Acorn Fascism

[puebloknot]

"Great oaks from little acorns grow."

The incident at UCLA wherein a student of decided Middle Eastern mien was tasered over and over, because of his cheeky decision to leave the library, rather than be racially profiled, is alarming to powers of ten. And this is one more reason for investigations *and* impeachment. I'm a nutty optimist all of a sudden. I actually feel that things have gotten so bad in this country that there are enough Republicans who are ashamed and frightened about the direction we are taking that they might actually support impeachment. Or...more to the point, the resignation of Bush *and* Cheney.

We the People will take the resignations as foreplay. And then we need to go after these people in the administration criminally. If we don't do it, we may not like the tree under whose shade we are forced to live in the future.

Many years ago, in a shopping center not far from UCLA, I was in a friend's car, and we were leaving a shopping center with our two children, ages eight and four. There was some construction going on, there were some exit signs which were confusing, and my friend made a (then) illegal left turn out of the parking lot. It was closing time, we didn't see anyone else around, there was very little traffic. Suddenly, we heard a siren and saw red lights blaring, and my friend pulled over to the curb. Six police officers got out of the police car behind us, all of them wearing some sort of yellow vest, all carrying batons and flashlights, two holding guns in a two-handed grasp, at the ready.

A young officer came to both the passenger and driver's sides of the car, and ordered my friend and I to put our hands on the dashboard, not to reach for a purse, and not to turn around. My daughter and my friend's son began to cry, and when I tried to turn around to comfort them, I was told again to follow orders or face the consequences.

All this over a simple traffic violation of the most mundane sort!

It finally came to me that these were police cadets in training, and we were their training exercise for the night. We eventually were released and went home, shaken and angry. But not angry enough. The next day the sun was shining, we felt safe again, I had things to do, my daughter was in school. I let it ride. I had thoughts of being too busy that day. I also had thoughts of possible difficulty with the police, and that little irrational acorn grew into the fear that my ex-husband and his hostile ex-nun wife might take my daughter away from me if I couldn't prove a squeaky-clean life.

Such is the provenance of fear. Rationality goes home and leaves us with a poor and shameful choice. To my everlasting chagrin, I caved to fear and did not report that outrageous incident to the LAPD. I behaved like a woman who had been raped and had the irrational feeling that somehow she invited it because her skirt was just a little too short!

Tyranny starts small, with the beating of an old Jewish man on a dark street somewhere, and then grows to smashing his store windows and destroying his livelihood. This is why we must demand investigations, and we must demand that those investigations lead to concrete *legal* action to remove these fear-mongering criminals from the seat of power in these *United* States of America. The Bush administration did not invent fascism (although there are those who point out that the Bush Family has had long associations with fascist states, going back for generations), but they have expanded its presence in America almost beyond my ability to believe it. The incident at UCLA is, in my view, a perfect example of the kind of trickle-down fascism that is a precursor to much more serious events, such as those at Abu Ghraib.

J'accuse. I protest. Not in my name!


Judy Barrett, Citizen
United States of America

[BrokenBeyondRepair]

1. it's unacceptable

[puebloknot]

33. And we aren't going to take it anymore! nt

[BrokenBeyondRepair]

34. exactly..

it's time to quit listening to the verbal masturbation of our so called 'leaders' and just say this is wrong and we will not tolerate it.

[understandinglife]

2. "Tyranny starts small, ..."

"The incident at UCLA is, in my view, a perfect example of the kind of trickle-down fascism that is a precursor to much more serious events, such as those at Abu Ghraib.

An excellent OP, Judy and I hope to see many more from you. You are remarkably thoughtful and an excellent writer.

Bob

[Karenina]

14. Hear, Hear!

:kick:

[Mythsaje]

3. I'll give that a kick and a recommend as well...

I know exactly what you're saying.

And here's a belated welcome to DU. Nice to see yet another talented wordsmith in residence. :)

[puebloknot]

19. Thanks a bunch! nt

[Vexatious Ape]

4. Great post

"Trickle-down fascism" I like that term--it fits.

[puebloknot]

20. Inspired by "The Gipper" nt

[calimary]

5. I. Sure. Like. This. One. K&R! "Acorn Fascism" is a really great

concept. It does start small.

I love to quote "Mad-Eye Moody," the bizarre and somewhat creepy, and profoundly battle-scarred wizard teaching Harry Potter and his classmates the "Defense Against the Dark Arts" class. He has two sayings he revisits with them that are worthy of repeating here:

"You've GOT to KNOW!"

and my very favorite:

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!"

The bad guys are ALWAYS lurking. When we defeat them completely this round, they'll go away. But not forever. Or maybe they will but their spawn will come back to try settling scores in a few years. If they aren't actively on "destroy" mode, they're lying in wait. We must NEVER let down our guard, or become complacent - PARTICULARLY now when we've actually won a big one and it's tempting to want to enjoy the fruits. Gotta stay vigilant with these people. ALWAYS.

GREAT thread, Judy!

:toast:

[puebloknot]

21. I want to enroll in that class! I have a broom, already! nt

[Ecumenist]

6. Welcome Judy Barrett, AMERICAN CITIZEN and sister patriot!!

Your post had my eyes watering with unshed tears.. You're right about starting out small. Each time someone's humanity is violated, even in the smallest tangible way, we teach them that we accept their creeping infringement on our rights to a peaceful and secure life. Thank God that more and more of us are waking up and speaking out, screaming that we WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS NOR WE WILL BOW AND SCRAPE to those who think that a piece of metal on their chests and a gun gives them the right to treat anoy one of us in the way that poor young man was treated. Yes, girl, I kick and recommend HIGHLY!!!

[puebloknot]

22. Thanks for the K&R, Sistuh! nt

[puebloknot]

7. Thank you one and all for your warm support!

I just watched Richard Dreyfuss on Bill Maher's show (let me just digress here a second to say that for me, *intelligence* like his is a magnificently powerful aphrodisiac :) And not only that, I'd vote for the guy if he would run for Prez. ) and he was talking about the fact that we can't entirely blame the Republicans because we have *let this happen*! We aren't (the general "we") making enough noise, making enough demands.

If it was easy to throw off embedded fascism, Germany might have done it sooner. We have to look at what We the People are, what we will allow. We, the Dems, are going to end up just being renters in Congress, instead of having a permanent home there, if we don't offer a different menu for the people's consumption. I hope Nancy's in the kitchen right now!

Having said all that, I'm as uncertain as anyone about the best way to do it. I just know we have got to move now. And, metaphorically speaking, we can't always be waiting for *January* to stand up and refuse to sit down.

Great talking with all of you. Thanks for the warm welcome.

Judy

[DemReadingDU]

8. Acorn Fascism - morning kick

And thank you for writing. Welcome!

:hi:

[puebloknot]

24. Afternoon "thank you"! nt

[H2O Man]

9. Nominated.

I have mentioned, from time to time, the increase in the number of times that some of my gamily members -- particularly the young males with brown skin -- get pulled over by police for no reason other than "suspicion." It's not an entirely new experience, to be sure. Father and grandfathers had similar things happen. But it's more frequent, and there is a new paranoid flavor to it.

Two examples: first, a nephew who has an advanced degree, and a good job, went out with a friend to get a pizza they had ordered from about a block away. The police pulled them over. Two brown-skinned men in their late 20s getting a pizza. How suspicious. Both had ID. Both are Americans, not from the Middle East, and Catholic. But they were held for over three hours on the side of the road. For a pizza.

Example two involves my son driving two friends back to college after a weekend visit. Three passengers: one white male with long hair, a full beard; a black male; and a brown female. After being pulled over for doing the suspiciously slowing down to make a right-hand turn, they were removed from the car, and questioned separately. The officer became highly suspicious whentheir stories matched. He called reinforcements. Soon, three types of police were there, including two vehicles with dogs. They went through my son's car, and tore everything apart. The dogs then did their thing. Nothing. Nothing. No crime. Just some young people, going to college. But they were held for several hours.

These things may sound insignificant. But when they happen, and continue to happen, it is significant.

[puebloknot]

18. These outrages...

...deserve to be taken to the courts, illuminated by news articles. The problem is, it takes a big bite out of your life to pursue discrimination legally, and most of us have to weigh whether it is worth it, or whether doing so will make us targets for further harassment.

I've had my share of difficulties with having to stand up for myself as a single white mother of one. So many times I have remarked to myself that what I've just been through was outrageous, and then have said to myself,"But it would be worse if I had black skin."

I really meant what I said about trickle-down attitudes. I've observed that since Bush grabbed power in 2000, there's a "swagger" in the demeanor of some people who figure now they can get theirs, and they don't care how they do it.

I hope what we are discussing is the proverbial "one step backward" before we take two steps forward.

[ixion]

10. kicked and recommended...

fantastic post.

I decided to leave college for awhile and travel around back in the 80's. I sold everything, bought a backpack and hit the road. One of the things I 'discovered' was that, as a person with no 'home address', I was considered an unperson, a homeless person, a vagrant. As such, I was often treated with the utmost disrespect not only by law enforcement, but also by society as a whole. The acorn of which you speak had been planted in the Reagan years, and was starting to grow.

Thanks to the so-called 'War on Drugs', and now the so-called 'War on Terror', it's all gone downhill from there.

[puebloknot]

25. Your Justice Douglas sig line says it all! nt

[Warren Stupidity]

11. As Richard Dreyfuss tried to make clear last night on real time

it is our civic responsibility to not allow this descent from republican democracy into tyranny to occur. It will occur if we do not stand and oppose every incident, every taking of rights, every misuse of power. Of course Bill Maher was not interested in a real discourse, he was more interested in finding clever ways to work pussy into his jokes and snarks. Great essay.

[puebloknot]

26. Richard Dreyfuss is possessed of a great intellect! Love that man! nt

[troubleinwinter]

12. Excellent and very important post. Thank you. Another recommend.

[puebloknot]

27. Value your input. Thanks! nt

[bleever]

13. "Acorn fascism": brilliant.

This is the kind of post that will help us as a nation to recover from the trauma our national sense of identity has suffered these last six years.

Gratefully recommended.

[puebloknot]

28. "...trauma our national sense of identity has suffered..." So very true! nt

[NanceGreggs]

15. WOW!!!

Excellent piece! K&R!

:applause:

[puebloknot]

17. A "wow" from you...

...is a feather in my cap. Thanks, Nance!

[Time for change]

16. Yes, this administration will take whatever it can get

with no qualms about obliterating our democracy. They must be stopped and made an appropriate example of for those who might otherwise some day follow in their footsteps.

[puebloknot]

29. Yes! "Those who forget the past..." nt

[ninkasi]

23. Great post

Acorn fascism is such a perfect name, and your writing is awesome. You are a welcome addition to the already excellent group of posters here at DU. It's been such a pleasure to see so many talented, dedicated people expressing themselves, and sharing their knowledge and wisdom so well at this site. It's my favorite, and the first thing I read after signing in every day. I wish you a belated, but still sincere welcome.:hi:

[puebloknot]

31. Thanks for the warm welcome.

This place has helped me sort out my thoughts about the whole trauma we're going through as a country. Although I haven't been active here, I wish I had been, because this is a very warm and intelligent group.

Glad to have a place at the table!

[Odin2005]

30. Respect for Due Process is declining in this country.

Defendents in publicized trials are assumed guilty in the court of public opinion, when a person is aquitted most people think it was because he had a good lawyer, not that he was actually innocent.

People accused of rape no longer get a fair trial because any defense made is automatically deemed sexist.

You can be disappeared and tortured any time and held withpout trial or access to a lawyer just by the President declaring you an "enemy combattant."

[puebloknot]

32. You're right. Very scary! nt

[kdpeters]

35. There are many great cops out there. We don't have accept egotistical bullies

We know these are bad cops because we've seen others stay calm and rational and diffuse truly dangerous situations. The UCLA cops had this stundent complying simply by arriving on the scene. They are completely to blame for everything that happened after that. People don't trust the cops and for damn good reason. We know what we saw and we know it was wrong. There are some good cops out there who should take a stand against bad cops or shut the fuck up. Until they police their own and stop defending this crap, they're all suspect.

[puebloknot]

36. I agree that there are good cops, probably most of them.

It only takes one bad apple...

[Senator]

37. Fascism -- authoritarianism -- monarchism -- theocracy -- it's all the same thing.

Fascism -- Authoritarianism -- Monarchism -- Theocracy -- (Dittoheadism) -- it's all the same thing.

A belief that some minority has the right to rule the majority. It matters little if it's the true believers, a master race, a family dynasty, the chosen people, a ruling class, or the current DC/Euphemedia Analstocracy.

It's all anti-democratic, thus Anti-American*.

This nation now lives under an appointed ruler (not an elected leader) who rules by signing statement. You can call it "technical" or "virtual" or "Urinary Authoritarian Executive"** -- but it's still fascism.

This is what the stolen election of 2000 was all about (THE watershed event). There was zero attention paid to the Will of the People of Florida and the nation. The result of the vote (not the vote count***) was well known shortly after the election when the uncounted ballots were extrapolated by precinct, and Gore won FL by tens of thousands. Any ethical, moral, real American would have conceded to Gore at that point.

Thus, the contract generally known as the US Constitution was put into breach on January 6th, 2001. This is the "original sin" that must be remedied. It is the essence of our ongoing nightmare. It was this deliberate overruling of the Will of the American People that left us open to the 9-11 attack, which was a far less important event compared with the election theft. It simply allowed the 21st Century Neo-Fascists to have their "Reichstag fire" to consolitdate (hopefully temporary) control.

The more important part was that the only global force for good in the past several decades -- the public opinion of the American People -- was taken out of the global, moral equation. Which is why prior to the election theft we could stop plane-crashing over the Pacific at the Millenium with help from Jordanian Intelligence, and after... well, not so much. We had lost our moral ascendency, our place as the court of last resort. And global violence has metastacized, as a result of the world losing its most effective "honest broker" for peace.

Certainly this is a "kinder, gentler" fascism. But did you expect goose-stepping, tanks in the streets and racial hate speech? It's much more efficient to simply scream "Mushroom clouds in 45 minutes!!" through every Euphemedia outlet in order to terrorize a population into compliance (20 guys with boxcutters pales in comparision, doesn't it?).

But make no mistake, it is fascism pure and simple.

It demands active opposition. Unlike their agents in congress, the American People are not impotent. We can still refuse to be complicit with the atrocities committed in our name. We must demand impeachment. But we must do so loudly -- at every opportunity, in large and small ways -- and in ways that make others uncomfortable.

We need impeachment to Redeem Our National Soul.

It is our ONLY moral, patriotic option.

How do we get it? "Violence" is the answer.

_________
*"After Socialism, Fascism combats the whole complex system of democratic ideology, and repudiates it, whether in its theoretical premises or in its practical application. Fascism denies that the majority, by the simple fact that it is a majority, can direct human society" - Benito Mussolini 1932

**Based on the newly-discovered, "inherent" (i.e., faith-based) Constitutional Authority for an appointed ruler (as opposed to elected leader) to piss down the back of the American People and tell them it's raining.

***"Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decided everything." -- Josef Stalin (echoed by Pol Pot, Bushes, Scalia, Rehnquist, Baker, Rove, Harris, Blackwell, etc...)

-----

www.january6th.org

[puebloknot]

39. Great post.

I've read through it, and it's clear that there is strong sentiment in favor of impeachment. My question, perhaps a naive one, is why, with the amount of evidence already gathered, must Mr. Conyers wait for the public to rise up in righteous anger and demand impeachment? If a criminal commits murder most foul in the town square, does the local prosecutor have to wait for the people to demand legal action?

Now we know that we've taken back the House and Senate, and Mr. Conyers will be in a much more powerful position to take action. Will he not put impeachment back on the table unless there is a loud public outcry? Or is it simply his duty to hold Bush, et al. to answer.

Asking. Truly asking.

[Senator]

44. Well, (too glibly) we're all asking

Which is to say yes, it is "his duty" to hold them to answer. He (and all of them) took an oath to do so. With or without any public outcry.

In his defense, he has done far more than any other "leader" to move toward impeachment. And has been less guarded/dismissive about the subject in the past -- having attended the Harper's Magazine Impeachment event and compiled numerous charges with evidence to support them.

I certainly can't speak for him, but my most charitable guess would be that he sees no difference between "impeachemnt hearings" and "open-ended oversight investigations that might lead to impeachment." He is of course incorrect in that they are very different things.

Beyond that, he is part of the larger problem. Which is that DC Dems are mired in beltway groupthink. They are barraged with the opinions of the army of doom-and-gloom "strategery consultants" and euphemedia pundits. People who've turned self-delusion and timid posturing into an art form; and consequently a threat to the nation.

The groupthinkers have "their reasons." But sadly, all of them are simply Rationalizations for Inaction.

---

[puebloknot]

46. "strategery consultants"

And it is important for We the People to trust our inherent common sense and understanding of what most of us (we who are a little older, at least) learned in high school civics class.

It's not that we are too unschooled to get the bigger picture. We have to trust ourselves to know we are right, and keep demanding justice.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[Nostradammit]

38. Thank you for this excellent piece, Judy Barrett

- Very well spoken.

I think my first inklings of trouble in this country came when they made the TV show S.W.A.T. (I think I was about ten at the time) and we all cheered in our living rooms as a squad of machine-gun totin' mercenaries busted down the doors.

Years and years of The War on Some Drugs have made the police powerful beyond anything the founding fathers would have put up with.

WAY beyond.

[puebloknot]

40. There are varying opinions on whether television images contribute to crime.

I can't see how they can help it. Hopefully, most people watching that stuff don't get a strong urge to go out and break down doors and shoot people. Given the rising level of violence all across the country, it does seem this kind of imagery is having some impact. It's becoming more and more a thing that could actually happen to us (like the UCLA incident), rather than something we can just shrug off as "television."

But other factors are poverty, breakdown of the family, drugs...on and on.

[Nostradammit]

41. Varying opinions indeed -

I think what I meant to say is that "The Powers That Be" have been trying to soften us up for decades with the notion that the good guys with the heavy armament and the ruthless tactics were here to protect us from ourselves.

Turns out they're here to protect the Powers That Be.

[puebloknot]

42. I've been thinking about the police in England (Bobbies?)...

...who carry only a baton.

I don't know if that's still true, but it demonstrates a completely different mindset than that of those guards using a taser on a student.

[Nostradammit]

43. Our culture has a pretty unique mindset

We've been mesmerized by images of violence for so long that it seems normal to us. We have managed to justify the violence we export and we sell the means of creating violence all over the world.

Not what we set out to be, at all.

Ironic that we're wishing our police were more like the British, eh wot?

[puebloknot]

45. Yes, a great irony! nt