Paul Cantrell
Is comparing crowd size at No Kings versus the pathetic military parade just pure pettiness?
❝No. Right now crowd sizes matter a lot because competitive authoritarianism rests largely on self-fulfilling expectations.❞
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https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/trumps-parade-flopped-no-kings-day
Paul Cantrell
Krugman continues:
❝While there is a cadre of Trumpist true believers who will obey the Leader under any circumstances, most of those doing the dirty work of undermining democracy and the rule of law are cowards and opportunists. They’re willing to participate in the destruction of America as we know it because they believe that many others will do the same. As a result, they believe that they are unlikely to face any personal consequences for their actions and may even be rewarded for their lawbreaking.
And what of those who oppose Trumpism? While there are heroes willing to take a stand against tyranny whatever the personal cost, most anti-Trumpists are reluctant to stick their necks out unless they believe that they are part of a widespread resistance that will grant them some measure of safety in numbers.
In other words, the victory or defeat of competitive authoritarianism will depend to a large extent on which side ordinary people believe will win. If Trump looks unstoppable, resistance will wither away and democracy will be lost. On the other hand, if he appears weak and stymied, resistance will grow and — just maybe — American democracy will survive.❞
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Paul Cantrell
Gwen Snyder posted something on Saturday to the effect that “Fascists •need• the appearance of strength, and right now, Trump just looks weak.”
I think it’s easy for us evidence-hungry thinker type to underestimate just how much appearance matters. Massive rallies are not — •must• not be — the endpoint of resistance. However, neither are they purely symbolic. They have a real and concrete effect. They change perceptions, which changes human behavior. Yes, they matter. They matter a lot.
/end
Paul Cantrell
@jlundell
I think that happened on Saturday, at unprecedented scale, and it was powerful.
Jona 🐳
@inthehands Massive rallies are good. But I’d like to see way more small rallies in small towns, especially red ones (not hard to find). Let more people see for themselves that the resistance is everywhere, that it’s their neighbors and families.
su_liam
@inthehands One bit bit that has stuck in my mind from Hannah Arendt’s thick book on the Origins of Totalitarianism, is that the fascists believe that they can control reality as an act of will. It may be bunk(it is), but they believe in it, and they express and reinforce that belief every time they terrorize people into seeing five lights. Lies are core to fascism in all its variants.
Paul Cantrell
Coming back from camping that morning, we saw maybe 100 in Lindstrom!
Jona 🐳
@su_liam @inthehands
Yes, more, please. I hail from far NW MN, and the nearest listed rally was in Thief River Falls, an hour drive from my dinky home town.
In a group of photos of big rallies, I saw one of maybe a dozen people in Petrolia CA (pop 300-500 per Wikipedia). Like that.
su_liam
@jlundell @inthehands I got some good news for you on that count. They may have been small, but groups came out in a lot of places you wouldn’t expect them. Do I want to see more of that? Absolutely! But it is a start.
Paul Cantrell
@dragonsidedd @su_liam
I’ll agree if and only if we add a caveat against the common mistake that “faith-based” is not synonymous with “religious” — as for example Effective Altruism demonstrates. Too many people use the presence of organized religion that •calls• itself religion as a cheap heuristic, leaving them unable to detect their own detachment from reality (e.g. Richard Dawkins’s turn to transphobia). In my book, religion that preaches intellectual humility beats the pants off rationalism that preaches intellectual hubris.
Dragon-sided D
@su_liam @inthehands I really think this is core, not just ancillary.
Fascism and authoritarianism are *caused and enabled* by a Faith-based community.
In contrast to a Reality-based one.
Suzanne Aldrich (she/her)
@inthehands @dragonsidedd @su_liam I always used to distinguish between the two modes of thought as dogmatic vs. introspective belief. That takes all the cultural baggage away and leaves you with a contrast between frameworks.
Paul Cantrell
@suzannealdrich @dragonsidedd @su_liam
I‘ve used “fundamentalist” to describe it, but I think “dogmatic” is better — for the lack of cultural baggage, just as you say!
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