Well, I seem to have touched a nerve (or three) in starting this thread.
As a reminder, my point is that to wear a MAGA hat in effect is to endorse (in a rather full-throated way) certain things that I imagine the wearers of the hats will be embarrassed about someday. I laid out in posts 17 and 20 what those things were that I believe are being endorsed.
As a public service I cut and paste below the contents of posts 17 and 20.
Post 17:
"transgenders", Muslims, Mexicans, people from ****hole countries are all God's children
what Trump has done is reintroduce into the political mainstream the subterranean idea that they are less than fully human...not like the rest of us in some important way...for most of his hat wearing supporters this is a feature not a bug of trumpism
I call it a subterranean idea because it is best left buried ...but it is always there and has more than once surfaced and with horrible consequences.
Post 20:
paranoia, disdain for fact based discourse, recourse to conspiracy theories are other things that I see as features not bugs of trumpism
of course trump did not introduce these things into our political discourse...but he has helped move them from the subterranean world where they properly belong
In a later post, I also mentioned the theory that the caravans from central America were funded by Soros and seeded by ISIS sleeper cells as an example of this kind of thinking. This kind of thinking permeates the discourse of a whole segment of our body politic.
Last edited by nsacpi; 02-19-2019 at 09:30 AM.
"I am a victim, I will tell you. I am a victim."
"I am your retribution."
The parallel between Hitlers early political years and Trump these past few years is stunning. I really am legit worried about what could happen in the 2020 election and after. People used to say "it cant happen here". I have been saying it already has happened here and thats long before Trump. We are actively bombing countries and occupying several. We are the prison leader in the world incarcerating 25% of the worlds prisoners despite having only 5% of the worlds population. America is leading the second Holocaust they call the war on drugs. Germany used new laws specifically to target Jews to incarcerate them calling them criminals. Not much different than what America does to blacks. Most of those laws were local laws and not national laws created by Hitler.
"Donald Trump will serve a second term as president of the United States.
It’s over."
Little Thethe Nov 19, 2020.
“Falling behind” suggests that you’re measuring US performance relative to peers. Of the countries that outperform the US in either sector, how would you compare their approach to that of the US? Obviously there are some big structural differences in education among countries, but I’m wondering how it is that you’re looking at performance in those areas relative to peers, comparing systems, and coming to the conclusion that the problem is too much government and not enough personal liberty. I suspect that you’re proceeding from a set of ideological preferences, instead of taking a more empirical approach.
Problem point blank with education is that the kids are not held accountable for their behavior. Parents have allowed this to happen and results in no discipline in the classroom.
Without this changing you can pump another trillion into the system and nothing will change.
"We’ve had thousands of Americans die year after year after year because of threats crossing our southern border.”
— Stephen Miller, senior adviser to President Trump, in an interview with “Fox News Sunday,” Feb. 17, 2019
This would be an example of the type of discourse I have been discussing in this thread.
1) It demonizes an entire group of people.
2) Is not factually based.
3) Displays elements of paranoia.
I might add that the attitudes given voice by Mr. Miller go beyond discourse. Those attitudes have formed the basis for policy affecting many people's lives. Mr. Miller, himself, has played a role in crafting these policies.
And to close the circle, it is my view that to wear a MAGA hat is to give a full-throated endorsement to sentiments such as the one quoted above from Mr. Miller.
"I am a victim, I will tell you. I am a victim."
"I am your retribution."
Drug deaths....its not an exaggeration at all unless you have become blinded by TDS.
I think you can just say, "anyone who votes for Trump is a crazy racist"... deplorables, if you will
Not sure why you need the extension of the clothing line.
But I'd like to remind you that Hilary Clinton doesn't get Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court, among other things.
Its not even about that. The idea that all the drigs come through POE because thats where the apprehensions are is stupid. Nobody knows whats going through our porous borders because youcant quantify what you cany catch.
Also, you secure the border and can focus more efforts at POE.
Just a stupid talking point thats funded by special interests who font want yhe flow of cheap labor to stop.
"I am a victim, I will tell you. I am a victim."
"I am your retribution."
I'm offering some reflections on what is symbolized by the wearing of a particular piece of apparel. I suppose my reflections might make people uncomfortable and if you want to call that demonizing those people I won't complain about that characterization. I think with the passage of years many of those people will reflect on what they were doing in wearing those hats and experience some regret.
"I am a victim, I will tell you. I am a victim."
"I am your retribution."