've seen how this ideology can take root in people of all political leanings. It indulges a deeply territorial paranoia 1/

Ecofascism emerged from the concept of Aryan fatherhood, which stipulated that bloodlines are intertwined to the land like roots. So, any effort to preserve racial bloodlines must be accompanied by environmental protectionism. This is how the basic ideology of ecofascism goes. 2/

As Alexandra Minna Stern recently wrote for Fast Company, we've witnessed the ideology of ecofascism in the writings of mass shooters who murdered people of color and wrote about the deterioration of the environment and how we need to protect "the land" from non-white invaders 3/

The Trump administration's draconian immigration policies, such as putting people in concentration camps and turning others away, might not be rooted to the idea of ecological protectionism. But these policies lay the groundwork for a far right movement that *is* eco-conscious 4/

The recent incident in which Bahamians were kicked off the ferry to Florida because they didn't have visas is the result of someone deciding to renege on a long-standing deal that allowed Bahamians to visit the US. It's an escalation of what's happening on the southern border. 5/

Something that's not often recognized is that young people who belong to the far right *do* believe in climate change. And when these young people take up leadership of the right wing, that's when ecofascism could fully emerge. Trump is already de-sensitizing us to its horrors 6/

The scariest thing about ecofascism, however, is how it taps into a kind of hardwired territorialism that plenty of us are vulnerable to, regardless of our political affiliations. I have seen this on the right, the center, and the left. Especially when I lived in the outdoors 7/

Back in college and for a few years after, I was a seasonal resident of New Hampshire's White Mountains. Valhalla for hikers. I've spent lots of time reporting from other rural communities with a deep relationship with the land. It's a beautiful thing, but there's a dark side. 8/

In communities where there's a palpable sense of place and a deep connection to the land, you get people who are very conscious of outsiders invading the living spaces that you feel belong to you and your neighbors. If you're visiting, you are instantly identified as an alien. 9/

When I would go to local bars in the mountain villages for a beer, I was immediately pegged as someone who was not a member of the community. When I got hired to write a book about regional hiking, my contacts in the country warned me not to write about their favorite places 10/

As a straight white male in reasonable shape, I never felt like like I was in danger in these communities where I lived and worked seasonally. But as many people of color will tell you, the outdoors has long felt like a dangerously white space to them. It's a serious problem 11/

Territorial paranoia and fear of outsiders is not exclusively a rural affliction. Urban communities that prevent affordable housing projects from being built are operating from the same (racist) ethos. But climate change makes outdoor protectionism an underappreciated danger. 12/

If we're going to survive climate change without corroding our humanity, we're going to have to become adjusted to sharing "our" living spaces with more people, whether we're talking about cities, suburbs, or the great outdoors.

The mission of ecofascism is to prevent this. 13/

Don't underestimate how many people are impressionable when it comes to the tenets of ecofascism: even people who claim to be social liberals. Look at Jonathan Franzen's essay where he upholds a homeless community garden (social segregation) as a symbol of climate crisis hope 14/

It's a shame that the word "fascism" has been overused to the point where you're often dismissed as hyperbolic when you use it. But ecofascism is a real danger, and it's finally becoming palatable for mainstream discourse spaces. And it's about time... /15
fastcompany.com/90395892/under…