Alex Francavilla - Week 8 - History
Over the past few years, there have been some pretty worrying events that have happened to our nation.
Upwards of two thousand individuals, many, if not almost all of which, having clear and public ties to right-wing extremist groups, staged an attempted coup d'état on the standing government. All were followers of a certain charismatic and outspoken leader who presents himself as a political strongman. Leading up to the coup, he gave countless public speeches where he exploited false claims about the current political state of the nation to convince the public that he and his followers had been stabbed in the back and cheated, both by fellow civilians and, most importantly, the politicians in charge of the current governing bodies, and how they needed to take action into their own hands. Radicals ate up his inflammatory language, became his loyal and devout followers, and stormed a government building in his honor, fully believing they were patriotic revolutionaries overthrowing an outdated government to save the nation.
The failed coup resulted in several deaths; rioters, police officers, and even bystanders were not spared. But the leader was spared. The coup was ultimately unsuccessful in replacing the current institutions, but he got very little punishment for its events; in fact, he used his crime convictions to his advantage to garner immense national fame, leading to him being legally elected as the leader of his nation.
Many of these right-wing radicals consciously (or not) believe that certain individuals of the White race, which they believe they belong to, are superior to all others; white supremacy, social Darwinism, and outdated pseudoscientific concepts play no small part in their rhetoric. Individuals of non-White races, non-Christian religions, and LGBTQ+ groups are often treated very poorly, with many extremists defending their racist, xenophobic, and homophobic views and actions as “preserving the pure blood of the nation.”
Inflation rates have also been skyrocketing, disproportionately hurting poverty-level individuals, whose population has been sharply increasing. People are finding it increasingly harder to afford basic necessities like food, water, and housing, and homelessness and unemployment are at their all time peaks. Tens of thousands of businesses close every year, and living standards across almost all citizens are dropping dramatically. Of course, the rich don’t care.
“Mm, that’s a kinda roundabout way to talk about the current state of America in the 2020s, don’t you think?”
…?
“I mean, Trump, the January 6th insurrection, white supremacy, even inflation- hell, I can’t even buy both deli ham and gasoline anymore without taking out a mortgage.”
…This is 1920s Germany.
When I read the beginning of your blog, my mind immediately went to the January 6 attacks on the Capitol. It was a bit of a surprise to find that the event in question was that of Germany; however, I’ve seen no shortage of comparisons between the current president’s administration and the regimes of times past. From parallels drawn between ICE and the Gestapo to the similarities between the movements’ charismatic leaders, intellectuals and people online alike have compared Germany and the United States in varying capacities.
ReplyDeleteBecause we humans are pattern-seeking individuals, it can be easy to find such patterns in history; it always seems to repeat itself in some way or another. Countries and empires rise and fall, and if the past is any precedent, then maybe our future is written in stone after all. But even if it’s irrefutable that there are some signs of…troubling times ahead, it’s important to remember that the current president is not proceeding with his plans straight ahead; he has encountered resistance among millions of people across all fifty states, and is facing great opposition from the judicial courts, which constantly block his executive orders. There’s hope for us yet!
Hi Alex! I’ve always thought it was absolutely ludicrous that a man with 34 convictions and 88 total charges was thought to be an effective leader of the nation. In the anti-prejudice book I read, The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander emphasizes that once a person is labeled as a “criminal,” society is perfectly okay with discriminating against them by denying them certain employment, housing, food benefits, etc. This is true even in cases where the person is in fact not a criminal, or where they have committed crimes that are negligible when compared to the president’s wide array of offenses. If we as a nation are so willing to treat those people as criminals, then why are we not applying the same logic to where it actually matters?
ReplyDeleteThe right-wing belief in their own superiority over everyone else is a prime example of the “us against them” mentality that seems unlikely we will ever escape. We are somehow always able to spot these differences in others instead of focusing on the many similarities that we share. And even though these differences are what make American identity so unique, they are seen as a reason to alienate people of other racial or religious groups. I have never understood when we became okay with prejudice being synonymous with “preserving the good of the nation.”
I was wondering why you weren’t mentioning any names or very exact specifics in the beginning. I couldn’t help but laugh a little at the ending—what do you mean the prejudiced views that people still hold haven't evolved since the 1920s? A whole century ago? And the same guy is currently still in office. Having only one president of color and not even a single woman for president after 47 presidencies goes to show how the values of certain groups are able to overwhelm election results. It’s nothing but revolting how pseudoscience was able to permeate through every crevice of America, proving to be something that won’t be eradicated soon.
ReplyDeleteI find it even more insane that despite all the damage the rioters caused, many of them were pardoned or received commutations from their “charismatic leader”, which is incredibly disrespectful to the wounded law enforcement officers and those who have died from the riot. The actions of Hitler, who many consider to be one of the most nefarious men to ever exist, being recreated by the current president rings more than a few alarm bells. Hitler even served prison time; although only for a mere 9 months, it’s still more punishment than what many rioters and even Trump received. Thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be a war looming overhead; the rest of America is still holding its ground against these extremists. But if the country does continue to unintentionally reinforce the ideologies of those with prejudicial agenda, maybe we’ll see the same violence a century later, just like how we see historical patterns occurring now. Thank you Alex, I really enjoyed reading your blog!
Hi Alex! I really like the way you formatted your blog because I’m sure most of us thought of the January 6 riots. It’s insane that we can find so many parallels to our own government with 1920s Germany, and despite US efforts to build a social reputation to show how “advanced” and "prosperous" our country is, we can still never escape the traditional values from the 1800s made by our early founders. I would partially blame this on the few people in power, but also on the country itself.
ReplyDeleteLiving in the Bay Area, we are surrounded by so much cultural diversity that I forget that outside of these areas, the dominant demographic in the US are Europeans. It’s so incomprehensible that some people are still racist to this day and age, but honestly the first time I had that realization was during Trump’s 2024 victory to serve as president for his 2nd term against Kamala Harris.
I honestly fear for the future of our country, especially since Trump has only been in office for a year, and leaders like him will continue to cycle through the country’s politics. Even a century later, nothing has changed. History has really repeated itself, and it’s only a matter of time before the US oppressive government will enforce similar policies to Germany in the 1920s (if you don’t count taxes and cutting funds of food for struggling citizens, and many, many more).
Thanks for your blog, I enjoyed reading it!