Is the US experiencing authoritarian collapse?

[Introversion]

Adult MAGA rage is making schools more dangerous for students

…

Benedict died in the wake of a growing crescendo of right-wing hysterics demonizing LGBTQ students and teachers as "groomers" and accusing them of being a threat to other students. In Oklahoma, the far-right Republican state superintendent, Ryan Walters, has been especially aggressive on culture war issues, attacking LGBTQ people and calling for book bans. In an especially trollish move, Walters recently hired Chaya Raichik, who runs the infamous "Libs of TikTok" Twitter account, to be on the state's library committee. Raichick's only "experience" in education is targeting LGBTQ teachers and allies with her account, knowing bomb threats and harassment usually follow. Benedict was beaten up in a girls' bathroom, after being required by Oklahoma state law to use a restroom based on gender assigned at birth, not the one they live as.

Raichik, Walters, and other MAGA Republicans are scrambling to deny any link between Benedict getting beaten up in a bathroom and a suicide that literally happened the next day. Benedict's family disagrees, however, noting the "severity of the assault" as shown by the autopsy. President Joe Biden released a statement declaring, "no one should face the bullying that Nex did" and they "should still be here with us today." Walters, in response to the criticism, leveled baseless accusations implying LGBTQ people are pedophiles.

This doubling down on the MAGA vitriol that is linked to school violence is not unique to Walters, but swiftly becoming endemic to the Republican Party. That's evident in the growing popularity of Raichik as a conservative leader, even though she regularly proves she is incapable of coherent sentences when asked to explain what she believes. Even more determinative, from a pure numbers perspective, was the North Carolina primary this month. Republicans nominated far-right activist Michele Morrow for state superintendent, despite — or because of — her history of shockingly violent rhetoric. Unlike the current Republican incumbent, Catherine Truitt, Morrow has no experience in education. On the contrary, Morrow hates public schools, calling them "socialism centers" and "indoctrination centers" and homeschooling her kids instead. But, in a sign of how radical the GOP has become, this is the least incendiary aspect of Morrow's campaign. As CNN reported, Morrow has a long-standing habit of calling for the violent deaths of Democrats or anyone she perceives as "liberal."

…

Even if Biden wins this election (and I’ve some opimism that he will), the hate and looming violence coming from TFG’s supporters — oh heck, let’s call it “the Republican party”, because it’s MAGA through & through now — isn’t going away.

Our so-called liberal media isn’t doing enough to raise the alarm about the stochastic terrorism MAGA conservatives are committing. Will they when it flips to actual, in-the-streets violence? Or will they “both sides” it?

 

[ElaineA]

Will they when it flips to actual, in-the-streets violence? Or will they “both sides” it?

Pretty sure the response to the George Floyd protests and aftermath answer that question. "Portland" is still a boogey-word that gets dropped into news stories about any kind of right wing demonstration or gathering.

 

[RedRajah]

Pretty sure the response to the George Floyd protests and aftermath answer that question. "Portland" is still a boogey-word that gets dropped into news stories about any kind of right wing demonstration or gathering.

Doesn't help that Portland (in some places) has gotten very militarized in terms of private security.

 

[Roxxsmom]

Adult MAGA rage is making schools more dangerous for students


Even if Biden wins this election (and I’ve some opimism that he will), the hate and looming violence coming from TFG’s supporters — oh heck, let’s call it “the Republican party”, because it’s MAGA through & through now — isn’t going away.

Our so-called liberal media isn’t doing enough to raise the alarm about the stochastic terrorism MAGA conservatives are committing. Will they when it flips to actual, in-the-streets violence? Or will they “both sides” it?

I wonder if the more moderate-to-liberal facets of the media are afraid to pound that point home too often or too hard. Not only has doom and gloom long been the core strategy of the Right, the liberal issues that could be thought of as doom and gloom (such as climate change) never seem to get much traction with the general public, and are even used against them. And it does sound like simply echoing the Right to say things like, "Our democracy is likely to be over if the other guy wins." Even if it is more likely to be true. I know people who roll their eyes and say things like, "so this is the most important election for the future of our democracy ever. Like every other election."

However, I am certainly finding plenty of articles and interviews with experts on sources like NPR about the history of fascist movements, and about the plans of Christian Nationalists for our country, and about what could happen should should Trump be be elected again. I suspect that the folks who follow such sources (let alone the listeners who hone in on those particular stories) are not the majority of potential voters, however.

Maybe the average person who is likely to vote for Democrats, if indeed they bother to turn out at all, is less interested in hearing how shitty everything is going to be if the "other guy" wins because they're already immersed in shit up to their necks?

And some members of the potential Democratic base (such as younger voters) don't tend to consume traditional media much anyway, do they? Though maybe it appears that some do. This article doesn't specify which outlets, though, or how much time is spent reading/watching news via various sources, and what proportion of their information comes from broader-based sources versus from a small number of media "influencers" who have YouTube or Tik Tok channels (though some of these may discuss a variety of things that are "in the news"). How many listen to interviews with folks who have written books about the history of authoritarian movements and are drawing bleak parallels between our current situation and shat happened in Italy and Germany nearly a century ago?

Anecdotally, I overhear my male students talking about sports. A lot. And about working out. More even than guys I knew talked about sports and working out when I was young. My female students are more likely to discuss things related at least tangentially to politics, such as the way they've had symptoms dismissed by health care providers or how they've discriminated against/harassed by bosses. I don't over hear many of them discussing politics much as such, though that might be because everyone is so sensitive to how divisive politics are nowadays.

 

[RedRajah]

How many US media CEOs even ID as any flavor of liberal? If they nix/strongarm their workers from actual reporting just to not make waves while they sell ad space, we're boned. :-/

 

[RedRajah]

Protesters shout down Kyle Rittenhouse at University of Memphis appearance​

Conservative activist Kyle Rittenhouse cut short a speaking event on Wednesday night at the University of Memphis, after he was drowned out by angry protesters.

CBS affiliate WREG-TV reports Rittenhouse was invited to speak by the campus organization of conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA.

Rittenhouse was acquitted of all felony charges for shooting three people, killing two of them, in 2020 during protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, had claimed he shot the men in self-defense.

WREG-TV reported his appearance at the University of Memphis had sparked weeks of controversy, and he was quickly shouted down at the UC Theater Wednesday evening when he told the audience he "was violently attacked by a mob of rioters" in Kenosha.

Instead of the planned speech, the event swiftly moved into a Q&A session, but Rittenhouse was ushered off the stage after about 30 minutes, after protesters repeatedly yelled and booed.

 

[darkprincealain]

Protesters shout down Kyle Rittenhouse at University of Memphis appearance​

It was going around on social media to register for a free ticket to that and just not show up. I registered, but I think I used a silly name.

 

[ElaineA]

Dang, looks like you missed out on a fun time!

 

[Introversion]

The Supreme Court effectively abolishes the right to mass protest in three US states

The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will not hear Mckesson v. Doe. The decision not to hear Mckesson leaves in place a lower court decision that effectively eliminated the right to organize a mass protest in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

Under that lower court decision, a protest organizer faces potentially ruinous financial consequences if a single attendee at a mass protest commits an illegal act.

It is possible that this outcome will be temporary. The Court did not embrace the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision attacking the First Amendment right to protest, but it did not reverse it either. That means that, at least for now, the Fifth Circuit’s decision is the law in much of the American South.

 

[lizmonster]

Here we go.

 

[JJ Litke]

Oh good, so this means Trump will finally be held accountable for violence during the protest he instigated at the Capitol on January 6.

ETA: no one needs to explain to me that that's not going to happen.

 

[darkprincealain]

Given that this link is from November, we’ve probably already talked about this, but the Pentagon has failed its sixth audit in a row. I don’t know if the military-industrial complex has some secrets hiding there, or what’s going on, but it would be interesting to see the Pentagon pass an audit, for once.

 

[Introversion]

January 6 insurrectionists had a great day in the Supreme Court today

The Supreme Court spent about an hour and a half on Tuesday morning arguing over whether to make it much harder for the Justice Department to prosecute hundreds of people who joined the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

It appears, after Tuesday’s arguments, that a majority of the justices will side with the insurrectionists — though it is far from clear how those justices will justify such an outcome.

 

[Introversion]

Totally normal in a healthy democracy, right?

Democrats who investigated Trump say they expect to face arrest, retaliation if he wins presidency

Some members of Congress who led the investigation into former President Donald Trump's role in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot acknowledge they've talked to their families about their safety — and the risk of their arrest — if Trump wins a second term in November.

In a series of interviews with CBS News, House Democrats who helped lead the House Jan. 6 select committee and some of the police witnesses who testified before it predicted they'd be targeted for retribution by a future Trump administration.

Trump raised the prospect of future arrests of some of the Jan. 6 committee participants in a social media post on March 18. Referring to the panel's vice chair, former Rep. Liz Cheney, Trump wrote, "She should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!"

 

[lizmonster]

Totally normal in a healthy democracy, right?

Democrats who investigated Trump say they expect to face arrest, retaliation if he wins presidency

I expect a lot of us to be arrested if Trump wins.

 

[RedRajah]

I expect a lot of us to be arrested if Trump wins.

Or worse

 

[CWatts]

Or worse.

Sadly we may have the best liberal argument here for the 2nd Amendment.

 

[lizmonster]

Sadly we may have the best liberal argument here for the 2nd Amendment.

I think when they poll people about civil war, they're not always getting the "yes" responses from MAGAts. And it's not something people want, just something they're beginning to worry is inevitable.

 

[Introversion]

I think when they poll people about civil war, they're not always getting the "yes" responses from MAGAts. And it's not something people want, just something they're beginning to worry is inevitable.

Yeah, I definitely don’t want it, but we seem hellbound for one don’t we?

 

[CWatts]

Yeah, I definitely don’t want it, but we seem hellbound for one don’t we?

Did you hear Trump's baffling ramble about Gettysburg? Here it is filtered through Jimmy Kimmel.

I doubt it will get to armies versus armies. But honestly I think we've had an intermittent guerrilla civil war going on since at least the Oklahoma City bombing.

 

[Introversion]

Did you hear Trump's baffling ramble about Gettysburg?

Yep. There are people with credentials who think he’s got dementia. Which probably explains the earlier “Dementia Joe” label? Always projection with him.

I doubt it will get to armies versus armies. But honestly I think we've had an intermittent guerrilla civil war going on since at least the Oklahoma City bombing.

Yeah, it’ll likely be sectarian violence. Neighbor against neighbor. Like the “Irish Troubles”.

And yes, I will be very happy if it just fizzles out.

 

[dickson]

Did you hear Trump's baffling ramble about Gettysburg? Here it is filtered through Jimmy Kimmel.

I doubt it will get to armies versus armies. But honestly I think we've had an intermittent guerrilla civil war going on since at least the Oklahoma City bombing.

I fear something like the Troubles may be coming.

ETA: I see I am not alone.

 

[Marian Perera]

Did you hear Trump's baffling ramble about Gettysburg?

If I watched this without knowing anything about Trump, I wouldn't want him to be in charge of a lemonade stand.

 

[frimble3]

If I watched this without knowing anything about Trump, I wouldn't want him to be in charge of a lemonade stand.

"Billy, what are you doing in the kitchen?"
"Making more lemonade for the stand, Mom!"
"Who's watching the stand while you're in here?"
"Granddad."
"AARGH!!"

 

[Roxxsmom]

Given that this link is from November, we’ve probably already talked about this, but the Pentagon has failed its sixth audit in a row. I don’t know if the military-industrial complex has some secrets hiding there, or what’s going on, but it would be interesting to see the Pentagon pass an audit, for once.

It's very possibly simple incompetence or a natural consequence of an organization that is so huge the different limbs literally aren't aware of what the others are doing. Not that there can't be secrets as well. There is a vast amount of money involved, even without the concerns about national security and military secrets.