That whole "Let's build a community, but make certain topics off-limits, or behind a content warning" thing is still under my skin.

I thought I dispensed with it when I pointed out the self-aggrandizing delusion that any such thing would be a "community," rather than just a house party where "my house, my rules" was the order of the day.

Because, whether anyone likes it or not, we exist in a community already. And by choosing to not talk about certain topics... POLITICS... we ignore our duty to our community.

Is it comfort or cowardice? Is it fatigue or fear?

Whatever it is, it's only the privileged who can embrace silence.

Anyway, at risk of making someone uncomfortable, Kottke pointed to this piece today, and it's right on point. This whole, "Can't we all just get along?" vibe is an appeal for silence. I struggle with the whole "enemies" idea, because a lot of my neighbors are MAGA Trumpers.

So far, I'm uncertain whether I should be feeling more optimistic because I'm not seeing the usual MAGA indicators, but it may be simply too early. The flags haven't blossomed from the houses. A guy who had his TRUMP/PENCE bumper sticker on the back window of his car until 2023 hasn't replaced it with at TRUMP/VANCE sticker. But the lady who sells MAGA merch at the roundabout on Palm Valley Road was there last weekend, so there's that.

I am encouraged by Kamala Harris' reception, and Tim Walz for just being Tim Walz. And I hope that Trump's age and increasingly incoherent rants are beginning to make some Republicans think twice. They may still vote for him, which is sickening, but maybe they're not so eager to advertise it anymore, given how cruel and unhinged the whole thing is.

Mitzi texted me this video from Bryan Tyler Cohen, interviewing Heather Cox Richardson on Facebook. I was actually able to open it, to dismiss the "login or sign up" barrier, and watch it this morning. It's also right on point.

You can regard the Supreme Court's presidential immunity decision as the "Enabling Act" of the Republican Reich. We're this close to becoming an authoritarian state. And I think Richardson is right, that we find ourselves at a place, politically, where most of us don't have the language to talk about it, because it's so far outside the norm of what we're used to. Forget the "Overton window," we just don't know how to talk to fascists because we never expected them to be winning an election in America.

Another reason for the privileged appeal for silence.

Fuck that.

Originally posted at Nice Marmot 10:26 Monday, 12 August 2024