Chaos Comes Calling
The Battle Against the Far-Right Takeover of Small-Town America
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- ¥2,800
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- ¥2,800
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A harrowing tale of how political polarization threatens America’s social fabric, told through the differing fates of two communities riven by ideological and partisan battles
Donald Trump’s 2016 electoral victory set off a reign of demagoguery and—ten months into a pandemic—an incitement to violence that led a mob of thousands to descend on the Capitol in Washington, DC. Fueled by suspicion, conspiracy, and bigotry, extremists fought to seize control of the country. Many years and a reelection later, local communities around the United States continue to feel the ricochet effect of these events.
In Chaos Comes Calling, Sasha Abramsky tells the parallel stories of two communities, Shasta County, California and Sequim, Washington, where toxic alliances of QAnoners, anti-vaxxers, Christian nationalists, militia supporters, and other denizens of the far-right have worked to take control of the levers of government power. While Sequim ultimately recalibrated in 2021, returning to rationality, Shasta County has descended further into a climate of intolerance and toxic divisiveness.
By illuminating how national political polarization has seeped into local affairs, Abramsky vividly captures how extremism has transformed the country’s politics and continues to upend life at every level. His reporting provides a sobering preview of America’s future if extremism is not reined in.
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Two small towns grapple with a rising tide of right-wing conspiracy theories and violent rhetoric in this enthralling account. Journalist Abramsky (Jumping at Shadows) profiles residents of Sequim, Wash., and Shasta County, Calif., who experienced these developments firsthand, including Mary Rickert, chair of the Shasta County board of supervisors, who received violent threats for enforcing California's 2020 Covid mitigation measures, and Charlie Bush, Sequim's city manager, who was ousted over his opposition to the QAnon conspiracy theorizing of the town's mayor, William Armacost. Abramsky argues that while America has always had its "demagogues and political hustlers," today's brand of "irrationality" has a new quality—it's being spread "lightning fast," intensifying its potency. The bulk of the right-wing rhetoric he tracks was posted on Facebook, but Abramsky also highlights surprising and fascinating ways in which social media and radio work together as a hybrid media echo chamber: Armacost, for example, shared conspiracy theories on Facebook, but also went on local talk radio to discuss QAnon; and in 2023, when Sequim residents became fearful of an imminent "antifa attack," the rhetoric leapt from "Facebook Live warnings... to truckers' CB radios, the remaining log haulers in the region help... spread rumors." The result is an eye-opening close-up view of American politics.
