I Alone Can Break It!
The Looking Glass of the MAGA Manosphere.
They are variations on a persistent theme. From Duke Wayne to Dirty Harry, Rambo to Reacher, the Terminator to Top Gun, the dominant white male single-handedly vanquishes the enemy, saves the nation… and gets the girl. The system is for suckers, the experts are impotent, rules be damned. True heroes shoot first and ask questions later, because they alone can fix it.
This myth of the omniscient white male resonates throughout the MAGA manosphere. It’s the image they conjure in the mirror, the storyline reflecting their delusions of grandeur.
I ALONE CAN FIX IT!
When Donald Trump strode onstage for his acceptance speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Ohio, he bellowed, “I alone can fix it!” to thunderous roars and chants of “USA!” “Lock her up!” “Build the wall!” “Trump!”
Once in office, his braggadocio proved hollow. He failed to deliver on his promises of middle-class tax cuts, major infrastructure programs, and stronger protections for Social Security and Medicare.
Rather than eliminating the national debt, it grew by some $7.8 trillion… one of the largest increases in U.S. history.
Predictably, Mexico never paid for the wall.
But the superwealthy got fat tax cuts, and a crucial pandemic early-warning program was axed just months before COVID-19 swept the nation.
During his presidential campaign last year, candidate Trump displayed cartons of eggs, bacon, milk, and other grocery products outside his New Jersey golf course as he railed against the Biden administration's economic policies, promising, "When I win, I will immediately bring prices down."
Egg prices are up an average of 60% this year. Bacon and milk prices are also rising, along with the cost of all consumer goods.
On Day 72, Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs, promising, “We’re going to take in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs, and we’re gonna become so rich you’re not gonna know where to spend all that money. We’re gonna have jobs, we’re gonna have open factories, it’s gonna be great!”
Trump’s tariffs immediately roiled global markets, alienated allies, and triggered fears of recession. Factories have not come roaring back, and we are still waiting for those promised riches to rain down upon us.
The president also vowed to end the war in Ukraine on Day One, claiming he could settle it within 24 hours of taking office.
The war continues to rage.
Tomorrow marks Trump's 100th day in office. His approval ratings have now plummeted below 40%, lower than the 100-day ratings of any president since these polls began almost a century ago.
“I alone can fix it” comes from a man who claims to be smarter than our military leaders, infectious disease experts, the heads of the Federal Reserve, the scientists of MIT, and all former presidents.
Like tiny plastic action figures on a little boy’s dresser, the heroes of this manosphere are mythical. In the real world, those who think they alone can fix it usually end up breaking it.
WE ALONE cannot fix the crisis threatening our democracy.
But WE TOGETHER can make a difference by standing up, speaking out, and working tirelessly to bring our nation back from the brink.
May 1st is May Day, an annual celebration honoring the struggles and achievements of working people. Nationwide marches are planned to protest administration policies that favor billionaires while dismantling critical public services and criminalizing dissent.
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Resources:
50 Protests. 50 States.1 Movement. ~50.50.1
May Day National Day of Action ~May Day Strong
Jobs And Factories Will Come Roaring Back? ~Perspectives
War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength ~Perspectives
And Then They Came for Me ~Perspectives
The Pandemic of Tyranny ~Perspectives
The Invisible Fire of Cultural Cleansing ~Perspectives
America’s Gulag is Born ~Perspectives
Because of Your Convictions ~Perspectives
Thank you for your continuing perspectives