K:011 Only YOU can prevent FASCISM
Greetings from the pits of despair, fellow American,
There’s many issues in our country, and none of these are improved by the blitzkrieg of activity since January 20. Blitzkrieg is an apt description for two reasons: 1) Steve Bannon’s description of the “flood the zone” tactic.1 2) Like the WWII military tactic, this strategy is used by individuals with Nazi salute tendencies.2
I can’t address all these issues simultaneously, but I can pick a few core problems to engage with and remain educated about. How convenient that my career hangs in the balance!
As you know, I was a seasonal employee for the National Park Service in 2024, and planned to continue this work in 2025. It’s a very convoluted application process and procedure, with about six months between hitting “SUBMIT” on USAJobs and putting on your iconic Stetson hat. Seasonal work is also notable for its personal instability, but that’s a separate email.
Trump wants to reduce the size of the federal workforce and create a culture of fear and paranoia for the civil servants who remain. He wants loyalists to carry out his policies, and to undermine important financial, legal, environmental, and other regulations under the control of congress that impede his dangerous agenda.
He signed a hiring freeze on his first day in office, leading to many permanent, term, and seasonal offers being rescinded across government. He pressured civil servants to resign, and set the unauthorized Department of Government Efficiency on numerous agencies. This week, his actions hit land management agencies including the National Park Service.
Employees on probation were laid off (1,000 for NPS, over 3,000 in the Forest Service) and many others don’t know what is happening next.
It’s got me thinking - how do we show resistance? Do current federal employees lose some efficiency to throw sand in the gears (but get accused of being useless/worth firing)? Do we attend protests (but get mired in the too-many-issues-to-protest)? Do we engage in lawsuits (for courts that are being attacked viciously by the same administration?
Other issues I’m trying to follow:
Ukraine (Slava Ukraini!)
Amtrak (both in the unelected fascist trying to destroy them and general underfunding continuing to cause trains to derail or catch fire)
Local politics, though my locale will change soon!
A much overdue letter that I definitely thought I hit send on,
Kate
The “flood the zone” tactic was reported in the Washington Post. Steve Bannon said: “It’s working. It’s just stunning to me what they’re doing, and it’s not getting covered because it’s too much. They’re overwhelming the system.” ↩
If you can stomach it, this Conversation article by Matthew Kriner, a scholar on far-right extremism was well-researched and engaging. ↩