As fascism rises around the world, we’re going to see a lot of bigotry and oppression justified in the name of “protecting children”. One of the worst offenders in the United States right now is Tucker Carlson. He’s a white supremacist and a fascist, and he’s also most watched “news” host on cable. I don’t believe that literally every attack from conservatives is projection, but it’s certainly their favorite tool, and I think this is no exception. Carlson is happy to engage in stochastic terrorism because of the left “sexualizing children” by teaching them about things like gender and consent, but he was also happy to insist repeatedly and over objections that when a teacher gave a lap dance to a child, no crime was committed:
Fascists see children as a means to an end. They’re a way to build and exert power. They’re props in the political theater. They’re worth murdering doctors to defend one day, and they’re lazy moochers for wanting food the next. The mere existence of gay or trans people is a threat to all children everywhere, but it’s fine to support people like Donald Trump or Josh Duggar.
The only boundary on their actions is what they think they can get away with, whether it’s lying about their concern for children, or engaging in human trafficking for political stunts, or overthrowing democracy and murdering people they disagree with. They will keep pushing farther until they are forcibly stopped. That’s why turning out to oppose them en masse is so important at this stage, and it’s why more organizing and networking are needed, so that communities can mobilize quickly to defend themselves and each other when a hospital or school is targeted.
As far as I can tell fascist leaders treat everything except themselves as disposable tools. Even their own followers are disposable when they need to cover up some activity despite actively working to get as many followers as possible. Other fascist leaders are high on the list of things to dispose of because fascist leaders don’t like to share.
They praise and admire things only in abstract. Putting the state first is admired and praised but any particular person is disposable as soon as they are no longer useful. Absolute loyalty is expected in everybody else but their own decisions are made according to immediate convenience. Children, women, soldiers, all of it is too be respected only as long as they fit in their roles and serve the state.
I think that’s a fair observation.