Hate speech is a way of dominating & monopolizing the conversation:

• It removes the possibility of polite, congenial dialogue.
• No productive discussion can happen until it is removed, b/c one party is only pretending to be there for dialog but is only there for broadcasting.

Hate speech is a weapon being used to shut down political discourse — under the guise of promoting it.

It’s a kind of false flag operation — a strategy of war disguising itself as “legitimate political discourse.”
Putin and the American right-wing are using the exact same tactics — and this is no accident. It’s not a coincidence Elonely Muskrat is carrying water for Russian dictators and oligarchs — the right-wing as an ideological movement is now global.

It’s also no accident this whole Twitter takeover drama is happening just before the mid-terms. The right-wing needs to inject some juice into the splintering base, some of whom are wavering as the actual (intentionally) obscured vision of the GOP leaks out (i.e. destroy government altogether).

The essence of right-wing ideology is extreme, and fascistic — it claims that some were born to rule others, and that any violations of this allegedly “natural” order must be punished harshly, even with death. Before the Civil War it was called “Mudsill Theory” — now it’s MAGA.

This too is a sort of false flag — it’s not really a political ideology at all, because it lacks any kind of logical coherency and will flimsily change opinions, beliefs, values, and tactics according to whatever might produce the maximum amount of power for the power-hungry.

Fascist “ideology” is the cloaking of humanity’s most primitive & animal urges — to cruelty, destruction, and violence — as if they were the most exalted & noble pursuits ordained by God or myth or destiny.

It is difficult for liberals to understand its strong appeal to some.

Fascism is the ultimate Trojan Horse — it promises 1000 years of paradise, but delivers generations of destitution and shame once those who are still capable of shame realize what primordial monsters they’ve become.

Fascism tricks people into abandoning their very humanity in exchange for fake dangling baubles of glittering lies, fueled by narcissism and bigotry.

It appeals to cynics, bigots, narcissists, and people whose identities are bound up with a social caste losing its status.

Fascism is growing once again in America. To stop its rise, we need all hands on deck. At minimum, please vote. Encourage others to vote, and ask if they’ve made specific plans. Ask them to ask others. Can you drive people to the polls? Can you watch their kids? Do more.

If you can, donate money. If you have time, pick up the phone and call voters in swing states — it’s easy to plug in to any one of dozens of groups who have remote organizing on lock from the 2020 election. Here’s a guide to volunteering.

Being active on social media is good — but calling people is better. It’s the most effective way to motivate people, short of in-person canvassing which is hard to do for those of us in blue states wanting to help in red and purple states and districts.

You can get trained in 30 minutes and be on the phones for an hour and make more of an impact than sending out 100 tweets. The software is easy to use and your own phone number will not be shared with anyone you’re calling.

Mostly you’ll be dialing “friendlies” and having inspiring conversations — we don’t need to be spending any time trying to convince The Other Side this mid-term. We just have to turn out voters, by letting them know how critical this election cycle is.

Not everyone is paying attention to the detail view and day to day of politics — there’s so much information, & so much disinformation, & it’s very overwhelming especially if you’re just tuning in or have been partial attention for any amount of time. Small nudges make an impact.

Meet people where they are — let them know we need their help to preserve democracy. Pick up the phone and #GOTV! 🇺🇸🗳️🇺🇸