re The Swamp and The Fire Urgent Warning to the West

["David Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Thomas Leavitt <thomleavitt () gmail com>
Subject: Re: [IP] The Swamp and The Fire Urgent Warning to the West
Date: February 10, 2017 at 9:01:26 AM EST
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>

Dave,

You're asking for rational reactions to the irrational. This is a code word filled anti-Semitic screed, although this 
movement's targets have clearly broadened to anyone viewed as a sympathizer, and a whole host of historically 
persecuted minorities. Its no coincidence that queer folks like myself are at the top of that list (the Nazi's put 
"degenerates" at the top of their list, too). Folks like this guy want to see us literally burn. The frantic alarms 
being sounded by "traditional" (not "traditionalist") conservatives like David Frum in The Atlantic about the Trump 
regime are telling. The foundations of liberal democracy are under severe threat from a toxic mixture of reactionary 
ethnic identity politics and hyper-nationalist populism across the globe.

> From my perspective, as an anti-statist / progressive, I'm concerned that my ability to articulate a critique of the 
> American / transnational elite's often self-interested dealings will be a victim of collateral damage in the fight 
> against reactionary views of the sort outlined, and perhaps deliberately so. Anyone concerned about income inequality, 
> maldistribution of wealth, the weaknesses and flaws of international institutions, and American foreign policy abroad 
> will, more than ever, have to engage critically with all information sources to avoid inadvertently fostering these 
> reactionary attitudes, and be cognizant of how the reactionaries have hijacked our rhetoric.

Der Spiegel wrote an excellent piece a few years back on how Goebbels took over "Red Berlin" in the late 1920s which I 
view as very instructive in that respect.
Conquering the Capital

The Ruthless Rise of the Nazis in Berlin

http://m.spiegel.de/international/germany/a-866793.html <http://m.spiegel.de/international/germany/a-866793.html> - 
This is part 1 of 2 parts

Fundamentally, defenders of the ideal of open, tolerant, diverse, humane liberal democracies working in harmony across 
borders of nation and culture have to step up our game and articulate an effective counter-narrative to this 
reactionary vision of society. These are no longer fringe views, we have to regard ourselves as fighting a two-front 
rhetorical war, pair our critique of institutions of power and privilege with a credible and constructive message of 
what a society would look like where EVERYONE is empowered to support themselves and their families by making 
meaningful contributions to the common good.

To put it another way: Trump won, at least partially, because a large chunk of the American (and global) middle and 
working class translates, quite reasonably, statements by leaders like President Obama that blame the disappearance of 
the good paying and stable jobs held by their grandparents and parents on "globalization" and "automation" and 
effectively wash the government's hands ala Pontius Pilate of any ability to respond constructively beyond providing 
"education and training" as: "you're fucked, and you're going to stay fucked", and so are your children, absent a small 
minority able to transcend circumstances and educate themselves at a high level. You're worthless, and there's 
absolutely nothing useful that you can contribute to society.

Who the hell wouldn't respond angrily to that? Even a double digit portion of the African-American male population 
resonated so strongly with Trump's MAGA counter-message that they overlooked his dog whistles to the alt-right because 
of it.

The counter message has to be that EVERYONE has the capacity, absent disability, to make a meaningful and constructive 
contribution to society and provide for themselves and their families in the process, and we can work together, 
collectively and cooperatively, to make that a reality, regardless of the the impacts made by technological innovation 
and our participation in the global marketplace. That doing so does not and should not require academic genius and 
post-graduate credentials. That the success of unions in turning entire classes of "commodity" jobs into vehicles for a 
middle class standard of living was not a fluke, but rather something that can and will be replicated.

Absent that, the future is dark indeed.

Regards,
Thomas Leavitt





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