Author Sharon E. Cathcart ✅Apr 17, 2023

Quote from article: Once the Nazis took power they banned books, outlawed drag shows and homosexuality, changed school curricula to remove mention of their atrocities in WWI, and rewrote election laws so they’d never again lose an election.

My thoughts: A whole bunch of people, myself included, started pointing out parallels between the Trump-era GOP and the Nazis well before he was elected. We were accused of employing hyperbole, and told to "give him a chance."

Well, just call me Cassandra ... because here we are.

Just. Like. I. Said. We. Would. Be.

https://open.substack.com/pub/thomhartmann/p/whats-behind-the-gops-war-against?r=1ekuyr&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

What’s Behind the GOP’s War Against Democracy?

And are rightwing billionaires who want more, more, more money willing to make common cause with bigots, fascists, and wannabee killers to get it?

The Hartmann Report
Show threadLazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈Apr 17, 2023
@sharonecathcart on this long road to Fascism there has been a constant whine of "don't upset the fascists, and don't call them 'Fascists', you'll hurt their feelings" and I want to see what those people think now or are they still lying to us and themselves?
Show threadAuthor Sharon E. Cathcart ✅Apr 17, 2023

@Lazarou Also, I had no patience with the mollycoddling of "we need to try to understand them."

I grew up in a rural part of the country. I understand them, because I lived among them in the trailer parks. They believe they're temporarily embarrassed millionaires, and if only "those people" weren't cutting ahead of them in line, they'd be rich. They believe that their government assistance checks are because of genuine need, but everyone else is a fraud and "taker."

It's a level of magical thinking that truly boggles my mind.

I refer to my move away from where I grew up as an escape ... and for good reason.

Show threadPJ "Vote Green" Coffey

@sharonecathcart @Lazarou

I think that does injustice to the people from those parts of the country.

The Jan 6th protestors could take time off work and book hotel rooms.

That doesn't sound like the preserve of poor hard-working types to me.

Apr 17, 2023 at 1:48pmWeb
Show threadAuthor Sharon E. Cathcart ✅Apr 17, 2023

@Homebrewandhacking @Lazarou

I had to sit with this one for a minute to figure out how to respond.

I think this is a case of "yes, and ..."

While it's true that the Jan 6 insurrectionists could take time off from work and book hotel rooms, it doesn't change the fact that a whole slew of people with whom I grew up wished they were there. It doesn't change the fact that the authoritarian attitudes and magical thinking exist.

Just because they weren't roaming Capitol Hill looking for blood doesn't mean they didn't want to. 😞

Show threadPJ "Vote Green" CoffeyApr 17, 2023

@sharonecathcart @Lazarou

No, indeed fair enough, but there's an important gap between _wanting to do something_ and having the ability to do it and doing it.

The framing of people harbouring these hatreds and irrational beliefs as solely being ignorant and ill-educated is very widespread, as you know.

But... fish rot from the head down...