Thread by @MarkLeuchter

A thread on #myth and #trumpism.

In this video, once-significant actor and now-apologist for fascism Jon Voight claims that "the Left" is burning down and destroying American cities. 1/19

https://twitter.com/jonvoight/status/1331437400422158343

Trumpists make this charge regularly, i.e., that “the Left” (or some variant thereof) is “burning down” American cities. I live in one of the cities often targeted by these claims, Philadelphia. It isn’t burning down. 2/19

In fact, in my neighborhood, when the race was called for Biden, my wife and I joined others in a hippie-dippy (socially-distanced) celebration in the street where people played Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom". Behold, the horrors of the "radical left". 3/19

No cities are actually “burning down”. A random fire or instance of property damage over the last several months of unrest do not constitute a “burning down” of entire cities. So why to people like Voight keep up with this rhetoric? Because it’s the myth that drives them. 4/19

We often use “myth” interchangeably with “misperception” or “falsehood”. But “myth” is better understood as a concept operating beyond human experience which informs how humans understand that experience and form their identities within it. 5/19

Myths are not just ancient stories about the gods. They can be recent or modern and have nothing to do with concepts of the divine. They are symbolic frameworks for creating meaning and orienting one’s priorities, values and, often, their fears. 6/19

After their loss in WWI, Germans created a “stabbed in the back” myth explaining that it was Jews, especially, who undermined their efforts and stole their deserved victory; this led to the rise of the Nazis, who amplified this and other Antisemitic myths. 7/19

We can even see MAGA as a myth. “Make America Great” is a suggestion or a goal. But tack on “again” at the end of that, and you’ve got a myth about some reality beyond historical experience of a pristine, great America that we need to somehow recover. 8/19

The immediate/assumed implication is that the Other, the people who do not adopt or identify with this myth, are actually part of it – the ones holding BACK to potential for greatness. And these Others should be dispatched, one way or another. 9/19

(And as many have noted, MAGA is just a subset of older white supremacist myths in this country that justified enslavement and genocide and more lately, the abuse of natural resources.) 10/19

Mythic thinking can work alongside of reason, logic, and collective values. For example, P-E Biden can value the mythic experience of the salvation of a Risen Christ and still value diversity, science, facts and the rule of law. 11/19

But people who prioritize nationalism and tribalism adopt myths that preclude this. MAGA precludes anything that might *actually* be great because it’s not a myth of genuine greatness but a myth of triumphalism and supremacy – victory, not values. 12/19

So facts do not matter. Indeed, when myth becomes absolute triumphalist truth, facts on their own become lies/falsehood – because facts do not abide by ideology. They're only useful when decontextualized or cherry-picked to reinforce the myth. 13/19

This is why arguing with Voight or any other Trumpist is pointless. They do not care about facts, only the myth they’ve adopted as their identities. To bring up facts to them only strengthens their mythic view that you stand against their absolute truth. 14/19

This is why Voight and others blame “The Left” for “burning down” American cities. These are mythic tropes, not facts that can be qualified or evaluated. Changing their minds is not possible until they find a different myth to guide their identities. 15/19

I don’t know what the answer is for dealing with this. I think teaching people at a younger age to think critically and understand what myths are/what myths do might help in the future. But this is a long-term problem requiring long-term commitments to solving them. 16/19

I don’t think ridiculing these people is wrong. Fascists find humor threatening. But ridicule needs to be part of a larger strategy, and that should NOT involve the calls for “reaching out” to these people for the sake of “healing”. That is a Chamberlain-grade mistake. 17/19

Myths are extremely durable. They hibernate, and then reawaken and strike out. Trumpism is the culmination of many dangerous religious and race-based myths that have long festered in this country, and they cannot just be swept aside for the sake of unity. 18/19

In the meantime, I’ll just say this to Mr. @jonvoight: perhaps some time away from the political fray would bring you some clarity. I suggest a nice, long canoe trip. 19/19