William Lindsey Sep 29, 2024

People focus on Hitler and Nazi leaders and the atrocious lethal lies they told to justify the mass murder of Jews.

But they should focus also on the willingness of very many people to believe those lies, to cheer and assist as their Jewish neighbors were rounded up and sent to their deaths.

The problem is never just the Hitlers, the Nazis. The problem is us, many of us — our propensity to stigmatize and hate.

#Trump #Republicans #Hitler #Nazis #immigrants #BloodLibel #PoliticsofHate
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Show threadEscarpmentSep 29, 2024
@wdlindsy I try to often point out as well: the stigmatization will *seem* justified. For example, today, the stigmatization of Jewish people for Israel's actions in Gaza seems like a righteous stand to take. Every generation has their fabricated reason why antisemitism is righteous and justified.
Show threadWilliam Lindsey 
@escarpment Yes, stigmatization works to motivate hate precisely because people see it as seemingly justified — due to the drumbeat of lying propaganda building on longstanding social tensions. It's about defining us, the ones holding the power over the stigmatized others, as the righteous and good, and those others as the bad. When we set up that dynamic, anything we do to "them" no matter how evil and barbaric is justified in our minds.
Sep 29, 2024 at 9:09pmWeb