The State of Fascism Denial + The Fight for Abortion Rights

Coco Das (@Coco_Das) speaks to an activist who traveled to Washington DC this week to protest for abortion rights as the Supreme Court heard opening arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization - the case which is primed to overturn Roe v. Wade and enable abortion bans in more than half the states in the US. Mentioned in this conversation: Will Supreme Court conservatives overturn Roe? Their casual contempt for women is not a good sign by Amanda Marcotte on Salon.

Then, Coco talks to Paul Street about the state of fascism and the state of fascism denial as we near the close of 2021. Paul Street is the author of ten books including his latest, This Happened Here: Neoliberals, Amerikaners, and the Trumping of America, which is about to be published. Follow his work at paulstreet.org.

We really can’t overstate the importance of having a presence in the streets – in the public square – over the next few months. Much is made of the 8/10 Americans who support Roe v Wade. But it’s meaningless to simply state that without backing it up. The history of fascism has shown us that dominating the public square and the public discourse – whether or not they have majority opinion on their side, goes a long way in determining whether fascism prevails or not. 8/10 obedient Americans are no obstacle to these Christian fascists. But 8/10 people in the streets – even 5/10 waging a sustained, non-violent struggle to say hell no, you’re not slamming women back to the days of back alley abortions and forced pregnancy, this makes it known to the whole world who the majority is and what they’re willing to put on the line.

Send  your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Or leave a voicemail at 917-426-7582.

Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:

• Venmo: @Refuse-Fascism
• Cashapp: @RefuseFascism
• paypal.me/refusefascism
• donate.refusefascism.org

Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.