Tony Gilroy, the writer and producer for Star Wars: Andor, here mentions that fascism eats its own.
That’s very clear from history, from any authoritarian regime, which is why it’s so puzzling to me that people vote for authoritarianism/fascism, and why people chose to get involved in an even more direct and intimate way.
More to the point these days: Why did people vote for Trump, when his policies will likely harm them? Why do people chose to get involved with Trump more directly, when they’ll likely get chewed up and spit out?
There is no one simple answer, of course.
Some may have voted for him because they are fed misinformation from Fox News and social media. They may not know much about project 2025 and what it means for them. They think bad things will happen to others, not them. They don’t know much about history and similar projects in the past and how it played itself out.
Some may choose to get involved because it seems the safest at the moment. It just requires yielding to pressure and do what the strong man says. They think they’ll somehow be protected and get away with it. (Which may happen, but it’s equally likely they’ll get eaten by the dynamics of fascism.) Maybe they like the gamble. Maybe they felt safer on the side of the strong man in childhood, or wanted a strong man in their life to protect them.
Note: I use “strong man” in invisible quotation marks here. Trump and similar authoritarians try to develop the image of a strong man which reveals a deep insecurity. Someone with real confidence don’t need to do it. Many see through this, but not all.