The Dreadful MAGA Singularity

Terrorize workers, steal medicaid and take over DC--How the suck of Trump's fascism drains the public space and how to resist

Remember issues?

Not that long ago, a person fought for abortion rights, or the environment, or unions. Everything had its path—a set of characters and campaigns toward this SCOTUS case or that piece of legislation. People were indignant about a single congressional vote or Supreme Court decision. Today, it is almost quaint how up in arms people were about Citizens United. Even the focused anger over Dobbs is fading in progressive memory. Today, every position progressives opposed has been gathered up into Trump’s axis of MAGA evil. And that is a singular suck.

Fascism overwhelms the public thinking space. Time is finite within a day. There is sleeping, working, caregiving, householding, recreating—all manner of personal gerunds we must do every day. No matter a person’s commitment to politics, there is still only a limited time per day to consider it. A standard fascist play is to flood a country with such a sprawling, singular dread, collapsing public life into a ball with gravity enougth to pull away all strength for political attention and discernment. Whether fascists understand this as a strategy or are just expressing their unbridled enthusiasm for stepping on necks, I am not certain. But they know it works.

Now Trump, in classic fascist dictator form, moves to take over the nation’s capital. It would be kitsch if not so ominous. This, piled on top of yesterday’s outrage, last week’s unprecedented, and tomorrow’s foreboding, just pulls down on the people who care until they snap and either leave to hunker down or press their hatred into a looking glass. Neither is optimal—the former resists nothing and the latter blinds one to strategies for resisting.

Be Maquis

A resistor’s challenge is the need to temper outrage. Fascists rely on its constant flow to discourage opposition and identify enemies. We must realize what Trump says is ephemeral; only actions matter. And even from Trump’s actions, only a fraction moves beyond the performative. So much of a Democratic or leftist response is rooted in an old-style campaign strategy based on fear of a Swiftboating, so we must rapidly respond to steer the narrative. But the 20th century died when Joe Biden left office and we need a new response.

Rather, we need the old one, a Maquis French resistance that works tirelessly to make fascism’s business difficult. This is no “turn up on a weekend and get cars to honk” resistance. It requires studying what Trump actually does, crafting strategies to disrupt it, and maintaining discipline to stay the course. We need to break Trump’s alliances that strengthen him in rural communities. We must persuade the soldiers to just stay in the barracks and convince local police officers to intervene when ICE arrives. We need to hammer at every business connected with Trump or that profit from his policies. In short, we need to understand Trump’s power to destroy it. This means setting our direction and not wandering down the road Trump wants us to follow.

A modest suggestion for DC protests

What does this mean in the District of Columbia today? First, everyone must realize Trump fantasizes about a full-frontal for the Insurrection Act, so direct protesting risks further militarization.

A resistance must attack positions Trump does not want to defend. My suggestion is, everyone wanting to protest the troops in DC instead form a long single file-ish, non-threatening looking line and walk down to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Then, when a block’s worth of people are in front of the White House, those people should turn and laugh, make fun of Trump for a minute or so, then move on so the next group can do the same. Just keep looping around as close to the White House as possible, walk by and—laugh. Ideally for at least 24 hours. It would be a vigil the news would watch. Democratic politicians would cycle through. The experience would be cathartic and empowering for protestors, as well as a powerful visual with Trump incurring an endless stream of ridicule just passing by his door. He wants pictures of the National Guard cracking protestors on their heads in the streets, not street theater about his small penis on his driveway.

A Resistance must never offer up what the oppressor needs to oppress. In this case, laughter might be the best medicine against the MAGA suck.