A California State – Long Beach teach-in last week on “Fascism: Past and Present” attempted to place President Donald Trump in the present tense of the totalitarian ideology, The College Fix reports.
Professors at the university attempted to link the president with misogynistic and fascist tendencies and claimed his electoral victory was an alarming day for American democracy.
The teach-in was just the second of four sessions under the heading of “Reclaiming Democracy” that are aimed to “educate” students about the allegedly deteriorating state of U.S. freedom. According to Teresa Wright, the chair of the political science department at Cal State Long Beach, the professors providing their insight are liberal arts faculty members who are “concerned about developments before and after the November election.”
That concern is shared by Wright, who said in her introductory remarks, “We’re here today because a specter is haunting the world, and especially the U.S. and Europe, the specter of fascism and authoritarianism.”
About 120 students attended for the full-90 minutes of teaching with break-out sessions. Pizza was thrown in as an added incentive.
History professor Jeffrey Blutinger first explained the historical roots of fascism, suggesting it was a political phenomenon that was largely limited to workers and middle-class people.
“What fascism is, is a right-wing, authoritarian movement that subordinates an individual to the group and tries to unify around either a nation or race by demonizing those who are different,” he said.
French and Italian professor Clorinda Donato then compared and contrasted Trump with scandal-ridden Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi by discussing their political philosophies, backgrounds and how they have related to women over the years.
“One of the differences though … I think Donald Trump is a misogynist. I don’t think that Silvio Berlusconi was necessarily or is necessarily a misogynist,” she said.
The final speaker was history professor Ali Igmen, who lectured the students on how 21st century authoritarian regimes silence their opponents and consolidate power — by regulating the judiciary and restricting the right to vote.
Though Igmen referenced some “confusing, if not alarming changes” to U.S. democracy since the advent of Trump, the professor did not clarify what these were but drew a distinct parallel between the habits of authoritarian regimes and the U.S. president.
“So, final note of caution. These are all happening in our country,” Igmen cautioned befroe he signed off.
After hearing such solemn declarations, the students broke up into groups to discuss the following topics: “Is Trump fascist?,” “Authoritarianism disguised,” “What is fascism?,” “Trump and European Populists” and “Teachers and artists in an oppressed society.”
At least one of the lecturers wasn’t certain that Trump was a certifiable fascist because “for him to be fascist, he would have to want to do away with American democracy, which he has not tried to do,” Blutinger said.
However, the professor said that he thought Trump’s rhetoric qualified him as a potential fascist.
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