Look, I acknowledge and appreciate the very real truth of armed resistance being a necessity in the event of a full fascist takeover, but we’re still not there yet. The republican(not the party) institutions are still in place and the American government very much so still exists as a non-fascist democratic-republic, but yes, the fascists are encroaching. To give legitimate, organized armed resistance would dramatically accelerate a fascist takeover and then we would have no other choice but to resist via full Rebellion. That is the absolute last option for reasons even beyond the pure and absolute devastation of war, which should be reason enough. To have a fighting chance as a Rebellion, you need the networks built up, which is what is happening now through these protests and mutual aid networks. You need public opinion on your side, this is being built up by the outrage response to brutalization of peaceful demonstrators. With strong enough public opinion, the military is on your side, being made up of the public. More demonstrations = more demonstrators = stronger networks built for resistance movements. This all takes time. So even if we’re playing by doomer rules as if the American government is already a lost cause, the current action by the people is necessary.
However, in the world of politics in the struggle to prevent a fascist state, all these movements have the primary purpose of enacting social change within the confines of the current system. Overthrowing the current system would necessitate mass armed conflict with a very uncertain outcome. An outcome that will very certainly have a worse short-term outcome due to the conflict and instability, and could easily have a worse long-term outcome if resistance movements prove to have weak cohesion. Generating enough political capital in the movements forming and acting today have proven many times in the country’s history to enact good and lasting change without armed Rebellion being necessary.
As much as fascist scum absolutely deserve being literally curb-stomped upon their appearance, these political movements don’t exist in a vacuum and we have to navigate the egotistical and fleeting opinion of the general public in order to effectively drive out fascism. We can cry out all we like about the public acting too soft toward fascists, but that, unfortunately, plays right into their hands.
Look, I acknowledge and appreciate the very real truth of armed resistance being a necessity in the event of a full fascist takeover, but we’re still not there yet. The republican(not the party) institutions are still in place and the American government very much so still exists as a non-fascist democratic-republic, but yes, the fascists are encroaching. To give legitimate, organized armed resistance would dramatically accelerate a fascist takeover and then we would have no other choice but to resist via full Rebellion. That is the absolute last option for reasons even beyond the pure and absolute devastation of war, which should be reason enough. To have a fighting chance as a Rebellion, you need the networks built up, which is what is happening now through these protests and mutual aid networks. You need public opinion on your side, this is being built up by the outrage response to brutalization of peaceful demonstrators. With strong enough public opinion, the military is on your side, being made up of the public. More demonstrations = more demonstrators = stronger networks built for resistance movements. This all takes time. So even if we’re playing by doomer rules as if the American government is already a lost cause, the current action by the people is necessary.
However, in the world of politics in the struggle to prevent a fascist state, all these movements have the primary purpose of enacting social change within the confines of the current system. Overthrowing the current system would necessitate mass armed conflict with a very uncertain outcome. An outcome that will very certainly have a worse short-term outcome due to the conflict and instability, and could easily have a worse long-term outcome if resistance movements prove to have weak cohesion. Generating enough political capital in the movements forming and acting today have proven many times in the country’s history to enact good and lasting change without armed Rebellion being necessary.
As much as fascist scum absolutely deserve being literally curb-stomped upon their appearance, these political movements don’t exist in a vacuum and we have to navigate the egotistical and fleeting opinion of the general public in order to effectively drive out fascism. We can cry out all we like about the public acting too soft toward fascists, but that, unfortunately, plays right into their hands.