I think people wondering why US citizens aren’t more outraged by the wanton constitutional disregard committed by the US government need to realize that the US government has always been committing transgressions—just not against its white middle- and upper-class citizens.

From its founding, the US has treated certain populations as having less rights than its preferred class: the wealthy, white¹, male, Protestant. It is normal for the US to ignore its own constitution to oppress and exploit people. From African slaves, to displaced Native Americans, to Chinese railroad workers, to Banana Republics, to occupied Hawaii, to CIA-backed coups in Asia—unchecked power is the default.

IMO things finally changed for the better after the Civil Rights Act, thanks to the relentless sacrifice of its champions. But for centuries prior, exploitation was the norm. Realize that what Trumpists want to do is to revert to how things were before the CRA; that’s what the “Again” means in “Make America Great Again”.

And so it’s normal to see USians sit around and wait things out, instead of going out and protesting and demanding accountability—because this is how things have always been. The normal thing one does is hope that the shit doesn’t reach one’s doorstep, because new shit is constantly out there.

I think wealthy, white, Protestant men, especially, feel no threat from ICE, from the Epstein Files, from illegal invasions and coups, because that’s how things have always been around them. They assume they will not be affected, like they haven’t been affected for centuries (in fact, many of them benefit from the lawlessness), so they go about their day as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening, because that is indeed the case.

For those living in the margins, e.g. middle-class nonwhites like myself, it’s tempting to believe that we’ll be safe if we huddle close to the preferred class and passively watch the carnage from behind the garden gates, but I hope that illusion has been well and truly shattered by the atrocities committed by the Trump administration, and by the mounting number of faces that have been eaten by leopards.

Having said all that, I actually have hope that the actions of the Trump administration and the Project 2025 Fascism is the extinction burst of the Old Way.

There has been much written about how the Internet has spread disinformation, but the Internet has also spread awareness of how awful life has been for nonwhites in the US, and how great injustices have been committed without accountability—I’ve certainly learned a lot about the subject thanks to the Internet—so it’s reasonable to believe that there are millions of white USians who have also learned about it, and have shifted their allegiance toward solidarity instead of the familiar systems of oppression.

I think Trumpism is a tipping point: either we build enough momentum to decisively leave the Old Way behind and follow the lead of the champions of the Civil Rights era, or we give it all up and revert to our old ways of oppression. I’m actually betting that the former will win. And I think the Trumpers know it too, which is why they’re flailing and overplaying their hand.

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