July 28, 2020
Four years ago, in a slim volume entitled “On Tyranny,” Yale History professor, Timothy Snyder, gave Americans a guide to twenty signs that would mark the transformation of our flawed democracy into a full blown fascist state. One by one, we’ve watched as Trump’s actions have mirrored each chapter in Snyder’s book, as if “On Tyranny” was a checklist, rather than a warning.
Still, even after all we’ve endured over the last four years, the scenes emerging from Portland, Oregon, were shocking. As we all know by now, camo-clad anonymous forces began by snatching people off the street into unmarked vans and detaining them for hours. These forces refused to identify themselves, to tell people what crime they were being arrested for, or to even admit that people had been arrested, (Source: “Unpacking DHS’s Troubling Explanation of the Portland Van Video,” by Andrew Crespo, lawfareblog.com, 7/25/20).
Their compatriots attacked mainly peaceful protestors with tear gas, flash bang grenades and rubber bullets, indiscriminately injuring protestors, medics and journalists alike. Neither the Navy vet who dared to question the uniformed thugs, nor the Mayor of Portland escaped unscathed.
When challenged on the legality of these occupations, over the objections of the governor and the mayor, Acting DHS Secretary, Chad Wolf, doubled down, stating “We will not retreat,” fully embracing the idea that the United States government is at war with its citizens.
We’re not fooled. We know that Trump is a Johnny One-Note who only traffics in hatred and chaos. He and his bellicose toadies plan to take this show on the road in the hope that images of youthful protesters hurling bottles and invective at men in uniforms will frighten his aging base into coming out in droves to re-elect him.
Although Trump’s syphilitic brain cannot contain two thoughts simultaneously, the rest of ours can. No amount of “domestic security theater” will make us forget the mounting body count of Americans killed by a virus whose lethality could have been lessened if Trump had taken even one of the steps urged upon him by experts, (Source: “How many needless COVID-19 deaths were caused by delays in responding? Most of them.”, by Isaac Sebenius and James K. Sebenius, Statnews.com, 6/19/20).
Trump’s litany of failures is criminal, but he is too vain, stupid, hateful and lazy to do even the simplest things that could save lives, like wearing a mask and telling Americans to wear one. Like the overgrown toddler that he is, he would rather play war games in American cities, pitting his real, live G.I.Joes against Americans exercising their First Amendment rights.
Yet, while the Wall of Moms and Wall of Vets have been heartening to see, we wonder why the outrage isn’t broader? Why aren’t all Americans balking at the sight of a violent military occupation that both the Oregon governor and Portland mayor are trying to get removed for making the situation worse?
The reason, as Zack Beauchamp explained here, is that years of poisonous Republican partisan rhetoric have succeeded in dehumanizing not only Black people and other marginalized groups, but the Democrats and progressives who advocate for them. Let us not forget that Trump’s out of town tryout for his full scale fascism tour took place in one of America’s whitest cities, during a Black Lives Matter protest. The message of Trump and his supporters is clear, “If you stand up for Black people, we’re going to treat you like n—gers.”