The face of fascism
Let’s make a list.
Ras Baraka, the Democratic mayor of Newark, NJ, arrested for trespassing by ICE agents, at an immigration detention facility.
New Jersey Democratic member of Congress LaMonica McIver arrested and charged with assaulting two federal agents as she tried to block Baraka’s arrest outside the detention center.
California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla grabbed and shoved out of a room, told to drop to his knees in a hallway and handcuffed, after he tried to question Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, during a news conference.
Now, this week, Brad Lander, New York City’s top financial officer and a Democratic candidate for mayor, roughed up, handcuffed and arrested by what appeared to be federal agents at an immigration court in lower Manhattan.
Oh, and Melissa Hortman, a Democratic Minnesota state legislator, assassinated allegedly by a right-wing Christian zealot, and John Hoffman, also a Democratic state legislator in Minnesota, shot by the same man.
In case you’ve been wondering, this is indeed what fascism looks like.
In what now appears to be that halcyon period before last November’s election, those who warned about a possible fascist takeover of the country were thought to be overly hysterical Chicken Littles. Their concerns about the looming dangers were frequently dismissed and met with reactions that ranged from stop oversimplifying to stop grossly exaggerating.
The exaggerations don’t look so gross anymore.
When elected officials, people with standing, with power, with platforms, and who all happen to be members of the opposition party, get roughed up and handcuffed and charged with various flimsy charges, it means we are all, obviously, at risk. Perhaps, more important, the fear has been instilled in all of us, which is, of course, the point.
When my wife and I went last week to our small-town, local No Kings demonstration, she reminded us before we left the house to take our Covid-era surgical masks with us—in case tear gas was used against demonstrators. It was a ridiculous thought, although maybe it isn’t quite that ridiculous these days.
We were not tear-gassed, of course. But the fear is now there because what had not seemed conceivable five months ago now seems possible.
A dozen years ago, when we were in Berlin on a tourist visit, there were exhibits all through the city marking the 80th anniversary of the Nazis ascension to power. The point was made, again and again, in exhibit after exhibit, that the Nazis didn’t seize power; they were given it.
And then they consolidated the power by first systematically intimidating and arresting public officials who had been in opposition.
Are we now so sure history isn’t repeating itself?