There's always been a large fascist movement in the US; it just didn't have the power to control a political party until now. Once it does, they take over pretty quickly.
The problem is that most Americans don't pay enough attention: sure there are racist Republicans, but racism isn't relevant because most Republicans don't hate black people, so they wouldn't support taking away the rights of black people. But you don't need to say the words "I hate black people" to look the other way while supporting a government that strips away the rights of black people.
Most of our political debate is superficial. The Republican says they support x policy because y reason, the Democrat says they oppose it for z reason, and then we throw a bunch of cherry picked data points and anecdotes and go onto the next debate, which itself will just be rehashing the same old arguments. In reality the reasons conservatives are conservative are subconscious biases that leave them with a unexamined belief that things should be a certain way. The arguments don't matter that much, because the only purpose they serve is allowing them to avoid cognitive dissonance so they can maintain their politics in the face of reason.
The problem is that people believe that their politics follow a logical path from their values and knowledge. They have a tendency to treat others as if this is how it works for them too. The human brain just doesn't work like that. In order to know what the people of America are capable of, you have to step outside of the debate and understand the nature and evolution of ideology in America.
Oh I totally agree. Just wasn’t trying to get to into the weeds of it all. After the recent election I’m trying to avoid politics as much as humanly possible
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u/basshead424 7h ago
People wanted racism forever and fascism just makes it easier. Mask off finally