In a thread yesterday, I noted that after WWII, many Americans asked how it was possible that large numbers of Germans could hear Hitler's dangerous, crazy ranting targeting minority communities and lusting after blood and still support him.
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Matthias Krämerreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy I like Reich's views. But I think of one thing he didn't get when he thinks that JD Vance, Donald Jr. and Eric could somehow continue Trumps political ways: The authoritarian psyche needs a charismatic leader, and all three don't have any charisma. Even Musk or MTG are more likely by chance of unforseeable developments to step in Trumps footsteps.
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to Matthias Krämer last edited by
@Kraemer_HB Perhaps, however, what well-intentioned people find charismatic is not what ill-intentioned ones find charismatic.
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to Hugs4friends ♾🇺🇦 🇵🇸😷 last edited by
@Tooden If by that you mean that anything he says is fine with them because of the "voice" in which it's said, then yes, that makes sense to me.
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Matthias Krämerreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy Sure. It may be that I only have not seen yet a speech where one of those three created visible rapport to the audience. I only see how weird they are towards their own fans.
That could change if Trump leaves a hole in the hearts of his followers that they want to fill by any means.
But we see dictators and strongmen all over the world struggle with the organisation of their succession. There's nothing like the original strongman. -
Phil Aisthorpereplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy I have always thought it a great mistake when the US changed its motto in 1954 from the secular 'e pluribus unum' to the religious 'In God we Trust'. A betrayal of the Republic.
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Philip Cardellareplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy excellent analysis, as always.
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SufferForMe 🆘replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
The problem with the word 'fascism' is that for many the word is too abstract for them. The connection to possible consequences - mass incarcerations (without trial), torture, executions, widespread victimisation and violence - remain remote and unreal, and at worst, something that only happens to other people. It couldn't happen here. Could it?
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to SufferForMe 🆘 last edited by
@sufferforme Yes — and I think this is, in part, an educational problem. The educational system in many places has not done enough to teach students about what fascism is, what it means, how it operates, when and how it has manifested itself.
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to Philip Cardella last edited by
@philip_cardella Thank you so much.
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Hugs4friends ♾🇺🇦 🇵🇸😷replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy Has to be that. Mesmerising, even.
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to Phil Aisthorpe last edited by
@JSprat Yes — and, yet, the religious strain in American culture has been so strong all along, stemming from the foundational role of the Puritan colonies, then strengthened by the two Great Awakenings. It's inbuilt in American culture.
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to Matthias Krämer last edited by
@Kraemer_HB I think the problem is that what you and I see when these folks rant is not what many others see. I simply hear Trump's voice and get cold chills — no matter what he says. I turn off the sound. Yet for many others, it's spellbinding. (And I realize you're talking about the lack of charisma of others, not Trump.)
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Stanley Nerdlingerreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy
Just a different style of sanewashing
https://lor.sh/@SNerd/113113619679056559 -
Pamelareplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy They're just as despicable as him living their hypocritical lives in full view covering it in the flag of Trumpie?
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Pamelareplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy Not authoritarian, try FASCIST!
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Babs E. Blue Let's Go Kamalareplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy I so loathe that MFr
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Daniel Marksreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy The truth is that civilization is always a few missed meals from anarchy. Order is maintained only under the threat of violence, and so violence or the threat of violence is employed strategically to maximize fear and obedience. This is how naturally violent humans have managed to form civilizations and armies that conquered other humans that did not cooperate for mutual defense.
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Catherine Schmidtreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy have you seen that Bush is trying to say this all started with the bank bail out it 2008? He says it pissed people off and made way for popularism
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MycotropicForHarrisreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
I live in Aurora Colorado and they lied about us too! Conservatives today have absolutely nothing of substance to add to our culture so they follow trumps lead and just make shit up. Their base is so thoroughly indoctrinated by their media and likely their religious leaders that they approach his words as articles of faith, not observation or testable hypotheses. It reminds me of the words of the great thinker MC Hawking;
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=89jt7zJzkNQ