Thread by @JYSexton

With constant mass shootings and declining trust in institutions, authoritarians are gaining power by spreading conspiracy theories and promising to deliver order from chaos.

We have to look at how this is the same playbook fascists always turn to.

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jaredyatessexton.substack.com/p/a-nation-in-…

We're all very tired and frustrated and angry.

This state of decline in America is so miserable. These situations breed a Right Wing reactionary energy that leads to oppression, violence, authoritarianism, and often genocide.

We have to understand the road we're on.

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It's no surprise that Tucker Carlson and his fellow authoritarians are blaming the shootings and chaos on "an attack on men and Western Civilization."

This is a tried and true strategy that has worked many times over. We must study it or else fall victim to it again.

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People laughed at the ridiculous masculinity garbage Tucker peddled, but hypermasculinity is an essential pillar of authoritarianism.

This is about sounding an alarm that civilization is under attack, particularly by evil conspiracies needing dealt with by strong men.

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White Replacement Theory is another essential component of the current authoritarian movement.

It speaks to that larger conspiracy against white people, which activates a need to "defend" the race and Western Civilization, thus making any violence or coup necessary.

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As the problems of the moment escalate, the GOP and Fox News are continually targeting vulnerable groups, including gay and trans people.

This is a matter of projecting their own blame for the situation and scapegoating to a group that can be marginalized and oppressed.

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The overarching story is that there is an evil conspiracy targeting Americans that must be defeated.

This is a time-tested narrative the Right Wing uses during times of crisis in order to gain power at any cost.

And here's the bad news: it works.

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The truth of why America is in trouble is complicated.

It involves massive economic and political movements that have intentionally furthered inequality to expedite profits and consolidate power.

It's a difficult story to tell. It's easier to use conspiracy theories.

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To properly characterize why we're in this crisis is to deal with forces that are so specialized and compartmentalized that it becomes a mess in trying to communicate it.

Not to mention, many leaders on both sides are implicated in its construction and operation.

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Frustration leads to mystification and the opportunity for the Right to blame chaos on outside conspiracies working with internal traitors.

This has been used over and over to discredit reform movements and vilify earnest attempts at reforming the system.

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Accompanying the conspiracy theories is a belief that "sinister forces" are controlling our media and poisoning our culture.

This creates a new "emergency" the Right must answer at any and all costs. This is what lies at the heart of our "culture wars."

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History is a cycle of these things. Economic and political instability open the door for Right Wing reactionaries to claim culture is "decadent" and "degenerate."

That it's "poisoning" the minds of the youth and the country and is part of a larger evil conspiracy.

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As the violence and instability worsen, the Right tells the people that the conspiracy to poison culture has created the chaos and that they alone can solve the problem.

The terrible truth is that this appeal often works as people become desperate to solve the issue.

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These narratives are all the same with different coats of paint.

There is an "evil group" orchestrating the chaos from behind the scenes. It's most often anti-Semitic and the "threat" creates a need for violence and antidemocratic actions to "solve the crisis."

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It's not a coincidence that our current crises are being blamed on "puppetmasters" planning on "replacing white populations" and using chaos as a weapon.

It is the same anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, simply with updated components.

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As political and economic instability grow from inequality and the system contradictions, the resulting chaos is blamed on these evil conspiracies

The authoritarians spread these lies and promote themselves as the only means of fighting it and returning the country to glory

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An essential component of the authoritarian movement is the fictional "great past."

They always weaponize a fictional version of the past where there was "order" and "stability." What they don't mention is the oppression of minorities necessary to make it so.

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As the movement gains strength on its promises to restore order, something disturbing happens.

The violence and antidemocratic tendencies are welcomed by people who never imagined themselves as authoritarians.

They begin bargaining with the evil movement.

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Though we are told Fascism and Nazism were aberrations or that people were "hypnotized" by charismatic speeches, the truth is that the middle class and the wealthy often welcome these demagogues in order to protect their wealth and property.

It's a bargain with the devil.

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As dictators and authoritarians gain power, they're lauded as solutions to the chaos.

Mussolini was widely admired in America press and called the equivalent of an "American executive or CEO."

It was needed discipline. An essential strong hand.

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With this shift, the instability and chaos are blamed on loosening of tradition, including changing gender roles, progress, and unchecked liberalism.

They build their base on reestablishing patriarchal and religious culture by force.

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Though people ridicule all these GOP speeches decrying porn and drugs and the attack on men, it is the beginning of a reactionary push that is already gaining momentum.

People will accept this if it becomes the answer to protecting their wealth and power.

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Already we're seeing a disturbing trend as publications and political leaders are preparing us to live in a post-Roe world and to accept the coming rollback of all the progress of the 20th century.

This thing is gaining momentum. Fast. And it could become the norm.

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As the Supreme Court aggressively rolls back the 20th century, which the Right blames for the chaos, American culture will grow more and more conservative and reactionary.

Unless it's answered, this momentum will only increase and become more "normal."

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These shootings, the erasure of a free society and the public square, the chaos, constitute a crisis.

Unless they are addressed, the Right will use the fear to bolster their power and control. It's a depressingly predictable story.

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Meanwhile, the conspiracy theories will blame people of color, women, gay and trans people, for the chaos, all the while promising that only a Right Wing, reactionary authoritarianism is capable of "setting things right."

They'll be scapegoated and oppressed.

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Remember this when you read articles that blame gay and trans people for Roe being undone.

When you hear it's the Left or "wokeness" or "cancel culture."

It's preparing America to accept the Right Wing reactionary authoritarianism. To place the blame on the vulnerable.

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We've all heard "first they came for..." and this is the essence of that.

When you bargain people away, what you're doing is gifting room and momentum for fascism to grow. You're bargaining with the devils, but you're also allowing their narratives to gain momentum.

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We're at this moment of crisis because this system of intentional inequality and oppression is buckling as it always does.

These conspiracy theories and narratives are about deflecting that truth and creating scapegoats to legitimize violence and antidemocratic actions.

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The information in this thread is adapted from my book THE MIDNIGHT KINGDOM. If you want to read more, give it a pre-order. It supports my work and hopefully gets this context out there.

Things are accelerating. Really quickly. Be ready.

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