Field Notes: This is Fine

 

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Recommended Reading: They All Fall Down

Speaking of the intersection of American fascism and law enforcement; have you heard the one about the Chicago cop who is also a Proud Boy? While that might sound like a dystopian mad-lib, please allow me to assure you that I’m not even remotely exaggerating here. You will of course also note that I didn’t say ex-Chicago cop either, as this October 26th article by Heather Cherone makes abundantly clear:

Decision Not to Fire Police Officer Tied to Proud Boys Alarms Members of Groups Targeted by Far-Right Group

For those of you still trying to process what you’ve just read here, I’ll try to sum the situation up briefly. After local antifascists exposed CPD officer Rob Bakker as a member of the Proud Boys, a fascist street gang, Vice News reported that the department had opened an investigation. Months later, the CPD has announced that Bakker, whose identity they’re still protecting, will not be fired, but rather suspended for 120 days. Understandably, representatives from Chicago’s Jewish and LGBTQ communities are outraged by this decision because the Proud Boys are a white supremacist, antisemetic hate group that actively targets trans and queer people for harassment and violence; as confirmed by the FBI, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and a truly massive quantity of credible investigative journalism.

Astonishingly, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown, who are both African American, have defended the decision. According to Brown, the Department of Internal Affairs “were not able to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that this officer was a member of, or was associated with, the Proud Boys, or any other hate group,” and that Bakker was being punished severely for “minor violations.” Which is of course utterly absurd because the minor violations in question were lying about attending a Proud Boys barbecue, and organizing against “the left” in a Proud Boys group chat; activities which anyone who knows anything about the Proud Boys will tell you are members only arrangements.

You know who does know a lot about the Proud Boys? Andy Campbell, the author of “We Are Proud Boys: How a Right-Wing Street Gang Ushered in a New Era of American Extremism.” I’ve read the book, and I can tell you it thoroughly proves that the Proud Boys are a violent fascist street gang, which is probably why he was so critical of the decision:

“It is patently ridiculous” to suggest that someone with documented ties to the group could fulfill his duty as a Chicago police officer, Campbell said, adding that he was shocked that the department’s probes documented so little but lasted for more than two years.

“It seems pretty easy” to make the call that this officer should be fired,” Campbell said. “But I guess it is not.”

Look folks, I don’t want to alarm you, but when a Chicago cop can get caught organizing to “stop antifa” because he’s part of a violent fascist street gang, and a blue-as-hell city above the Mason-Dixon line can perform mental gymnastics to clear him with the full support of his African American superior and the lesbian Mayor, we’re talking about a structural problem in Amerikkka, not just a political one. While I have no doubt that fascist cops are voting for the fascist party in what is increasingly becoming an overtly fascist country, the simple truth is that deference to the violent agents of a reactionary American police state, is a purely bipartisan position among the ruling establishment pretty much anywhere in the country. Even a deep Democratic Party stronghold like Chicago.

 

FF&F: Those That Work Forces

Well folks, I have to admit that our recent editions of FF&F have been less about fascist fails, and more about horrifying fascist f*ckery; unfortunately, that streak won’t be broken today. In discussing the intersection of reactionary law enforcement with fascist politics in the Pig Empire, it’s common for observers to focus on political abstractions; questions of covertly racist policy, or violent repression of protest against a reactionary state. What happens however when fascist fantasy made into law, interacts with reactionary white supremacist policing, in a way that directly impacts important democratic mechanisms in our society; like say elections? Unsurprisingly, and as this October 27th, 2022 essay by Ese Olumhense on Reveal News notes, the answer doesn’t look a whole lot like democracy:

State Legislatures Are Dramatically Increasing Law Enforcement Involvement in Elections

This excellent article is, to put it bluntly, terrifying. Riding the back of Donald Trump’s fascist election conspiracies, primarily Republican legislatures all over the country have been pushing extremely dubious laws designed to punish “widespread election fraud” that literally does not exist. While some of these laws have failed, numerous bills seemingly designed to bring violent, reactionary police into the voting process have already passed; and many more are clearly on the way. The purpose of these bills is clearly to not only to criminalize voting against Republican fascists as much as the law will currently allow, but also to intimidate folks who don’t want to be harassed, investigated, and potentially charged by fascist murderpigs, until they simply decide not to vote.

Look, I don’t think it takes a distinguished scholar of American history to realize that empowering cops to police elections is some Jim Crow-style voter suppression bullcrap; especially when you factor in the armed vigilante drop box watchers, and the “mule hunter” tailgate parties being organized by fascist propagandists and the reactionary, Republican-voting volk. Given the growing body of evidence that far-right extremists have successfully “infiltrated” American law enforcement, and the overwhelming structural reasons capitalist police forces will happily serve an anti-democratic state however, the danger here clearly goes beyond election night. Empowering the police to investigate voters on behalf of a fascist order, also means providing violent fascists with the identity of the political enemies of that order. Given the speed with which Amerikkka seems to embracing fascism, and the historical reality that fascist political suppression laws always work retroactively, simply voting in upcoming elections could represent a life or death risk for millions of Americans.

I don’t want to go off on a tangent here, but do you have any idea how mind-bending it is for anyone who has studied the history of fascist movements, to watch “wise moderates” in the political and media classes titter nervously while politically empowered fascists successfully organize to seize power out in the open; even after the President of the United States more or less confirms that yeah, it’s (semi-) fascism? Are “very serious” people in the American mainstream establishment still pretty sure the Pork Reich can’t happen here? Somehow, I doubt the hatemongers and conspiracy theorists in American political life who are now reflexively declaring any election the fascists don’t win illegitimate, agree with that assessment; because they sure aren’t acting like it these days.

 

Recommended Reading: Fright Night

As I told you folks a couple of weeks back, I don’t really have a lot of interest in producing so-called “horse race” coverage of the U.S. midterm elections. The truth however is that when a bunch of billionaire-backed fascists are actively working to strip democratic rights, and ultimately rig elections through fascist laws and straight up intimidation, it’s impossible not to talk about those elections in the context of analyzing that fascist takeover. I’m well aware that you can’t permanently defeat fascism by voting in rigged capitalist elections; but by that same measure, if rich fascists can use blatantly usurped public authority to deny all civil rights to their enemies writ large, we’re talking about mushrooming levels of fascist creep here – and it won’t be too much longer before we’re all digging mass graves.

In writing about recent episodes of stochastic political terrorism, the insertion of fascist cops into the electoral process, and Jim Crow-style voter intimidation at drop-boxes, it’s very apparent that these incidents are not isolated, but rather coordinated. Stepping back to see the whole canvas of anti-democratic suppression, a clear picture quickly appears. There is a widespread attempt by fascists throughout the political right in America, to subvert not only the 2022 US midterm elections, but the entire electoral process going forward. In order to learn more about those efforts, and why there’s a very real chance of fascist violence on election night, let’s turn to this November 3rd, 2022 article written by Mike Ludwig over on Truthout:

Pelosi Attack Could Portend Right-Wing Violence on Election Day, Experts Warn

So what are we looking at here? Well the article is more or less what it says on the tin; between armed vigilante poll-watcher parties, reactionary election conspiracies, and a stochastic terror attack on the home of a high ranking Democrat official, observers with any sense at all are starting to get worried about election night violence and voter intimidation. As Luwdig makes clear, we aren’t just talking about civil rights watchdogs and activists doing the worrying here, either:

“Federal law enforcement agencies recently distributed intelligence bulletins warning of a “heightened threat” of “domestic violent extremism” fueled by conspiracy theories and election denialism, with potential targets including “candidates … elected officials, election workers, political rallies, political party representatives, racial and religious minorities, or perceived ideological opponents,” according to CBS News.”

Citing numerous experts, the author further goes on to note that noted fascist sh*tbag Steve Bannon has been using his War Room podcast, and its millions of everyday-American fascist listeners, as “an organizing hub for dozens of election denial groups that are recruiting volunteers to participate in the election process, both externally and also has through government positions such as poll workers and watchers.” Noting that various arms of the Republican Party has already vowed to challenge the results and decried election fraud, even before the elections have happened, Ludwig quotes numerous experts who predict that at a minimum, reactionaries will purposely attempt to gum up and disrupt the process itself, causing utter chaos and creating the excuse to legally challenge results they don’t like after the fact. That last bit sounds pretty far fetched, until you remember that the so-called Brooks Brother’s riot that ultimately helped George Bush and the Supreme Court steal the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election was just a bunch of proto-fascist Republican political staffers pretending to be outraged voters.

The plain truth here is that neither I, nor anyone else on this planet, can tell you what’s going to happen on midterm election night, this November 8th, 2022. What I can say is that when violent fascists start openly telling you they’re going to do violent fascism if elections all over the country don’t go their way, it’s probably a good idea to take them seriously and do something to stop them. After all, as a society we tried ignoring the silly fascists and their ridiculous conspiracy theories after the last election, and that strategy blew up in the liberal democratic order’s face like a stink bomb on January 6th, 2021.

 

Recommended Reading: Quiet Parts Out Loud

Given that the 6-3, fascist high U.S. Supreme Court is one of the three major vehicles reactionary power in Amerikkka is using to instal a fascist order, I’ve spent a lot of time recently talking about the “legalist” nature of fascism. Of course violent street nazis are fascists, but they are not fascism itself, or a fascist political order. Fascism operates by dismantling and perverting liberal democratic systems to essentially rig them out in the open; they make the illegal and unconstitutional quite legal, and then use a brutal police state to crush opposition to their ever-increasing power. This is of course the source of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s famous quote, “never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”

Naturally, this especially includes the democratic process of elections. Despite their protestations that they are victims of election rigging, the reality is that it is the fascist order actively working to ensure permanent one-party rule in America; even if bougie liberals don’t seem to mind voter suppression all that much because poor people don’t vote for the candidates they prefer either. Furthermore you may be tempted to believe I’m being uncharitable here, but how else is a reasonable observer to respond when GOP candidates promise to rig elections for all time going forward, and the mainstream “liberal” establishment stands by and does nothing? For just one example of this phenomenon in action, let’s turn to this November 2nd, 2022 story written by Kenny Stancil, published on Common Dreams:

Wis. Gov. Candidate Says GOP ‘Will Never Lose Another Election’ If He Wins

Once again we’re not really dealing with a very complicated story here. The Republican gubernatorial nominee in Wisconsin, Tim Michels, has vowed that if he’s elected the GOP will “never lose another election again.” That might sound like empty political boasting on the surface, but when you dig into the details it quickly becomes clear that Michel is making both a promise, and uttering a threat. Unsurprisingly, Tim is a big proponent of fascist election conspiracy theories being politely called Trump’s “Big Lie” in a mainstream liberal media that still doesn’t seem to grasp how much danger they’re in here. Finally it should be noted that the Wisconsin GOP has been trying to restrict ballot access in the state for years, and they, along with Michel, are fully behind the unhinged political theory being argued before SCOTUS right now, Moore v. Harper, that would essentially give the Republican-dominated state legislature the right to play Calvinball and thereby rig federal elections.

Look my friends, only in a reactionary country that’s built and maintained on the absolute rule of capital at the utter expense of democratic rights, could this be called “politics.” This is a fascist plot to legally rig elections, and it’s being conducted out in the open. It is clearly not lost on the fascist political order in America that mainstream liberal “antifascism” has nothing more to offer than shouting “vote harder” at an atomized mass that no long has any faith in their ability to stop fascism. If you tolerate this here and now, there will not be a second chance to resist. This isn’t politics anymore, it’s survival; it’s “resistance to fascism, or nonexistence under fascism” and the time has come for even fence-sitting liberals to get with the program. Stop American fascism now, or watch everything you care about burn in a reactionary fire that will consume millions, if not all life on Earth, before it burns out.