It’s relieving in a terrible way to see this acknowledged. I’ve heard far too many people over the last 15 months argue that this is just a roadbump, or talk about it like the typical Republican administration of economic strain and erosion of some civil rights. This is unprecedented in our country’s history. This is not something to hunker down and wait out.

Even the idea that “fascism will inevitably collapse” is an oversimplification and wishful thinking. I understand that much of this inaction is trauma from the strain of us living in a post 9/11 America, which up until now has been a slow-burn erosion of rights and tightening of economic conditions. Trump’s second term is in every way a different beast. It was well apparent that it would be since before the election even happened: Project 2025. The signs reading “MASS DEPORTATIONS”. Hell; I thought the Alt-Right Insurrection on Jan 6th, 2021 was so blatantly anti-democratic that Trump would have no chance of winning in 2024. I was clearly wrong.

Look at China. Look at Russia. That’s where the USA is heading. Those nations are fascist, too. That is the type of fascism I see this country falling into. It’s not going to be loud, with massive parades and MAGA Youth programs—Not in a country with this many people, this large an area; and this many guns. The fascism of the USA will be like it has been for the last year: With citizens disappeared from our streets; Agents exploiting our already shredded rights; and surveillance networks tracking our every move. That is life in China and Russia; and those nations are well-settled in those systems.

The course of the USA is to fall into a fascism of the system. It will not be our military harming our citizens. The violence will be carried out in policies enacted by people with faces and roles; under the guise of “just doing a job” or “protecting their community”. Hell, let’s not pretend like that wasn’t already the case. The War on Drugs, The Patriot Act, the regular abuses of police against protestors… This nation has been one of systemic violence since well before Trump took the stage in 2015. Just look to the population held imprisoned without being found guilty in our prisons, hospitals, and CIA detention centers.

I applaud the resistance in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. What happened in the Twin Cities was the first bit of resistance we’ve seen in this entire administration (excluding one-day attacks—I am not downplaying their significance.) Regarding the rest of this nation: What happened throughout the last year (especially the atrocities of ICE) is well beyond what I inherently assumed would be the “snapping point”. The fact that our economy and institutions are continuing in the midst of such blatant oppression and corruption, has me convinced there is no snapping point at all. En large, no draconian policy will trigger an out-roar, because the masses simply do not have it within them. We’re too worn down, too distracted, too traumatized, and too used to it. What scares me most is how clear it is—by the public conduct of our corporations, our elected leaders, and our government accounts—that our rulers know this.