#i cant decide if im angry at the usa or if i pity the people there if they're so ignorant & uneducated that they actually think trump -

[selkies-world]

I don't support trump at all, but girlie, you're making yourself sound stupid by claiming you survived fascism in the united states. Please educate yourself before making such bold claims.

I'm not in the United States, thankfully, so I'm not claiming that. My country has been under increasingly fascist rule for the last 14 years, and this year was the first time a left-wing party won the vote in almost 2 decades. So actually, yes, I do get to claim to surviving fascism, because I've spent most of my life under it while being part of multiple groups who are often targeted, persecuted or intentionally neglected by those in power.

Also, a lot of people who are dismissive of the threat Trump poses to minority groups & highly vulnerable groups are assuming that when we talk about fascism, we're talking about 1900s Italy & Spain. That is fascism in the extremes, and that is what it can become if left unchecked or if it is allowed / encouraged to become that extreme (which is what Trump wants it to be). However, that level of fascism doesn't just manifest out of nowhere. It builds up over time, with small steps, so that people don't notice the changes made until they've been made and are normalised by the government making them.

When I say I've survived fascism, I'm not talking about surviving the levels of it that those in Italy & Spain had to survive in the 20th century. I'm talking about surviving it in the sense of surviving a government which is intolerant, oppressive, increasingly authoritarian and domineering (which is the definition of what a fascist government is, in the dictionary). I'm talking about growing up being told that the people in my street didn't deserve to live here. I'm talking about growing up in a country where people of my nationality are laughed about and talked about as sub-human by the politicians in charge of this country, and who see us as dogs and our languages & accents as things which need to be fixed or erased and replaced by theirs. I'm talking about growing up wondering if I'll ever be allowed to get married or hold my partner's hand in public. I'm talking about living in a country where I wonder if I'll be allowed medical treatment, or if the government will say it's mutilation. I'm talking about living in a country where my own nation has only had a political voice since the 90s, and it's something we've had to fight for, even when we're muffled by the ruling government. I'm talking about living in a country where we've only started having our native languages included in schools & on service vehicles in the last 5 years or so. I'm talking about living in a country where there are parades to celebrate the fact we're owned by the ruling government, who don't care about us and see us as property & numbers on a screen. I'm talking about living in a country where the former leader decided me & other trans people should only be "tolerated", while simultaneously interfering with my nation's laws to prevent us from being able to have autonomy over our identities. I'm talking about living in a country where a very popular politician (who has previously run for leader) can make comments saying that maybe stabbings & violence against children needs to happen, in order to encourage racism & racial prejudice, on live TV with zero consequences or loss of support. I'm talking about living in a country where people are deported against their will, even when it means sending them to countries where they are guaranteed to be abused, even when their paperwork is legal. I'm talking about living in a country where protest is illegal & punishable by arrest & jail time.

I'd highly recommend you don't make assumptions about people online whom you know nothing about.