Stephen Macht’s Post

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President at Mighty Macht Productions

Chauvinist, Narcissist and Threat to Democracy itself, read this incisive indictment of Criminal 45 and his MAGA Fascists. "The MAGA hat draws them in, but the gun keeps them there. Macho lawlessness was always the root of Trump's appeal. Being encouraged by the leader to transgress (the truth, “political correctness,” the rule of law, taboos against beating up your neighbor) was and remains a large part of the thrill of being a Trump follower. The gun peeks out from the hat because violence is built into Trump's model of politics, which preaches that some must be harmed, or at least threatened into silence, or "locked up," so that the glory of the true nation may come to fruition. The gun, already the symbol of systematic government repression of people of color, stands for the rights of arms-bearing civilians to create and police the new national community. Mandel may be a former Marine, but the gun he depicts is presumably private issue. Weapons already figure in a vision of political change, embodied in the Jan. 6 coup attempt, that depends on force and extralegal measures. Authoritarians always need a veneer of respectability to keep financial and other elites on board and let people think, "It's not that bad; it's not that serious." That's the function of the MAGA hat. Yet there is nothing harmless about the violence committed by those who wear those hats, who include many who breached the Capitol. MAGA hats may refer to a joyous Trumpian future, but violence is the way that future is likely to be realized."

The MAGA Hat and the Gun

The MAGA Hat and the Gun

lucid.substack.com

Stephen Macht

President at Mighty Macht Productions

7mo

Hat and Gun!

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