10-28-2016, 06:27 PM
(10-28-2016, 11:27 AM)TeacherinExile Wrote:(10-28-2016, 10:03 AM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote: CNN's Gregory Krieg wrote a piece, "Trump's supporters and their bloody words of war".Anyone with an interest in how a spiral of hateful rhetoric can spark actual violence against "The Other," I would highly suggest the book The Eliminationists by David Neiwert. It was published some years ago during the George W. Bush administration, but his book is no less apropos today. As evidenced by some of the hateful rhetoric--and small-scale violence--on display at some of Trump's rallies and at the RNC Convention, we are witnessing glimmers (and I stress, glimmers only, so far) of what has preceded the Holocaust and the Rwanda massacre. Let us hope that, once Trump is dispatched on Election Day, such rhetoric does not escalate...
It was accompanied by a bunch of links to other articles and videos... Trump Reporter verbally attacks CNN reporter, Trump supporter appears to hit protester at rally, Hillary Clinton: Donald Trump is ‘inciting violence’, Ex-congressman defends violent tweet, Sheriff Clarke: Pitchfork and torches time in America, Joe Biden: I wish I could take Trump behind the gym, Trump: I’d love to fight ‘tough guy’ Biden".
We all emphasize different elements of turning theory. One of my areas of interest is spirals of rhetoric and violence. While part of the above would be media trying to stir up ratings, the incidents behind the articles seem real enough.
I do note a trend to mention archaic weapons when the Republicans are using inflammatory language. They speak of pitchforks, torches and muskets, not high powered semi automatic weapons with large magazines. This seems to be a trick of plausible deniability, a way of pretending they are speaking metaphorically rather than actually inciting violence. To me, they are recklessly escalating the spiral of rhetoric without concern for the possible carry over into the spiral of violence.
Joe Walsh Wrote:"On November 8th, I'm voting for Trump. On November 9th, if Trump loses, I'm grabbing my musket," Walsh wrote to his more than 78,000 followers. "You in?"
Remember, remember the ninth of November?
Because any discernible minority by race, ethnicity, religion, linguistic heritage, sexual orientation, or even handicap is a potential victim of a dictatorial regime, many of us have good cause to reject the first phase of the decay of democracy. Beware the demagogue!
I hate to bring up Hitler... but he never promised to leave a Germany a nation in shame and ruin, disgraced for what its armies and paramilitary forces did to millions, and partitioned by foreign powers. He never promised the Holocaust, let alone aggressive war that would allow American and Soviet armies to meet. Hitler never promised a war even more destructive than World War II. Of course Hitler may not have wanted such things, even the Holocaust, in 1932. Hitler sought to bring back national pride, and by 1936 the Germans (unless they were Jewish) were proud to be Germans. In 1946 "German" was a badge of shame.
I mention Hitler because my detail on what Lenin and Mao promised isn't so strong. Marxism promises to jump-start economic growth by getting capitalist indulgence out of the way.
The Germans of 1932 had less of an excuse than the pervasively-ignorant, superstitious Russians of 1917 and Chinese of 1949 whose countries had been wracked in destructive war. Germans had fair warning of the street brawls, and they were literate enough to understand that Hitler promised too many things, many of those contradicting each other, to too many people.
What is our excuse as Americans for voting for the most successful demagogue in American history?
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.