masculine values are now illegal…
and this article from Daily Kos addresses this:
Whatever ‘traditional masculine values’ might be, the right-wing culture war being waged does seem to require mass compliance with some strangely anachronistic and biased stereotypes constructed by an elite.
What gets weird is Tucker Carlson defending a false equivalence with claims for the “legality” of gendered virtues on the same day that Trump’s social media site which proclaims its “freedom of speech” kicks off a user because they mentioned the J6 hearings.
Fox News refused to televise the hearings live and went as far as to have Tucker Carlson stay on the air for an hour straight without a break. Carlson spent his hour sweating and spreading conspiracy theories about the 1/6 attack.
Trump was consistently opposed to freedom of speech as a candidate and as president, and he is putting that opposition to criticism and political discourse into action on Truth Social.
Donald Trump’s supporters are getting a fast and personal lesson on what happens when Trump’s fascist fantasies are implemented. Trump is even taking action against the users of his own platform for posting about the hearings. It apparently doesn’t matter if they are critical of the hearings. If a Trump supporter posts about the biggest event in American politics, they will be banned.
TUCKER CARLSON (HOST): Professional sports were a masculine domain. Any expression of masculine sensibility, the traditional masculine virtues is now illegal so the left just kind of came in and took over professional sports. That seems like what happened.
CLAY TRAVIS (GUEST): You’re 100% right.
www.mediamatters.org/….
Much like horse paste could be a ”cure” for a pandemic, Carlson’s cult of right-wing hypermasculinity that somehow isn’t also homoerotic can succeed only if (white) men regain their “lost” privilege and women submit to traditional roles. And all those “critical” intersectionalities must also respect that elite’s authority.
weaponized insecurity
Jared Yates Sexton’s thread below identifies the fascist tropes being hawked by Tucker Carlson. Carlson apparently never attends actual sporting events and opportunistically looks for the trumpist audience still triggered by the Washington Commanders’ team name rebranding. Context actually counts, especially for the Washington Football Club and the history of its mascot names.
Carlson condones lying about events that kill people and attempt sedition used in a false equivalence by an assistant coach. But he chooses the easy ideological target, post-Kaepernick. The 21st Century has professional and amateur sports that are trying to emerge from their racist past, but for Carlson, the NFL is now apparently “liberal” because something, something in contradistinction to the obvious social differences between the workforce and the ownership in professional American football.
We’ll know Carlson is really serious and not gratuitous about his claims if he demands the reinstatement of the former team name, “Redskins”, because that better represents “traditional masculine virtues”. Darn those Maoists.
Carlson then quoted a statement from (Coach Ron) Rivera that read in part,
I want to make it clear that our organization will not tolerate any equivalency between those who demanded justice in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the actions of those on January 6 who sought to topple our government.
Carlson reacted by saying, “If you can think of a line more filled with cant dishonesty and propaganda than that, send us text and tell us what it is because we can’t. That’s just flat-out Maoist.”
www.mediaite.com/….
Obviously Tucker’s promo has been met with a little derision and mocking, but what he is presenting is Far Right propaganda that has its roots in fascistic ideology and a growing extremism within the Right.
We have to understand what’s happening, because it’s dangerous.
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Along with attacks on liberal democracy, the GOP is beginning to calibrate that rhetoric with talk of “masculinity in crisis.”
This is going to be a key component of the authoritarian power grab. We’ve seen this throughout history, and it’s playing out again.
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National Conservatism is gaining power within the GOP and is an extension of the international authoritarian power grab.
Within its platform is an “explanation” of what has happened in American culture that is steeped in weaponized conspiracy theories to appeal to white men.
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The effects of globalism aren’t even deniable anymore, and the suffering it’s caused necessitates an explanation and solution.
What the Right is telling white men is that these changes are part of a larger conspiracy that requires drastic action to undo.
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At the heart of the Right’s “explanation” is the New World Order conspiracy theory that tells them an international cabal wants to emasculate and replace them, take their weapons, and destroy them.
This narrative legitimizes antidemocratic action and violence as a remedy.
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The Right’s conspiracy theories are always predicated on the idea that “puppetmasters” so control politics and liberal democracy that they must be dislodged by any means necessary.
It’s always antisemitic and racist, but it’s at the heart of all this.
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Meanwhile, this new “groomer” slur is about reinforcing the idea that culture is a weapon of the conspiracy to destroy the nation.
It tells men their children are being preyed upon and must be protected. This accusation of “degeneracy” is part of the historical narrative.
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White American men have been primed for these narratives based on a consumer society that preys on insecurity and the need to supplement identity.
A lot of these guys are looking for something to join, a way to prove just how strong they are. We’ve seen this before.
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The lies Tucker is peddling are part of a larger movement that tells these same stories in order to promote antidemocratic actions and centralize power with white, evangelical, wealthy men.
They’ve worked elsewhere and throughout history. And they’re working here.
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What’s getting lost in our discourse about this stuff is that it’s incredibly potent and dangerous.
It’s absurd and laughable, sure, but we shouldn’t even begin to dismiss it. We know this stuff works. We’ve seen it throughout history.
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Fascism and Nazism were both predicated on masculine insecurity and weaponizing groups of angry white men to carry out violence and antidemocratic movements.
We don’t examine this enough or reckon with how these appeals to take shape.
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The conspiracy theories we’re dealing with now are just retellings of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an antisemitic narrative that legitimized white supremacist actions.
It tells a story of a sinister plot that must be opposed at any and all costs.
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And, in order for that plot to be opposed, society must turn to a “strongman” capable of mobilizing the forces of “Good.”
Authoritarians communicate themselves as being strong enough to confront the conspiracy. Their cults are steeped in masculine portrayals.
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We laugh at these things because they are absurd. Preposterous. But what is being communicated is a Right Wing desire for strongmen to come along, assert control, and thwart the declared enemies.
For all of the derision, we lose sight of this.
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Displays of “strength” and “virility” are necessary components of the authoritarian.
In order to stoke the insecurity of angry men, they display the traits that men are terrified they lack. This creates a cycle between the authoritarian and their people.
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These portrayals of masculine rhetoric are ridiculous for most, but for insecure men they see it as legitimate, serious, and necessary to follow.
It is a continual conversation that reinforces absurd ideas and that insecurity can turn violent.
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Just as we’re seeing now with the GOP attack on LGBTQ, the authoritarians claim that society is degenerating because of multiculturalism and tolerance.
They push that only a return to “traditional” values can save the society from the conspiracy to destroy it.
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What we’re watching right now is a very troubling escalation in that “degeneracy” claim.
The GOP is aggressively claiming that liberal democracy and tolerance are trojan horses for a larger conspiracy to destroy America. It is a fascistic appeal through and through.
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In response to this “degeneracy” and “degradation of culture and masculinity,” the Right pushes masculine overcompensation and a return to “traditional values.”
This is part of the fascistic cycle that gains momentum and leads to violence.
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Before long, it isn’t enough to simply talk about masculinity, it must be worshiped.
This leads to a cult of hypermasculinity in everyday life. It includes an emphasis on aggression, violence, and antidemocratic impulses as liberal democracy is gendered “feminine.”
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In all of this, the threat is portrayed as being so strong that only an authoritarian displaying masculine overcompensation could even attempt to stop it.
Liberal democracy is portrayed as feminine weakness and masculinity as the solution.
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Unfortunately, what I’ve just outlined is the means by which authoritarians regime gain power and retain it.
These appeals mixing masculinity, white supremacy, nationalism, and weaponized conspiracy theories are incredibly powerful and effective.
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As long as the conditions precipitating this new wave of authoritarianism are not addressed, there’s going to be a vulnerability to these narratives.
The Right is aggressively courting lonely and aggrieved men and giving them a movement and a purpose.
K: We can spot all the men who are lonely and aggrieved around here, ILP,
they don’t even hide it…in fact, they proclaim for all to hear
all the things that they feel threatened by… gays, trans, women,
freedom of choice, democracy, liberals, socialism, blacks, people of
color, education, thinking, change, atheists, peace, puppies, love,
abortion, gun control, and blue states…there is much more that
these ‘‘men’’ are afraid of, but I don’t have the 10 hours to list
everything these people are afraid of…
Kropotkin