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 threadlolonurseSep 29, 2024
@wdlindsy
Or simply not want to get involved, so turn the other way & 'not see anything'.
My family had lots of friends and neighbors until Hitler... then suddenly, many of them no longer knew "Die Jüden". Some even apologized for no longer being able to talk to them.
Show threadWilliam Lindsey 
@lolonurse That's right. And I have to say, this dynamic is not far from my own experience and history. Growing up in the Civil Rights period in the American South and seeing acts of violence against Black people even right in my own community, I saw many "good" people turn their heads, pretend not to see. It can be revelatory to see who will not stand with you when you're attacked, when they day before, they claimed to be a friend.
Sep 30, 2024 at 12:53pmWeb
Show threadlolonurseSep 30, 2024
@wdlindsy
Another charming trait of human beings.
Show threadWilliam Lindsey Sep 30, 2024
@lolonurse It is, for sure. The Milgram experiment showed us decisively just how willing a shocking percentage of us are to inflict pain on someone else at the behest of an authority figure.