"It’s wild to me that Trump’s fascism is only now breaking through as a major news story. Trump’s ideology has been evident from the start, and in every election cycle, his closing argument always comes down to white supremacy, fascism, hate, and white...

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@CaffeinatedBookDragon I do think Trump is very aware of the parallels between his movement (and ideas) and the Nazi movement in Germany. I think it's no accident he repeatedly cites or echoes Hitler. His first (? — I have trouble keeping them all straight) wife said he kept a copy of Mein Kampf beside his bed. I think he deliberately chose Madison Square Garden as a venue to evoke memories of the huge Nazi rally held there in the 1930s.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@JamesBazan Well-noted. A good point to make.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@AidanMurphy May it be so. I feel quite sure my Irish immigrant great-grandmother and her brother voted Democratic in that election.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Shebeencounter "Why would I consume anything this man has to offer?"

Because politics is the art of the possible and imperfect and not the pure, in which we sometimes band together with others who share our determination to shove back a serious threat to the body politic such as fascism — though we don't share the same worldviews or thoughts about many matters.

/1

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Shebeencounter If I went through commentary daily and weeded out all the people who disappoint me on ideological grounds, I'd be listening to very few people. And in the process, I'd often miss valuable commentary by people with whom I very much disagree for many reasons, but who share my determination to push back a serious lethal threat to the world in the form of Trump's fascism.

/2

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@mysturji You're right.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Vaniaji I hope along with you — though I suspect that, if Trump does lose (and I'm not sure he will), we will still have a long uphill climb to get out of this pit into which nearly half of our population have chosen to drive all of us.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Myerman May it be so.

[vaniaji@toad.social]

@wdlindsy Keep the faith William. We are doing our best in the DMV to make sure he loses…you have my heartfelt promise. ️️️

[caffeinatedbookdragon@nerdculture.de]

@wdlindsy

I'm sure HE knows, but I wonder if the followers have figured it out. Odds are they haven't if they're mostly "the uneducated' he loves so much.

[politicalfinger@universeodon.com]

@wdlindsy Heck, Trump posted a Trump as Pepe meme on Twitter, as a direct, extended olive-branch to the alt-right.

Just a moment...

(www.researchgate.net)

I Guess We Need To Talk About Pepe The Frog

A cartoon frog became popular, then a pariah. Now the Anti-Defamation League has identified it as a hate symbol. We take a short look at the amphibious, ambiguous meme.

NPR (www.npr.org)

[shebeencounter@mastodon.world]

@wdlindsy A man who promoted an illegal invasion resulting in the deaths of upwards of one million civilians and the displacement of millions more, leading to a rash of additional terrorist activity across the region and planet is mere "imperfection"

What privilege you display talking about things like this. Ancient history to you. Fresh hell for the people still reeling from it. Trump could never dream of being as much of a bastard as William Kristol. History makes that clear. Reckon with it

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Shebeencounter So we've descended to personal insults, and I'm bowing out of the conversation now. If you prefer torching ties of solidarity to those who share your goal of pushing back fascism but don't satisfy your purism, then you must live with the consequences of your choice to fragment solidarity. I have chosen a different path.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@politicalfinger You're right.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@CaffeinatedBookDragon I suspect you're very right about that.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Vaniaji Thank you -- and I send wishes to you for the same!

[shebeencounter@mastodon.world]

@wdlindsy William, you have already openly embraced fascism just as your latest political champion has.

This isn't an insult. It's analysis. I'm sorry you dislike the results, but no one forced you to disregard the wide and long-ranging and INCREASING discontents of American empire. That was your decision.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Shebeencounter Please have a good day. I'm no longer engaging after the insult-hurling stage began. Sorry that appeals to you.