By Stacy Barber
If Trump insists on violating the rights of blue states because of his authoritarian, fascistic, xenophobic, racist agenda as far as targeting so-called criminals, it has proven very quickly to be a red herring. (Not to mention that those who actually are lawbreakers still deserve basic liberal democratic norms like due process and have a right to legal representation). Now President Sauron’s hackneyed hyena hacks are just going after anyone who looks vaguely like the stereotypical Latino. This is all exceedingly moronic, considering that Spanish and Portuguese speakers from South and Central America come in all shades of the rainbow, including white as snow, as the ICE raids recently in Montebello, California have shown
When they start arresting Democratic Party leadership, as much as I consider them a bunch of neo liberal, bougie, careerists; and let’s face it, too tied to their freaking stock portfolios and political donors who may very well double down on the lifestyles and identitarian politics (Hey hellbot Clinton, you missed the memo on intersectionality. It got tried by the U.S. Left in the 70s and failed miserably), they do deserve to be defended against arrest. And when the state attorney general of Florida is calling for Representative Ilhan Omar to be denaturalized just because she criticized Trump’s military fete to himself on the taxpayer dime, yeah, I think that is real cause for concern.
I do not want to live in a theocratic state either. Even if Trump gets impeached…one can hope…it would then be President J.D. Vance and he is a big ol’ Bible thumper. I don’t see where anyone in New York State would want to put up with living in the Christian version of Saudi Arabia, but for Christians, as Project 2025 would have it. If I wanted to live in a state run by Christian nationalists, I would move to Texas.
I would rather put up with defending Hochul if Trump ever tried cracking down on her and defend people who at least want to see a liberal democracy upheld…or so I would hope that could be expected of Democratic leadership so things are easier for the rest of the left. Even if she is rich. Maybe she would remember socialists were willing to defend her so they too could live in a state where at least on paper, there is rule of law. Ruling class though it would be, way better than say…one based on biblical law, which some current members of Congress actually want.
Trump has also been slamming the Ivy league schools which id be curious…is he going after Tulane in New Orleans or just Harvard and Columbia? He is also attacking unions, women, the environment…you name it. Many things that many people in blue states hold dear, he is attacking. Not just immigrants. But U.S. citizens already with his big bully of a bill.
If it’s a choice between remaining in a fascist country or say becoming part of Canada and though it has its problems, the U.S. Northeast and Ontario and Montreal could probably coordinate their economies fairly quickly. Ok, so maybe the Big Apple might get jokingly referred to as the Big Maple, eh?
The whole point in the original formation of our country was that the coming together of the colonies was supposed to be voluntary. Then we should also be able to put secession to a vote on a general referendum and leave voluntarily if we want. Ideally. And that was in part over economic resentment over taxation. And, by the way, who in New York State wants 1.2 trillion dollars of their money going to fat cats who never earned it?
Stacy Barber is a non-member activist and observer in Western New York.
We live in odd times indeed. Who would have thought, say, a decade ago that Socialist Currents would publishing articles bemoaning the violation of states rights and singing the praises of voluntary secession (even if said article is written by a non SDUSA member)? I’m not saying that Ms. Barber’s arguments are without merit. At the very least however, we should conduct a serious debate about whether or not our opposition to the Trump administration and the larger MAGA movement should be couched in terms often used by partisans of slavery and segregation.
It’s a bit but I’m going to pick it: The term “Bible thumper” is usually employed in reference to Protestant fundamentalists. Our vice president is a member of the Catholic Church.
Well, it is meant to be a thought experiment. In reality, any state or states that try to secede would find it difficult.
But thanks for the feedback.
Well, succession is usually the threat from the far-right, most notably Texas, where the governor there has threatened to “leave the Union” on a few occasions. Joining the U.S. for better or for worse, is a one way direction, you can enter but you can’t leave. There is simply no provision in the Constitution for exiting the U.S. It is not just difficult, it is impossible short of *fighting it out*…the last time didn’t work out too well for those that tried.
Yes, J.D. Vance is a Roman Catholic…but only since he converted to Rome in 2019. Before that…he was in fact an evangelical fundie and part and parcel of the Christian Right. HE is for a national abortion ban, for example, even if his boss, Trump, is for States to decide.