Fascism Watch for 14 August 2023: the Moral Relativism edition

[solarbird]

Once again, it’s certainly been a week. Summer is my busiest time for work and, well, that means less coverage. Sorry about that.

I want to talk a little bit about this story, wherein Republican Florida’s fake online university and newly-appointed producer of videos for schools, PragerU declares slavery was “no big deal.”

The backbone of the video’s argument was that it was no big deal in the culture at the time, ignoring, of course, the viewpoint of the slaves involved. That’s a pretty big “African slaves aren’t people” hand-tip, and I’m not ignoring it, but I want to put it specifically in the context of fundamentalist evangelicalism.

For decades and decades, the fundamentalists have failed against what they called moral relativism, which is to say, what is considered “moral” can be different depending upon context and time. Naturally, they were using this particularly as an attack against LGBT people, but also as an attack on the rights of women, particularly reproductive rights; God Doesn’t Change, so being gay was a sin in the 1900s, it’s a sin now, it’s a sin forever, and so on. Moral Relativism is Anti-God.

And looking at the excerpts from this video, their argument is very clear: in the context of that (white, Christian, imperial, etc) society, slavery was okay, so we can’t treat it like a big deal in history either. And people who did it are still heroes.

This is, if you’re wondering, an argument of moral relativism. That moral relativism, exactly their idea and construct of it. That one.

All these years later, they have finally found their voice of support for full-throated moral relativism, and where they found it was in defence of chattel race slavery.

Neat, huh?

By the way, they also teach that people trying to stop climate change are fascists. You know, in case you thought fossil fuel companies weren’t involved.

Now, a few selected bits of news:

I hope this speaks for himself: “Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz told a crowed of Trump supporters at the Iowa State Fair ‘that only through force do we make any change in a corrupt town like Washington.’” Unfortunately, it’s video. This is fascism.

Pastor alarmed after Trump-loving congregants deride Jesus’ teachings as ‘weak’. This is also fascism, see also nothing too sacred to sacrifice for power.

A group of Democratic lawmakers in the House are calling for a hearing to “investigate attacks on democracy,” following Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s suspension of an elected Democratic State Attorney, replacing her with the Republican opponent she defeated in the last election. This is a direct overturn of an election result.

Emails and texts link Coffee County Republicans ‘right into the Oval Office’ – this being part of the plot to overturn the election in the coup attempt.

This sounds like a test case to me: Anti-trans couple told they can’t foster children because of their views on LGBTQ+ kids. They’re suing. They promise they won’t respect queer kids’ identities, so that’s great – sounds to me like they rather want to be their own little Conversion Therapy aimed at foster children. Fundamentalists have a history of that in the US, too. See also coverage at Assigned.

A little more good news from Ohio: “In Ohio, the first attempt to use transphobia to get voters to abandon their position on abortion has failed with the defeat of Issue 1.”

Republican DeSantis’s Florida’s Orance County School District is now functionally requiring all trans students, staff, and faculty to de-transition in schools. Also, “transgender “visitors”—including parents, guardians, and students from other districts or states—will face criminal prosecution if they use the bathroom that fits their gender identity on school premises.” All of this is the intent. They’ll make all of us illegal again if they can. See also: ‘Just absurd’: Shakespeare is latest casualty of Florida’s book ban law. See also also: this is the same school district that requires parental permission for nicknames because some of them might be queer.

Southwest Lawyers Must Take ADF Religion Classes, [Trump-appointed] Judge Says. This is basically “you have to take classes on race relations from the Klu Klux Klan.” The ADF (formerly the Alliance Defence Fund, now a Alliance Defending Freedom) is a Dominionist legal group, rabidly anti-LGBT and anti-reproductive rights. And now you have a judge requiring people take courses in their propaganda.

See also: Federalist Author Calls for a New Satanic Panic. No, really. Queers are Satanic, that’s been the line for decades, they’re just real open about it now.

Texas Fights for the Right to Deny Women Life-Saving Abortion Care, from Rolling Stone. I mean, yeah, that’s the standard now. Women should die if pregnancies go wrong. It’s God’s Will. Reporting that the Idaho Republican Party got real specific about that is what got me my first ban on Twitter.

Police stage ‘chilling’ raid on Marion County newspaper, seizing computers, records and cellphones – local corruption meets gestapo tactics. The co-owner of the paper is now dead, and they think from the stress. (She was quite elderly.)

eta: The word they’re… not completely misusing… to mean “not applying moral relativism” is “presentism.” Thanks to conuly on Dreamwidth for the tip!

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Comments

[conuly]

And looking at the excerpts from this video, their argument is very clear: in the context of that (white, Christian, imperial, etc) society, slavery was okay, so we can’t treat it like a big deal in history either. And people who did it are still heroes.

This is, if you’re wondering, an argument of moral relativism. That moral relativism, exactly their idea and construct of it. That one.

All these years later, they have finally found their voice of support for full-throated moral relativism, and where they found it was in defence of chattel race slavery.

I've honestly seen people in this sphere get moved to tears about how mean it is to engage in "presentism", that is, judging the past by the standards of the present. They'll ask how I would feel if it happened to me.

A. I really hope I'm not living the sort of life that's going to get me badly judged by history.

B. But if I am, I'll be dead, so whatever? (Interestingly, the same answer I have about abortion. How would I feel if I was aborted? Great question, because I wouldn't have the capacity to feel anything at that point.)

[solarbird]

Ooooh, presentism. Neat. Of course they have a new word for it, they have to, because they can't admit it's moral relativism now can they?

As them how they feel about European cannibalism. That was a thing for millennia and only finally fully died out in the early 19th century. I'm not even talking the Catholic Church and transubstantiation, I'm talking full-blown eating the dead for health. Skulls, blood, all sorts of body parts, 100% real thing and not incidentally the reason why there aren't nearly as many mummies as there used to be. I even wrote a short story mostly inspired by that fact. (nb: vampires)

Wonder how they feel about that? xD

[conuly]

To be fair, I think presentism may actually be a word and concept used by actual historians.

However, I'm damn certain that the amateur groupies who get teary at the idea that you won't uncritically hand Little House on the Prairie off to your child are absolutely misapplying it.

(And on the subject of Little House, let me just say that it is absolutely infuriating that if you call out the racism they say it's "history", and then if you call out the inaccuracies they say it's "fiction", and then they pretend they never changed their story. Yeah, right. Even if I didn't remember, I have all my conversations on the internet, in text. The computer remembers for me.)

[solarbird]

Ah, the word in this general application already exists. Fair enough.

Honestly, I don't even think it's unfair or unreasonable to talk about this. Culture - and what's right and wrong within that culture - always has a context, right?

But the "that would be funny if it weren't so sad" part, of course, is insisting for decades that there is no such thing as context and God's Rules Are Eternal And Unchanging And Define All Morality, then flipping on a dime to defend... chattel race slavery.

[conuly]

To be fair, God's Eternal Rules do not expressly forbid chattel race slavery.

[conuly]

I've now used the phrase "to be fair" twice in one conversation, which may be twice too many times. The second time was facetious, if that helps.

[solarbird]

Was going through social inbox and picked up on this on re-reading:

I really hope I'm not living the sort of life that's going to get me badly judged by history.

I've two main thoughts on this:

1: Like I'm going to be remembered, much less judged?^* It seems... unlikely.

2: There's an assumption about how future society trends that I'm not really sure is warranted, to wit: a future where fascists win (at least for a while) and if in that future somehow I'm remembered at all, I'm judged as vermin to be exterminated, and everything I've fought for to be wretched degenerate evil. I'd be one of history's monsters, and honestly, I'd be a bit proud of that if it happened, so there y'go.

* I think this is Christian "day of judgment" mythology re-manifested with "history" as "god."

[filkerdave]

PragerU -- Dennis Prager is a shanda fur die goyim.

[solarbird]

shanda? fur die?

I presume these words are rude? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[conuly]

A scandal for the goyim, doesn't it mean? As in "He's making us* look bad". Is he Jewish, then?

* not us, I'm not Jewish in any respect

[filkerdave]

Sadly, he is indeed one of ours.

[conuly]

Geez. Can you return him for a refund?

[tornir]

Best I can tell, it reads "Dennis Prager is a scandalous embarrassment for the gentiles.", which is actually quite a polite way to put it.

[solarbird]

Given the context - and the fact that Prager is Jewish - I suspect it's something like "embarrassment to us in front of the gentiles" maybe?

Google Translate was, of course, no help.

[filkerdave]

Yes, he makes us all look bad.

[solarbird]

I empathise - after all, we have now-"Ex-Gay"-circuit-grifter Milo Y., who was quite famous for quite a while and whose fash crowds got people killed specifically here. So.

[filkerdave]

Yes. It means something like "a shame before the others", meaning he's acting in a way that brings shame upon the Jews.

I often say the same thing about Ben Shapiro and Stephen Miller.