A sensible American view on Fascism
This article by Anis Shivani is very good, but perhaps overlong. He thinks Trump is more like Mussolini than Hitler; I would like to have also seen some mention of Silvio Berlusconi as an analogue for Trump.
Shivani correctly notes that Donald's policies are not really that much different from W.'s or Barack's, because both (D) and (R) parties subscribe to the neoliberal ideology. Only the rhetorical flourishes are different, but otherwise the new boss is the same as the old boss. Obama said he loved DREAMers, but deported 2.5 million of them. Trump says he hates Mexicans, but deported fewer of them in his first month than Obama did in his. It is always a mistake to believe what a politician says.
Ralph Nader is mentioned once, but only as an avatar for the uselessness of protest against the neoliberal agenda. If you're a millennial American, Mr. Shivani says you should move to Canada or Europe (but says that he himself is too old to move). I disagree slightly, since it seems that Trump is markedly more willing to listen to protests than Bush Jr or Obama were. Still, the point stands that the rise of American Fascism over the last 30 years will probably continue until the USA loses a war in a big way - and surely you don't want to be drafted for that, so what's the point of hanging around to protest? Like the Jews from Germany, young liberal Americans should get out while you still can.
"Anis Shivani" is an Muslim name, but Mr. Shivani's bio does not talk about his ethnicity. He assumes without evidence that Trump will surely start a new war in the Middle East, but this is based on historical trends and possibly unconnected with any personal interest that Shivani might have in that area. He idly fantasizes about Trump nuking Iran, which I think is mistaking style for substance - but who knows?
Shivani correctly notes that Donald's policies are not really that much different from W.'s or Barack's, because both (D) and (R) parties subscribe to the neoliberal ideology. Only the rhetorical flourishes are different, but otherwise the new boss is the same as the old boss. Obama said he loved DREAMers, but deported 2.5 million of them. Trump says he hates Mexicans, but deported fewer of them in his first month than Obama did in his. It is always a mistake to believe what a politician says.
Ralph Nader is mentioned once, but only as an avatar for the uselessness of protest against the neoliberal agenda. If you're a millennial American, Mr. Shivani says you should move to Canada or Europe (but says that he himself is too old to move). I disagree slightly, since it seems that Trump is markedly more willing to listen to protests than Bush Jr or Obama were. Still, the point stands that the rise of American Fascism over the last 30 years will probably continue until the USA loses a war in a big way - and surely you don't want to be drafted for that, so what's the point of hanging around to protest? Like the Jews from Germany, young liberal Americans should get out while you still can.
"Anis Shivani" is an Muslim name, but Mr. Shivani's bio does not talk about his ethnicity. He assumes without evidence that Trump will surely start a new war in the Middle East, but this is based on historical trends and possibly unconnected with any personal interest that Shivani might have in that area. He idly fantasizes about Trump nuking Iran, which I think is mistaking style for substance - but who knows?