Whenever I find myself in an internet discussion regarding subjects such as gun control or healthcare reform, someone's bound to say something like "Hitler confiscated guns, and that led to the Holocaust!" or "Guess who else wanted free healthcare to all citizens... Hitler!"
After a while it's ridiculous. But now we have a two-part problem. We have someone who's being seriously looked at as a potential presidential candidate. This person, of course, is Donald Trump.
The first part of that problem is that his rhetoric has gone past "crazy" or "nonsensical". At least Ben Carson's ramblings have stayed at the nonsense point. Trump's rhetoric has now gotten dangerous. The immediate danger is evident by the beatings that protesters have gotten at his rallies at the hands of supporters. The less immediate - but more tragic - danger comes at the core of his rhetoric, his record, and the mindset of his followers
His rhetoric is unnerving. He scapegoats Muslims and foreigners. His swagger reeks of ultra-nationalism and harking back to the "good old days"; he often talks about "Making America Great Again". He's filled with disdain for human rights. He's always talking about flexing military muscle in both foreign and domestic problems.
His outsources of jobs shows he is not a friend of labor, and the fact he is a corporate crony shows that he would empower the corporate elites. As a control freak, he would try to buy as many networks as possible (speculation, I admit).
The mouth-breathers that show up at his rallies are very frightening. His followers are often religious zealots who are looking for a "Theologian in Chief". They are part of that American anti-intellectual culture. They horde guns and want to hide behind a wall from the "scary Mexicans". He even has the majority of white nationalists following him.
His rhetoric is unnerving. He scapegoats Muslims and foreigners. His swagger reeks of ultra-nationalism and harking back to the "good old days"; he often talks about "Making America Great Again". He's filled with disdain for human rights. He's always talking about flexing military muscle in both foreign and domestic problems.
His outsources of jobs shows he is not a friend of labor, and the fact he is a corporate crony shows that he would empower the corporate elites. As a control freak, he would try to buy as many networks as possible (speculation, I admit).
The mouth-breathers that show up at his rallies are very frightening. His followers are often religious zealots who are looking for a "Theologian in Chief". They are part of that American anti-intellectual culture. They horde guns and want to hide behind a wall from the "scary Mexicans". He even has the majority of white nationalists following him.
What's scary about this threat is that he even said that, if he lost the Republican nomination, he would run third party. The bothersome part of that I can easily see him gathering a cult following, because he has that mass appeal with the ignorant and frightened, and standing at a podium adorned with a new red-white-blue symbol. This isn't just the rise of a new Hitler with his rhetoric, or the rise of a new Mussolini with his preening egotism and lust for corporate government power. This is the rise of Trump.
The second part of the problem is that, with all the other people crying wolf over other politicians (especially Obama), people won't take it seriously when others point out Trump's fascist tendencies. If the badly toupeed, red-white-blue feathered motherfucker barks hate like a duck and marches like a duck, does Godwin's Law really apply?
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