(Transcription of an article published in the Guardian on 12 April 2020)
Mî ǒn dîr prof̣siz feld t adiqtli pridict ɖ fyćr n tde I si him az smwn far mor teṛfayñ
Arịl Dorfman, Súnde, 12 Epril 2020
¡Abajo la inteligencia! ¡Viva la muerte!” Ɖoz infṃs wrdz – “Dǎn wɖ intelijns! Loñ liv deʈ!” – wr pṛnǎnst in 1936 bî Jenṛl Mián Astre, a fasist jenṛl hu wz a mntr n frend v Fransisco Franco, sn t b Spen’z dictetr fr ovr for decedz. Ɖe wr part v a rantñ spīć Mián dlivrd at ɖ Yṇvrṣti v Saḷmanca seḷbretñ ɖ inṣrex́n agnst ɖ Spaniś Rpublic ɖt heṛldd ɖ darc yirz ɖt wr on ɖ hrîzn.
I rcōld ɖz barbṛs wrdz wɖ treṗdeśn bac in Octobr v 2017 ẃn I bgan tracñ dǎn ɖ wez in ẃć Doṇld Trump, in onli ɖ frst 10 endlis munʈs v ẃt wz olrdi ɖen hiz endlis guvnmnt, wz wejñ a dsqaytñ wor on sayns n ɖ truʈ. In an onlîn ese fr ɖ Ny Yorc Rvy ov Bcs, I wornd v ɖ “līʈl consiqnsz” ɖt ɖs ofnsiv wd inteil, ɖ miłnz v livz ɖt wd b śortnd.
At ɖt pônt ẃt wurid m wz hiz asōlt on invîrnmntl n lebr lwz, ɖ wez in ẃć h wz drenñ evri guvnmnt-dpartmnt v xprts, ɖ reclis iviṣreśn v advîzri caunslz, ɖ pṛpozd bujitri cuts t sạntific rsrć, ɖ atacs on vax̣neśnz n ɖ hlʈsistm n medicl nǒhǎ bhnd it, hiz obtys clîṃtćenj dnaylz.
Obzrvrz hv foc̣st on hiz boćt ax́nz n cnfyzñ inax́nz, ɖ Nîaġra v misinf̣meśn ɖt spyz dêli fṛm hiz mǎʈ. It hz bn rvild ɖt ɖr wr mor ɖn inuf wornñz, memoz n red flagz bî Jańri v ɖs yir t woṛnt rjnt preṗreśnz ɖt wr nvr pt in ples n, scandḷsli, ɖt Trump’s oblivịs n cerlis ac̣lîts dsmantld in rli 2018 ɖ tīm in ćarj v hanḍlñ prisîsli ɖs sort v dzastṛs dziz, fîrñ its most xpirịnst membrz. Ɖ lêtist sīn in ɖs trajic fars v cpriśsnis z Trump’s insistnt dmand ɖt hîdroxicloṛqīn b yzd t combat Covid-19. Dspt ɖs anti-mlerịl reṃdi nt hvñ bn tstd wɖ objctiv standdz nr its sîd-ifcts sfiśntli vetd, h trīts it az a miṛcldrug, harcñ bac, phps, t ẃn h anǎnst ɖt “wn de – it’s lîc a miṛcl – [ɖ vîṛs] wl dis’pir”. Majicl ʈncñ z t b xpctd in rlijn, litṛćr n amñ ōdịnsz at śoz ẃr cunjrrz pl rabits ǎt v hats, bt nt az a substtyt fr pṛfeśnl meḍsin n setld sayns.
“Ẃt d y hv t lūz?” Trump rīsntli riiṭretd at wn v hiz intrmiṇbl presconfṛnsz.
Sm ansrz: rezñ fōls hop? Westd rzorsz n tîm? Livz lost?
Ɖz cṛtīcs v hiz bhevyr, hvr valid, śd nt let s lūz sît v smʈñ mor funḍmntl ɖt z gwñ on. Tde’z ceotic n bumḅlñ rspons t ɖs imrjnsi z no axidnt, bt dīpli rūtd n sstemic, ɖ d’rect rzult v a patn v calo bnîtidnis ɖt vrjz on ɖ criminl n ɖt gz bac t ɖ vri start v Trump’s reźīm, imbedd in ɖ vri rcalsitṛnt anti-inṭlecćl DNA v ɖs prezidnt n hiz folowrz.
F, bac in Octobr v 2017, Trump sīmd a rmot, olbiit iṇdvrtnt, dsîpl v ɖ fasist jenṛl hu śǎtd “Loñ liv deʈ!” ol ɖoz decedz ago az dmocṛsi wz biyñ dstroid in Spen, tde I si him az smwn far mor teṛfayñ: ɖ psonif̣ceśn v wn v ɖ horsṃn v ɖ apoc̣lips, ɖ wn rîdñ ɖ ẃît hors v pstiḷns.
N yt, īvn f ɖ śip v stet z in ɖ handz v a lūṇtic ɖt mcs Ehab lc sen, ɖr z cōz fr hop.
Ɖ vri sayns ɖt Trump hz d’rîdd n luvz t ignor hz slǒli bn privelñ, advansñ az ol rsrć dz, step bî rigṛs n meźrd step, untl cntenmnt, iḿnîześn, ɖ wizdm v eṗdīmioḷji wl privel. W mst hold fast t ɖ b’lif ɖt ɖ gres v ǎr rīzn n ɖ lît v ǎr nolij, az wel az ɖ constnsi v ǎr soḷdaṛti wɖ wn anɖr, wl hlp s t fînd a we ǎt v ǎr cuṛnt crîsis.
V cors, ẃn w imrj fṛm ɖs ctastṛfi, y cn b śr ɖt Trump wl clem credit n bost abt hǎ hiz jīńs n fōrsît sevd ɖ Ynîtd Stets n, ẃ nt, ol v ungretfl hymaṇti az wel.
Ɖs wl undǎtidli b noun az ɖ yir v a pleg ɖt ćenjd evrʈñ. It rmenz t b sìn f it wl olso g dǎn in hisṭri az ɖ yir ẃn ɖ ineblr v deʈ in ɖ Ẃît Hǎs wz fîṇli hld acǎntbl bî ɖ Americn ppl. It rmenz t b sìn f inuf v ɖm hv dveḷpt ɖ antibodiz ɖt wl stem ɖ eṗdemic v hiz ignṛnt rên.
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Arịl Dorfman z ɖ Ćílịn-Americn oʈr v Deʈ n ɖ Meidn. Hiz most rīsnt bcs r ɖ novl, Cautivos, n Ɖ Rabits Rbełn, a stori fr ćildṛn n adults. H livz wɖ hiz wîf in Ćíli n in Duṛm, Norʈ Caṛlîna, ẃr h z a dstnḡśt pṛfesr imeriṭs v litṛćr at Dyc Yṇvrṣti.
