I identified Trump as a fascist the moment he stepped onto the political stage a decade ago. Any anarchist and most leftists could have and did.
The whole point of being able to readily identify fascists is to stop them *before* they hold state power. But having the courage to publicly identify a popular and major political figure as a fascist risks being seen as alarmist, and the people who inhabit this particular socioeconomic niche build their identities around sensibility.
People like Rauch, with a voice in a major publication who might have actually used that voice for good, are sensible. Which is to say, they are so terrified of being perceived as alarmist that they would rather be wrong and ruled by a fascist than be correct but seen as alarmist by their peers and employers.
I’ve written before about how the risk of passivity in an emergency is actually greater than the risk of panic. Most people don’t panic in emergencies, contra the popular myth, but some of them do dither—preferring to be seen as sensible rather than alarmist, sometimes even to their own deaths.
This is the political equivalent: proudly announcing that you’re finally ready to acknowledge Trump’s fascism a decade after it would have been brave or useful or insightful.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/america-fascism-trump-maga-ice/685751/
HeavenlyPossum
npub1s0…rzz9t
2026-01-27 16:12:47 UTC
Author Public Key
npub1s029r5gtznh06wkxnae2yud5rps7c2ny9re68xakczxfh9w3pfysfrzz9tSeen on
wss://relay.momostr.pinkPublished at
2026-01-27 16:12:47 UTCEvent JSON
{
"id": "5214bbb88a254d1bf6c8582fb4d88c6f7f85ac28c93206e6a019b6f0e098ff78",
"pubkey": "83d451d10b14eefd3ac69f72a271b41861ec2a6428f3a39bb6c08c9b95d10a49",
"created_at": 1769530367,
"kind": 1,
"tags": [
[
"proxy",
"https://kolektiva.social/@HeavenlyPossum/115967942146254024",
"web"
],
[
"proxy",
"https://kolektiva.social/users/HeavenlyPossum/statuses/115967942146254024",
"activitypub"
],
[
"L",
"pink.momostr"
],
[
"l",
"pink.momostr.activitypub:https://kolektiva.social/users/HeavenlyPossum/statuses/115967942146254024",
"pink.momostr"
],
[
"-"
]
],
"content": "I identified Trump as a fascist the moment he stepped onto the political stage a decade ago. Any anarchist and most leftists could have and did. \n\nThe whole point of being able to readily identify fascists is to stop them *before* they hold state power. But having the courage to publicly identify a popular and major political figure as a fascist risks being seen as alarmist, and the people who inhabit this particular socioeconomic niche build their identities around sensibility.\n\nPeople like Rauch, with a voice in a major publication who might have actually used that voice for good, are sensible. Which is to say, they are so terrified of being perceived as alarmist that they would rather be wrong and ruled by a fascist than be correct but seen as alarmist by their peers and employers.\n\nI’ve written before about how the risk of passivity in an emergency is actually greater than the risk of panic. Most people don’t panic in emergencies, contra the popular myth, but some of them do dither—preferring to be seen as sensible rather than alarmist, sometimes even to their own deaths.\n\nThis is the political equivalent: proudly announcing that you’re finally ready to acknowledge Trump’s fascism a decade after it would have been brave or useful or insightful.\n\nhttps://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/america-fascism-trump-maga-ice/685751/",
"sig": "dddbacbde029d3bc5a9605acc95e74911d82ffb38a1417df0362821806b05aad4f09e784b13cbbd05a27f98d67a4381a63c08240980ef7697222c4f810db0e31"
}