Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez perfectly summed up why nobody should be cowed by Trump and MAGA’s performative displays of power:
OCASIO-CORTEZ: I think there’s two things that are happening at once, and this is something that’s very important for people to understand. One, there absolutely is an unprecedented abuse of power, destruction of norms, erosion of our government and our democracy in order to prop up an authoritarian style of governance. That is happening.
However, they are weaker than they look, and it is important that we remember that, because what they rely on is the impression of power, the perception of inevitability in us giving up in advance, to say, “Oh, what’s going to happen if I stand up, etc, nothing’s going to happen.” They rely on that perception of inevitability and power so that people comply in advance and acquiesce in advance and give up in advance.
