Thread by @StorySlug

I think there's a nuance to the "First they came for the-" poem that I think a lot of conservatives miss, unsurprisingly.

A lot of people take the poem at very shallow value, like "by the time they get to you there'll be nobody left to speak up on your behalf," but that's only half of it.

Because what "they" (the fascists) are actually doing is using your hatred of those earlier groups to build up the power they need to turn to you later. You're giving them the gun they're going to use to shoot you.

The poem starts off with "first they came for the trade unionists" and yes, the speaker is not a trade unionist but more importantly, the way it really works, is that the person HATES unions and is GLAD that "they" are coming for them.

Each line of that poem is the fascists working their way up through marginalized groups that a lot of people agree are "going too far" or "a problem," and at each line they are accumulating the power necessary to get to the next rung of the ladder.

This poem is directed at the sort of people who will aid the fascists even though they're part of one of the categories the fascists hate, because they think that this will spare them. It never does.

You see Ben Shapiro trying to thread this needle right now, trying to decry antisemitism while still attacking LGBT people. Like he can ride the fascism train up to one specific stop and it won't go any further.

You've got jewish fascists, gay fascists, disabled fascists, all perfectly happy to throw trans people under the bus, throwing around the "groomer" line, because they think they're safe as long as the ire is directed elsewhere.

But that's not how it works. The fascists will climb to power on the backs of the trans community, and then they'll turn immediately to gay people next. And sure, the gay fascists will be like "hey, what gives" but it'll be too late.

It's about accumulating momentum and power. It's about heating up the water slowly enough that the frogs don't jump out, and these particular frogs are helping to heat the water thinking it protects them from being boiled even though they're hip-deep in it.

These naive numbskulls think they're building a newer, more modern fascism, an inclusive fascism that will allow for whatever type of thing they are to be on the winning side of it. But fascism needs an enemy to perpetuate and thrive, and they'll get to you eventually.

Yes, they'll ally with the hardcore Zionists against the middle easterners for now, because people are generally pretty intolerant of Muslims and they need the money and support. But they've never stopped hating Jews, not really.

Liberals aren't immune to this sort of blinkered thinking either, of course. You see it with a lot of the discourse about "Red States," about "letting them secede" or what have you. They think they're punishing conservatives when really they're empowering them.

"Texas is gonna Texas," they say, when states start imposing draconian laws, thinking they're safe in California or Illinois or New York, until electoral fuckery in one of those "lost" red states is the tipping point for control of the House.

MLK said "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," and this is the kind of thing you've got to be cognizant of. Fascism starts small. It starts with people and in places you're going to be inclined to ignore.

Every electoral cycle you see Democratic candidates flirt with this, conversations about needing to return to "kitchen table issues" instead of talking about "gender pronouns" is really just talking about letting some injustices slide to win an election now.

Focusing on the economy is a fascist trap. It cedes the conversation on trans people to the conservatives, who'll keep talking about it even if you refuse to speak up to defend the downtrodden. And then they're the only ones controlling the narrative.

And then, firmly in control of the narrative, they go after the trans people. And tell voters that they're the only party defending against "genital mutilation of children." And they get votes off of it, off that issue the Democrats didn't want to talk about.

And of course, they're coming for the unions, too. And the Democrats decided that at least when it comes to "sick days for railroad workers" that that was an acceptable sacrifice to avoid looking bad around Christmas.

They're testing the fences all over the place, seeing which spots we're weak on, which groups we'll neglect to defend, where there are holes they can get through, grab control.

Unless you're a straight, white, able-bodied, employed, bloodthirsty and vengeful Christian, the fascists will get to you eventually. Until it's your turn, they want you on-side, because at least for now we're a democracy and they need the numbers. But that'll change.

This is why you have to speak up about everything. No matter how trivial, no matter how irritating it makes you think you sound. When fascism shows up, you can never let it have a comfortable seat.

Gonna throw this on the end here: yes, in the version of the poem you read he started with "Communists" or "Socialists," there are a lot of different versions out there depending on where and when you read it, and obviously I didn't expect tens of thousands of eyes on this.

Honestly I'd kind of assumed it was no longer possible to snag this level of virality without an $8 check.