In the Wake of the Vicious NYC Truck Attack: Trump Unleashes Further Escalation of Fascism
November 2, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
The October 31 truck attack in New York City that left eight people dead and 11 injured was a vile and vicious act reportedly carried out by a man, an immigrant from Uzbekistan, who was apparently influenced by the utterly reactionary Islamic jihadists of ISIS. At the beginning of the month, when a white man opened fire on a concert in Las Vegas and mass murdered 58 people and injured hundreds, Trump and his mouthpieces sternly warned against “politicizing” that act of terror. After the NYC truck attack, Trump launched into an outright fascist political offensive:
* Trump basically charged leading Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer with responsibility for the truck attack, accusing him of being behind the visa lottery program under which the accused truck attacker had received legal status in the U.S. Trump said Schumer and other Democrats were “obstructionists” who “don’t want to do what’s right for our country”—in effect, painting them with the brush of “treason.”
* Trump declared that those accused of “terrorism” by the U.S. must be dealt “punishment that’s far quicker and far greater than the punishment” that they are getting now. In other words, Trump was saying that such people need to be dealt with outside the normal judicial system—and, in fact, he blasted the entire federal civilian court system as a “joke” and “laughingstock.”
* Blatantly abusing his position and influence, Trump not only declared the accused to be guilty before any kind of trial has taken place, but went further to tweet a demand that he “SHOULD GET THE DEATH PENALTY.”
* Trump has seized on the situation to further push for more repressive and draconian immigration policies—including ending the visa lottery program and making the “extreme vetting” of immigrants and visitors to the U.S. even harsher.
* Seizing on the name of the visa program—“Diversity Visa Lottery Program”—Trump mocked and attacked the very notion of diversity, saying, “We have to get much less politically correct. We’re so politically correct that we’re afraid to do anything.”
All this is extremely serious and extremely dangerous. What can be seen here is a major escalation of attacks by the Trump/Pence regime against the rule of law—going further along the big steps it has already taken. And big steps toward politicizing the courts in line with its aims and making them a direct tool of its fascist agenda. The overt accusation against one of the top Democrats of not doing “what’s right for the country” harks back to McCarthyite witch hunts against those accused of “disloyalty” to America—and far exceeds even the viciousness carried out under Reagan and Bush, who certainly weren’t slouches in this regard. The call to “get much less politically correct” is a further push to legitimize and normalize open white supremacy, male supremacy and “America First” jingoism.
This is the reality of what is going on—even if Schumer and the Democrats themselves, while making this or that critique of Trump, still refuse to call this out as fascism and to call the people out into the streets in their millions to stop this nightmare.
But it is also a fact that there are people who recognize the urgent threat to humanity that the Trump/Pence regime poses—and are acting in ways that are commensurate with this threat. People with Refuse Fascism, who are launching a massive and sustained mobilization beginning November 4 around the unifying stand: “This Nightmare Must End: The Trump/Pence Regime Must Go! In the Name of Humanity, We REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America!”
Where will YOU be on November 4?
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