| I need people to understand that Donald Trump’s violent, militarized response to the non-crisis in Los Angeles is what the people who voted for Trump wanted. His tyrannical reaction to a situation he manufactured is the essential feature of his government. Violent federal responses to civil unrest have always been the preferred approach of the ruling whites in this country, and Trump is doing what those whites elected him to do.
Violent government crackdowns usually work. History notes—and celebrates—when overwhelming force doesn’t work, because those times are so rare. It didn’t work for the government at Lexington, and it didn’t work for the government at Selma, so we remember those episodes as “turning points” in public opinion. But most of the time, the government rolls in, cracks some skulls, and, after a few days or weeks, the president who ordered the violence is praised as a “strong leader” by whites who just want to get back to making money and watching football.
I don’t think Trump’s Attack-on-LA is the turning point for anything. Maybe that’s just me being too old and cynical: In my lifetime, LA has periodically “erupted,” and the unrest has mainly translated into fodder for movie plotlines. Maybe it’s because I don’t believe lawsuits will fundamentally save us. Or maybe it’s because I have no confidence in the would-be political leader of California’s “resistance,” Gavin Newsom. The guy who’s been spending his time crapping on trans athletes while kissing Charlie Kirk’s ass is not “the leader” anybody wants or needs.
What I do think is possible is that Trump’s successful use of force will encourage him to do it again. He’ll never be punished for it, so he’ll keep doing it in other cities, maybe even numerous cities this weekend as we head into a number of planned protests. If Trump sets his military against the common folk again and again and again, eventually we might stumble into one of those historically iconic turning points, where the gross and unnecessary use of state-sponsored violence results in mass casualties. A lot of people will suffer, and some may die in the process, but Trump will continue to use violence as often as he can.
His supporters will be thrilled to see the blood of immigrants and activists run in the streets. When the government’s use of force goes bad, it’s not the people who support the government who change their mind. It’s the people who have been ambivalent about the government who have an awakening. It’s the millions of people who thought they didn’t have to choose a side who become activated. Trump’s government exists in part because of all the people who didn’t participate, and if those people ever pay enough attention to be horrified, then things might change.
Fascists always overplay their hands. |
