Comedian, musician, podcaster and Nashvillian Chris Crofton asked the Scene for an advice column, so we gave him one. Crowning himself the “Advice King,” Crofton will share his hard-won wisdom with whosoever seeks it. Follow Crofton on Facebook and Twitter, and to submit a question for the Advice King, email bestofbread[at]gmail[dot]com or editor[at]nashvillescene[dot]com.
Dear Advice King,
I saw you tweeting about Nashville’s deal for a new NFL stadium. You said that making taxpayers put money toward the stadium was “fascism.” How so? Regardless of what you call it, I don’t like it, either. How can we stand up for our rights?
—Kim in Memphis
Fascism doesn’t have to look a certain way. When it comes this time, it won’t wear the same uniforms as last time. It certainly won’t call itself fascism.
It doesn’t have to act a certain way, either. I think that fascism — or another label you’d prefer for when an ostensibly representative government is taken over by oligarchs — officially arrived in the United States via the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision.
Some people argue that “true” fascism always has to include systemic racism, and others argue that it can exist without it. If fascism does require systemic racism, I would argue that America has had that component covered since the day it was founded.
FDR had this to say about fascism: "The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism — ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power."
There’s no reason to soft pedal — the other side sure isn't. I think we (nice people) need to sound the goddamn alarm: Our elected representatives are not listening to us. In fact, they are doing THE OPPOSITE of what we want. What enables them to so confidently ignore the will of the people? Citizens United, aka billionaires' money, aka (in my opinion) fascism.
When I say that politicians are doing the opposite of what their constituents want, I mean it. From abortion, to defunding the police, to gun regulation, to a new Titans stadium — average citizens are not being taken seriously. They aren’t being taken seriously because they aren’t the ones paying for the TV ads that get these people elected. And when these politicians lose, average citizens aren’t the ones installing them on the boards of their companies.
By the way, when I say “politicians,” I’m talking about BOTH parties. There are no good guys in this scenario.
Last week, I attended the last public hearing before Nashville's Metro Council voted to approve the deal for a new Titans stadium. I spoke. You can see me do it here. A lot of other people spoke, too. Vice Mayor Jim Shulman (a Democrat) presided over the hearing. If you read this column regularly, you might remember the name Jim Shulman. I first wrote about his terrible treatment of constituents making public comments way back in 2020. FUN FACT: Jim Shulman’s attitude toward constituents making public comments hasn’t improved.
The polite way of describing Jim Shulman’s attitude during last week’s public comments regarding the stadium deal would be “disinterested.” The impolite way of describing it would be “regal.”
He looked like he didn’t give a fuck what the public said, and guess what: He didn’t give a fuck what the public said — the Metro Council voted to put $760 million dollars of taxpayers’ money toward the second-most-expensive stadium in history.
So, giving HUGE amounts of taxpayer money to a VERY PROFITABLE for-profit business and looking bored while they do it — fascism? Maybe not. But what do you call it, then? Authoritarian democracy?
In whatever shitty system we are in, casting a vote is the BAREST MINIMUM. It’s not enough. It’s time to show up to the hearings. It's time to make people uncomfortable while they do their dirty business. It’s time to run for office — even if we don’t win, our very presence will make political life harder for the grifters. All I’m really trying to say is, IT’S AN EMERGENCY.
