I wasn’t born when Reagan was first elected, but if the punk music of the era is anything to go by, the American leftwing thought the country had been handed to the Devil Himself.
A risible character whose pre-gubernatorial film credentials included such gems as Bedtime for Bonzo, the man jumped into bed with the anti-gay agenda of the Moral Majority set and then developed Alzheimer’s in his second term, which was widely known but concealed in a sort of ‘Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?’ campaign. By many accounts those eight years sucked, and it behoves me to mention that many, many gay men met with death prematurely due to a paucity of HIV/AIDS research and a lack of access to timely and non-judgemental medical care. The Cold War started to thaw though, so it wasn’t all bad. It could have been better, but also it could have been worse.
My first election I voted for John Kerry, and when Dubya won I made panicked plans to flee the country. Somehow I ended up in DC instead, at a feeder school for the State Department, so it didn’t work out at that time – but I went to some great hardcore shows. Anyways when Dubya got in he was widely lambasted for being a low-IQ recovering cocaine addict riding on the coattails of his establishment dad, and he dragged us into a brutal and unnecessary war of attrition that millions of people took to the streets to protest (and were summarily ignored).
People seem to forget that Bush II expanded the use of executive orders, notably to create the Department of Homeland Security, which drew a lot of outcry at the time but has now fizzled into nothing – infrastructure is only noticeable when it’s either being built or not working. And perhaps DHS works, though I much prefer not to think about it.
All this to say that most Republican presidents in the past fifty years have been labelled as fascist, and like Democrat presidents have even done fascist things, but ultimately the moment passes and the country moves onto a different political season.
Not to excuse Trump for crimes previously committed or crimes he will now undoubtedly perpetuate whilst in office a second time. It’s true that this moment feels more dangerous, what with the persecution of undocumented immigrants including the ‘misplacing’ of thousands of migrant children, the potential outlawing of abortion thanks to the kangaroos in the Supreme Court, the increased rhetoric against trans people… but if you were to parachute into another Republican-dominated political era over the past fifty years, you might still recognise the pervading feeling.
I have two big worries. The first is that the Democrats will fail to do the tough self-introspection required to right the ship and will instead continue to label everyone who disagrees with them as ‘fascist’, which, I promise you, helps absolutely nothing. The second perhaps requires more explaining.
Zoom out, and the vote for Trump means two things which are potentially contradictory. It firstly means a vote for a multipolar world order – specifically, one where the United States cedes power to the Sino-Russian alliance. Trump voters might not articulate it this way, but the clear rejection of the traditional Western rules-based order, exemplified by such conspiracy-theory-attracting stalwarts as the World Economic Forum and the World Health Organisation, necessarily brings the US closer to Putin’s orbit. Given Musk’s mooted involvement in finding ‘efficiencies’ in government, one wouldn’t be surprised to see military aid to Ukraine or Taiwan classified as such.
But the vote is also for Trump as a strongman who will ‘make America great again’. He’s already talked about using tactical nuclear weapons and, in case you haven’t noticed, all the nuclear powers and their dogs have just conducted tests on nuclear warheads. What with Silicon Valley tech bros suddenly discovering nuclear power, increased investment in generation may also lead to another nuclear arms race. Talk about mixed messages.
Well Uranus is about to enter Gemini, which in the past has coincided with a) the Revolutionary War; b) the Civil War; and c) the rise to global hegemony following World War 2. So start digging your bunkers now, and check in on your trans mates. I’m seeing a lot of talk about becoming ‘ungovernable’ to ‘fascists’, which is an invitation to get murdered – you can either end up like Hans and Sophie Scholl, or you can use whatever privilege you have to hide people in plain sight until the evil wind blows itself out. But losing your head helps no one, especially not the vulnerable people who will need protecting.
We’re about to enter a decade of nuclear chicken helmed by a demented president, again. For goodness’s sake, keep out of the way.
Sonya Blanck writings 