A thread of statements addressing the closing arguments of the Trump campaign

@wdlindsy Modeling is a powerful teaching technique. Trump gets away with criminal and immoral behavior, so a huge slice of US citizens say, “Why not”. If #Trump had been incarcerated even once, it would have been a tremendous social deterent. It may be too late now, and our Judiciary is to blame.

"We’ve come full circle after nine years. We started with being able to get away with shooting somebody on Fifth Avenue to calling for the execution of an opposing politician.

I don’t know how many people this latest monstrosity [i.e., Trump's bloody fantasy of having Liz Cheney executed] will move."

~ Mark Mansour

#Trump #fascism #racism #misogyny #violence #economy #garbage
/22

America’s Fractured Politics | Mark Mansour | Substack

A newsletter about politics and the law by a longtime Democratic activist. Click to read America’s Fractured Politics, by Mark Mansour, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

(mmansour.substack.com)

"This country is big enough to accommodate two responsible political parties. It has for many years. It is not big enough to hold a sane party and the Trump party. If they win, it will be years before we have a fighting chance to restore comity and sanity. If they win, our civil liberties are in danger, as are future elections. If they win, we will no longer be able to speak out as we do here without real fear of retribution."

#Trump #fascism #racism #misogyny #violence #economy #garbage
/23

Isabel Fattal and Stephanie Bai offer a helpful list of forty instances in which Trump has incited or praised violence against his fellow citizens, from the 2016 campaign until today. They wrote this BEFORE Trump fantasized about putting Liz Cheney in front of a firing squad.

#Trump #fascism #racism #misogyny #violence #economy #garbage
/24

A Brief History of Trump’s Violent Remarks

Here are 40 instances in which the former president incited or praised violence against his fellow citizens.

The Atlantic (www.theatlantic.com)

@wdlindsy

"Have you ever wondered how good was so easily destroyed by evil in the past?

And thought to yourselves how ignorant and unaware those people must have been?

Well, look around.

Because the past is upon you."
SearingTruth

@wdlindsy

I’ve had the occasion to travel pretty extensively in my rural area the last two weeks.
I see more signs for djt than for Harris/Walz.

I looked at every house thinking, “these people are my neighbors. What do they think they see in him?”

I don’t know.

I hope Harris wins in numbers so overwhelming he just goes away.

I can dream!

"Maybe it was always building to this: thousands of people singing and dancing to 'Macho Man,' some sporting neon safety vests, others in actual trash bags, a symbolic expression of solidarity with their authoritarian hero whose final week on the campaign trail has revolved around the word garbage."

~ John Hendrickson

#Trump #fascism #racism #misogyny #violence #economy #garbage
/25

What Trump Sees Coming

At one of his final dystopian rodeos, the former president hinted at 2025 and beyond.

The Atlantic (www.theatlantic.com)

"Trump is returning to his conspiratorial election denialism. Four years ago, he tried to undermine the results in Arizona, Georgia, and other states. Last night, he singled out Pennsylvania. (A day earlier, his campaign had filed a lawsuit in the state, alleging voter suppression.) …

Whether he succeeds or fails, the detritus that Trump has left behind will likely linger."

#Trump #fascism #racism #misogyny #violence #economy #garbage
/26

@wdlindsy Billionaires are really worried their time is coming - AND THEY ARE CORRECT.

@wdlindsy next time, we need to lean into some sort of fecal metaphor: lying sack of shit being my personal favorite

@wdlindsy

"Learning to Kill

It's odd the way that societies change. Time and time again historians and sociologists are taken aback in wonder and confusion at the sudden, dramatic, and often dangerous transformations of a people’s basic nature and identity.

When this occurs in individuals we call it insanity, and often look for psychological or biological illness to explain the anomaly. When it occurs in societies we call it inhumanity, and have yet to address its root cause.

There are of course the classic and well known transformations of good societies into those who embrace darkness, such as the Germans adopting the ideals of the madman Hitler, or the Italians adopting his lesser counterpart Mussolini. But there are unfortunately many lesser discussed and equally tragic examples of a societies transgressions against its own mores. From the ancient Greeks and Romans, to modern day Americans and Europeans, societies have shown a great propensity for suddenly abandoning their most cherished beliefs and morals, and in their stead, learning to kill.

To be sure, these transformations do not occur overnight, but are instead attended by a slow, steady, but ever increasing drumbeat of misinformation, dehumanization, beratement, and ultimate hysteria directed towards any perceived enemy. The voices of reason and dissent are routinely suppressed and discredited, the rule of law abandoned, and any possible sense of guilt muted by vague and overt appeals to absolute nationalism.

And so we find humanity today.

In the midst of elections where the abandonment of our most basic precepts of humanity are trialed, humanity hangs bare.

Learning to kill.

It's not as difficult as we thought."
SearingTruth

@wdlindsy

"We are one last lantern.

To light the rest.

So shine.

And drown the darkness."
SearingTruth

@wdlindsy I still remember the woman quoted during Trump's first presidency, complaining that "he isn't hurting the people he needs to be hurting."

That told me a lot about why people supported him.

Every Trump supporter has a list of enemies whom they want Trump to persecute for them.

They know Trump has an enemies list, too.

They assume it coincides with theirs.

It would be satisfying to watch them find out they're wrong, but I'd rather the issue simply not come up.

Vote Harris/Walz.

@wdlindsy

Trump is a dangerous man, and I think a Putin supporter.

I am more nervous about the USA elections than I was about the UK ones.

@lyndamerry484 I agree, and I understand your reason for being nervous about the US elections: they will have global consequences.

@NicoleJLeBoeuf Thank you for that reminder. Yes, isn't that amazing, that they'd say right out loud that they voted for him to hurt the people who "need to be hurt"? As you say, this tells us a whole lot about his supporters — and what it tells us is far from savory.

@SearingTruth Thank you. Beautiful image.

@SearingTruth Thank you for this insightful meditation.

@ERBeckman Works for me!

@Runyan50 Let's hope. As Robert Reich keeps telling us, the concentration of wealth and the power that a tiny elite of super-rich people now have are really unprecedented.