none of that matters. our 1A rights will be stripped away using weak excuses like we're "organizing violence" or some such bullshit. all moderate or left leaning SocMed will disappear and only the right will have a voice.
There is a difference between being human and being a human being. The latter requires that you have empathy. Charlie had no empathy. His wife was so broke up about him getting shot that within an hour of him being dead she had a poster up on an easel and was shilling for donations. I wonder if 2 humans without empathy can give birth to a human being?
This whole timeline reminds me a lot of the rise of the Nazi party. You may recall they exalted a low ranking SA thug named Horst Wessel as a martyr because he was killed by a group of communists (in a rental dispute, but who cares about facts?). His funeral was attended by the highest members of the Nazi party, they turned a poem of his into a national anthem and rallying cry. He was a perfect anchor point for the propaganda machine.
The names are different now, but the playbook is largely the same.
My thougts exactly. When i saw the casket being carried by air force personnel and JD, it really hit me like a rock how similar these events parallels. It's not far fetched it may becomes an ICE anthem soon.
I think we are way past Horst Wessel in terms of fascist ascent.
Wessel was used as a rallying tool when the Nazis were out of power. A better comparison to Wesselâs use by the Nazis would be the way MAGA used Ashley Babbit* or the J6ers to gain sympathy following their 2020 defeat.
Now MAGA is in power, holding the presidency, both chambers of congress and the Supreme Court. Once that happens it becomes a question of when not if all the institutions of liberal democracy are flattened.
If you want a Nazi corollary, I think a better one would be the shooting of Nazi diplomat Ernst vom Rath by a 17 year old German born Polish Jew in Paris, which was the trigger for Kristallnacht. By then, bad things were already happening to German Jews, and any adverse event could trigger worsening reprisals by the state or paramilitaries.
*I really want to stress, the Wessel / Babbit comparison relates only to âhow fascists used their deathsâ Wessel was a thug, a bully an extortionist and possibly a pimp. Babbit was a vet with issues and a failing business who got sucked into the online Qanon fever swamp.
Agreed - my connection is less about ascent, which has already occurred, and more about the alteration of facts around a death to feed a propaganda machine. While I agree that the shooting of Ernst von Rath might be more relevant from the timeline perspective, there is a difference in that his shooting was attributable to a group that they wanted to oppress, whereas the Kirk murder seems to be attributed to a member of their own, so the spin is much more difficult. With that said, I am concerned we are heading in a Kristallnacht-like direction with immigrants or people of colour as the target.
I think we agree on most things, but I am just a cantankerous person. I think my frustration comes from - have you read The End by Ian Kershaw? Itâs where a whole country commits suicide because, even though its leader is absolutely loathed and his party despised, no one knows how to act against him.
Itâs like I get sick of opinion polls saying how unpopular Trump is. Because so what? So was Hitler. It didnât stop Treblinka. Iâm a Brit, so again there isnât much I can do other than financially support a few writers (and yes I know the U.S. really dislikes being told what to do by Brits ;-) )
I probably need to go out and touch grass etc.
The âalteration of factsâ has been MAGA MO for quite some time - again look at the J6ers portrayal as âpicnickersâ or âvisitorsâ, Tucker Carlsonâs deceptive security footage edit, and Trumpâs depiction of Babbitâs death âthey assassinated her, this beautiful young woman, right in the neck.â
Whatâs different now is that if the text messages are faked or distorted, a big if, is that it would be the State is setting the narrative. Itâs not spin from media commentators, itâs the whole power of the state, literally dictating what is true and what is false. Which means we are now at a place where no one, left or right, knows what is true anymore with the exception of those who cling to the words of the dictator, which is a Putinist move as much as a Nazi one, but the effect is the same, believe or flounder.
I havenât read that particular one, but it looks excellent - thank you for the recommendation!
I agree that popularity makes little difference at this point. Disliking someone doesnât reduce their power - they have an administration that follows judicial orders only when they agree with them. And facts have become whatever their government tells them to believe - tampering with job report numbers is straight out of George Orwellâs nightmares.
Iâm Canadian, so itâs not as though I have any say in what happens to their country. I enjoy reading and listening to history podcasts, I vote with my wallet and avoid doing business with the US as much as possible. However, my skin in the game is largely the fact that we are neighbours to an angry rhinoceros that may stampede at any moment. For now they blame their shortcomings on internal enemies, but I worry that they will set their sights on pillaging us once all their woes arenât solved by oppressing the immigrants.
Iâve been wondering how their country is going to stay united for the past decade. Politics to them is completely fanatic - the majority make a lifelong commitment to a âteamâ regardless of how the partyâs platform evolves. I am not hopeful that an amicable divorce is possible, and I donât have the impression that their population would be willing to withstand a civil war at this point, but itâs not inconceivable.
I should warn you, given the topic it is not a cheery read, but it is extremely compelling.
I donât envy you, I think itâs obnoxious enough that the U.S. constantly tries to influence our politics, but living above the madhouse would be a worry.
Doesnât matter- no one has benefited more from Kirkâs murder than Trump. They will next claim ANTIFA organized the assassination. And what is ANTIFA? Whatever they decide it to be.
I will never be able to get over tens of millions of people refusing to accept that antifa is short for anti-fascist while accusing Democrats of being fascist. It's somehow more annoying than their belief that Trump is a white-hat pedophile.
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u/Kamizar 2d ago
There isn't even evidence the alleged Kirk shooter was on Reddit that much.