The Hypocrisy is the Point

"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."

There is an oft-repeated adage about right-wing politics that "the cruelty is the point."

And that's true, but it's not the whole story. The hypocrisy is the point, too.

They do it to show us that we don't get to set the rules. It’s as if you're playing chess with a pigeon. The pigeon is going to knock the pieces over, take a shit on the board, and strut around because it doesn't have to follow the rules, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Conservatives are allowed to fall back onto identity politics when it's convenient, but when liberals or leftists do it, it's because we don't have an actual argument. It's just that their conception of bigotry is not a systemic one; it's an interpersonal one. If you're mean to a conservative, you're being bigoted because you're not being "accepting and inclusive." Never mind that the ideas of acceptance and inclusion aren’t about uncritically platforming anyone who wants a platform. 

There seems to be a constant need to point out hypocrisy—which, to be clear, is important and should continue—but it needs to come with the understanding that simply pointing it out isn't going to change anything. 

If we just fall back on, "Oh, they're not following the rules," we're not going to get anywhere because, of course, they're not following the rules! That's the only way they can win. That's the only reason they got where they are now. If they weren't hypocrites, they wouldn't be conservatives because you cannot follow that kind of ideology without being logically inconsistent. 

And because liberalism demands politeness, politicians just sit back and wag their finger and don't actually do anything about it because it would be seen as too partisan or it'd be too aggressive. But we're past that point already. The Rubicon has been crossed. There's no niceness to be found. This idea of conservatives being reasonable statesmen is a revisionist myth.

Conservatives have always been racist, homophobic monsters. It's where they get their power. It doesn't just come in a vacuum. It didn't just happen. It took decades of concerted efforts by right-wing activists to normalize this kind of shit.

And the entire time, liberals spent more time hand-wringing about, "We shouldn't be calling them racists. We shouldn't be calling them bigots." And that’s just missing the forest for the trees because they are. You should say it. You shouldn't even spend time debating them on it because if you truly believe that conservatives today, the MAGA Republicans, are the fascists you say they are, then you shouldn't ever want to platform them and give them a space to debate.

Because that's how they spread their ideas. It's not a good-faith debate; there is no debate to be had about people’s humanity. You will never “win” a debate against a fascist because their goal isn’t even to win. It’s to traffic their ideologies into the mainstream using faux-intellectualist garbage that is, at its core, a rehash of failed Confederate and segregationist thought. To give them any space to spew their vitriol is to legitimize their views as things worth discussing instead of what they are: ontologically evil philosophies that are fundamentally incompatible with a free and just world. 

We can see the fruits of the right wing’s labor all around us: cult-like devotion to a demented fascist, outright eugenicist propaganda, and extrajudicial murder in the streets, all in service of a technocratic ethnostate that serves only the elite. Any criticism, no matter how mild, is seen as an imposition on their right to free speech. 

Never believe them when they claim to care about free speech, small government, or even unfettered firearm ownership. There is always fine print that says, “but only for us.”

So what do we do about it?

Stop treating them as serious people; start mocking them for their short-sighted, self-defeating politics. Ridicule is a strong defense against fascism.

Do not spend your time or energy legitimizing fake outrage from morons. That way lies madness. Instead, meet your neighbors, build your community, read, make art, learn a new skill; almost anything that is considered even remotely productive is a better use of your time.

Continue to press the advantage. Progressive policies are overwhelmingly popular with disaffected voters, and many are even surprisingly well-received by diehard MAGA folks (lowered drug prices, expanding Social Security).

Stop fighting for compromise; start fighting for the world you want to see.