Vishal P. Singh
I want to take us back and evaluate how we arrived at this current era of American Fascism. There are countless inflection points from the past few years inviting further examination— now that we’re in an age of normalized right-wing political violence in the streets. Events like these helped groups like the Proud Boys and the Three Percenters gain traction and recruitment.
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Violent melees, typically initiated by far-right militants, became standard in American cities after this. In 2020, the momentum of political activation was swinging in the direction of Black Lives Matter and anti-fascism. The police murder of George Floyd shocked the world, and kicked off a new wave of unrest.
Donald Trump and others on the far-right used this tragedy and collective grief as an opportunity. And so a far-right blowback movement against the largest civil rights movement in U.S. history began— fueled by the MAGA faithful and the rise of militant fascist street gangs. Crucially: this violent far-right extremist reaction was heavily supported by law enforcement, who had already spent months brutalizing civil rights and anti-fascist protesters across the nation. But in August of 2020, things rapidly escalated. Local police departments began protecting armed fascists as they got away with ambushes and attacks against Black Lives Matter and anti-fascist activists.
Many are aware of incidents like Kenosha with Kyle Rittenhouse, but even in California: white supremacists and fascists were permitted to brandish weapons and commit hate crimes— under the waving banner of Donald Trump. LAPD enforced this fascist violence and helped these gangs dole out the violence with their own riot munitions. These forgotten war zones were sparsely covered by the media, and that coverage never displayed the true reality on the ground: that the police weren’t fighting for the people. They were fighting for rogue, fascist MAGA radicals.
An important step in fascism overtaking liberal democracies is the normalization of political street violence via private, loyal militants. From Brown Shirts to Proud Boys— the real danger arises when law enforcement take their side as well.
Video produced by VPS Reports and Bella Ciao Cinema. Directed by Vishal Singh and Jean Denegar. Music by Kevin MacLeod. News clips used under fair use.
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