When Americans are told that fascism is coming to the United States, there is often a misconception of what that actually means. Imagery of jackbooted thugs in 1930s Germany come to mind. Hollywood has been good in casting all fascist authoritarianism in Hitlerian ways. But this can have the effect of inuring the public to fascism in their own society because they are looking for a fascism that resembles that of Hitler. Fascism has similar characteristics, but manifests differently depending on the society in which it arises.

Hitler wasn’t the only fascist and fascism doesn’t always mean mass extermination of millions of people of a particular group. Violence, persecution and threats can be just as effective for fascists to maintain power. Fascism is unlike any other political ideology. It is neither traditionally conservative or liberal, but it always emerges from the far-right. At its most basic, fascism can be more accurately understood as a cult of personality and power that successfully entrances a segment of society while terrorizing the rest into submission. It relies on reactionary or conservative notions of society, but it is an undemocratic cult that cannot be reasoned with in any way.

Augusto Pinochet, the fascist dictator of Chile from 1973-1990, who got into power thanks to an American orchestrated coup once said: “Not a single leaf moves in this country if I’m not the one moving it.” He meant this. He saw himself as a savior of the nation. And he acted with ruthless cruelty to make this cultish fantasy a reality.

I have often compared Donald Trump to Pinochet which may sound strange to some. Pinochet was a general. He was embedded in militarism. But the two men share many traits when it comes to power, narcissism and violent rhetoric. Similar to Pinochet, Trump once said he was the “only one to fix the nation.” He is even more emboldened with a sense of divine purpose after surviving assassination attempts. Now that Trump has been elected (again), I believe he will implement similar measures and policies as Pinochet, or perhaps even worse. So, if Americans aren’t afraid of what is to come, they should be.

Fascism has always been an undercurrent in American society, a nation founded upon a graveyard of Indigenous people wiped out by genocide or persecuted and forcibly removed from their lands. And was built by the hands of enslaved men, women and children from Africa. It never reconciled with this past. Fascism has always been a consistent thread that binds America’s aspirations to its obfuscation about the atrocities it has committed. But now fascism is no longer cloaked in the euphemisms and platitudes of its aristocracy. Its so-called exceptionalism or democratic ideals. The cloak has been ripped off and torn to shreds.

Some have suggested that the oligarchies of the US would never allow Trump to make sweeping changes to the republic. This is ahistorical at best, and toxic naivete at worst. The wealthy in Pinochet’s Chile did nothing to subvert him or his violent and brutal policies. Corporations, including many American ones, flourished. Shopping malls and the latest trends were common in the upper class neighborhoods of Santiago. The press was effectively muzzled. Pinochet infamously said that the “rich people create wealth, so you have to treat them well so that they continue to give wealth.”

Under Pinochet, thousands of people were “disappeared” many never to be recovered. Dropped into the sea, buried in forests. Thousands of so-called “enemies from within” were massacred. And tens of thousands more were terrorized and tortured. We had a glimpse of this playbook when it was replayed under the previous Trump administration at protests in Portland. Scores were whisked away in unmarked vehicles by government agents with no badges visible.

In his second term, Trump has promised to round up millions of immigrants for deportation. He has also vowed to send troops into “Democratic cities” and deal with the so-called “enemy from within.” We can draw clear conclusions of what that will look like. Millions of immigrants would have to be housed in concentration camps, a plan almost half of Americans support according to a recent poll. And the “enemy from within” would almost certainly include anyone who dissents, whether they do so for queer or trans rights, to protest US support for Israel as it commits genocide, or any other group deemed subversive or “undesirable.”

Pinochet was quick to use the most conservative elements of the Catholic Church in Chile to bolster his anti-Marxist crusade. In a similar way, Trump uses evangelical, fundamentalist and other Christo-fascist elements in society to further his dominance by appearing empathetic to their bigotry against transgender people. And he lends credence to their unhinged conspiracy theories and end times cosplay about Israel. Trump has already made messianic-like claims after surviving assassination attempts. And there are scores of fanatical Christians who are eager to frame in this way. The telltale signs of cultish adoration are more than apparent in these circles.

Pinochet also once said: “My library is filled with UN condemnations” and “The only solution to the issue of human rights is oblivion.” I could picture Trump saying something similar, and this is an ominous clue as to how he will likely treat the unhoused, women, Muslims, immigrants, queer and other vulnerable communities, as well as how he will proceed on the genocide in Gaza.

In addition to all of this, Trump will likely speed humanity and countless other species closer to annihilation from climate change and ecological degradation. Not that the corporate Democrats would have been much better, but we might have had a bit more time to act. Time to mitigate the damage from coming catastrophes. We have absolutely no time now.

One of the differences between the rise of Pinochet vs the rise of Trump is that the US was largely responsible for Pinochet’s success as a dictator. In Trump’s case, there are many other factors, including the egregious tactics of the Democratic Party and their continued disinterest in the working class. They offered no meaningful policy to help struggling Americans, courted celebrities and neocon politicians like Liz Cheney, and ignored the overwhelming call of its base for an arms embargo on Israel as it commits genocide. One could say that there were foreign influences on the campaign, but these were negligible.

Another factor is Trump’s appeal to Gen Z men, mostly white, who feel disaffected and alienated from any agency or meaning. They have become fertile ground for racist and incel propaganda. And they came out to support what they see as a sort of father figure. A man who actually listens to them, rather than chides them with remarks like “I’m speaking.”

I wish I had brighter words. I wish I could tell us all to hope. To protest. But a Trump regime is likely to crack down viciously and violently on all dissent and protest. Fascists don’t care about the pretense of democratic norms. To them, they are an unnecessary impediment. The cult is supreme in fascist regimes. Challenging it in any way is viewed as an existential threat and dealt with accordingly.

All we can do now is take a good look at our lives. Where we live. Who we love. The social, ecological and economic fabric we are connected to. The most vulnerable among us. And protect them from the hell that is undoubtedly coming. We need to act. To organize with others. To make changes to our lives if we must. Changes that might appear overwhelming, but that have been made countless times throughout history. To move. To build resilient, interdependent communities. And we must do this because it is literally all we have left.

Kenn Orphan, November 2024

*Photo is of the US backed coup in Chile in 1973 which installed the fascist dictator Augusto Pinochet.

On the 11 September 1973, right-wing general Augusto Pinochet launched a coup against the elected left-wing government in Chile of Salvador Allende. Pinochet had been appointed by Allende as head of his armed forces the previous month, and used the position to orchestrate the coup.
On day one, the new government began rounding up thousands of people – mostly working class activists and left-wingers – in the national stadium, killing many. The brutal military dictatorship, which was backed by western powers like the US and UK, implemented the harsh right-wing economic ideology of the neoliberal Chicago Boys.
While international observers heralded the resultant “economic miracle”, in reality living standards declined for the vast majority of the population, with wages falling and spending on healthcare, education and housing being cut.
Any workers who attempted to resist were murdered, tortured, imprisoned or “disappeared”. A popular method of execution by the regime was to throw civilians to their deaths from helicopters into the ocean or over the Andes mountains. Many of the alt right today celebrate these murders with “helicopter memes”.
Over the next 17 years, more than 3,000 people were murdered by the regime, with more than 37,000 others illegally imprisoned or tortured. Many prisoners, men and women, were systematically raped and sexually abused by guards, with women a particular target. In addition to being violated by guards, some women were sexually assaulted with dogs, rats and spiders, and forced to have sex with male family members. Many children of those killed were given to the Catholic church, or adopted, with the children either not informed or told their parents had died in accidents.