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The Anti-Fascist Scouting Report: What The Left Can Learn From the Right

The leadership of the Christian Right has conjured what amounts to a resurrection of a wide array of threat vectors targeting LGBTQ people. They accomplished this by backing Trump’s candidacy and leading, by some accounts, more than 80% of white, self-identified evangelical voters to back him in the election. By allying themselves with Trump, evangelical right wing leaders have won a place at the table of the Trump regime and, seemingly overnight, gains of the LGBTQ movement we thought of as secure signposts of progressive change are in peril.

The cutting edge of Trump’s offensive against civil and human rights has been attacks against immigrants, Muslims, and Black radicals, leading many to believe that Trump will go directly after those groups first. While that may be true, in many ways LGBTQ people are the low hanging fruit where targeting groups to make good on campaign promises is concerned. Producing wins like “hate the sin, love the sinner” religious exemptions that equate discrimination with religious freedom, as well as attacks on same sex unions, insurance claims for sex reassignment surgery, and queer-friendly bathrooms is a lot easier than, say, building a border wall or executing millions of deportations. But, success in attacking LGBTQ rights could set the stage for much deeper cuts into civil rights and civil liberties that may, in the end, clear the way for Trump to consolidate the kind of anti-democratic authority necessary to dig even deeper into his xenophobic and discriminatory agenda.

If Trump comes good on the anti-LGBTQ front (and abortion), conservative evangelicals may well look the other way if he reaches for policies that victimize those more likely to be viewed by the broader Christian community as innocents. After all, no one, no mainline or evangelical Christian denomination, stood in the way when Japanese Americans and Alaska Natives were interned during WWII (supposedly for our own safety, which is an argument the Trump regime may be laying the basis for by inciting anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant hatred and inviting and even condoning violence).

It’s a frightening prospect…(read more on Medium)

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By Scot Nakagawa

Scot Nakagawa is a political strategist and writer who has spent more than four decades exploring questions of structural racism, white supremacy, and social justice. Scot’s primary work has been in the fight against authoritarianism, white nationalism, and Christian nationalism. Currently, Scot is co-lead of the 22nd Century Initiative, a project to build the field of resistance to authoritarianism in the U.S.

Scot is a past Alston/Bannerman Fellow, an Open Society Foundations Fellow, and a recipient of the Association of Asian American Studies Community Leader Award. His writings have been included in Race, Gender, and Class in the United States: An Integrated Study, 9th Edition,  and Killing Trayvons: An Anthology of American Violence.

Scot's political essays, briefings, and other educational media can be found at his newsletter, We Fight the Right at scotnakagawa@substack.com. He is a sought after public speaker and educator who provides consultation on campaign and communications strategy, and fundraising.

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