A Vermin Responds

I have bemoaned obfuscating, moderate, "consensus"-type rhetoric and the drift to boring, centrist accomodation. So now that the gloves are coming off and a resurgent fascism speaks loud and clear, am I happier? Sure. The old labor song asks "which side are you on?". There is no more fence to sit on. Time to choose. And the sooner the better,IMO. In his latest tirade,Trump called for an effort to "root out the communists, Marxists,(and without irony, fascists) and the radical left thugs..." subverting the "American Dream". Prior to the mid-term elections I was critical of Kali Akuno for believing a fascist uprising was imminent, and I still think Trump's rhetoric is hyperbolic and that only a small minority would be inspired to act on it (as opposed to chuckle and wave flags), but it definitely is a sign of the times. In the past this language was code for kill the Jews but now it includes Black Lives Matter, DSA, "cultural Marxists", antifa etc, etc... Liberals are up in arms for this attack on pluralism, or decency or normal standards or whatever values they hold dear, no matter how illusionary. But you don't see them rushing to defend socialists. Count me as one of the "radical-left thugs", the "vermin" being targeted for my suggestions that obscene inequality, failing states, insane debt at every level and collapsing ecosystems point to capitalism's dismal record. Liberals tend to mount the same attack on socialists, just couched in more "acceptable" terms. I could go on- hollow Kubuki theatre of "democracy", mass global migration, lowered life expectancy, growing enui, endless war, yada yada. The evidence is damning and inescapable. This attack in effect is a defense of a capitalist political economy of which Trump himself is a perfect exemplar. It is characterized by financialization, luxury rentals, corruption and state capture. We'll just have to see if witch trials are next.