Nothing is more natural and obvious to an authoritarian personality than the absolute right of those higher on the social hierarchy to shit on & abuse those lower. Empathy, compassion, understanding -- they're all scarce goods that those higher on the hierarchy are entitled to & no one else is.

Not news that fear and trauma has taken over many Los Angeles communities—and others across the country— but last night I was at a support group for survivors and family members of ICE raids and the devastation. If watching raid videos is too much for you (I get it), I will share some stories.

We can judge our progress by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers, our willingness to embrace what is true rather than what feels good.

- Carl Sagan

There's quite a lot that Freud got wrong, but the idea of Thanatos versus Eros, the death drive versus the life drive, is a great way to understand what's happening to the country right now.

It turns out that authoritarians have less grey matter in key areas of the brain responsible for empathy and emotional regulation. New research out of Spain published in the journal Neuroscience.

futurism.com/neoscope/aut...

The Imperial sympathizers spread fear, lies, and violence. They cloak their cruelty in patriotism, but we’ve seen the truth. We saw it on Jedha. On Scarif. On Coruscant. We saw them turn on peacekeepers, then walk free with Imperial pardon. They are the lie of “order.” We are the spark of rebellion.

"It is much easier to absorb individuals into a mass of like-minded people once you dig into their deprivations, give it a name, find a scapegoat, and reinforce and weaponize the biases they already harbor." -Rajshree Chandra @iwm.at

www.iwm.at/publication/...

The need for absolute control signals weakness. Never fear a fascist; fascism is inherently weak. Know your power.