Personal: Magical Thinking Won’t Stop Fascism
I’m writing this blog post after driving to work listening to a podcast that just made me more and more frustrated. I’m not going to say which podcast it was because I’ve spent my entire adult life on the internet and the current social media culture doesn’t exactly allow for nuanced critique. The episode was about taking care of yourself in this larger socio-political global moment and navigating the feelings of shame, guilt, obligation that come up when feeling like you need to prioritize your own safety and sanity. This is something that deeply resonates with me right now and I was hoping for a few “A-ha!” moments, and instead I got a greatest hits of what I can only call privileged magical thinking.
In all fairness to this podcast, they just condensed into 40 minutes the same things I’ve been hearing over and over again at various lectures and workshops over the last year. The overall theme is something like this:
No one really wants what is happening right now. No one really wants conflict or war. No one wants to hurt other people. People on the other side of the cultural/political divide from me are just hurt/scared/frustrated/confused and deep down want the same thing as me. All of these awful things people are saying will happen can’t happen here because we have laws and institutions to prevent that.
Why do I call this “magical thinking”? Well, magical thinking describes how we do or do not find connections between events in the material world. (Side note: I am very aware of the tricky and dangerous waters I’m about to tread critiquing magical thinking as a witch in the pagan community.) I think a great example of magical thinking in our society right now is the prevalence of “lone wolf” mass shooters that all happen to be far-right white supremacists. White supremacy so entrenched in the basic foundations of our society and culture that the majority of us have to see these mass shootings as isolated incidents to avoid the painful dissonance of reckoning with a core pillar of our modern society.
This is also why I refer to this particular phenomena as “privileged” magical thinking. Personal identity is complicated, messy, fluid, and intersectional. I’ve noticed, however, that the more identities someone holds that allow them access to power, safety, wealth, security (i.e. privilege) the more likely they are to hold these views that some day soon we’ll all realize we’re just one human family and find a way to live in harmony. Talk to those on the fringes, though, and you’ll soon realize the inhumanity with which they have been and are treated is not accidental. They are treated this way because society, and the individuals who comprise it, do not see them as human.
All of this brings me to the title of this post: magical thinking won’t stop fascism. Trust me, I understand the need to disconnect from what we see happening around us. I understand the need to provide cognitive space between the people we think we know and the atrocities they support, to think that no one would choose to be this cruel. But as American journalist Adam Serwer put it, “the cruelty is the point.”
In order to combat the global rise of fascism we need to do the hard work of understanding and accepting some very uncomfortable truths:
Fascists aren’t hyperbolic. They know you won’t believe them when they say what they mean and that gives them cover. And, as Maya Angelou once said, “When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time.”
People are often treated inhumanely because they are seen as sub-human. This is why fascists seed cultural discourse with references to certain types of people or communities to animals (ex. Trump calling immigrants “vermin”)
No one feels inclined to compromise with something they view as an existential threat. This is why fascists frame the LGBTQ+ community and immigrants as things that will unravel society or topple civilization. And, more importantly, they believe this.
Yes, folks can have LGBTQ+ family members and still want those communities erased or eradicated. The spectrum can range from carving out a compartmentalized cognitive space to love the person they know while loathing the community, to grieving the “loss” of their family member to an enemy - often framed as them being brainwashed, recruited, groomed, indoctrinated, etc. Seeing this person thriving and happy doesn’t dissuade them of their overall feelings towards the community it just deepens their resolve that these people are a menace that need to be stopped before they continue to grow. They often harbor delusions of “saving” the person they know and making them “normal” again.
There are definitely people who want things to collapse. They look around and don’t see anything worth saving and feel the only option is to start over with themselves calling the shots in the new world. Don’t believe me? I highly recommend becoming familiar with the philosophy of “accelerationism.” You’ve probably heard a lot of talk about “race wars” coming from white supremacist circles, and this is one form of that.
Laws and institutions are abstract concepts that only have power when applied by actual people. We can cite case law and point to the Constitution as much as we want but without enforcement they mean nothing. Fascists know this. The rest of us seemingly act as if these things are talismans that exert power just by existing.
My intent in writing this is not to cause despair or hopelessness but to challenge folks to face what is in front of us with purposeful clarity. Hiding behind this type of magical thinking is a privilege, and while it might provide a false sense of comfort it is allowing too many to continue to face harm. And while it might make you feel better it also runs the risk of blinding you to the very real threats around you until its too late.
So as not to end this on depressing note, here are some things you can do:
If you live in the United States are you are reading this before November 8th, 2022 then go VOTE. Democracy is a verb and it requires participation. Electing anti-fascist candidates can help buy more time for the necessary work of on-the-ground organizing.
Get to know your neighbors. For everything I said up above about folks who are fully committed to erasing entire communities there are still people who make assumptions about the world because they are only exposed to one way of being or thinking. Admittedly, teasing out the difference is dangerous work. But becoming a more active part of your community is one way to push back against stereotypes and fearmongering.
Get involved in mutual aid networks. If one does not exist around you consider starting one. For many marginalized communities survival was (and is) only possible because we supported each other. Establishing mutual aid networks before emergencies hit is ideal, but those that come together in times of crisis should be maintained and built upon.
Actually understand the positions and voting records of your elected officials. Know how to contact them to express your concerns. And I’m not just talking about your federal elected officials. This information is public and there are a few apps you can download to help look at voting records, too.
Finally, if you have the bandwidth for it you should consider running for something! As we are seeing right now with the bullshit surrounding LGBTQ+ and BIPOC books local governments are vitally important for protecting our communities.
