The GOP has primed its base to carry out widespread violence.
We need to talk about how the threat that looms over us is a weapon the wealthy and powerful use to undermine our rights and frighten us into accepting an oppressive and cruel system.
Of course, the Right has embraced vigilante violence in the streets, making heroes of people who openly murder protesters.
This was inevitable considering the constant drumbeat of fearmongering the GOP has used to help its political fortunes.
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This has happened both through fearmongering in the media, but also in legislation passed by GOP legislatures that virtually legalizes the murder of protesters, as well as punishes lawful protesting.
It is a systematic assault on our rights and completely intentional.
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The clip of Charlie Kirk answering a question as to when the Right can start literally murdering its political enemies is merely an expression of an idea and sentiment that has been perpetuated for years now.
It was always going to get here, and it will escalate.
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It's not a coincidence that the GOP's leveling up of threats of violence corresponds with heightened protests and usage of personal rights.
This is how it works and how it has always worked. The last thing they want is for the people to actually *use* their rights.
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We are experiencing a reawakening of grassroots activism and solidarity, and throughout history what we find is that when this occurs the powerful will IMMEDIATELY make use of conspiracy theories in order to radicalize followers and prepare them for answering with violence.
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The pursuit of the GOP has always been to return the US to a fictional moment, the "Consensus" of the 1950's.
This, of course, never existed, but was a time where suburban calmness masked severe, widespread oppression.
Which is what they want to resurrect.
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We are taught a twisted version of American history where the "anti-communism" of the post-war was a legitimate fear of communism.
It wasn't. It was a weaponized conspiracy theory intended to drown out protests and establish an unquestionable power base for the wealthy.
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Weaponizing conspiracy theories and "fear of communism," the GOP and the Right systematically undid the New Deal and targeted any suspected leftists, creating an environment where anyone threatening the power of the rich would be considered threats needing neutralized.
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Just as the GOP uses George Soros as a "puppetmaster" manipulating events, the Right used communism as a boogeyman in order to undermine legitimate protests.
This has always been the order of business.
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Attacks on Civil Rights protesters was steeped in conspiracy theories alleging that MLK and other leaders were puppets of communist forces.
This creates a scenario where violence is REQUIRED as a defense against a foreign influence. Thus legitimizing oppression.
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In this way, the Right turned peaceful protesters into agents of a foreign enemy, terrorists in the streets who needed stopped at any cost.
This gave white supremacists a higher reason to satisfy their own ends and unleashed hellish violence.
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Though time has changed the Civil Rights perspective, in the moment the brutality against protesters was framed as a national defense, an immune system attempting to neutralize an outside threat/disease.
This is exactly what's happening at this very moment.
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What the GOP and the Right are peddling is a "defense," or a mobilized attempt to neutralize an "outside threat."
This legitimizes the violence by their followers, turning it from oppression to patriotism and from offensive to defensive.
This is how it always goes.
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What's more, if it is achieved, the GOP and Right will use the "defense" against outside forces to destroy liberal democracy, rig elections, neutralize any other ideology in schools and media, and do it all as a "justified defense."
Again, this is how it always goes.
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The entire Deep State/New World Order/QAnon nonsense pushed by the Right and the GOP is tuned to this very purpose.
Vilifying the Left and protesters/reformers, turning them into enemy agents and terrorists who are attempting to destroy the nation itself.
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24 hours a day Fox News broadcasts this propaganda, an alternate reality where the GOP's agenda is absolutely ESSENTIAL should traitors and foreign forces not destroy the country.
The first order is the political agenda, but underneath it is an implied threat of violence.
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After all, if the GOP's base is facing an existential, apocalyptic threat, then politics is only the FIRST OPTION.
If it is a matter of life or death, the secondary track is violence. Thus, failure to achieve political ends means taking up arms and resorting to brutality.
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In this scenario, literally any means is required to stop the Left/Democrats/protesters.
This allows violence, undermining of civil rights, and outright murder. Because it's justified. Because they're terrorists. Because this is an apocalyptic threat.
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What's even more disturbing is that history shows us the wealthy constantly turn to fascistic terrorists like the KKK or Black Legion and bankroll their operations in order to attack the Left and ensure groups like unions are unable to win even the smallest victories.
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Here in America, we've seen these paramilitary groups clash with striking workers and murder them, all with the help and assistance of the police, who are often members of the groups themselves.
This should sound familiar. It's the same story with our fascistic groups.
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Again, as protests grow, the wealthy always turn to fascists in the streets to bust their skulls, break their meetings, and intimidate them into silence.
It happened in pre-Nazi Germany, it happened here, it's happened virtually everywhere. It's THE MOVE.
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It's absolutely no surprise at all that paramilitary, fascistic groups in America are receiving the financial and logistical support, not to mention law enforcement support.
This is the next-level of resistance and the evolution of the fearmongering.
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As vigilantes and "lone wolves" gain in popularity and get turned into heroes, you'll see more attacks, as well as a swelling of paramilitary groups.
Again, this is the defense of the wealthy and powerful, the "break-in-case of emergency" level of reaction.
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The goal is simple: intimidate citizens into either being quiet or else meeting them with violence.
To use your rights turns into a promise that you will be met with bloodshed. Soon, you're pushed to not say anything and simply go along with the powerful's wishes.
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This is how you reach "consensus."
By intimidating or eliminating the people who would speak out, reestablishing apartheid-style provisions, and pretending like everything is calm and quaint again. As if the "threat" is neutralized.
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If you want to read the history behind this and see how it's played out for generations, my book AMERICAN RULE has it covered.
But it's a cycle, and it's been in play for a long, long time. Unless we stop this, we'll see it play out once more.
The most important story of the 2024 Election is going untold.
Kamala Harris isn’t just facing Donald Trump, JD Vance, and the GOP. She’s squaring off against fascist Tech billionaires using them as puppets to destroy democracy.
Vance becoming Trump’s VP pick was a political marriage between MAGA and Far Right Tech Fascism. They are now a front for Musk, Theil, and a generation of tech oligarchs who have been quite open about their desire to co-opt government for power and profit.
What is happening with the Tech Fascists is the same thing we’ve seen before. Industrialist always use their obscene wealth to corrupt government and then find authoritarian puppets to finish the job and multiply their power.
This is yet another chapter in a long, long story.
JD Vance is a historic piece of shit who sold out his family and people to make a buck and gain power. He’s in bed with techno-fascist billionaires and is one of the foremost advocates for a literal fascistic ideology that seeks to take MAGA to the next level of oppression.
It’s bad enough that Vance is such a colossal asshole and that his ideology is literally fascistic, but he is capable of taking the MAGA baton and turning it into a force the likes of which most have yet to even imagine.
Terrible, terrible day for the country.
If our media returns to fawning over Vance because they want to hate poor people, I’m going to lose my everloving mind.
This is serious, serious business. And we all got a whole lot less safe today.
For years MAGA has promoted a culture of violence and oppression.
Now, in the wake of the shooting, calls to lower the temperature disgustingly obscure that fact and also undermine the need to protect millions of Americans from authoritarianism.
This isn’t a “both sides” issue. One side has waged an authoritarian war on democracy predicated on violence. The other has said people deserve safety and dignity and shouldn’t be hunted and systematically erased.
This false equivalency is disgusting. And telling.
The Center in America has now revealed what it truly believes. Fighting authoritarianism is “ugly” and “dangerous.”
It’s much easier and more pleasant to wring hands and welcome the authoritarianism and make nice with it. The media and political class enjoys that privilege.
Absolutely disturbing but unsurprising that they’ve managed to equate a movement’s constant fearmongering and calls for literal violence and murder with people saying, hey, maybe this other side calling for literal violence and murder is dangerous.
I just want people to remember that the reason this environment is so charged is because 1. One group has spent years openly talking about carrying out a bloody, reactionary revolution and 2. There are literal human beings whose lives and fates are on the line.
When you say, “Hey, let’s all take it down a notch,” you’re spitting in the face of women, people of color, immigrants, gay and trans people.
The stakes are actually as high as they can be. But there is one side constantly pushing a bloody resolution.
Trump has used Christianity’s persecution complex and obsession with apocalyptic danger to his advantage, crediting imaginary battles between Good and Evil.
Now, they have a ready-made situation that will inflame those fears and necessitate more extremism.
The ground was prepared for the MAGA Cult when evangelicals merged with the GOP a half century ago. Now, Christian Nationalism and the MAGA Cult are logical evolutions of a religious-backed push for power.