Anthony on Nostr: I grew up in similar places, and I've also read a bit of history (e.g. of the KKK). I ...

I grew up in similar places, and I've also read a bit of history (e.g. of the KKK). I don't dispute that these views are dangerous and horrifying, nor that Americans are capable of extreme violence. However, I think it's important to be careful with words. I think Richard Seymour's book *Disaster Nationalism*, and his various talks and [articles](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/30/richard-seymour-on-far-right-environmental-crisis-disaster-nationalism ) on this topic, are important. He characterizes it more as a "proto" fascism. It's lacking certain features that actualized fascist regimes in the past had. Anyone who cares about doing something about all this would do well to pay attention to the distinctions.

From the article I linked (bold added by me):
> Comparing the success of the far right in India, Brazil and the US (among other places), Seymour argues that most explanations for their rise are insufficient. What we’re seeing is “too consistent over time and too global, to be explained by local factors such as the backlash of a fading white supremacy, or Russian troll farms, or ‘bad actors’ spreading disinformation,” he writes. > **These movements also don’t have the hallmarks of historical fascism**> . “Their immediate objective is not the overthrow of electoral democracy,” Seymour observes, but “a constitutional rupture breaking with all humane and ‘woke’ constraints on the exercise of power.” While the old establishment decomposes, the far right conjures up apocalyptic images – “the great replacement”, “Islamisation”, “Chinese-style communism” – to animate potential supporters. This is not yet a distinct form of fascism; instead, it is what Seymour calls “disaster nationalism”.
CartyBoston (npub1hyn…0yth)