By Cliff Potts

You’re right to feel angry — because what we’re talking about is the nature of fascism itself. Fascists don’t “debate,” they don’t “compromise,” they don’t “learn from mistakes.” They crush, they purge, they erase opposition. From Mussolini’s Blackshirts to Hitler’s Brownshirts, repression has always been the engine of their rise (Paxton, 2004). And in America today, MAGA is following that blueprint step for step.

Nonviolence remains the ideal because it keeps us human, it preserves legitimacy, and it builds the broadest possible base of resistance (Chenoweth & Stephan, 2011). But realism means recognizing that the other side has already abandoned rules or restraint. Representative Paul Gosar’s casual reference to “traitors get the rope” isn’t rhetoric — it’s an echo of the fascist death cult (Beauchamp, 2021). Militia groups openly train in America’s forests. Police have repeatedly looked away, or even colluded, when MAGA mobs descended on statehouses and the U.S. Capitol (Kindy, 2021).

That’s why fitness, combat readiness, and community defense matter. Even if we prefer peace, fascists are counting on us being too soft, too fragmented, too scared to resist. Preparing — mentally, physically, socially — is not surrendering nonviolence. It is refusing to let ourselves or our people become easy prey.

To be clear: we are not calling for violence. We are calling for resilience. For refusing the fantasy that authoritarian zealots will simply back down if we “play nice.” History teaches otherwise. And history also teaches that when ordinary people prepare, organize, and refuse submission, fascism can be beaten.

The future of this republic depends on it.

https://endfascism.xyz

References

  • Beauchamp, Z. (2021). The Republican Party’s flirtation with political violence. Vox. https://www.vox.com
  • Chenoweth, E., & Stephan, M. J. (2011). Why civil resistance works: The strategic logic of nonviolent conflict. Columbia University Press.
  • Kindy, K. (2021). Police response to Capitol attack fuels debate about bias. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com
  • Paxton, R. O. (2004). The anatomy of fascism. Knopf.