It seems with the return of a particular orange-flavored politician, some people are offended by the use of him and his minions being called fascists.

Why? Why is the party of “free speech” so offended by others calling their leader a word? Wasn’t pundit podcaster Ben Shapiro the guy who coined the phrase “Facts don’t care about your feelings?” Where is that energy now that we are calling a spade a spade?

What the fuck is fascism, anyway?

Fascism is a political ideology. I am basing this off T.M. Sell’s definition of an ideology, “A set of beliefs about how the world is and how it ought to be […] aims to be both descriptive and perceptive.”

Fascism got its totalitarian beginnings in the 1920s-1940s in Italy thanks to a not-so-unknown man named Benito Mussolini. The word’s etymology comes from the word fascio, meaning “bundle of sticks.” It was often given to political organizations in Italy known as “fasci.” Basically, fasci were political parties.

In 1919, Mussolini founded the Italian Fasces of Combat, which became the National Fascist Party in 1921. A year later, in 1922, Mussolini became the Prime Minister of Italy. From there, a young soldier named Adolf Hitler was inspired by him, and I am sure you know the rest of the story.

Fascism believes that some people are better than others and those people should be in charge. This ideology glorifies the state – thinking that the individual exists for the state (unlike a democracy where the state exists for the individual). Fascism glorifies war, mocking peace, and was extremely anti-communist.

The mention of Adolf Hitler means I should touch on Nazism as a whole – which is a flavor of fascism. This variant is the same verse, same as the first but it also appeals to racism a la eugenics.

Both fascism and its Nazi-flavored cousin, are forms of totalitarianism that rely on the personal whim of whomever is in power to apply the law (which is applied differently depending on if you agree with the ruling party or not) and a cult of personality surrounding the leader of the ruling party. As with any totalitarian government, there is a lack of meaningful free, and fair elections – meaning no checks and balances of the state. This will lead to the systematic oppression of unpopular (or opposing) groups of people. And while fascism claims to be capitalist, the system only rewards the friends of the government and punishes enemies. This is also called “crony capitalism.”

Nazism, Fascism, Same Shit – Different Toilet

Many people who are using this word have read Project 2025. Many others have listened to speeches given by those backing the Republican Party. And what they want to put into motion are very similar to fascist regimes of years past.

The most iconic of this most recent election here in the US is the Madison Square Garden rally that Trump had days before the election. It was the site of the 1939 American Nazis rally and they, too spoke of “blood pollution” and “the enemy within.”

It is also concerning that a staffer of the previous Trump presidency, General John Kelly, reports that Trump said “Hitler did some good things.” Rule of thumb, if a politician praises a totalitarian fascist racist, they might be those things. Think about it this way, if you’re not a racist, you aren’t going to quote “White is Right” the same way someone who is not homophobic wouldn’t say “It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.”

In Dec 2023, Trump called his political enemies “vermin” and said immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” Additionally, something that is reminiscent of a specific dictator of Germany, Trump has gone on to say he wants to institute mass deportations of immigrants.

Trump tries to smooth over his remarks by claiming “I never read Mein Kampf.” Which, sure, neither have I, but I am aware of the remarks and arguments made by Adolf Hitler and how his rhetoric against “enemies” (i.e. Jewish people, communists, The Gays, and Romani) led to the Holocaust.

However, he has said that Hitler used the words “in a much different way” and would make the blood reference again: “It’s true. They’re destroying the blood of the country, they’re destroying the fabric of our country, and we’re going to have to get them out.”

Facts don’t care about your feelings

A phrase coined by Ben Shapiro – one of my least favorite podcasters on any platform ever. The man’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard and I wanna run my eardrums through a slow-moving, on-fire, woodchipper when I hear him speak.

That’s not why I don’t like him. I have ideological issues with him running interference for white supremacists and neo-Nazis while being an Orthodox Jewish man. This man also had Trump on his show in October 2024. This seems a little weird, considering Trump’s base has said antisemitic things (Ms. Greene’s “space laser” comment comes to mind).

Let’s talk about the facts.

Trump and the Republican Party have cosigned fascist and neo-Nazi talking points. Trump has said, on record, “I will be a dictator for one day” and “You won’t even have to vote.” What does that mean? Well, based on Political Science scholars – that is the form of a totalitarian government.

Where have we seen this before? Germany. Jan 30, 1933 – Adolf Hitler was appointed the Chancellor of Germany by then-President Paul Von Hindenburg. His first act as chancellor was asking Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag (the legislature) and, in turn, make it easier for the Nazi Party to pass laws. Well, civil liberties were dissolved about 4 weeks after that when Hindenburg passed the Reichstag Fire Decree… from there the power of the Reichstag transferred to the government – and in turn, Hitler. The only person who could fire Hitler was Hindenburg. In this way, though Hindenburg was in poor health in 1933-1934, Hitler showed Hindenburg in his and other Nazi’s company and tried not to offend Hindenburg.

Summer 1934 – Hindenburg is concerned about the Nazis, and their propaganda and gave then Vice Chancellor Papen the go-ahead to give a speech about being against the Nazi Party. He called for an end to the terror and restoration of civil liberties. He was quoted as saying, “The government must be mindful of the old maxim ‘only weaklings suffer no criticism.’” Turns out Joseph Goebbels (Propaganda Minister) didn’t like that and ordered the seizure of newspapers in which part of the text was printed. Well, when Hindenburg gave Hitler an ultimatum of marital law the government would be turned over to the army.

Turns out Hitler through a bunch of other Nazis under the bus, executed the Night of Long Knives, and then a month later, Hindenburg died of lung cancer on 2 August 1934. In response to Hindenburg being on his deathbed, Hitler instituted the “Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich” which abolished the presidency upon the death of Hindenburg and merged the Chancellor and President into Fuhrer.

Reagan and the Rise of the Right

People on the right are excited to see their guy in office again. Whereas many of us on the left are scared. I am personally terrified of what may come to pass with Trump being the leader of the US again.

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise AKA Project 2025. This “plan” for the “transition” of power is a manifesto of sorts that tells everyone in the country the plan for another Trump Presidency. And everything in it is scary if you are anyone but a heterosexual, cisgender white man.

Looking at page 12 of the above PDF, the “Advisory Board” is a conglomerate of organizations that have homophobic, sexist, or xenophobic rhetoric. Major ones that stick out are Alliance Defending Freedom (which wants to expand Christian religious liberties and practices in schools/government, outlaws abortion, and oppose LGBTQ+ rights); Family Research Council (an evangelical think-tank that promotes “family values” and opposes pornography, stem-cell research, abortion, divorce, LGBTQ+ rights and conflates homosexuality to pedophilia); Liberty University (the evangelical college founded by Jerry Falwell Sr.); Patrick Henry College (Conservative Protestant Christian College founded by the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association) and America First Legal Foundation (which takes its name from the America First policy).

So, what does this “mandate” have to do with the transition and what on Earth makes it so scary to those on the “left?” I mean, other than the backing of conservative Christians and organizations who want to take rights away from minorities.

The year is 1980, Ronald Reagan won 50.7% of the US vote and The Heritage Foundation presents him with Mandate for Leadership: Policy Management in a Conservative Administration in Jan 1981. Reagan passes out copies of it at the first cabinet meeting. He would go on to pass 60% of these 2000 proposals in his first year in office. Later on in the course of history, the New York Times would call it “the manifesto of the Reagan revolution.”

The running joke in leftist circles is everything goes back to Reagan. Think of it as a fun little game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but replace Bacon with Reagan.

Union busting today? He fired more than 11K air traffic controllers during the PATCO strike in 1981, which is argued to have contributed to a decline in union power, workers’ rights, and wage growth.

Small Government? Well, he coined the “Welfare Queen” phrase and worked to dismantle many programs that were part of FDR’s New Deal, which were intended to support vulnerable populations and can be argued to have made poverty and homelessness worse.

Deregulations were Reagan’s bread and butter. Famously, “Reaganomic” AKA “Trickle-Down Economics” AKA “Supply-Side Economics” AKA “Voodoo Economics.” Large tax cuts on the wealthy and corporations and reduction in government spending were supposedly going to “trickle down” to lower income groups, but it only added to the income gap between the 1% and the lower 99% and weakened the social safety nets. This is why, if inflation kept up with productivity, the minimum wage would be sitting around $22/hour in 2024.

It’s kinda Reagan’s fault the US has one of the highest rates of incarceration. How? The War On Drugs. Sure, Nixon started it – but Reagan’s wife Nancy really hammered home the “drugs are bad mmmkay” ideology by creating the DARE Program. Additionally, mass incarceration for minor drug offenses led to having a tiny bit of weed on you could mean years in jail. This was brought about by Reagan’s focus on punishment instead of treatment. In 1980, nonviolent drug offence incarceration sat at 50K – by 1997 that number had octopled to 400K. The media coverage of the crack epidemic caused an increase in public nervousness and as such, it drove the support for the hardline stance on drugs. Congress in 1986 passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which instituted “mandatory minimums” for a variety of drugs. This showed a massive gap between sentences for the same amount of different drugs (and the racist stereotypes that were perpetuated). The sentence for 5 grams of crack was an automotive 5-year sentence. But if you had cocaine on you, it took 500 grams to trigger the same sentence. How is that racist? Well, approximately 80% of crack users at the time were POC. These mandatory minimums led to the unequal increase of nonviolent POC drug offenders, which would then perpetuate the stereotype that POC were drug offenders.

It wouldn’t be until the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 that reduced the discrepancy for crack-to-cocaine possession from 100-to-1 to 18-to-1. It would then take another 8 years to see it reduced further.

You Hear That? It’s a Dog Whistle.

It’s inaudible to most. But those who are tuned in can see what it really means.

That sounds conspiratorial, sure. This is a reference to a dog whistle. That is, a political message intended and understood by a particular group.

An example of this would be Reagan (sorry to bring him up again) and the aforementioned “Welfare Queen” trope that he coined. His terminology referred to “Cadalliac-driving Welfare Queens” and “strapping young bucks buying T-bone steaks with food stamps.” This rhetoric pushed middle-class Americans to vote against their economic interests to punish “undeserving minorities” who receive too much public assistance.

Another example is the term “globalists” (often used by the famous sensationalist Alex Jones) to refer to the “New World Order” and often, Jewish people.

Or, as seen at the “Unite the Right” Rally in 2017 “Blood and Soil” and “Jews will not replace us,” the latter being less subtle.

Speaking of “globalists,” Trump used a similar dog whistle when running against Secretary Clinton in 2016 – saying in a 13 Oct speech that she was “meeting in secret with international banks to plot the destruction of US sovereignty.” This is the recurring theme in Henry Ford’s The International Jew.

The term “woke” is a dog whistle in itself. How? Well, originally, it was used by POC since the 1930s – if not earlier. It was used to refer to the awareness of sociopolitical issues affecting POC, often in the phrase “stay woke.” In the 2010s, it would go on to be used in broader strokes. It was still used for sociopolitical issues such as sexism, racial injustice, and LGBTQ+ rights.

Unfortunately, it was hijacked by the politically right-wing and centrists to target leftists and progressive movements and it would be used to disparage those in these movements. It is now used as a pejorative: “wokeness” or “woke mind virus.”

Using the word “woke” by the right-wing and those associated with Trump and his ilk is a way to make it look like those pushing for sociopolitical equality are grandstanding. It has been used by those who are not even part of the US political system – Jordan Peterson – and those who have questionable ideologies – Missouri Senator Josh Hawley.

It’s a way to perpetuate the Us v. Them mentality and further sow lines of division amongst the people of the US.

Why should we use the F-word?

Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. A phrase often said when it comes to seeing patterns that are similar to those one’s seen in history.

We have seen this play out before. George Santanayana’s book The Life of Reason coined the term and was misattributed to Winston Churchill many decades later, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

J.D. Vance, before he sold his soul to the Trump campaign, referred to his running mate as “America’s Hitler” in 2016. At that time, he was best known for his book “Hillbilly Elegy,” and was a “Never Trumper.” Four years later, who would tell former Fox News hostess, now Podcaster, Megyn Kelly that he was voting for Trump. Vance has also been on record saying “I don’t think he actually cares about folks.”

During an interview in September 2016 with PBS NewsHour, Vance is also on record saying “There is definitely an element of Donald Trump’s support that has its basis in racism, xenophobia.”

Also on record from Vance: “Definitely some people voted for Trump were racist and they voted for him for racist reasons,” in an interview at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics.

In response to the fact his own running mate, at one point, pointed out his racism and directly compared him to one of the most well-known fascists this world has seen in about 100 years – it makes sense why people refer to Trump as a fascist.

People saying we shouldn’t use that word to describe him have no idea what fascism is. Or if they do they are willfully ignorant of it. Which isn’t surprising.

Between his dog whistles, his political rhetoric, and even those he has backing him, it is no surprise that people are calling him a fascist. He wants to institute laws that make the US a fascist regime.

Shortly after Trump’s re-election Nov 2024 (days ago), Matt Walsh admitted on Twitter that Project 2025 “was the agenda.” His sentiment was joined by Steven Bannon – former Trump staffer – and various other supporters. They are excited to enact the outline for what will become a totalitarian government where dissenters will be jailed or worse.

Well, shit, what do we do now?

You protect yourself.
In the coming days, I am going for a consultation to get my tubes removed. This is due to what Project 2025 has in store for reproductive healthcare. They want to make abortion and contraception illegal.
If you are a single woman in a long-term relationship, consider tying the knot with your partner.
If you can get a form of long-term birth control, do so. The copper IUD lasts 10 years, Mirena lasts 8, the implant lasts 3-5, and sterilization is lifetime protection.
Brush up on your media literacy – there’s going to be a ton of misinformation in the coming years.
Build a support system. Meaning, cut those out of your life that harm you and make sure you can trust the people in your life to protect you as you protect them.

You stay vigilant.
There have been reports of people being taunted with “your body, my choice.” Carry pepper spray, buy a knife, take a gun safety course. I personally do not travel by myself outside of walking to my brother’s house down the street. When I do, I carry a knife on me. When I am out and about, I am with another person (my best friend and roommate; my Spouse; my brother) and we always have protection on us.

You share resources.
There are various ways to do this (I will update this list as I find them)

988 – The Crisis Textline.
Childfree Subreddit – they have resources to find doctors to sterilize.
Trevor Project – LGBTQ+ Youth, they have a hotline (866-488-7386)
ineedana.com – “Built by people who’ve had abortions for people who will.”
Planned Parenthood – A source for those who are lower income, not sure where to start
PlanC – Providing up-to-date information on how people in the US are accessing at-home abortion pill options online
RoeFund – Oklahoma-based support system for Okalhomas seeking access to reproductive healthcare, including information and financial assistance related to abortion services.
Plan B – The Emergency Contraceptive (AKA “morning after pill”) is effective up to 72 hours after unprotected sex – and has a shelf life of 4 years. On Amazon, you can get it for about 15 USD, and goes by the generic name Levonorgestrel. If you are over 165 pounds, you may have to take two.
Ella – Emergency contraceptive, prevents pregnancy up to 5 days after unprotected sex; may need a prescription

You protect others.
If you know someone who is transgender – no, you don’t.
If someone you know has had an abortion – no, you don’t.
If you know someone who is LGBTQ+ – no, you don’t.
If you know someone who “canceled out” their family member’s vote – no, you don’t.
Share resources you have with others. You never know who may need them.

Buckle up.
It’s going to be a rough road. Over the coming months, I plan to keep this blog updated and informative. Fascism is here and it is going to try and dogwalk us. I will be discussing what to expect from Project 2025 in a reading list that will educate those who are unaware of what a Trump second term may look like.

Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between. – Maya Angelou