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Category: Fascism

An image of paper balls over a head to introduce an article on mental health accusations from the right-wing and how they pathologize reasonable people
When the Right Tries to Pathologize Reasonable People

When the Right Tries to Pathologize Reasonable People

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It wasn’t that long ago that someone accused Assertive Spirituality, once again, of having “TDS”—you know, “Tr*mp Derangement Syndrome.” And every time we post in support of trans folks, some right-wing troll seems to pop up to argue that trans people and those who support them are “sick in the head.” (For the record, both things are ridiculous in the ways I’m about to outline.) In this week’s blog post I plan to unwrap a few of the layers of…

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Picture of the term "demagogue" unwrapped to introduce an article on the rhetorical techniques of a "strongman" to demoralize reasonable folks
When a Strongman Tries to Demoralize Reasonable Folks

When a Strongman Tries to Demoralize Reasonable Folks

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So if you’re a reasonable person, you’re likely feeling a little—or a lot—down just now. I’m here to unwrap for you enough of the context behind why that’s happening, specifically how a particular–ahem–right-wing fascistic strongman has been working to try to make their opponents seem immoral and weak—to hopefully give you some oomph to get back up off that mat and keep working toward a healthier world for us all. And let’s be clear—I first wanted to write this post…

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A rainbow over a church (photo by DS Leiter) introduces an article on white Evangelical culture war attempts to control the meaning of the rainbow.
White Evangelicals, the Culture Wars, and the Rainbow as a Battleground

White Evangelicals, the Culture Wars, and the Rainbow as a Battleground

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Shortly before Pride Month started, I was driving across the wide open in the Midwest, watching the stormy skies in one quadrant of the view carefully, only to find what I was hoping for—a complete double rainbow. As I came to a stop to soak it in and take pictures, I had to laugh a bit when I noticed the bow stretched over—you guessed it—one of those “seeker-friendly” white Evangelical churches. This got me thinking a lot, naturally, about the…

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A trans rights are human rights flag to introduce how anti-trans rhetoric plays on men's fears about " mutilation "
When Anti-Trans Rhetoric Plays on (Men’s) Fears about “ Mutilation ”

When Anti-Trans Rhetoric Plays on (Men’s) Fears about “ Mutilation ”

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Something I’ve been noticing a lot lately when trolls come in with anti-trans rhetoric is HOW MUCH the word “ mutilation “ comes up. Mostly this comes up with male right-wing trolls commenting on trans concerns, but I even saw a woman who identified as (conservative) Christian recently try to say that the Bible was against “ mutilation “ clearly suggesting that gender-alteration surgeries to help people feel more like themselves were somehow morally not okay. As you’ll see if…

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An image of a young white couple praying in front of a US flag to introduce an article about how conservative Christians downplay Christian nationalism
When Conservative Christians Downplay Christian Nationalism

When Conservative Christians Downplay Christian Nationalism

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This week I saw a Facebook post from an educated right-leaning man that completely downplayed the dangers of Christian nationalism, so I’ve decided to unwrap and respond to that post in this blog post. Hopefully by the end we can all get closer to agreeing on why it’s so important to continue to stand up against the very real dangers of Christian nationalism that has already been resulting in the trauma and deaths of actual human beings. Before diving in…

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A picture of a clergyman officiating a wedding to introduce an article on clergy abuse and the halo effect
The Halo Effect and Clergy Sexual Abuse

The Halo Effect and Clergy Sexual Abuse

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So I’ve regularly taught about the halo effect in my interpersonal communication class, and it recently occurred to me that this concept helps unwrap a lot of the nuances around why clergy too often get away with sexual abuse and other abuses of power. This may seem obvious at first, but when I started to think about it it got a lot deeper than I thought it did. So stick with me as I begin to unwrap this topic and…

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Fascistic Christian Nationalism as a GOP Platform?

Fascistic Christian Nationalism as a GOP Platform?

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One of the key reasons I founded this Assertive Spirituality project was the disturbing turn of the Republicans, in the 2016 election and beyond, toward embracing the ideals of fascistic Christian nationalism as their party platform. I believe the evidence of this ought to seem disturbing—it very much is a threat to healthy democracy in the US. It can also easily be confusing, though, so in this article I plan to unwrap how some of this rhetoric works, and why…

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Definitions of forgiveness to introduce an article about the abuses of the term
How to Make Conversations about Forgiveness Less Contentious

How to Make Conversations about Forgiveness Less Contentious

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I started this project to make space for people of all stripes that are AGAINST unhealthy stuff in the religio-political sphere and FOR a healthier world for us all. The thing is, we don’t all (naturally) agree on all topics. As a result, the AS FB page can become contentious at times, even among long-established followers. This never seems to happen quite as strongly as when the topic of forgiveness comes up. It happened again this week when I posted…

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An image of a white person's index finger punching a profit button to introduce an analysis of conservative religious rhetoric defending unhealthy capitalism
When Capitalism Gets Confused with God

When Capitalism Gets Confused with God

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This week on the AS Facebook page I posted a meme that no longer seems controversial to me at all. It’s about how the plots of the classic Christmas narratives It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol are critiquing predatory capitalism. And yet, when I posted it, it stirred up a firestorm. The conservative responses that came in helped me remember why such an idea would have been controversial to the right-leaning people I grew up with, and helped…

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“Do Your Own Research”: When Facts and Ethics Get Seen as Partisan (Part 2)

“Do Your Own Research”: When Facts and Ethics Get Seen as Partisan (Part 2)

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In a previous blog post I talked about some of the strange things that happen when facts and ethics get seen as partisan. This week I plan to continue that theme, but with a different example—specifically, looking at the various uses and interpretations of the phrase “do your own research.” It struck me recently in an in-class discussion that I’ve heard this term used on all sides of the partisan divide in political conversations in the US in recent years….

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Picture of middle aged woman's face close up to introduce an article on how mothers are often aging faster than presidents
When Mothers Are Aging Faster than Presidents

When Mothers Are Aging Faster than Presidents

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So I always teach a unit of my university courses on stress, because it has such an impact on communication. And I tend to show this video in class that talks about how mothers of disabled children are too often aging 6 years for every year of caregiving of a sick or disabled child. When I get to that point, I’ve taken to stopping the video lately to explain that presidents, for all the stress of their jobs, actually age…

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An image of tug of war to open an article about what happens when facts and ethics get seen as partisan
When Facts (and Ethics) Get Seen as Partisan

When Facts (and Ethics) Get Seen as Partisan

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I’m going to be real, here. Watching the rhetorical situation change over the last few years has been absolutely WILD from the perspective of teaching communication concepts in a university classroom as well as working through these things within this project. It’s been both fascinating and disturbing to see what it takes to teach students the basic principles of communication in a world where fascistic rhetoric is attempting to portray facts, ethics, and empathy as partisan, as well as to…

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Photo of two white young people praying in front of a flag to introduce an article against Christian nationalism
When Unhealthy Christian Nationalism Has the Loudest Voice

When Unhealthy Christian Nationalism Has the Loudest Voice

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Okay, so it’s been quite awhile now since fascistic Christian nationalism has been working hard to get an increasingly loud voice in US politics, and I’ve been noticing some increasingly complex dynamics at play because of this. Since a huge part of why I founded this project is to convince people to raise their voices against the unhealthy dynamics in this specific abuse of the fusion of religion and politics (alongside other unhealthy dynamics), I wanted to take some time…

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The definition of salvation to introduce an article about how this gets weaponized by the culture wars
When Salvation Is Used as a Culture Wars Weapon

When Salvation Is Used as a Culture Wars Weapon

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Well, if you haven’t heard, another forecasted “rapture” came and went on Friday, September 22, 2023. While I didn’t grow up in a tradition that overtly used the end times as a weapon for terrorizing people within the denomination (at least not regularly that I’m aware of!), I’ve come to realize that some of those I grew up with in my right-leaning moderate denomination did—and very much still do—either wittingly or unwittingly use salvation as a weapon. In today’s blog…

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a sign that says "trans rights are human rights" to introduce an article on an unprecented wave of anti-trans legislation in 2023
When Anti-Trans Legislation Just Keeps Coming

When Anti-Trans Legislation Just Keeps Coming

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I’ll confess that I was rather casually looking around for another aspect of anti-trans rhetoric to analyze for this week’s blog post. Like most of us, I knew on an intellectual level that it was absolutely a huge thing that was still happening, and I was considering writing about bathroom bills, but I’d been hearing them for so long. Were they still a thing? When I found a great source that tracks anti-trans legislation (keep reading for a link!), I…

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