Stirring up xenophobia, racism, transphobia, homophobia is straight out of the fascist playbook.
Hitler rose to power when people felt economically threatened. And when people feel economically threatened, many people (particularly people who don’t have strong community and/or have not learned ways to process their fear and other emotions) seek scapegoats and authoritarian strongman rule.
Sound familiar? Sounds like we’re living a repeat of that.
It would be good if people could take a deep breath and acknowledge their economic anxiety and we could work together on policies that will reduce extreme income inequality and extreme wealth inequality, address the housing affordability crisis, and address other factors that are causing people to be in such economically dire straits.
I’ve heard it said that fear is the mind-killer. (I searched, and it turns out this is a quote from Frank Herbert’s science-fiction novel Dune.)
But, fear is nonetheless a normal and healthy human emotion. In some cases a lack of fear can actually be pathological and lead us into danger.
I have found that it’s good to acknowledge my fear. Speak it out loud and-or write it down as needed.
And then, use the mind-centering techniques I have learned and practiced over the years. I highly recommend that everyone develop a toolkit of simple, quick mind-centering and grounding techniques. There are lots of good ones out there. If you want some suggestions, feel free to get in touch.