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In an excellent essay today, Noah Berlatsky engages Adam Serwer's argument that "cruelty is the point" of fascism and Trumpism:
"Serwer’s thesis is that fascism (and Trumpism) are essentially religions of sadism. People embrace MAGA because they want to be cruel; they want to hurt people. And that cruelty, Serwer argues, creates a sense of belonging and togetherness."
#Trump #MAGA #fascism #cruelty
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https://www.everythingishorrible.net/p/the-righteous-cruelty-is-the-point
As Berlatsky notes, some commentators (in corporate media, especially, I'd add) resist this analysis of what makes Trump voters tick, arguing that Americans are essentially good (and innocent) people and Trump voters are motivated by mythic "economic grievances." Though study after study and poll after poll demonstrate to us that this is not the case, and that Trump voters are significantly motivated by cruelty….
Cruelty links to the belief that I myself and others like me are righteous and those despised others deserve pain:
"What Serwer understood though—and which I think sometimes gets lost in responses or summaries of his argument—is that cruelty is intimately connected to a sense of virtue, empathy, and community. Fascism creates a structure in which sadism feels righteous and cruelty feels like the natural complement to empathy and solidarity."
@wdlindsy
Serwer's line about "intimacy through contempt" is the one that haunts me.
At various times in my life, that shared wink of mutual contempt was at the core of my most valued friendships. It didn't matter how exploitative those friendships were, how badly they ended, or the collateral harm they caused. Without that false bond I felt unseen. Tribeless. Alone.
I think people underestimate how powerful that false sense of belonging is when one is alienated from one's self.
@kims Thank you for this insightful commentary. Yes, the dynamic of bonding around negative feelings about someone or some group can be very powerful, as we see from behavior of children and teens at school. Perhaps as adults we delude ourselves if we think we've entirely outgrown that dynamic. As you say, and this is such a good point, our own insecurities about ourselves can cause us to bond with others around exclusion or abuse of denigrated others.
@kims so incredibly true. 
@kims @wdlindsy Not that this will make you feel any better. In my old age, I’m similar to my father. I nether want or need friends. In many cases they have proven to be more trouble than they’re worth. Of note I am married and my wife is an extrovert and if I need friend time, I usually rely on hers with her, of course. I meet and talk with people at the gym all the time and have some pretty good talks. I just never have the urge to say come on over for dinner sometime. 