Are you a parasite?

Now's the time to check.

In my very first Substack post last week, I asked AI if America was susceptible fascism. I simply posted that conversation for others to reflect and make their own conclusions about what ChatGPT said, but I didn’t include my own reactions.

I had planned to do a second post to share my thoughts about it all, but it’s been difficult for me to articulate them. The swirl of feelings and ideas are overwhelming and chaotic. I’m a full time mom with a full time career. Life is busy. Moments are few and far between to be able to stop and try to assess what is happening in a sphere outside of my day to day priorities. However, as an American, it is my duty to pay attention at all times to a certain level and even more so right now.

First, I’ll state that the last thing I or anyone else needs to do is give in to fear or let our anxiety take hold. That doesn’t mean that we don’t feel and have moments of authentic emotional reaction to our perceived threats, but we must be diligent and sober-minded to navigate our way through the fog.

ChatGPT gave a clear list of some of the stages of fascist power moves in the 1930s. In reading those, I see some clear parallels reflecting on events in both federal and state level government. I started to sit down and write out some of those parallels and my thoughts and reactions to them. Unfortunately, they were too numerous to concisely convey in a way that I thought anyone might read. I also found myself leaning too close to facts and not expressing my own reactions.

It’s easy to find parallels when you’re looking for them, and I want to acknowledge my own biases. Bias can lead to patchwork arguments and conclusions that aren’t grounded in fact. But the troubling part is—I didn’t have to look hard. In fact, parallels seem to be accosting me like churning ocean waves. All that to say, I am postponing my direct reaction to what Chatty said and may have to release it in small segments. It seems like it’s difficult for me to get personal with it right now.

Here is one of my priority concerns in this moment . . .the haphazard actions of the executive branch and their callous rhetoric toward a variety of agencies, groups, and people. Earlier this week while scrolling social media, I saw a left leaning source claim that Elon Musk posted a meme with a young blond woman looking up, gleefully smiling with the quote “Watching Trump slash federal programs knowing it doesn’t affect you because you’re not a member of the parasite class.” At first I wondered if it could be a fake. Did Musk really post that?

I made the mistake of going to Musk’s Twitter account to see for myself. Yep. It was there and proudly captioned by Musk as to “why 90% of America loves DOGE.” First, nearly 60% of America didn’t even vote in the last election. Of the 40% who did, a little over half of them went for Trump . . .so maybe 20% of America loves DOGE. Maybe. Second, and more importantly, who is the “parasite class”? This is a critical question for me. For you. For all of us.

I spent a little time scrolling around to see if I could find out more about who Musk may believe would be parasitic. If his posts are any indication, it seems his definition could make for quite an expansive list of people. Go take a look for yourself to see who is attacked. Do you or someone you love get any type of government facilitated assistance? Veterans benefits? Tax credits/refunds? Medicare? Social Security? Or, are you a government employee? Musk and those closest to him might think you’re a parasite. (P.S. In a retweet of a user named Palmer Lucky, he also seems to think that AI could deliver better outcomes than 3.8 million teachers do–so I am pretty sure to him educators might be parasites too.)

But that’s only Musk’s view right? Donald Trump is the President, and he may or may not agree with him on these points.

Unfortunately, signs indicate it could be likely.

I read Trump’s book, The Art of the Deal, back in 2016. I wanted to get a sense of what was coming. I specifically remember a part in the book where Trump describes tenants in a building he’s purchased as if they are pesky vermin in the way of his plans. I asked ChatGPT to help refresh my memory from the book. It reminded me that somewhere around chapter 10, the text goes into a story where Trump purchased a building at 100 Central Park South in New York City. His intention was to convert the affordably priced apartments into expensive high-end condominiums. To do this though, he had to run off the existing tenants, many of whom were long-term residents of middle to lower class. Reports from that time indicate that Trump employed various tactics to encourage tenants to leave, including reducing essential services and initiating legal actions. What I distinctly remember is how the book highlighted his mocking reminiscence of them having to leave and in a sense, laughing at their distress. He viewed the residents as subhuman, beneath him.

I guess what I am trying to say is it is this type of rhetoric, classifying people as “parasites,” that concerns me the most about the potential for some sort of terrible, authoritarian perversion of justice. All that has to be done is to convince a significant enough group of people that certain other groups of people are parasitic to the good of all, and the next thing you know, the exterminator is called in. At worst, that action could be a literal extermination or at best it could be an extermination of that person’s means of financial stability, social standing, and quality of life.

Though it is unfortunately a part of America’s past, I do not want that to be a part of the character of America’s future.

How can we work together to call on the noble promises in our founding documents to make them a reality for all? I offer three places to start. Remain vigilant in finding the truth, challenge harmful rhetoric toward our neighbors, and engage in civic action that promotes the future we desire for ourselves and each other.