Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:33 pm
*The following is an opinion column by R Muse*
One of the clear and present danger of a political party that thrives on perpetuating an ignorant and uneducated populace is that they can repeat historically disastrous policies the people should know are dangerous and stop before they can start; if they paid the slightest attention when they were in school. The Founding Fathers knew a stupid population was a disaster waiting to happen, and since about 56 million incredibly stupid Americans voted for an authoritarian fascist to lead the nation, the disaster that wreaked death and devastation on 1930s Nazi Germany is now unfolding in one nation many thought it would never happen: in the United States of America.
And before any know-it-all says a word, this is not anything remotely close to “Godwin’s Law;†it is a stark reality and it is happening all across America. It is no exaggeration to say that if more Americans paid attention to their history lessons about how the Holocaust unfolded, it is possible, only slightly, that American Jews would not be under assault from the Donald Trump-inspired anti-Semitism spreading over America.
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Godwin’s Law says that as a discussion grows longer, and one might add oppositional, “the probability of a comparison involving Hitler approaches is high.†One of the discussions many Americans, including historians, have engaged in over the past year are the parallels between authoritarian fascist Donald Trump and the rise of Adolf Hitler and his ugly Nazi regime. In this instance, Mr. Godwin and his ridiculous “law†can just respectfully “sod off.” Any comparison between Donald Trump, Adolf Hitler, and the German Nazis is legitimate and there is growing evidence that Trump supporters are actively taking the right steps to repeat Nazi-type atrocities on American citizens who are not white Christian males.
Of course like Hitler’s regime, the only segment of the population that is not being targeted for what is becoming extreme hate is white Christians. There is a lot of attention focused right now on the fear and anxiety among Muslims, journalists, Hispanics, and some of the female segment of society, but as many news outlets reported leading up to the election; Trump’s campaign became dangerously anti-Semitic. Now that the racist is looking at an extreme sense of power to back up his authoritarianism, his acolytes are emboldened to openly target Jews; they obviously know that much about Hitler’s approaches.
It is also noteworthy that like Adolf Hitler, Donald Trump has a most senior adviser, and “alt-right†Nazi Stephen Bannon that terrified Europeans compare to one of Adolf Hitler’s most senior advisors and propaganda chief Josef Goebbels. The comparison is valid and will be covered in another column devoted to the unprecedented installation of an avowed white supremacist in the White House as a trusted senior adviser to an avowed racist recently elected president.
To understand how the Trump anti-Semitism is manifesting itself, two days ago in Pomona California, Ramapo police reported that vandals spray-painted anti-Semitic words, “NO JEWS†on the street and real estate signs in front of three homes for sale. The hate-crime was not random because officials said there had been an influx of Jews moving into the neighborhood, and one wonders if Donald Trump’s call to use Gestapo tactics and regulate the “bad guys†is being answered by his followers.
There was also an incident reported two days ago that involved Jewish American actress Emmy Rossum. Ms. Rossum plays on the Netflix series “Shameless.†She is also another victim “in the wave of Trump fueled hate crimes and harassment of minority communities†in the immediate aftermath of the election. An election, by the way, that is enabling the most perversely racist elements of American society made up of nearly all 56 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump for president.
The actress received a couple of days’ worth of frighteningly disturbing pro-Trump messages via her Twitter account that “explicitly hearkened back to the persecution of fellow members of Rossum’s faith in Nazi Germany.†After putting up with a weekend of hate-filled remarks, Rossum wrote early Sunday on her Twitter page that:
“[T]elling anyone to ‘get ready for the trains’ in reference to WWII is disgusting and offensive. Reporting you to Twitter is not enough. Back off.†And, “Trump supporters are sending me messages threatening to send me [and] my ‘ilk’ to the gas chambers [and] writing hashtags like ‘#sieg hiel.’ NOT OK.â€
Of course, it is not okay; not if America was remotely a tolerant society. But if Americans learned nothing else after the election, it has to be that America is no longer a tolerant society and that there is no group except white Christian males that are not in for a healthy dose of Trump’s “alt-right Nazis.â€
Although all non-whites have been targeted by Trump and his followers, it was just a matter of time before the “alt-right†Trump supporters turned their attention to the group that earned the bloody wrath of the original German Nazis. In fact, there were reports in the final two months of the campaign that Trump “unleashed a wave of anti-Semitism†and his obedient and hate-driven supporters began focusing Aryan hate on Jews; particularly after the Donald J. Trump for president campaign sent coded messages that Jews, like Mexicans, Muslims, journalists, women and non-conforming politicians are not welcomed in Trump’s Aryan America.
Audio engineer and instructor for SAE. Writes op/ed commentary supporting Secular Humanist causes, and exposing suppression of women, the poor, and minorities. An advocate for freedom of religion and particularly, freedom of NO religion.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn’t look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
