Drip-drying bear sticks her tongue out after a bath.
Sort of. Maybe, sometimes.
Journalist Anand Giridharadas says,
"The ongoing hijacking of the United States by broligarchs and MAGA minions requires a ferocious political response".
But also...
"The best revenge is to refuse their values.––"The Opposite of Fascism" at The Ink––A newsletter on politics and culture, money and power
To embody the kind of living — free, colorful, open — they want to snuff out."
("Broligarchs"--ha, ha, I hadn't heard that before.)
I bet Giridharadas is an extrovert. He and others like him want to help us resist fascism by prescribing ... throwing parties with friends! Cooking good food and sharing it! Growing community!
"Let's hang a pinata in the public square, it'll be FUN!"
Fun can be a political/survival strategy... Like my toy dogs boycotting Target.
And, BELOW: A kid's sign from an Anti–Iraq War rally rally I attended in 2008 (found it while re-reading my early posts):
But I want to say, tongue in cheek (but really):
prescribing fun can be fascistic too--like all that HAPPY PEASANT propaganda from the Soviet Union or Maoist China.
Not everyone wants to dance under the stars with loved ones.
(And while I'm on it, I will add that I hate the term loved ones. Also, "beloved".)
I wish "celebrating community" was not so frequently held up as THE sign of political and mental health.
Misanthropes can hate and resist fascism too.
I appreciated the article for the reminder that resistance is not all about serious political action. But, include ALL the freedoms, including the freedom to be a grump, alone.
Reading in bed by yourself can also be the opposite of fascism. Spending the afternoon restoring old bears.
(And am I feeling a bit grumpy this chilly Sunday afternoon, and protective of my right to it?
Just maybe.)
Figuring out how to live YOUR life is the opposite of fascism.
No prescription needed.
