Y’all, fascism is here now, and those of you who are still in denial better wake up and participate in taking action before more people get hurt and more of your democratic and scientific institutions are destroyed.
Also, it’s time to do some soul-searching. Suppose you have been harbouring any ideas that align with fascist ideologies. In that case, it’s time to purge those before your humanity is lost.
Geometry and Graph Theory were two of my favourite topics at University. I particularly enjoyed solving physics mechanics problems using geometry proofs rather than writing a long list of equations whenever possible.
Shape—The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else—by Jordan Ellenberg was a particularly satisfying read despite my only understanding of about 60-70% of the material and skipping over the mathematical works and proofs in the book.
Shape covers recent and relevant topics, such as epidemics, the spread of infectious diseases, artificial intelligence, and democracy. The book’s final chapter explains how gerrymandering votes work in Republican states and how Republicans redraw the electoral maps whenever they take office to change the outcomes in their favour without facing legal consequences.
What is fascism? Is someone who disagrees with your progressive values a fascist or far-right? Jason Stanley’s book “How Fascism Works” provides a solid checklist to identify fascist narratives by conservative-leaning and right-wing governments and political parties. Some come directly from Hitler’s Mein Kampf book and are repackaged in charming and inviting coded language such as “family values,” “protecting the children,” and “personal responsibility.”
The book provides examples of how far-right leaders and conservative political parties use these narratives in different countries worldwide, specifically the United States, and how they create a politics of Us vs. Them, in which the “us” are the members of a chosen group that are superior and more deserving than “other” groups.
Some of the ideas were references to a mythic past when things were better, such as the MAGA slogan, the use of propaganda to widen the urban and rural conflicts, anti-intellectualism targeted towards scientists and journalists, vilifying the journalists and creating an alternate reality of alternative facts, having a hierarchical point of view of society and the world in general, victimhood and claiming that their values and livelihoods are under attack by the “other” groups, claiming that the members of “us” group believe in “Law and Order,” and having constant sexual anxieties and wanting to restrict rights and autonomy of women and LGBTQ+ communities while enforcing traditional heteronormative and gender binary ideas as family values and protection for children.
The book is a little over 193 pages; it is fluid, if not emotionally heavy. It is suitable for all ages, and I strongly encourage you to read it; you won’t be disappointed! I even bought more than one copy for friends and family members.
A case of mistaken identity and misattribution inspired Naomi Klein’s Doppelganger. A prominent feminist figure turned conspiracy theorist and anti-waxer, Naomi Wolf had been spreading misinformation on her social media posts, and the general public mistakenly attributed those quotes to Naomi Klien, who at first tried to ignore it but later had to defend her name by writing a book about it.
Doppelganger also represents the mirror universe of misinformation and conspiracy theories that grow parallel to our objective reality. Klien goes down the rabbit hole of mainstream conspiracy theories and hate groups such as QAnon, Diagolon, COVID Conspiracies, The Freedom Convoy insurrection in Canada, and the January 6th insurrection in the US.
Doppelganger is about 350 pages long and is a fluid and addictive book. It was one of the best books I have read this year.
Conservative parties in Canada are the legacy of colonialism and white supremacy. They are binary thinkers who believe in patriarchy, social Darwinism, and social hierarchies. They are anti-intellectual and believe in ideologies over science and evidence when writing their policies.
They are also free-market capitalists who believe in the fallacy of unruly and unregulated markets, in which corporations can operate without social responsibilities and merge to form behemoth monopolies.
They are patiently waiting to defund, deregulate, and privatize all publicly funded institutions, such as the Canadian Healthcare and Public Education systems. By intentionally defunding our publicly funded institutions and playing on Canadians’ racial and economic anxieties, there are now enough Canadians who want to weaponize fascism against marginalized groups and our public institutions, poisoning the waters because there are too many immigrants on the streets too many queer and trans kids in schools, and too many women who demand safety, equal rights, and equal pay in the society.
The primary goal of a government in a democracy is not to become fascist; the primary goal of voters in a democracy should be to stop fascism because that is the prerequisite to building an equitable and thriving society. A conservative vote is an act of violence against the environment, against women, and marginalized people.
We have an election season upon us, both federally and provincially. This election season, put all your differences aside and vote to stop fascism because that’s your primary responsibility now to save your democracy, the environment, marginalized loved ones in our communities, and, of course, our publicly funded institutions.
This election season, vote to stop the conservatives wherever you are!
