Image courtesy of Leaf Spring Consulting
The chilling words by ex-president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump last weekend, were as usual, couched in a plethora of belligerent projection. Trump is again projecting onto his opponents what he is doing himself … which is attempting to move this democracy ever further to the right and authoritarianism.
Trump specializes in declarations that ascribe to the left, the actions he is taking on the right. Just last week he also said that if he isn’t elected it will be the last election ever in this country.
This weekend, Trump again opened his rally by saying he would pardon violent January 6 rioters who attacked police officers and then he dropped this: “If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.”
Trump’s re-election campaign has tried to say he was talking about the auto industry. We don’t buy it.
As intellectuals debate what this is, and if he means it, and if so, how much he means it, and split hairs over whether the addition of “that will be the least of it” when it comes to his calls for violence means anything, Ark Valley Voice is going on record. What we are witnessing is not out of context. It is intentional.
The Trump campaign and the far-right’s “normalization of violence” across our society has been repeatedly pointed out. We’ve witnessed the celebration of guns, the growing and strident political rhetoric, attacks on First-Amendment-protected news media, and the idealization of an emerging pseudo-evangelical Christian nationalist power movement.
Those who study this phenomenon refer to it as “creeping normality”. The online encyclopedia Wikipedia describes this as:
“Creeping normality (also called gradualism, or landscape amnesia[1]) is a process by which a major change can be accepted as normal and acceptable if it happens gradually through small, often unnoticeable, increments of change. The change could otherwise be regarded as remarkable and objectionable if it took hold suddenly or in a short time span.”
Under this theory, even the most radical ideas and behaviors can take hold, if introduced repeatedly, marketed continuously, and reinforced by so-called “authorities” (Christian or otherwise).
Enforcement and Acceptance can come in many forms
There are stages of this normalization, including enforcement, conformity, and societal experiments. Since we’ve been exposed to this flood of violent rhetoric since 2015, AVV leaves it to the reader to determine where we are in this process.
Proscriptive enforcement — Setting a penalty, often social; scapegoating, shunning, declaring someone an “enemy of the state” (very much like what Republicans have done to Liz Chaney, Mitt Romney, and now, likely, Ken Buck).
Governmental Pressure — Passing laws, authoritarianism, rule, and rigid nationalism — we’re in, you’re out — (which appears to be the right’s goal at this point in time).
Group Pressure — Bandwagon effect, brainwashing, group think, hazing, false consensus effect, mobbing, proclaiming one group more patriotic than another, peer pressure, the social construction of gender, invented tradition, propaganda, pluralistic ignorance, and social contagion. Some of the elements of enforcement are classic — but employed during international events. But other attempts declare patriotic superiority, including “Rally around the flag effort” that some have foisted on us, including along U.S. 285 in this county:
“The rally ’round the flag effect (or syndrome) is a concept used in political science and international relations to explain increased short-run popular support of a country’s government or political leaders during periods of international crisis or war.[1] Because the effect can reduce criticism of governmental policies, it can be seen as a factor of diversionary foreign policy.[1]”
What is unusual now, is a flag syndrome being used within this country – what I call a “false flag” to declare the right to be more patriotic than the rest of us. It conveniently hides what is really occurring.
Individual Pressure — Authoritarian personalities, control freaks, and those who fit in by conforming to the authority figure (there are a lot of congressional figures who fit this MO).
There are other types of creeping normality threats to society… among them, are those who simply see conformity as safer; fitting in with a perceived majority (the “go with the flow” person) who will normalize violence as socially acceptable.
If you’re skeptical, stop and think about the violent and derogatory words and lies that Trump and his minions have employed since 2015:
- Scum (apparently the rest of us)
- Knock the crap out of them (aimed at journalists)
- Vermin (Hitler’s words dehumanizing Jews)
- Poisoning the blood of America (Hitler’s words dehumanizing Jews)
- Deviants (anti LGBTQ+ rhetoric)
- “Jews will not replace us” (anti-Semitic)
- Equating his own indictments as a badge of acceptance by Black Americans (racist)
- “Patriots and hostages” (referring to the January 6 insurrectionists, tried and convicted in the court of law)
- Rapists, terrorists, killers (fear-labeling)
- An invasion (war-like terms about undocumented immigrants)
- Animals (dehumanizing anyone he disapproves of)
- Not people (dehumanizing undocumented immigrants)
- “It’s gonna be a bloodbath” (open to interpretation — the election?)
Trump has become progressively more extreme in language and tone, and the constant repetition has a marketing goal; acceptance of dehumanizing terms and the creeping normalization of violence in all forms. AVV points out that none of this language or behavior demonstrates Christian “charity” (for those of us who have studied the Bible, “Charity” refers to love).
The American people are the proverbial green frog in the boiling water of extremism. The far-right is turning up the temperature of the water. When might we decide to jump out of their water and name this for what it is? Are we going to submissively accept the fate they are planning or are we as free people going to stand up to this trash?
As a country that fought fascism — whose great grandfathers, and grandfathers and fathers and brothers fought in World War II and defeated Hitler and Mussolini — let’s be honest here — this shocking development is star-spangled fascism.
Editor’s note: No frogs were harmed in the writing of this editorial opinion.
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