A speaker’s public record provides context for their current commentary. Trump’s tells us he is a bigot. Specifically a white supremacist. His recent rhetoric leans in to this. When pressed to clarify, justify, or recant these statements he either deflects or doubles down.
There is no reason to think he is suddenly well intentioned, operating in good faith, or otherwise deserving of some deference of judgement.
It doesn’t really require giving him credit, just looking at the words at face value. All I’m saying is in this instance he was trying to be racist, just maybe not in this particular way. He was obviously trying the standard republican tactic of playing groups against one another to get political power. And while he has proven to be racist numerous times, I just don’t think that it is clear from what he said that he intended to communicate that black people can’t have certain jobs. That specifically. He can still be a racist and not be communicating that particular thing.
I’m not defending Trump, just saying that we should hold ourselves to high rhetorical standards where possible OR at least recognize when we’re twisting things to score political points. That line is very blurred in modern political rhetoric.
Either way, good on Simone for using her platform. I just don’t think that this criticism is in good faith - which can be okay, especially when the other side is constantly arguing in bad faith. I just think that it can have consequences to the way we treat political issues more broadly.
Honestly, I truly hope you’re full of shit and none of this is in good faith, because holy shit.
Fucking garbage liberal (the actual term, not Fox News version) attitude that’s allowing the Republican party to get this close to turning the US into an authoritarian state with a malignant narcissist as their literal god.
That shit you mentioned doesn’t work with fascists. They are actively using your liberalism as a weapon against all of us. And this is not new, it’s a pattern throughout history.
I would urge people that agree with the comment above to do some research (like actual research, like reading books. Primary sources and shit) about how the liberal centrist parties in Germany and the rest of Europe, were ultimately the ones who opened the door for Hitler (after the Nazi party had recently lost seats in Parliament and did not have a majority).
Hindenburg, and others, eventually backed Hitler and made him Chancellor because they thought it would help their political careers (Hindenburg also believed he’d be able to keep him in check. As if a fascist can be kept in check through purely political means). How do you think that worked out for them?
Fascists take what a functioning society would call good ethics, fairness, empathy, etc. and weaponize them against their opponents. To them, they see weaknesses to be exploited. Just like Hindenburg was (and every other liberal democracy in the region that had policies of “appeasement” toward the Nazis.
They/you think this is just one more political party, and should be treated as such because of course they’re going to follow the rules and act in good faith… Then as soon as they can they seize power. Whoops. Remember what I said about Nazis not having a majority in Parliament? Well guess who they formed a coalition government with, allowing Hitler to take power through legal means…
And it works every fucking time. Because now the choice (for the liberal) is, "do I go against a fundamental belief, and sink to this fascist’s level because that’s the only thing that works on these people? Or do I let them use me as a tool to help fulfill their goals of destroying our democracy, and ultimately, genocide of some flavor because that’s where it always goes (probably start with the trans folks again, like they did in Germany)?
Now go back and look at which groups in the Weimar Republic fought tooth and nail against the Nazis in the 30s… That’s right, communists and social democrats.
Dude. You are way overreacting and misinterpreting what I’ve said.
Saying “thing that trump said means this racist thing and not that one” is in no way equivalent to anything you’ve accused me of.
I’ve read theory. Kropotkin. Marx (not just manifesto, but kapital and other serious works). I’ve read nearly every book Chomsky has ever written. It is important to understand the nuances of propaganda. When we misinterpret something trump says intentionally to score political points, which I believe we are doing in this case (and which Republicans do all the time), there are pros and cons to that.
Pros: it can encourage people to vote, gets attention, energizes people
Cons: it misleads people by ignoring context and the other systemic issues at play here: namely focusing on this invented idea that there are “black jobs” instead of the idea that politicians play racial groups off each other all the time and have throughout american and european history by blaming immigrants for economic issues like unemployment.
None of that is pro fascist. I’m calling the orange fascist a racist. This site is largely left-leaning. These comments are aimed at my fellow leftists to encourage us to think critically about the political messaging Dems are putting out because it can be instructive to leftist causes.
I’m encouraging a critical, realpolitik understanding of the messaging around this case AND acknowledging that the orange fascist is indeed racist and that this sort of (in my opinion) bad-faith messaging can be beneficial in the short term but can be distracting and potentially harmful in the long run. People are quick to see criticism of the side they identify with as supporting the other side - that is not what’s happening here. If you look at what I’ve said in good faith, I believe you’ll see my point even if you disagree. I’ve laid it out pretty clearly, imo.
When we misinterpret something trump says intentionally to score political points, which I believe we are doing in this case, there are pros and cons to that.
See this is exactly what I’m talking about, right here. They know that this is the exact kind of shit people like you get caught up on, and they use it as a weapon against us.
This is a man who does not deserve the benefit of the doubt. If this were a vacuum, if it was Mitt Romney or something, yeah sure. But this is Donald Trump. A literal white supremacist.
Maybe you’re only aware of his exploits starting in 2016, or even back during the Apprentice, so here you go.
A wiki article about it that is literally big enough to warrant it’s own page, which I’m sure would be the case for any non-racist right (show me one person who isn’t racist but has a “Racial views of X” Wiki page)?
I’m glad you’ve read things, but maybe it’s time for a refresher. Fascist tactics have changed a bit with the Internet and everything, but by and large, the tactics are the same as they were 100 years ago.
Just be mindful that these people know your virtues and are actively using them for their own gain, to ultimately take away your freedom and possibly kill you.
A speaker’s public record provides context for their current commentary. Trump’s tells us he is a bigot. Specifically a white supremacist. His recent rhetoric leans in to this. When pressed to clarify, justify, or recant these statements he either deflects or doubles down.
There is no reason to think he is suddenly well intentioned, operating in good faith, or otherwise deserving of some deference of judgement.
It doesn’t really require giving him credit, just looking at the words at face value. All I’m saying is in this instance he was trying to be racist, just maybe not in this particular way. He was obviously trying the standard republican tactic of playing groups against one another to get political power. And while he has proven to be racist numerous times, I just don’t think that it is clear from what he said that he intended to communicate that black people can’t have certain jobs. That specifically. He can still be a racist and not be communicating that particular thing.
I’m not defending Trump, just saying that we should hold ourselves to high rhetorical standards where possible OR at least recognize when we’re twisting things to score political points. That line is very blurred in modern political rhetoric.
Either way, good on Simone for using her platform. I just don’t think that this criticism is in good faith - which can be okay, especially when the other side is constantly arguing in bad faith. I just think that it can have consequences to the way we treat political issues more broadly.
Honestly, I truly hope you’re full of shit and none of this is in good faith, because holy shit.
Fucking garbage liberal (the actual term, not Fox News version) attitude that’s allowing the Republican party to get this close to turning the US into an authoritarian state with a malignant narcissist as their literal god.
That shit you mentioned doesn’t work with fascists. They are actively using your liberalism as a weapon against all of us. And this is not new, it’s a pattern throughout history.
I would urge people that agree with the comment above to do some research (like actual research, like reading books. Primary sources and shit) about how the liberal centrist parties in Germany and the rest of Europe, were ultimately the ones who opened the door for Hitler (after the Nazi party had recently lost seats in Parliament and did not have a majority).
Hindenburg, and others, eventually backed Hitler and made him Chancellor because they thought it would help their political careers (Hindenburg also believed he’d be able to keep him in check. As if a fascist can be kept in check through purely political means). How do you think that worked out for them?
Fascists take what a functioning society would call good ethics, fairness, empathy, etc. and weaponize them against their opponents. To them, they see weaknesses to be exploited. Just like Hindenburg was (and every other liberal democracy in the region that had policies of “appeasement” toward the Nazis.
They/you think this is just one more political party, and should be treated as such because of course they’re going to follow the rules and act in good faith… Then as soon as they can they seize power. Whoops. Remember what I said about Nazis not having a majority in Parliament? Well guess who they formed a coalition government with, allowing Hitler to take power through legal means…
And it works every fucking time. Because now the choice (for the liberal) is, "do I go against a fundamental belief, and sink to this fascist’s level because that’s the only thing that works on these people? Or do I let them use me as a tool to help fulfill their goals of destroying our democracy, and ultimately, genocide of some flavor because that’s where it always goes (probably start with the trans folks again, like they did in Germany)?
Now go back and look at which groups in the Weimar Republic fought tooth and nail against the Nazis in the 30s… That’s right, communists and social democrats.
Dude. You are way overreacting and misinterpreting what I’ve said.
Saying “thing that trump said means this racist thing and not that one” is in no way equivalent to anything you’ve accused me of.
I’ve read theory. Kropotkin. Marx (not just manifesto, but kapital and other serious works). I’ve read nearly every book Chomsky has ever written. It is important to understand the nuances of propaganda. When we misinterpret something trump says intentionally to score political points, which I believe we are doing in this case (and which Republicans do all the time), there are pros and cons to that.
Pros: it can encourage people to vote, gets attention, energizes people
Cons: it misleads people by ignoring context and the other systemic issues at play here: namely focusing on this invented idea that there are “black jobs” instead of the idea that politicians play racial groups off each other all the time and have throughout american and european history by blaming immigrants for economic issues like unemployment.
None of that is pro fascist. I’m calling the orange fascist a racist. This site is largely left-leaning. These comments are aimed at my fellow leftists to encourage us to think critically about the political messaging Dems are putting out because it can be instructive to leftist causes.
I’m encouraging a critical, realpolitik understanding of the messaging around this case AND acknowledging that the orange fascist is indeed racist and that this sort of (in my opinion) bad-faith messaging can be beneficial in the short term but can be distracting and potentially harmful in the long run. People are quick to see criticism of the side they identify with as supporting the other side - that is not what’s happening here. If you look at what I’ve said in good faith, I believe you’ll see my point even if you disagree. I’ve laid it out pretty clearly, imo.
See this is exactly what I’m talking about, right here. They know that this is the exact kind of shit people like you get caught up on, and they use it as a weapon against us.
This is a man who does not deserve the benefit of the doubt. If this were a vacuum, if it was Mitt Romney or something, yeah sure. But this is Donald Trump. A literal white supremacist.
Maybe you’re only aware of his exploits starting in 2016, or even back during the Apprentice, so here you go.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_views_of_Donald_Trump
A wiki article about it that is literally big enough to warrant it’s own page, which I’m sure would be the case for any non-racist right (show me one person who isn’t racist but has a “Racial views of X” Wiki page)?
I’m glad you’ve read things, but maybe it’s time for a refresher. Fascist tactics have changed a bit with the Internet and everything, but by and large, the tactics are the same as they were 100 years ago.
Just be mindful that these people know your virtues and are actively using them for their own gain, to ultimately take away your freedom and possibly kill you.