A brief silence falls during the Zoom call with Bonnie Honig (1959), a professor at Brown University in the US, when asked about her reaction to Donald Trump’s re-election. She sighs. ‘When he became president for the first time, I followed everything closely. I went all-in: I kept track of every move.’
The political philosopher and feminist critic published these observations in Shell-Shocked (2021), a sharp-edged collection of essays filled with both scathing critiques and wry humour about Trump’s first term. ‘It sounds insane, but every day I woke up and was somewhat surprised to find that the world was still there. I simply had to write about it.’
Honig sounds a bit fatigued. ‘Back then, it was chaos; now, there’s more a sense of impending doom. This is very personal, but I haven’t written anything yet about what’s happening right now. It’s not a good idea to stop writing, but the question is whether I can muster the strength to publish about all these new disasters.’
POWER GRAB
However, her condemnation of Trumpism is as fierce as ever. ‘The term I use for his regime is rapeocracy. We’re being governed by rapists. Their ethos is: take what you want, no one will stop you.’
For instance, in Shell-Shocked, she writes about Christine Blasey Ford. During a hearing to determine whether Brett Kavenaugh could be appointed a US Supreme Court judge, she accused him of attempted rape in 1982. Kavenaugh (then 17) and another boy had pinned Ford (then 15) to the bed and tried to remove her clothes.
Kavenaugh was nevertheless appointed to the high office. For Trump, who had nominated him, such allegations were no problem. ‘He saw it as a positive. There’s a similar case now with Pete Hegseth who has been made Secretary of Defence despite allegations of sexual transgressive behaviour. They are both members of the rapeocracy club.’
And this goes beyond ‘grab ‘em by the pussy’, Honig argues. The overarching ethos of this administration is the power grab. ‘The US is no longer interested in cooperation. If we want Greenland or Canada, we’ll simply take it.’
Whether or not that will actually happen, just talking about it chips away at norms and makes the public more receptive to further acts of power-seizing, Honig argues. ‘For example, to condition people to accept the deployment of the military for unconstitutional purposes. It’s a form of grooming.’
Trump’s opponents have been put heavily on the defensive. ‘Unfortunately, I don’t see any leaders who can guide the resistance at the moment, but that could change soon. The Democrats are sending mixed signals. They call Trumpism fascist, and yet Biden says “welcome home” to Trump at the White House door. There are still centrists in the party who say: “We work together where possible.” I thought they were fascists. So which is it?’
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY
A broad movement will have to emerge to provide counterbalance and defend democracy. ‘In the eighties, feminists organised Take Back the Night marches to improve safety on the streets at night. Maybe it’s time for Take Back Democracy marches. We’re not going to win this battle overnight. Right now, we need to focus on building something new and defending ourselves against the worst excesses of current policies.’
In an earlier book, Public Things (2017), which will be published in Dutch this week, Honig stresses the importance of public services and institutions for the survival of democracy.
‘What would it mean if infrastructure, libraries and parks were all privatised? That we could no longer meet in those places without paying? On a beautiful summer day, thousands of people from all ethnic backgrounds and social classes gather in New York’s Central Park. The exchange of all those different perspectives is an important part of a well-functioning democracy.’
In the book, she gives an example of how things can go wrong. In 2014, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Service started selling time slots for the use of basketball courts in a public park. A passerby filmed a confrontation between local teens who were playing basketball and a group of tech workers who had reserved the court for $27 and asked them to leave. The teens invited them to play a game together, but the tech workers still sent the kids away.
‘The local government transforming a public thing into a rentable resource is a drastic move,’ Honig writes.
COLLECTIVE ACTION
‘It’s not just about driving children away. It changes the way we relate to public things. Instead of figuring out how to join a game or waiting your turn, the new rules pose an entirely different question: who has the right to this space?’ The rental system was abolished following public outrage, to Honig’s satisfaction. ‘That’s an example of successful collective action.’
‘Just one more thing,’ says Honig just before the Zoom call ends. ‘Even though it may seem pointless, we need to seek each other out, take action and resist as a collective – now more than ever. It’s important for democracy to continue to function, even when it’s under threat. Don’t let immigration officers into your home if they have no right to enter. Not because you’re hiding anything or anyone, but because your neighbours might be. We must show solidarity and all keep our doors shut.’
Bonnie Honig, Shell-Shocked, Feminist Criticism after Trump, Fordham University Press, 272 pgs. $27.95