Right Wing Authoritarianism - Tumblr Posts

The essence of right-wing authoritarianism is the idea that some people deserve what they get. This is deeply seeped into American culture; anywhere from the idea that disabled people became so from their own carelessness to the idea that it’s okay to laugh at people who died due to their own stupid decisions, aka the ‘natural selection’ jokes. People who are struggling in some way are so because of their own cluelessness or evil nature, and that means they deserve it, and that means we must turn a blind eye to their suffering, or if not, actively find joy in it…. this is a dominant idea in America.

I am by no means an expert but it seems to me “your body does not belong to you” is a major theme of right wing authoritarianism and, interestingly, modern USAmerican thinking. This underpins so much from abortion to forcing kids to hug their relatives. Your body belongs to the state, or God, or your husband, or your boss, or your doctor. Everything from trans and gay liberation to forcing autistic people to look in your eyes to making cashiers stand for no reason. Your body does not belong to you, but taking care of your body is your responsibility and your responsibility alone, and if you fail in some way, you deserve the consequences.

It’s pretty obvious to me why right-wing extremism is so much more commonly violent than left-wing extremism, and it’s because their ideology is inherently violent… unlike left-wing ones. The problem is not simply the fact they’re extreme- extreme solutions are rational to extreme problems like we have now. The problem is the fact that they’re right-wing.