While I take some grim satisfaction in having left space after the sign’s “80” for a plus sign that would make the reference to “80 years” from WW2 to 2025 still viable if needed in 2026, I have long been uneasy about the oversimplification in calling fascism “un-American.”  That’s true if “American” refers to the great experiment that began 250 years ago, when the Continental Congress held some truths to be self-evident and started the long hard slog to instantiate them in a recalcitrant world.  But what if “American” refers to anything consequential about numerous or powerful people who are (like it or not) Americans?

Of course, there were some American fascists before and during WW2.  And after.  While the McCarthy Red Scare was neither the first nor the last time that this lunatic fringe threatened to go mainstream, the threat was always averted.  Until recently.  Until the mass pardon of thugs who tried to nullify by force an election with results they disliked on 2021-01-06.  Until … .   The list goes on, but I was aware that protest signs have no room for nuance and wanted my own tiny contribution to have a historical twist.

Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis removed any lingering shreds of legitimate doubt about the rise of fascists and their enablers.  Moving more rapidly than I could keep up, Trump and his toadies have gone from pardoning thugs (who act alone or with like-minded thugs) to hiring goons (who act for their employers).  Goons whose employers have deep pockets are an existential threat to whatever has riled the employers.  It’s all too likely that  goons (and the ongoing white-collar efforts to rig the 2026 mid-term elections) will preserve the odious Republican trifecta, despite its sinking popularity.  I could no longer let my sign gloss over how American fascism has become, so I shrank the “No Kings” logo to make room for some angry truth telling.  Dammit, fascism is still antithetical to what true patriots defended, 80+ years ago.