The left, the “Resistance,” have spent the last 4½ years telling us how Donald Trump is a horrible, authoritarian fascist. Wikipedia defines fascism as:

a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and strong regimentation of society and of the economy which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe. . . .

Fascists believe that liberal democracy is obsolete and regard the complete mobilization of society under a totalitarian one-party state as necessary to prepare a nation for armed conflict and to respond effectively to economic difficulties

The Washington Post published a facile “fascism score” purporting to tell us how much of a fascist Mr Trump is, with the conclusion:

He is semi-fascist: more fascist than any successful American politician yet, and the most dangerous threat to pluralist democracy in this country in more than a century, but — thank our stars — an amateurish imitation of the real thing.

Mr Trump, according to John McNeill, a professor of history at Georgetown University, is a wannabe fascist, but scores only 26 “Benitos” out of a possible 44.

But is it Mr Trump who wants authoritarian controls over the population, or is it The Washington Post?

My co-workers won’t wear face masks and it’s stressing me out

My bosses said to call them out if they forget to wear masks, but they’re still not wearing them.

By Karla L. Miller, Columnist | September 24, 2020 | 7:00 AM EDT

Reader: I recently started an entry-level job at a small nonprofit after two months of being unemployed. We work with students, and masks are strictly enforced for them. In my second week, one student tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Soon after I started working, the executive director (my direct supervisor) and another director started taking their masks off. A third director only wears a face shield, which is not recommended by the CDC as an effective alternative. People come into my office without masks. In staff meetings, people pull down their masks to talk. In addition to the health concern, I feel disrespected anytime I see the lower half of someone’s face. I feel like they’re saying, “I don’t care about you or your family.” (I live with my parents.)

I spoke with one of the directors and my boss about the lack of masks. They apologized and told me to “call them out on it” if I see them not wearing masks. Things got better for a few days, but unsurprisingly they slipped back into their old habits. There’s no HR and no office above my boss. I refuse to be the mask police, but I’m really uncomfortable, and the anxiety is weighing on me.

Karla: So essentially, your bosses are abdicating their responsibility to maintain a safe work environment, opting instead to nominate a junior staffer to be their shoulder cricket. No matter how politely or persistently you chirp, you cannot hope to pierce that kind of blind, selfish indifference. Not that they’re intentionally disrespecting you; it’s just that their convenience and comfort outweigh their sense of self-preservation or obligation to the greater good.

Your managers should count themselves lucky you haven’t tipped off state authorities (assuming they care), local media, and the community they serve about their lax behind-the-scenes coronavirus-prevention standards. But as you say, you’re not the mask police, and you have neither the authority nor the job security to fill that role. You also may not have the stomach just now for putting your paycheck in jeopardy by escalating the matter outside the company.

There’s more at the original.

Perhaps I shouldn’t define the “Reader” as a Karen, since Karens are partially defined as entitled people who insist on “speaking to the manager,” and the “Reader” very much wishes to avoid speaking to her bosses, fearing, we are to assume, that she will be the one managed out of a job. But one thing is clear: the “Reader” thinks it’s All About Her, and what she wants to see happen, rather than about the liberties, personal freedoms and choices of her co-workers.

But Miss Miller, the Post columnist who “offers weekly advice on workplace dramas and traumas,” said that the managers should count themselves lucky that the “Reader’s” managers haven’t been reported to the gendarmerie, in a tone which suggests that Miss Miller believes her “Reader” should have done just that.

It hasn’t been President Trump who has issued mandatory face mask orders; those have come from various state Governors, primarily though not exclusively Democrats. We have previously noted Governor Andy Beshear’s (D-KY) mandatory face mask orders, and his refusal to get consent from the General Assembly:

Beshear was asked at Friday’s (July 10, 2020 — Editor) news conference on COVID-19 why he has not included the legislature in coming up with his orders. He said many state lawmakers refuse to wear masks and noted that 26 legislators in Mississippi have tested positive for the virus.

Simply put, Governor Beshear will not ask the state legislature for approval, because he doesn’t think the legislature will approve.¹

The state legislature in Pennsylvania is in session, but Governor Tom Wolf (D-PA) has vetoed or threatened vetoes on all of the bills considered by the legislature to limit or roll back his executive orders. As we previously noted, federal Judge William S Stickman IV ruled that some of Mr Wolf’s executive orders dealing with COVID-19 are unconstitutional, yet Mr Wolf wants his orders to stand while he appeals the ruling,² even though he had already suspended some of them.

Linda Blackford, an OpEd columnist for the Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader, said that “It’s back to ‘normal’ for everyone but public school kids,” a rather odd thing to say given that the Commonwealth is still under Governor Beshear’s executive orders on mandatory face masks, reduced public building capacity and restrictions on gathering sizes even on private property,³ and said, “It is maddening for UK to do so little about parties every weekend that hike COVID-19 numbers and keep our kids out of school.” Apparently Miss Blackford wants the University, a state organization, to impose authoritarian controls on college students.

So, who is the fascist here? Is it President Trump, who has recommended face masks, or the primarily Democratic state Governors who have actually ordered them, and bypassed the state legislatures to do so? Is it the conservatives who are authoritarians, or liberal media organizations like The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Lexington Herald-Leader which want to see authoritarian orders by state Governors written and enforced? The left would like you think that it’s President Trump, but when judging by actual actions, it has been the left supporting authoritarian controls, for our own good, of course.
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¹ – The General Assembly is not in session, but the Governor has the authority to call the legislature into special session. The General Assembly does not have the authority to call itself back into session, and under the state constitution, will not be back in session until January of 2021. The state Supreme Court, in July, enjoined all lower state court challenges to Governor Beshear’s orders to decide the issues itself. It held oral arguments on September 17^th, but has not yet issued any decision on the matter, and has not indicated when it will do so.
² – Though Governor Wolf has said he will appeal the decision, which was handed down two weeks ago, I have thus far been unable to find any media source stating that the appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has actually been filed yet.
³ – I tweeted yesterday that we had a family cookout Sunday, and, “Sadly, there are just nine of us. I’d much rather have had 11, to willfully defy @GovAndyBeshear’s illegal and unconstitutional max 10 people per gathering order.”
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