I am not sure that people outside the US who have not had to deal with a similar party leader understand when we say, 'cult', we mean an actual, completely brainwashed cult. Not just racists. Not just people who like strong men or fascism, as exists globally today. An actual cult, where the members are willing to abandon their families and long-time friends, give away their belongings, and even resort to violence. Nothing, no matter how vile or rational, will get through to them except careful deprogramming. We have to contend with that. It can happen to you. Please be careful out there. #VoteBlue2024 #harriswalz2024 #voteblue2024protectdemocracy

@hacks4pancakes Check for Germany: it's been a few (approaching 80) years, but (due to my own age) I have interviewed a lot of people who participated (mostly willingly) in such a cult.

You could easily find traces in the personality 50 years after the cult was kinetically terminated.

@masek @hacks4pancakes And a lot of them kept that mind set. A lot of my older teachers still had it and seldom hid it.
@rstein @masek @hacks4pancakes The mistake was "good people" letting them continue to participate in society. And not just participate, but hold positions of esteem.