Daeus Jorento

Fascism is effectively a religious ideology that worships power over others, and nothing else. Hypocrisy in the rhetoric of Fascists is a feature, not a bug. It’s to say ‘this group can get away with it, and you cannot.’

Now, how do we define power here? A friend of mine came up with something that has stuck with me, he said people often think of power as the ability to do something, like making money or building something, but I’m starting to think of power as: ‘if I hit someone with my car and killed them, could I get away with it?’ I think that’s a good definition, power is ‘what you can get away with.’ It is the evasion of justice or consequences for actions done in order to preserve or grow status.

If you think of the power structures in a nation as a relationship, a Fascist dictator is basically an abusive, narcissistic, and manipulative partner. They lie and gaslight to control the narrative and their self image in pursuit of further power. They test and push boundaries further and further. Eventually there is always a test of how much control their partner will put up with.

There’s always gonna be a Marlo, man. No Marlo, no game. – Avon Barksdale [The Wire]

Sorry to say this, but I think there’s always going to be another narcissist person trying to seize power. There’s always someone testing their limits within a society as to what they can get away with, on a local or national level. Fascists are gonna fascist. So why the recent rise in Fascism? There’s probably a lot of reasons (economic inequality, major events, social media/technology), but I’m not going to get into them. 

Instead, for a moment, imagine you are a Fascist looking to gain power (let’s say Ron DeSantis for example). You say and do things in order to gain power. It’s like an addicting game you play and are unable to stop playing. For example, attacking vulnerable groups (e.g. transgender folks or immigrants) in order to create a more solid group of followers by having a unifying ‘enemy’ to blame for the world’s problems. You lie, sure, you are hypocritical, sure, but you generally spread the message of ‘if you pay fealty to me, I will punish your enemies’ (even if I create them out of thin air), or ‘if you are not with me, you are against me, and I’ll punish you and get away with it.’ It’s a way to gain control of a tribe as old as society itself.

Now, what would I want the ‘out group’ to do? Well, I would want them to be exhausted, and isolated. The ole’ divide and conquer. I want them weakened. I would send them on wild goose chases like fact-checking me and try to turn them against each other, to argue and fight, while I work on consolidating my power within my base. Then when it comes time to vote or do something about it they are jaded and bitter and refuse to show up because they think it’s already lost. Then when I’m in power, I move to consolidate that power and keep going ad infinitum, because that’s the game (see my post on colonized attention for a similar game). Eventually I reach a stage like Vladimir Putin, where I can get away with pretty much anything within my borders, so I look to expand my borders.

That is pretty bleak. But I want to switch gears for a second. What is the response to growing Fascism? What are things you can actually do in this situation?

The number one most important thing to do is to survive. You cannot vote in the next major election or protest Fascist actions if you are dead. The number two most important thing is to help your social network survive, whether it’s family, friends, a community, etc. It’s to help support those in your community, and in turn, allow them to help and support you. Think about it like this: who do you call if the local government collapses? If a fanatical group comes into your neighborhood and cuts the power to your building? How do you handle the confusion about what to do in those situations? This depends on the social ties and bridges you have built in your network beforehand. It’s probably the person you have worked with, or have game night or dinners with, or send occasional memes to, or go to a music festival with. It’s your community. It’s the person or people you also go to if you are going through a tough breakup, or are getting surgery and could use a meal train, or lost your job. 

Lack of vigilance is not the cause of the death of a mafia don. The cause of death is making enemies, and the cure is making friends – Nassim Nicholas Taleb [Antifragile]

Friendship in many ways is the opposite of Fascism. Really, it’s social networks (of which online social media networks are just one avenue to maintain them, I also like calling friends when I go on walks for example). Imagine if you were a Fascist trying to gain power by bullying one group to show how tough you are and build a following, and then suddenly they run to their friends who come to back them up. Suddenly the dynamic shifts and you are forced to back down. The tone changes. Putin thought Zelensky would run and Ukraine would collapse. Instead, he gathered his network, which he is still relying on to fight their war, and said we are still here to Ukraine and to the world. He could not have done this if he had not built up a network beforehand to establish himself and someone worthy of trust. And you build trust with honesty and reliability over time, something Fascists cannot really do if they want to take advantage of certain situations to seize power. To be a person who tries to do good, and cares for others, and yourself, with a network of strongly maintained social ties, is an incredible powerful thing.

A few important side notes to consider:

1. The Paradox of Tolerance. In order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance. – Karl Popper. This is to say, intolerance of any form (sexism, racism, transphobia, homophobia, etc) must be resisted to oppose Fascism. It’s like preventing a contagion from growing, or standing up to a bully. If you don’t do it early, it’ll spread and grow and then come for you. Here’s a good example story.
2. Picking your battles and resilience. Focus on self-care, including social needs. The battle against Fascism is a life-long marathon, not a sprint. Facts or online debates don’t work with Fascists or Authoritarians, it’s a smoke screen. Trolls want to enrage and exhaust you, to them it’s a game, even if to you it’s your rights. Remember the serenity prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
3. Build bridges before you need them. Social anxiety tells us to find a friend, to win someone over right away, but real friends must be made. Friendships is a process, not a ready-made discovery….here’s where to start: is someone friendly to you? Great, they’re in. This is the only bar: you’re not friends yet but you’re friendly with each other. – Ellen Hendriksen. How to turn friendly people into friends: (1) repetition, (2) disclosure (give them something to work with to know you, (3) show them that you like them (ex. unnecessary conversation like ‘hey, I’m just saying hello’).

Fear for the future our our society and the rise of Fascism should be channeled into community and deeper connection. Fight this battle of many fronts within your own circle of influence and it’ll help give you the sustainability to be capable and ready if/when the front reaches you.