to clarify: life under authoritarians is often boring and normal for many people until it all of a sudden isn’t, and of course it’s that uncertainty that causes the corrosion.
Living under authoritarian regimes is both relatively boring and normal AND incredibly corrosive to the human soul. These things can absolutely co-exist.
This is why everyone needs to resist authoritarians, even people who privately assume they’ll be just fine.
yes, it's the constant background stress, unless you kinda self-lobotomise by buying in, which is a pretty understandable survival trait if you're that good at convincing yourself of stuff to feel better.
And obviously, certain classes of people will be doing great out of whatever brand of authoritarianism has turned up. So it's just a matter of the size of the leftover group you're suppressing.
Also in blue cities, a whole lot of white well off straight people nowadays have mixed race families and LGTBQ and POC family members and friends. Much more so than in the recent past. Not societies where straight whites can be super easily portioned out for favor from fascists.
Obviously too many straight white people WILL go along with the flow, but one can also assume that a lot of them won’t be willing to casually abandon their POC and LGTBQ family and friends to the wolves, either.
www.washingtonpost.com/news/nationa...
I remember a lot of stories like this in 2017 and 2018.
a big uproar when the Leopards Initially Eat My Face, but then it quickly becomes The Leopards Are Fine, Actually.
