Tony Chiado

Understanding that the Democrats have retreated in cowardice and incompetence is bad enough. Recognizing that media is compliant if not eagerly allied with the Trump regime is bad enough. Seeing the state of protest felt dead-of-winter bleak.

The Democrats are flailing in their opposition to the Trump Regime’s fascist reemergence. I saw one writer, forgive my inability to remember precisely who, compare their behavior to the French military leadership of WWII. Similarly, Democrats are ill-prepared and ill-equipped to strategically meet the moment. They don’t get modern media. And they don’t get power. They are an old-guard party leaning on an increasingly outdated way of playing politics. Compromising with fascists on policy that should be a non-negotiable never and Democrats combat the Trump regime on the type of populist policy that will tarnish what electability they still have. Uninspired, aging into obsolescence.

Equally alarming but more expected is the way in which business has leaned into fascism. Mainstream media has largely reshaped its narrative around normalization of fascist rule. The tech giants and their oligarchs have all either bent the knee or actively supported Trump’s path back to the White House. Even TikTok is preparing to anoint Trump as the savior of the app to the benefit of the masses. It’s clear most of them crave the raw, unrestrained power a fascist regime promises to the ownership class. And the others who don’t are too scared of what it might mean for shareholders to vocally oppose the new regime. Social media is aligned with the fascists. This is a grave consequence almost too dire to put into words.

If the oppositional party isn’t going to do much opposing and the media is going to reinforce fascist messaging, the people need to make noise for the sake of their freedoms. I went to the Seattle People’s March on Saturday with this hope. But my hope in a true people’s resistance feels dashed. The rally and march felt more like a funeral than a beginning. I don’t mean any disrespect to the organizers, and I think many of the messages spread were important, but I’m sharing the vibe I felt. And it definitely didn’t feel like what people shared in this Capitol Hill Blog article.

I was at the Women’s March in 2017 to protest Trump’s first election. I remember the sheer size of the march. Over a hundred thousand people marching with what felt like a forceful purpose. That protest gave me hope. This protest felt markedly different.

This time around, the crowd was in the mere thousands: a roughly 97% decrease in attendance from 2017. What the hell happened? Where was everyone? The need to be out in the streets has only increased since 2017. The people who get it are sounding the alarm that Trump’s rhetoric has teeth this time around. But there were only 3,500 people taking to the streets on a cold Saturday morning. Talking with my family, one of my sisters thought Trump’s popular vote victory was a key influencing factor. My other sister suggested that people are now scared to protest. Maybe it’s a sign of the times. Maybe the people don’t care enough.

As we marched, I paid attention to the signs. So many of them felt dated. As if they were responding to the theater of the first war against the Trump Regime. “Resist!” I’ve come to hate that cry. It represents the platitudinal apathy of Democrats nationwide. Another sign displayed a “Notorious Ruth Bader Ginsberg.” I’m also bitter about her continued deification. She represents the gerontocratic hubris of the Democrats, a large factor of why the opposition has been so weak against Trump’s fascist rise. Most of the signs didn’t feel suited for the coming days, weeks, months, and years under a fascist Trump regime (a few felt more cognizant of the present moment). And the protest felt more like a whimper than a barbaric yawp.

I, myself, have more questions than answers right now. I find myself very observant, trying to read and assess. What will I do when Trump’s ICE raids kick off in my neighborhood starting on Inauguration day? What will you do for your neighbors? Their plans are in motion. How does the opposition overcome the media challenges they face, which control how information gets to the people? No platitudes. Meaningful questions aimed to navigate the fascist descent.

But what I do know is that the current opposition to the fascist Trump regime is dying. This happened, too, in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The old-guard was incapable of meeting the moment. It folded under the pressure of fascist power. And for a couple decades, fascist rule was largely unopposed. Luckily enough, the Second World War created enough vulnerability for a much more combative and populist opposition to rise and challenge the fascists domestically.

Today, we can’t wait for a world war, as much as it may feel like Trump is preparing to steer us into more global conflict. We must combatively confront the fascists now. It isn’t too late. Few politicians, AOC among them, get this. Those that do are calling for an oppositional party that does not compromise with fascists. They are calling for an oppositional party that puts the needs of the everyday man before the needs of the donor class. They are calling for an oppositional party that wants to roll up their sleeves and fight. Enough of the meek digging of one’s own grave! There exist countless examples throughout history across the globe of oppositional movements that recapture the heart of the people. None of the oppositional structures and strategies we have now are working. We cannot wait any longer to raise an oppositional party prepared and equipped to do just that.