Striking While The Iron Is Hot: Trump and the Anifa Resistance
By Brenan Daniels
This
is a recent interview I did with JA, an admin of the Facebook page
Anarchist Memes where we discuss Trump, his ascendancy to the
Presidency, and how people can resist him and the fascist elements are
are growing.
1. Regarding Trump’s ascendance to
the Presidency, many argued that he would never make it. Seeing his rhetoric
and proposed policies at the very beginning, what were your initial thoughts?
Do you think that his tapping into social and economic unrest was purposeful on
some level?
I thought that Trump was too
unpolished and goofy, to beat a career politician of Clinton's caliber. It
seemed to me at the time that his ascendency to RNC nominee was the result of
in-fighting and disarray within the GOP. I never imagined he'd win the
presidential election.
I don't think that anything
Trump does is particularly strategic on his part. Even when it is apparent he's
trying to stick to a narrative, he still seems to go off-script, and delve in
to bizarre and perverse tangents. I think the man is totally untethered to
objective reality.
2. There are those who would argue
that in some ways a Trump win is impressive seeing as how the media and a large
amount of The Establishment was against him. What are your thoughts on this?
I think he is popular for the
same reasons right-wing, racist, proto-fascist demagogues are ever popular.
Namely, the combination of socio-economic despair and a chauvinistic dominant
culture. My intuition is that, those who are deeply invested in the narratives
and affirmations of the dominant culture, resolve the emotional and cognitive
dissonance of their socioeconomic predicament within the culture as well as
dissent against it...by going deeper in to their nationalist fairytales and
faulting scapegoats and/or lack-of-purity/faith as to explain the present
conditions.
Trump's utter stupidity,
incredulity and narcissism allowed him to say and declare things that a more
strategic and refined politician would-not. I think this allowed him to
out-flank his opponents in the GOP and DNC alike. Likewise, the media seemed
either unaware or unconcerned that its tittering responses to Trump, amplified
his popularity.
3. Currently it seems that Trump is
hitting the ground running by doing a number of things such as the recent
Muslim ban, proposing that the US leave the United Nations, and reinstating a
ban on US funding overseas, to the glee of many of his supporters. However,
there are those who are expressing dismay over other policies such as a freeze
on government employee hiring and salaries. What do you think will happen
if/when people realize that many of Trump’s policies are going to hurt them?
Will we see an increase in violence against marginalized communities?
I
think it's decidedly possible that the white-reactionary milieu will react
violently if/when their economic conditions are negatively impacted by Trumps
policies. Some certainly will. But the flip-side of that, the only possible
silver-lining to any of this depravity and cruelty, is that the shock of trumps
failures on the reactionary white working class, may bump them out of their
racist, right-wing stupor. I think it’s incumbent on radicals to strike while
things are amorphous and strange, and try to capitalize on the shocks that do
come.
4. What
would you make of the liberal’s reaction to Trump? There are some who argue
that this is an opportunity to push them further to the left, but on a personal
level, I have some doubts about that seeing as how they supported Clinton, who
seemingly wanted to push us into a war with Russia.
I think it's a mixed-bag. I
think some liberals have been bumped ever-so-slightly to the left, become
disillusioned with the DNC, with their patriotism, with capitalism etc. I think
there are also liberals who are looking for an excuse, a scapegoat, someone or
something to blame for the ascension of Trump. I've interacted with both types.
Some who have shown an interest in radical philosophy and explanations where
before there was a lack of interest...and I've also met some who have tried to
blame Sanders or everyone to the left of Clinton for the outcome of the
election.
5. Seeing the rise of the far
right in Europe and finally it coming to the US, how would you say that Trump
fits into a larger global context of elements of the Western world embracing
far right fascistic (and actual fascist) politics?
I think what is happening in
the US is a similar phenomenon to what we've seen and is happening in Europe.
Where economic stagnation or depression generate a resultant lashing out by
those enamored with the dominant culture's narratives and mythology...as well
as anyone else critical of that mythology.
6. Given the recent J20 protests
and the black bloc actions, what should anarchists do now that we are in a
Trump presidency, someone who many would argue is close to, if not entirely, a
fascist?
I think the most useful and
necessary and impactful thing radicals can do is join an organization – and
start organizing. As well, I think radicals needs to make a concerted effort to
try and organize, radicalize, and bring-in working class and rural white people
– as tempting as it is to just write-off anyone who is even the slightest bit
reactionary (and I wouldn't blame anyone who does), I think work needs to be
done to change these people's minds – to help them find another path materially
and ideologically.
7.
Seeing as how I have used the term fascism and fascist in the last two
questions, where can people go to get a solid understanding of fascism, both
historically and modern day as it seems that it is a word that can be
misapplied.
There's a ton of literature out
there, people just need to reach out and grab it. They can go to the source,
like Mussolini or Jose Antonio to even out their understanding of Nazism – or
to any number of books comparing and contrasting the various strains in
fascism. As well, there is anti-fascist literature which also gives great
insight in to what fascism is and how fascists behave (AK press just released “Confronting
Fascism” for free in eBook form, and I know M. Testa's "Militant Fascism"
is available in pdf form for free on the internet).
That said, I think people's
impulse to use the label is usually generally correct – in that the people
they're assigning the label to exhibit (generally) the basic features of
fascism...even if not in an explicitly ideological or intentional way.
8. In what way(s) can people be
organized today to support antifascism and push for change beyond the ballot
box, including those who lack time/funds due to personal situations?
Join an organization(s) and
just do something – anything one can – for that organization(s)...and try not
to fall in to complacency after an absence from involvement. Being broke, having
kids, work, social life, health issues etc. all invariably inhibit our ability
to maintain commitments to organizations we'd like to be involved in and the
tendency to stay-away after an absence is common. Try to remember, that our
participation is needed, and wanted, and beneficial.
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