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Alright. We need to talk about fascism and America. Finally, finally, finally, white pundits are starting to call this fascism, shocked and appalled, as if minorities and women haven’t been saying this for years.
Now white guys love to criticize and tone police me—“you can’t say I told you so!” And accusing me of doing “victory laps” as America burns.
I have two things to say to this. One—it is in fact my right to promote myself. In fact it’s sadly a necessity. if I don’t look out for me, a brown dude, who will? Certainly not the white media that has gone out of its way my whole life to ignore me.
The minorities who tried to warn you about this are now in a double bind. Wait for the patriarchal, white media to recognise you, which it never will. Or be criticised for taking “victory laps” when you speak up for yourself.
Two, if we don’t learn from the past, we repeat it. Me saying “I told you this years ago” should be a *lesson* to you on fascism and racism. When I said “fascism,” people told me I was overreacting, that it would never happen.
Concentration camps at the border weren’t fascism! They were full of *brown* children. ICE raids and paper-checking in the streets wasn’t fascism! Guess whose papers were being checked.
But now, all of a sudden, white people have realised that fascism has come for them. They can be tear gassed in the streets just like any black or brown person. Oh no!!! It’s fascism!!!
You didn’t listen to us because we are minorities. You didn’t listen to us because our voices didn’t matter. And now, when fascism is coming for you, you *still* aren’t listening to us. You’re pointing to white pundits finally saying the “f word” and cheering them on.
This is its own kind of fascism.
When you tell me I can’t say “I told you so,” you’re telling me you aren’t willing to learn from me. That my tone and politeness matters more than the content of my words. That you know better, and you don’t have to listen to me.
This is its own kind of fascism.
This is its own kind of fascism.
When you shake your heads in disbelief at reporters being arrested and tear gassed, and finally, finally call this fascism, you insult black America that has faced this treatment for centuries.
This is its own kind of fascism.
This is its own kind of fascism.
When we say “I told you so,” what we are saying is, “You made this bed. You didn’t listen to us when it mattered. But you can listen to us now, because if we don’t learn from the past this is just going to go from bad to worse.”
When we say “I told you so,” we are saying, “if you still don’t listen to us, nothing has really changed. You’re not really fighting fascism and racism while erasing our voices.”
In *2015* I wrote about the wave of Neo-fascism spreading through the rich world, especially America. You know what I was told? That I was “inciting mass hysteria.” Imagine how different things would be if we’d been listening back then. https://medium.com/bad-words/why-fascism-is-rising-again-and-what-you-can-learn-from-it-d5b853a7dccc
In 2016, I began to warn more strongly of fascism in America and the UK. I was told I was “paranoid.” https://umairhaque.com/fascism-and-the-future-c31ad02614df
In 2016, I called fascism an epidemic. I was told I shouldn’t “throw the word around.” https://umairhaque.com/fascisms-the-disease-what-s-the-cure-46ce4f1a9e6f
I could go on and on with links from the past, but I really just want to add a few more that are relevant to what’s happening in America today and how to fight it. In 2016, I wrote about how to fight fascism. I was called “off the deep end.” https://medium.com/leadership-in-the-age-of-rage/why-we-hesitate-to-call-it-totalitarianism-even-when-it-is-and-how-not-to-1967ecffd76e
In 2017, I talked about how fascist history is repeating itself. We can’t let it happen again. https://eand.co/a-day-in-the-life-of-fascism-82cbd35874a
In 2017, I wrote about fascism relying on denial and hubris. I was told I had “zero facts to back it up”—that’s some serious dramatic irony in hindsight. https://umairhaque.com/what-happens-now-5e12d0aa491f
