Timothy Snyder continues his illuminating discussion of contemporary American-style fascism — as in what the Republican party now offers — in new commentary today.

William Lindsey :toad:

Sidney Blumenthal predicts that "Trump’s planned rally at Madison Square Garden will be the ultimate act of ego and the climax of his Hitlerian rhetoric" and that "at his night at the Garden, Trump will revive the memory of the infamous American Nazi mass rally held there on 20 February 1939 through his reflected Hitlerian rhetoric."

#Trump #JDVance #Republicans #fascism
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A week before the election, Trump will hold his most unsettling spectacle yet | Sidney Blumenthal

Trump’s planned rally at Madison Square Garden will be the ultimate act of ego and the climax of his Hitlerian rhetoric

the Guardian (www.theguardian.com)

@wdlindsy
Here's hoping some really hardcore Trumpites will dig out the banners from the 1939 rally that their parents kept.

William Lindsey :toad:

@the5thColumnist What a great comment. It's sadly not beyond the realm of possibility, with pro-Trump folks displaying swastika flags on their yachts lately. I see these and think immediately of a swastika flag my uncle brought back from WWII. I'm not sure how he acquired it. He was in the unit of soldiers who were first to arrive on the scene of the horrific Gardelegen massacre, and may have taken it down from a building there.
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William Lindsey :toad:

@the5thColumnist But he also captured an S.S. officer, and perhaps took it from him. He came on the officer hiding in a hut in the woods, shaving. My uncle asked if the man had a gun and he said no. My uncle then searched and found a gun under his mattress. He brought that gun, a Luger, back home with him after the war. The officer said he'd have killed my uncle if my uncle had lied to him in that way. My uncle took him prisoner and brought him back to the Army camp.
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Zeke Livingston

@wdlindsy Well, this is chilling.

William Lindsey :toad:

@mediocratese I agree — and also chilling is the fatuous insistence of too many Americans that it can't happen in the US, because Americans are uniquely good.

Zeke Livingston

@wdlindsy Exceptionalism. We know it well in Canada. It’s what sets us apart from Americans. ‍️. We are in so much trouble.

Doug Baker

@wdlindsy If he could have found a politician named Rockwell, he would have picked him as his VP nominee.

Philip Cardella

@wdlindsy I half expect to see giant George Washington banners with maga all over them.

Sampath Pāṇini ®

@wdlindsy @dgoldsmith
This is the message in the lead-up to the event.

It’s giving a spiraling ego death.

William Lindsey :toad:

@paninid @dgoldsmith Yes. He's ratcheting up the fundraising, because he knows that if he loses the election, he'll ned money to file an endless succession of lawsuits to challenge the results.

William Lindsey :toad:

@philip_cardella Indeed — and I've been thinking lately about what it will be like to have an official presidential portrait hanging in the White House of a man who makes his face look like this.

William Lindsey :toad:

@SonofaGeorge Yes, an historical figure we Americans forget to our peril.

William Lindsey :toad:

@mediocratese Yes, my six years living in Toronto as a graduate student definitely introduced me to the "we're different from you" mentality of many Canadians. All the more shocking now to see the inroads that hard-right (American) ideology is making in various places in Canada, notably out west.

Philip Cardella

@wdlindsy isn't this the official portrait?

William Lindsey :toad:

@philip_cardella So many to choose from! Capturing so much nobility, honorable behavior, intelligence — the things we have long said (mendaciously, of course) that we admire in our presidents.

Zeke Livingston

@wdlindsy Exactly. BC election yesterday proves your point precisely. Conservative leader is a #ClimateChange denialist who only presented a costed platform 4 days before election. ‍️. So essentially only elected by slogan chanting.

William Lindsey :toad:

@mediocratese This is so sad, because Canada has so much to offer — and very specifically as a saner and more humane alternative to the American path in various ways.