This thread is against attempts to 1) downplay the danger o…

The claims being made by various pseudo-left tendencies that the seriousness of the events in Washington should not be exaggerated, that it is wrong to refer to a coup, are dangerously complacent.

Jacobin magazine, which is affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, argues against “social media posts and liberal magazines of record [that] immediately characterized the rampage as a coup.”

The danger of fascistic violence, Jacobin claims, is minimal because the ruling class supports democracy. It writes: “The takeover of the Capitol has laid bare the lack of backing, both among corporate elites and within state institutions, for far-right authoritarianism. [...]

[...] Capital, it seems, is still committed to liberal democracy, which has served to safeguard its interests throughout American history.” [end of Jacobin quote]

Such comments combine political stupidity with the utter complacency that characterizes the privileged layers of the upper-middle class for whom Jacobin speaks.

The authoritarian actions of Trump, according to Jacobin, are disconnected from the class interests of the ruling oligarchy and the massive social inequality that has eroded the objective basis for democracy.

The pressures arising from social polarization have been driven to the point of explosion by the pandemic, in which more than 385,000 people in the United States have died.

Another aspect of the complacent underestimation of the political crisis and the dangers posed by Trump’s attempted coup has been the response to the shutting down of Trump’s Twitter account over the weekend.

To see this action [Trump's Twitter ban], in the present circumstances, as the main threat to democratic rights expresses a complete underestimation of what is now taking place.

Trump is not merely an individual, let alone the representative of a dissident progressive and left-wing movement.

[Trump] is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States, with staggering power at his disposal—including the power to launch a nuclear war—as long as he is president.

To insist on his unfettered access to Twitter and social media—so that he can mobilize and incite his fascistic followers throughout the country—as if this were a critical free speech issue is politically irresponsible, if not insane.

And if it is impermissible to shut down his Twitter account, it must be doubly impermissible to demand his immediate removal from the White House and arrest!

This thread is against attempts to 1) downplay the danger of a coup and/or 2) argue that Trump's Twitter ban is actually what we should be worried about. All posts are directly lifted from today's WSWS perspective, linked at the end.

#CoupAttempt

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This thread is against attempts to 1) downplay the danger of a coup and/or 2) argue that Trump's Twitter ban is actually what we should be worried about. All posts are directly lifted from today's WSWS perspective, linked at the end.#CoupAttempt

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This thread is against attempts to 1) downplay the danger of a coup and/or 2) argue that Trump's Twitter ban is actually what we should be worried about. All posts are directly lifted from today's WSWS perspective, linked at the end.

#CoupAttempt