Tag Archives: fascism

I Sat Next to Brigitte Bardot Once on a Bus in Nice

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Okay, no. I actually did NOT sit next to the late French actress, Brigette Bardot. But it very easily could have been her.

I was there on holiday with a group which included my partner, family and friends. After an excursion we took to a monastery in the back country, we decided to take a local bus back down to the city. As it was crowded, I took a seat in the back and I happened to sit next to an elegant, elderly white French lady.

In my mind’s memory, she resembled Lauren Bacall as she appeared in her late 70’s. Stylish, poised, cultured and monied, the latter being something of the distant past since she was condemned to taking a bus with all of us rubes and sunblock slathered tourists.

She spoke impeccable French. And, for some reason, she took a shine to me. Even after I told her in my egregious French that I was not fluent in any way, she began a conversation with me that spanned the hour and a half ride down through the lush hills of the south of France.

She spoke of her childhood. The post-war struggles and sacrifices. Something about living in a one room flat in Marseille with either her lover or a really close friend. Honestly, I was having great difficulty translating the details. I covered for that by giving the wry smile many French often do as if to say we know what you are saying. Essentially, “ah, mais oui.”

As the bus neared Nice, more passengers got on and off respectively. And many of them, based on clothing and language, seemed to be of either an Asian, Sub-Saharan African or Middle-Eastern culture. And this is when I noticed the change. The lovely white French lady sitting next to me, the same one who had been telling me stories about her life in France, changed. Her demeanor. Her cadence. Her eyes.

Even with my poor French, I could hear the disdain. These people were “not French” according to her. And they were allegedly ruining French culture. “France devient un mauvais pays à cause d’eux,” or something like that. And I knew where this conversation was going.

For the remaining journey on that bus I had to listen to her mock and dehumanize any non-white passenger that came aboard. As she spoke, I remembered how the French brutalized Algeria. How thousands were tortured and killed during the occupation. French colonialism has often been romanticized to a degree unlike British and other European colonial projects. But it was no less horrendous than any of them. And in her I saw the face of French imperialism. Pretty, elegant, condescending and cruel.

When we finally reached our destination, she bid me au revoir and I stepped out onto the crowded promenade along the Mediterranean in Nice. I was grateful that journey was finally over. But I have thought about her in recent days since hearing about the death of the French actress, Brigette Bardot.

Bardot was known for her animal advocacy and activism. But she is also infamous for her loathsome fascist politics. She was friends with Jean-Marie Le Pen and other far-right nationalists. In fact, her husband was one of Le Pen’s top advisors. And she was convicted and fined at least six times for inciting racial hatred. In addition to her Islamophobia and racism, Bardot dehumanized queer people, calling them “fairground freaks,” and mocked the women who came forward to expose the abuse they experienced by powerful men in the Hollywood film industry.

Unlike the lady I sat next to on that bus in Nice, Bardot had enormous influence. And she used that influence every chance she could to peddle in social hatred. Now that she is dead, she is being lionized in social media as a champion of sexual liberation and a tireless advocate for animal rights. In much the same way as Charlie Kirk, her own legacy is being sanitized by those who choose to see her as “complicated” rather than an odious person who dehumanized marginalized people throughout her long life.

None of this is to say that we should expect anyone to be flawless. Far from it. We are all human and we all say or do things that harm others, whether intentionally or not. But this is about lifelong patterns. About making it a point (whether in books or public engagement) to double down on social hatred, racism, bigotry and fascist ideology. There is a difference between being human and making your life a billboard of hatred.

I didn’t sit next to Brigitte Bardot on that bus in Nice several years ago. But she could have easily been her based solely on the bigotry, the racism and the poised French elegance that thinly masked it all.

Kenn Orfanos, January 2026

Candace Owens, Ben Shapiro and the Disintegration of MAGA

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It is hard not to notice the civil war unfolding within MAGA world. Some say it began with the murder of the notorious far-right bigot, Charlie Kirk. Others say it began long before this. But one thing is undeniable. The war is reaching epic proportions now.

On one side are the establishment hacks. The ones who have used their access to power in order to promote an ideology of authoritarianism. On the other are the monsters largely created by the establishment hacks. Those who use their skills with social media manipulation and grift to stoke old stereotypes and social hatreds. Neither are traditionally conservative. But both have captured the conservative mind.

This has reached its most visible example in the battle between social media grifters, Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens. Shapiro, who is Jewish, is known for his vile dehumanization of transgender people, Muslims and immigrants. Owens, who is Black, also participated in these bigotries. But since the murder of Kirk, she has taken it a step further in peddling odious antisemitic conspiracy theories and demonization.

Ben Shapiro has always supported the ethnostate of Israel. He has rationalized its apartheid, championed its most brutal policies and whitewashed its genocide of the Palestinians. Anyone who opposes Israel or Zionism is cast as antisemitic by the far right ideologue. But Owens, who was fired by Shapiro from the far right outlet The Daily Wire, has not only come out against Israel, she has used her platform with millions of followers to attack Jews as a whole, regurgitating ahistorical and debunked myths.

Whether it is the supposed notion that Jews were responsible for the Atlantic Slave Trade or that they believe all non-Jews are inferior to them, the story is an old one which has its roots in the antisemitic Protocols of Zion. This was a collection of fabricated conversations supposedly between Jewish elders in Russia. One which characterizes Jews as the cunning creators of a secret cabal whose aim was global domination.

The Protocols of Zion is not just an innocuous fiction. It was used by the Nazis and contributed to the persecution of Jewish communities in Germany and throughout Europe and to the Holocaust which claimed millions of Jewish lives and millions of other marginalized groups, including Roma, communists and queer people.

It may be mildly entertaining to watch this mostly online war between two grifters on the far right. But there is far more at stake. Both figures have captured a huge following in their own right. Shapiro’s camp is not only okay with US support for Israel as it commits genocide, it is cheering it on. They revel in the demonization of Palestinians and their supporters, including anti-Zionist Jews, tarring all as antisemitic for opposing the political ideology of Zionism and the apartheid and genocide it has fostered.

Owen’s may speak about genocide being wrong in any instance, but she has no real solidarity with the Palestinian people. Her new found hatred of Israel is not rooted in a principled approach to equality or collective liberation either. It comes from a deep hatred of Jews as a people and a pernicious delusion about them being some menacing, all powerful monolith.

Both Shapiro and Owens represent the darkest underbelly of far right politics in the United States. A toxic brew of white grievance and paranoid social hatred. That Owens is Black does not take away from this reality. In fact, she is the perfect token for peddling it to a population that has been conditioned to feel like they are under attack. They easily jettison facts for fantasy. Her irrational and incongruent conspiracy theories, whether it be that the moon landing was fake or that Brigitte Macron is actually a man, play to an audience which has been largely denuded of critical thinking skills.

Shapiro, who now has the devotion of professional widow Erika Kirk, is using his platform to whip Christian Zionists into a frenzy. Their support of Israel and his do not come from the same place. Evangelicals are not so concerned about Jews as they are in the fulfillment of an unhinged, eschatological opera. But both go hand in hand with American Empire and its goals.

And Shapiro helped create the culture of moral decay we see amongst US conservatives. One that easily dehumanizes and scapegoats minorities and champions the most sadistic policies of the Trump regime. They may all have different motivations, but the result is the same fascist dystopia.

Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens are visual aid to where MAGA was always destined. The deceitful and hateful rhetoric routinely employed by Donald Trump has fed into a miasma of confusion and paranoia. His disdain for intellectual discourse, informed dissent and moral curiosity created a cesspit of vicious hatefulness that has fostered racism, misogyny, transphobia, antisemitism and Islamophobia. It is a poisonous brew that led to the rise of some of the most odious figures of this century, which include Shapiro and Owens.

Perhaps this civil war signals the end of MAGA as a movement. But it is best understood as a death cult. And cults rarely, if ever, dissipate peacefully. It remains to be seen whether this one will fade quickly, or cast a long, dark shadow on the American psyche for generations to come.

Kenn Orfanos, December 2025

Trump is a Vicious Cult Leader

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For the past couple weeks, Donald Trump has been stirring up hatred for the Somali community with lies and fearmongering. And the result has been a surge in white supremacism.

This is what fascist regimes do best. While they are totally unequipped to govern, they use the rhetoric of scapegoating and demonization to distract from their complete ineptitude. It becomes the only policymaking that they are capable of.

As the American economy continues to decline and the US becomes more isolated, Trump and his regime are becoming more and more unhinged in their cruelty toward the most vulnerable and marginalized. And since fascism demands cultlike devotion, this cruelty runs through the entire society like a rancid effluence, poisoning everything in its path.

The American project was built upon racism, one which justified genocide, slavery and apartheid. And it has never reckoned with this in any meaningful way. So, the obvious outcome has been the current president.

Trump isn’t an anomaly, he is a prime example of America with its mask of civility finally ripped off. A narcissist who is convinced of his greatness, much like the many Americans who have been bamboozled into thinking they live in the greatest country on earth. An arrogant ignorance impervious to the reality of having no universal healthcare, few worker protections, crushing debt, poor education, crumbling infrastructure, rampant gun violence and rapidly rising economic inequality.

So, what can we expect in the coming months or even years? Trump is a vicious cult leader who is oblivious to the stench of his own rot. Even as his health (both physical and mental) declines, he cannot see through the elaborate web of lies he has woven around him. And the sycophants in his court will never tell the emperor he is has no clothes.

Cults rarely dissipate peacefully. In almost every case, they end up devolving into paranoia, conspiracy theories, delusion and violence as their blind obeisance to power backfires and the shoddy worldview they invested everything in breaks down under the weight of its own incompetence and madness.

Sometimes cults merely self destruct. But more often than not, they lash out on anyone within their orbit, with the most vulnerable being the first victims. Either way, what comes next will not be easy to endure, especially for communities like the Somali.

Kenn Orfanos, December 2025

The Condescension and Genocide Apologetics of Hillary Clinton

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Like a bad penny (actually, a penny soaked in blood), Hillary Clinton keeps showing up when virtually no one asked her to. Making the rounds, Clinton has pulled out one of the things that made her presidential campaign such a gleaming success: elitist condescension.

On one particular panel, Clinton bemoaned the increased sympathy Palestinians are receiving for being the victims of a US-backed, Israeli-led genocide. She was bewildered at young people who, for some reason, don’t like seeing children being blown up with US munitions or being starved to death through a carefully curated policy of annihilation. And that young Jews, in particular, don’t like it being done in their name.

She said:

“We have done a miserable job teaching young people history. I had so many conversations, and frankly, they often started as confrontations with students, not just at Columbia, but elsewhere. Where were they getting their information? They were getting it from social media. They were getting it most particularly from TikTok, which is governed by an algorithm until — at least up until now, still largely manipulated by the Chinese Communist Party.” – Hillary Clinton

Talking down to her constituents has been a hallmark of Clinton’s public persona since her early days of demonizing young Black men. Her and her husband, Epstein Island regular Bill “Bubba” Clinton, ruined countless lives with an excessively punitive and nakedly racist policy that targeted supposed “super predators.” A racist dog whistle that I am sure excited some of their white friends in Arkansas.

Clinton now joins her colleagues Van Jones and Sarah Hurwitz in the Hall of Genocidaires and their Sycophants. Like them, she isn’t outraged or even mildly upset by the “wall of carnage” we see every day in Gaza. To her, they are an optical problem. One that should be dealt with by some good ole fashioned American censorship.

Ironically, Clinton doesn’t seem to see the Israeli soldiers or politicians proudly posting their crimes online for the world to see. She is going to find it very hard to censor the criminals she supports when they simply refuse to shut-up about their atrocities.

Clinton’s “Chinese Communist Party” boogeyman is a particularly laughable remark, given that almost all of the mainstream media outlets in the US are now owned by a handful of corporations. But this is a desperate attempt to deflect from that, as well as the fact that they are no longer seen as the arbiter of truth. Turns out, you cannot keep lying or omitting facts to the public and not suffer some backlash.

But no boogeyman she summons will obscure her own criminality. The record is clear. Clinton supported the war on Iraq, a country that never attacked the US. She supported the far-right coup in Honduras, a regime responsible for attacking and murdering countless Indigenous, LGBTQ and environmental activists. She was instrumental in the destruction of Libya, plunging it into turmoil and the creation of a new slave trade in Northern Africa. And she helped to draw up one of the most recent blueprints for the oppression of the Palestinians and the cementing of the Israeli apartheid ethnostate.

In the end, Clinton will go down as one of the most loathsome figures in the American political class. A friend to Kissinger, a champion of far right regimes and military interventions that have decimated the Global South, a supporter of Israeli apartheid and apologist for its current genocide. She lost the presidency to a narcissistic fascist with the morals of a botfly when even a damp, salmonella-tinged, kitchen sponge could have run a better campaign. And now she is determined to inflict her intellectual brain rot years after most of us thought it impossible or even necessary.

Hillary Clinton and most of the political elite class have lost control of the narrative, but don’t expect any ‘come to Jesus’ moment. I am sad to say that it is extremely unlikely she is done with her yawn-inducing “I told you so” tours for a long time to come.

Kenn Orfanos, November 2025

Losing the Narrative: the Moral Panic over Social Media

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“People have to be atomized and segregated and alone. They’re not supposed to organize, because then they might be something beyond spectators of action. They might actually be participants if many people with limited resources could get together to enter the political arena. That’s really threatening.”
― Noam Chomsky, Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda

The story is to culture what the memory is to the individual. Like any story, memories can be inaccurate, clouded by biases or prejudices, and full of gaps or plot holes. But those memories also guide us. They inform how we interpret our world and interact with it. And we are living in a time where the dominant stories of who we are as a people are shifting in monumental ways.

Unsurprisingly, there has been a reactionary response to this. The old guard is threatened by a thinking public. For instance, the moral panic over the supposed dangers of social media is no different than the ones of the past. The ones that claimed comic books or television or jazz or hip hop or cannabis or pornography were destroying morality, breaking the family apart, or dumbing us down. This is what is behind the push for “age verification.” But it is not about protecting children, it is about censoring words and expressions that challenge power. And the younger generation is the biggest threat to that current arrangement of power.

Stories are what connect us. The ones we tell each other. The ones we tell ourselves. They give us meaning, especially when they are shared. To control this discourse is to control society itself. For many decades, the narrative was controlled by the wealthy and the powerful via the mainstream media. This is still largely true. But there have been seismic shifts that have deeply altered this pattern. Social media has been the most instrumental, in this regard.

None of this is to say social media is without problems. There are many. But most of them come from the billionaire class and Silicon Valley, who elevate some algorithms over others. It is they who flood the internet with AI slop and vapid celebrity gossip, while downgrading or disappearing content that is important, encourages curiosity and imagination, or persuades people to be more active in their world.

There is no doubt that the far right uses social media to peddle conspiracy theories and stoke racism and other social hatreds. The rise of MAGA is an example of this. But these voices were also amplified by the billionaire class, which sees division and divisive politics as a means to an end. And that end is social control.

Despite its copious flaws, social media has galvanized movements, from Black Lives Matter to the anti-genocide/pro-Palestine movement. This is a threat to the established classes that hold power. And it is why they seek to control and censor it like never before. They prefer spectators, not participants. Consumers, not citizens.

To many young people, the old narratives are dying. Racist tropes, the whitewashing of colonialism and genocide, misogyny, homophobic fearmongering, and pro-imperialist or capitalist slogans or puff pieces, are no longer satisfying. They fall flat when they witness masked ICE thugs smashing car windows or storming apartment buildings in the middle of the night, or see blown apart or starving children in Gaza, or hear the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and other powerful white men, or experience the exploding cost of living, from groceries to rent to healthcare. They see the monsters around them, and no spin will put those blinders back on.

Every current attempt to make the internet safer or more civil is a thinly veiled attempt to stifle dissent, critical thinking and free speech. It is why social media outlets like TikTok and Facebook are employing Zionists and former IDF soldiers to monitor “hate speech.” It is why the Trump regime has gone after various media outlets who defy his version of the truth. It is why politicians from both sides of the political aisle are pushing for more restrictive legislation.

They are losing control of the narrative, and they are terrified. This is why they have been buying up platforms and installing agents of propaganda at every level. But these measures are desperate attempts to put the toothpaste back in the bottle. It is too late and, on some level, they know this.

Now matter what bludgeon they chose, this generation is beyond their machinations and manipulations. They have seen too much. Whether the powerful understand it or not, they have lost. And their old myths are dead in all but name.

Kenn Orfanos, November 2025

Debra Messing and Liberal Zionism’s Inevitable Drift Toward Fascism

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There have been so many spectacular crash outs before and since Mamdani won NYC. But the most intriguing has to be Debra Messing. The former Will & Grace star posted endlessly to her Instagram yesterday. But Messing, who supported Hillary Clinton and has always identified herself as liberal, was sharing content from far right organizations like CPAC, Breitbart, and Newsmax. In fact, she shared at least 100 posts to her Instagram story in one day alone.

Among those shared was a blatantly Islamophobic post which argued that while Judaism and Christianity encourage honesty, Muslims are “commanded to lie if it means spreading Islam.” It went on to say: “He’s revealing their goal: Mass conversion. These two opposing civilizations cannot coexist.” It doesn’t get much more paranoid, genocidal and racist than that, folks.

She even went so far as to share Trump’s antisemitic post in which he wrote: “Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person!!!” Mamdani has always condemned antisemitism. But none of that matters to Trump or to Messing, apparently.

Since October 7th, 2023, Messing has been on a rampage. Her support for Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians became her only identity, going so far as to visit the genocidal apartheid state for photo ops with IDF soldiers.

Messing is a case study in the limitations of white feminism. When ones privilege is challenged in any way, the default is often to go to reactionary, racist or even fascist tactics of fearmongering and scapegoating. Messing’s transformation proves that Zionism, like all supremacist ideologies, always leads a person to the far-right.

It has been reported that Messing is currently on holiday in Tel Aviv, apparently finding solace from the melee in Manhattan by being even closer to an actual genocide taking place mere kilometres away.

Kenn Orfanos, November 2025

*photo is of Debra Messing, but not from this week.

Mamdani Wins NYC!

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Last night, I sat in front of my computer with tears in my eyes. They were tears of joy. I was born in New York. I lived the first 20+ years of my life there. So, even though I no longer live there or in the United States anymore, to see this city that I love do the right thing in these very dark times was deeply moving to say the least.

NYC voted for a man who stands outside the Democratic Party elite. A man who espouses values that align with most ordinary people. That living on this planet should not bankrupt a person. That healthcare and housing and education are human rights. That the wealthy should pay their fair share. That genocide is wrong and the criminals who commit these crimes should be arrested and tried.

Despite endless and baseless smears and racist taunts, much of which came from notorious misogynist and senior citizen-killer, Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani prevailed. Despite the efforts of celebrities like Debra Messing who spread horrendous Islamophobic lies, Mamdani prevailed (one wonders if she is okay today, or if she has fled to Tel Aviv on the first El Al flight out of Kennedy). Despite millions of dollars being spent by parasitic billionaires like Michael Bloomberg, Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton, and hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, Mamdani prevailed. Despite threats from the fascist, wannabe king in the White House, Mamdani prevailed.

Will Mamdani be able to implement all of the policies he would like to? Probably not. NYC is still deeply capitalist. Its 1% are entrenched, have enormous influence and own much of the media. But despite their empty threats, they aren’t leaving New York after this historic victory. And this win sends a clear message to them that the people of this city are fed up with the soul crushing, life destroying status quo.

Mamdani quoted the late Eugene Debs in his victory speech. Debs, who was born in 1855 and died in 1926, was an American socialist, trade unionist and one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World. He ran five times for President under the Socialist Party of America. That Mamdani chose him is extraordinary for these times. His words go far beyond the sickening bromides and empty platitudes of most politicians.

Mamdani said:

”The sun may have set over our city this evening, but as Eugene Debs once said, “I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.”

For as long as we can remember, the working people of New York have been told by the wealthy and the well-connected that power does not belong in their hands. Fingers bruised from lifting boxes on the warehouse floor, palms calloused from delivery bike handlebars, knuckles scarred with kitchen burns. These are not hands that have been allowed to hold power. And yet, over the last 12 months, you have dared to reach for something greater.

Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it. The future is in our hands. My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty.

I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life, but let tonight be the final time I utter his name as we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few.

Now I know that many have heard our message only through the prism of misinformation. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent to redefine reality and to convince our neighbors that this new age is something that should frighten them. As has so often occurred, the billionaire class has sought to convince those making $30 an hour that their enemies are those earning $20 an hour. They want the people to fight amongst ourselves so that we remain distracted from the work of remaking a long-broken system. We refuse to let them dictate the rules of the game anymore. They can play by the same rules as the rest of us.

In this new age we make for ourselves, we will refuse to allow those who traffic in division and hate to pit us against one another. In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light. Here we believe in standing up for those we love, whether you are an immigrant, a member of the trans community, one of the many Black women that Donald Trump has fired from a federal job, a single mom still waiting for the cost of groceries to go down, or anyone else with their back against the wall—your struggle is ours too.

Together, we will usher in a generation of change. And if we embrace this brave new course, rather than fleeing from it, we can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves. After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him. And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.

And we must chart a new path as bold as the one we have already traveled. After all, the conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate. I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.

Mamdani’s victory will undoubtedly be met with more threats or even actions by the fascist Trump regime. And the corporate beholden, Democratic Party elite will likely try to thwart any meaningful gains of this moment. But Mamdani’s win should be celebrated by every ordinary person today. Because even though we are in dark times, some light has managed to find its way through the cracks.

Be happy about that today, because we all deserve it.

Kenn Orfanos, November 2025

Trump’s Great Gatsby Redux is a Portent

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To say we live in an age of absurdity would be an understatement. But absurdity often accompanies sadism. Case in point: Trump throwing a “Great Gatsby” themed gala on the eve of 40+ million Americans losing their access to food. This is “Let them eat cake” on steroids.

To be sure, Trump has likely never read a book through cover to cover, with the possible exception of Mein Kampf translated into English and his own “The Art of the Deal.” So, the irony of holding a Great Gatsby themed party while millions of his citizens struggle or languish in near intolerable conditions will always be lost on him.

Gatsby, the main character, was a conman who was obsessed with the aristocracy. His nouveau riche credentials didn’t get him the status he craved in their circles, but he threw lavish parties in a mansion he built to display his ostentatious wealth to anyone he could dazzle.

That Trump cannot see such glaring irony is staggering, but not surprising. While he is a narcissist, he is also a proud illiterate and affirmed ignoramus. His dearth of curiosity is legendary. He is only attracted to glitter, gold and gilded mirrors. And he delights in the praise of the vapid courtiers who surround him.

As the nation teeters on economic ruin, Trump has ensconced himself in the illusion of prestige. He lacks the capacity for insight and grows ever more delusional by the day. This does not make him any less dangerous. On the contrary, as he grows even more unhinged by the day he becomes more erratic and paranoid. This is the real reason for the golden ballroom and the renovated bunker that will be rebuilt below.

Narcissism is a poison to its bearer. It promises satisfaction, but only guarantees loneliness and longing. It creates hungry ghosts, never able to sate the empty void within. Trump has cultivated his own narcissism for a lifetime. But no one can avoid the humbling veil of mortality.

Gatsby’s ignominious fate was met while he was floating in his pool. Trump appears to be aimlessly floating for disaster as well. The only problem is that he is taking the entire nation with him.

Kenn Orfanos, November 2025

Performative Protests Are Not Enough Against Fascism

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Trump’s crude response to the “No Kings” protest shouldn’t come as a surprise. Fascist regimes don’t care about protests. Every instance of dissent to their depravity is an opportunity for more mockery and cruelty. Never for introspection or reflection.

As with all fascist regimes, the Trump regime will not be persuaded by civility or appeals to their humanity. Simply put, they have neither. While yesterday’s event was impressive, admirable and perhaps helped some make lasting connections with other like minded people, they will have no real or tangible impact on policy.

These events essentially serve as valves to let off steam or for funneling public rage into managed and watered down safe spaces, such as the Democratic Party, which offers no real resistance to the current arrangement of power.

Fascist regimes aren’t voted out. History has shown that the only way they end is through a coordinated mass movement that disrupts and grinds society and the very machinery of power to a halt, a war or military coup, or the death of the fascist leader, which can take decades.

This is not to crush the hopes of those who participated. On the contrary, those ordinary people who rallied did so because they understand something is terribly wrong and that they needed to do something. For many, this was their first time protesting. And that is commendable. But false hope is as dangerous as despair because it can often lead to complacency.

White, heterosexual American liberals have never had to face the terror of state violence before. This is new terrain. But they can learn from Black Americans who led the way with bus boycotts and bridge shutdowns. Or Queer Americans who shutdown entire cities with riots against police brutality. Or the movement against the Vietnam War. Or, more recently, the anti-genocide encampments on university campuses.

Hope lies in the copious examples of courage from marginalized and oppressed groups. Begin there.

Kenn Orfanos, October 2025

*The attached photo is Trump’s response to the protests, which is self explanatory.

There is no greater threat to democracy or human decency than fascism.

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Following an unprecedented mandatory meeting of US military commanders, the Trump regime’s attack on Chicago was another test. Sending 300 ICE agents to abduct immigrants, including children, by rappelling from Blackhawk helicopters onto an apartment building in the middle of the night was a clear message of state terror.

Borrowing from other fascist regimes throughout history, Trump and his minions are seeking absolute control over the republic through intimidation, threats and ruthless domination. And they continue to demonstrate that they can do this with virtually no opposition from any established political entity.

The Democratic Party has proven ineffective and unwilling to meet this moment with the resolve needed to thwart a complete takeover and dismantling of what is left of American democracy. And the judiciary, lacking any enforcement, appears unable to keep up with this rapid descent into fascist dystopia.

The American mainstream media, tasked with the role of watchdog, has been all but silent on the war the Trump regime is waging. Preferring to comply in advance and self-censor, instead of risking costly lawsuits by challenging the regime. This should not come as a surprise since these outlets have traded their journalistic integrity and credibility for ratings and profits long ago.

The regime now has its own army. ICE has a budget that dwarfs the US Marines. Its masked thugs seem to enjoy impunity, attacking civilians without provocation, firing rubber bullets into crowds, and shooting at the media. Its campaign of terror is only just beginning.

And speaking of terror, the regime is quickly acting on its threat of labeling anyone who disagrees or dissents from their policies or actions as domestic terrorists. This is the kind of thought policing that all fascist regimes resort to when challenged by a public that is not adequately complying with its dictates.

The regime will try to cast a wide net, ruthlessly persecuting and prosecuting all individuals, organizations and agencies they deem to be “radical leftists.” And that net will include anyone who is not Maga. Anyone who protests US support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Anyone who supports gay and transgender youth. Anyone who teaches science, talks about climate change or opposes the destruction of the environment. Anyone who challenges racist or misogynistic policies. Anyone who advocates for the unhoused or the rights of the mentally ill. Anyone who is not a white, heteronormative, evangelical or fundamentalist Christian. And this will include going after the liberals who have long attacked the left and progressives themselves.

At a time when most Americans are struggling with crushing debt and rising costs, the regime will not address the needs of the people. Instead, it will attempt to silence critics, criminalize the poor and use marginalized communities as scapegoats for all the suffering that is yet to come. This is not a prophetic declaration. It is a prediction based on mountains of evidence from every other fascist regime in history.

There is no greater threat to democracy or human decency than fascism. It is a poison to any society. And once administered, it is breathtakingly difficult to extract. For years, this brew of nationalism, oligarchic tyranny, racism and social animus has been allowed to simmer. And with the fascists now in power, it is reaching a rapid boil.

None of this is to discourage complacency or defeatism. In fact, the stakes have never been higher. Americans still have some freedoms left to them. And challenging this nightmare is paramount to reducing its cruelty and harm. But for many, especially those who are not white, Christian or who do not conform to the regime’s accepted optics, escaping is the only viable option.

Americans have long ignored the warning signs. They have long swallowed the bromide that “it can’t happen here.” But it has happened there. Over and over and over again. To Black and Brown people. To women. To immigrants. To Indigenous people. To queer communities. To the poor. And to the Global South that American imperialism has ruthlessly targeted for nearly 250 years. The difference now is that maw of brutality is much, much wider.

But at every moment of fascism’s rise, there has been resistance. It is not invincible, although fascists would like us to think so. The most powerful tool we have is our shared humanity. And this is why they want to rob us of that. Never forget that behind the bravado of every fascist is a cowardly bully, trembling in fear at the power of solidarity.

Kenn Orfanos, October 2025