On January 20th, the State will usher in another resident of the mansion at
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This time something feels different: unsettling,
shaken, and desperate. Many are outraged that Donald Trump, an apologist for
openly neo-fascist politics, has ascended to the highest apex of leadership
in the United States while not even achieving a majority of the popular vote.
Just as many are struck by both fear of seeing his rightist policies put into
motion and the humiliation of watching Democracy fail to bring anything other
than a semblance of fascism.
The thing that’s most frightening about Trump isn’t the man himself.
It’s the far-right base that has consolidated under him; that creeping
thing people often call fascism. Historically, fascism emerged as a powerful
political tendency precisely in moments in which the Left failed to address
crises of capitalism. It is in the shadow of the failure of the establishment
Left – Obama, Clinton, and even Sanders – to overcome the current crisis,
that a reactionary white nationalism is gaining traction. This is an
unfortunate but logical trajectory of American capitalism. A hollow cry to
the choir for softer policies from the Trump cabinet is not enough; the Far
Right must be attacked wherever they move. No more delays, no more waiting
for the perfect moment. No more rationalization, no normalization, and no
collaboration.
Even so, every iteration of the State is a form of dispossession. Sometimes,
this resembles the neo-liberalism of Obama and Clinton, the “gentle”
capitalism that drove the gentrification and immiseration of every major
American city, pushing the poor into further desperation. Other times, this
resembles the stalwart neo-fascism of the far right that encourages open
violence against poor people of color while openly advocating for white
nationalism. A politic that reinforces the false dichotomy of Democracy vs
Fascism, a discourse that blames the current disaster on abstention or
ignorance is uninteresting. When given the ‘choice’ to pick our masters,
another round of insults to our agency are heaped at our feet. The Left
should be rejected just as much as the Right. Our politics are anti-politics.
The call by democratic socialists for a “General Strike” on inauguration
day is a good instinct that should be cautiously heeded. A strike, a tactic
that paralyzes business, is only as effective as its participation. In the
current climate, it must be asked what a “general strike” means, in which
work is precarious and unorganized. Without a critical re-evaluation of this
tactic, a nascent movement is left with no more than empty rhetoric. In our
context, a shut down must be a disruptive attack on any and all ‘business
as usual’, by any means we can.
The call is out to shut down our places of work, the ports, the schools and
universities, and disrupt the infrastructure that permits ‘business as
usual’. The call is out to make it clear that not just the Right, but any
political form that robs us of our agency is the enemy.
Socialist Alternative is calling for a popular “counter” demonstration during
the inauguration on January 20th. This is our call: to gather there, under
the black flags and have a break away march, on our terms. This is for the
ungovernable and those who refuse to be policed. Look for the black flags.
Bring your friends, bring your crew, wear black.
On January 20th, the State will usher in another resident of the mansion at
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This time something feels different: unsettling,
shaken, and desperate. Many are outraged that Donald Trump, an apologist for
openly neo-fascist politics, has ascended to the highest apex of leadership
in the United States while not even achieving a majority of the popular vote.
Just as many are struck by both fear of seeing his rightist policies put into
motion and the humiliation of watching Democracy fail to bring anything other
than a semblance of fascism.
The thing that’s most frightening about Trump isn’t the man himself.
It’s the far-right base that has consolidated under him; that creeping
thing people often call fascism. Historically, fascism emerged as a powerful
political tendency precisely in moments in which the Left failed to address
crises of capitalism. It is in the shadow of the failure of the establishment
Left – Obama, Clinton, and even Sanders – to overcome the current crisis,
that a reactionary white nationalism is gaining traction. This is an
unfortunate but logical trajectory of American capitalism. A hollow cry to
the choir for softer policies from the Trump cabinet is not enough; the Far
Right must be attacked wherever they move. No more delays, no more waiting
for the perfect moment. No more rationalization, no normalization, and no
collaboration.
Even so, every iteration of the State is a form of dispossession. Sometimes,
this resembles the neo-liberalism of Obama and Clinton, the “gentle”
capitalism that drove the gentrification and immiseration of every major
American city, pushing the poor into further desperation. Other times, this
resembles the stalwart neo-fascism of the far right that encourages open
violence against poor people of color while openly advocating for white
nationalism. A politic that reinforces the false dichotomy of Democracy vs
Fascism, a discourse that blames the current disaster on abstention or
ignorance is uninteresting. When given the ‘choice’ to pick our masters,
another round of insults to our agency are heaped at our feet. The Left
should be rejected just as much as the Right. Our politics are anti-politics.
The call by democratic socialists for a “General Strike” on inauguration
day is a good instinct that should be cautiously heeded. A strike, a tactic
that paralyzes business, is only as effective as its participation. In the
current climate, it must be asked what a “general strike” means, in which
work is precarious and unorganized. Without a critical re-evaluation of this
tactic, a nascent movement is left with no more than empty rhetoric. In our
context, a shut down must be a disruptive attack on any and all ‘business
as usual’, by any means we can.
The call is out to shut down our places of work, the ports, the schools and
universities, and disrupt the infrastructure that permits ‘business as
usual’. The call is out to make it clear that not just the Right, but any
political form that robs us of our agency is the enemy.
Socialist Alternative is calling for a popular “counter” demonstration during
the inauguration on January 20th. This is our call: to gather there, under
the black flags and have a break away march, on our terms. This is for the
ungovernable and those who refuse to be policed. Look for the black flags.
Bring your friends, bring your crew, wear black.