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This from @alfiekohn is why right-wing Christians who support Trump will never be swayed by the fact that they are moral hypocrites. It’s about power and supremacy; the gospels have very little to do with it.
#uspol
https://sciences.social/@alfiekohn/113996979235391040
I do think, however, that pointing out that moral hypocrisy serves a purpose: it’s for the bystanders. People who are Christians and are instinctively revolted by Trump and Trumpism need to hear that their instincts have support from others. There are many such people, but they’re not getting the same sort of loud public support the fashy ones are getting. They feel isolated, when in fact they’re a •substantial• population.
#uspol
For those who (like me) are not religious and never have been, it may be difficult to appreciate the depth and breadth of what I’m talking about above. Through family and friends, I’ve seen both the right-wing and anti-fascist wings of Christianity up close. Both are real, both are •large•, and…yeah, like it or not, this is one of the primary battlegrounds of our society.
(And no, sorry, dogmatic atheists, blanket sneering at religion will not protect your personal morality; just look at the human dumpster fire that Richard Dawkins has become.)
To get a sense of what I mean by “anti-fascist Christianity” and what I mean about this being a primary societal battleground, and what I mean about the importance of what silent bystanders hear, listen to this great 99% Invisible story about the sanctuary movement:
What am I getting at here? Hmm.
There’s a bullshit version of tolerance and pluralism that says “oooooo, religion is off limits! Can’t say anything bad about THAT,” and I am explicitly rejecting that. It is really important to point at right-wing Chriso-fascists and say, loudly and publicly, “Look at those fascists!”
AND
When we do that, we need to do it in a way that people feel like they can reject fascism without having to give up their identity.
Also, because I end up having to say this every time:
People who’ve suffered abuse and trauma in the name of a religion are in my view under no obligation to make nice with that religion. That’s not at all what I’m talking about, just in case any part of the above comes off that way. Anyone who is escaping trauma is first and foremost entitled to care for themselves and leave and reject the locus of that trauma, including but not limited to religion.
“Give people of every kind ways to reject fascism without giving up their identity” seems like a headline thought here
Certainly an age-old tactic of fascists is to make people believe that the identity they already have •requires• them to go fascist (cf “Vaterland” etc)
@inthehands That last sentence, after the
AND
I feel like you want one more or one less negative? (Unless my ability to read is shot today, which is possible.)
@fedivergent
Thanks for that! I was having a major Editing Moment with that sentence.
@inthehands I can’t tell how widespread it is, but some evangelicals are apparently being taught to avoid the “sin of empathy” as neo-Christian doctrine. (Google the phrase; I don’t want to link to it.) Seems like an inevitable consequence of prosperity gospel: if financial success is a gift from God, then that god must not care for the poor, thus compassion itself is sinful. Disgusting and perverse on every level.
@dwineman
Jesus Christ
(As both an epithet and an exemplar of this supposed sin)
@inthehands They also equate the authoritarian with God. Robert Lifton called this Sacred Science, which is core to any totalist system, whether religious or secular. God, or the system, or the universal truth, becomes linked with the edicts of leadership, so that one cannot ignore the leaders or their edicts without feeling like they're sticking it to God, or what is morally right. Under this logic, any end justifies the means.
Mix with this the way a totalist system builds its members' personalities, what cult researchers call a pseudopersonality. A follower's very personality, or identity, or ego, gets caught up in the system such that they feel as if leaving or going against its edicts will feel like death.
So, basically what you said.
@inthehands As a religious trauma victim who is now somewhat atheist hugely critical of Christianity past and present, I've learned this distinction. Totalism can be achieved with or without Christ, with or without a stand-in god. Totalist use whatever ideology can get them their goal. I'm not against religion — I'm against totalism. Religion is merely a convenient tool, but religions can be anti-totalistic, and secular groups can be fully totalist. Look at Stalinism and today's North Korea, north of which are not only nontheist, but also politically "left".
Learning to recognize totalism is key to keeping oneself free and protecting others.
@corbden
100% agree with this.
Conversations like this are why I feel so at home on Fedi vs other social media. Thank you
@ttpphd @inthehands @corbden I've added The Mass Psychology of Fascism (Wilhelm Reich was a lil kooky but had some interesting ideas):
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mass_Psychology_of_Fascism
And Anti-oedipus etc to my reading list
@inthehands I have to stress that this thought represents exactly what praxis means: it is both correct theoretically and is a pragmatic strategic call to action.
@alter_kaker @inthehands finally, a definition for “praxis”; thanks!
@inthehands https://hachyderm.io/@inthehands/113997863796539668 it's a struggle to have public conversations and create social norms because the people who need to work on providing those off ramps and convincing people to take them discussing it in public view of those who have been harmed and catch some pushback and justified anger as they appear to be coddling the fascists, which is true, they aren't publicly advocating for vengeance. It's always unclear when forgiveness is just ritualistic lack of accountability.
@inthehands but I too hope that public opinion can be changed and the zeitgeist turned away from fascism with propeganda and grace, because the alternative is violence for one or the other group and the possibility of mechanized destruction at a level impossible to comprehend
"Give people of every kind ways to reject fascism without giving up their identity"
The long and careful modification of people's sense of identity has been a key piece of fascism's advance.
There will be no freedom or victory without identifying and defeating poisonous elements of implanted identity.
@inthehands love this thread.
One of the best recent examples, IMHO, was Rev. Marianne Budde's remarks. (I could personally have done with a little more righteous anger in there, but that's a quibble, really): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wfP0owvJCs8