General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJust now, either CNN or MSNBC, they showed people waiting at Trump rally in Las Vegas.
A sea of red hats. The thought I had is if you could rewind time back 75 years all these people would not be wearing red hats. They would be wearing red arm bands. They possess the same mind set, the same way of processing information, and the same lust for authoritarianism. These people are frightening.
And now the people who try to speak the truth are being purged from the government.
Squinch
(51,021 posts)Gonna be all she wrote.
Iggo
(47,571 posts)5X
(3,972 posts)soldierant
(6,927 posts)Or Louis IV 4.0
Or Caligula 5.0.
Oh, that can't be right. I'm sure to have eft some out. There have been so many.
msongs
(67,453 posts)CaptYossarian
(6,448 posts)I'm not so sure about arm bands. Most likely 75 years ago, it would be sheets and hoods. Like Fred Trump wore.
bitterross
(4,066 posts)Paid to be there
global1
(25,272 posts)Is there proof that this is happening? Has anyone talked to people that supposedly been paid? How were they contacted in the first place to make the offer? Who pays them? When? Before or after the rally? How much are they paid? Why aren't there any double agents (non-Trumpers) in the mix that could expose such a crooked deal like this? One would think they could make more money exposing such a program than they can by just taking the money to attend the event.
Have we ever gotten to the bottom of this? Why hasn't the media gone undercover to get the story?
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Do they have jobs? And if not, what are they living on? Disability? Unemployment? And if so, we should get a team out there to name and report them for fraud.
By the looks of them, these are not trust fund groupies. Take away their "socialist benefits" and see how they like that! MF hypocrites!
LastDemocratInSC
(3,650 posts)Ligyron
(7,639 posts)Only they're Natzi.
lastlib
(23,308 posts)The ones I saw interviewed were truly dumber than a box of rocks. Veritable marvels of pre-formed intelligence. I don't know how they function in the adult world.
packman
(16,296 posts)back in 2016 posting my concerns about the crowd he got at a rally here in the Florida Panhandle. What I got back as replies to my post were "Paid to attend", "Nothing but rednecks from Alabama", "Idiots flock together" and so on and so forth. We MUST not underestimate these people, they are rabid and will turn out on election day . We must be more committed, more focused, more dedicated than them.
To downplay those crowds is ignoring their power, their energy. Don't ignore or write them off as yahoos.
Boulevardier
(91 posts)Anyone who rabidly supports Trump at this point, well, yahoo is one of the milder terms for them.
Caliman73
(11,744 posts)Trump has a pretty solid group of supporters who are highly motivated but are relatively small in number. They are about 25% to 35% of the electorate. We have to turn out Democrats and relatively liberal independents who have been fairly dormant because they are discouraged. Trump's base is small but very animated. Our base is much larger but is relatively apathetic.
Response to packman (Reply #7)
stillcool This message was self-deleted by its author.
stillcool
(32,626 posts)if we the people get to vote, and the votes are counted accurately...we win.
packman
(16,296 posts)a vile one, a disgrace, a fool, a threat to decency, but we have to live with that - at least till Nov.
edhopper
(33,624 posts)lunasun
(21,646 posts)Efilroft Sul
(3,582 posts)Democrats need to make a simple appeal to patriotism that cuts across more segments of the voting population than Vote Blue, No Matter Who. They must name the devil and call Republicans the existential threat to everyone's freedom and way of life.
November could very well be America's last dance, if she's allowed to dance at all.
global1
(25,272 posts)win in November. Part of that picture needs to be how his win will effect each and everyone of us personally.
Efilroft Sul
(3,582 posts)0rganism
(23,971 posts)sure, our language and costumes and customs have changed and we have improved accessories and dental hygiene, but that's not people, that's society.
at heart, we're still the same species of jokers who burn witches, own slaves, murder neighbors if they're too different, molest children, etc. (fortunately for humanity, we can also show courage and compassion and sympathy and sometimes perform acts of amazing decency.)
our social norms changed to make things like witch burning and slave ownership and pederasty much less acceptable, but social norms are far more fluid than the people who inhabit said societies. with sufficiently strong influence, norms can change very quickly, and when the result is something we're already prepared to do, people will readily adopt those norms.
"these people" have always been with us because they are us. a few more years of this bullshit, and they'll gladly hunt us down at the behest of their leader, whoever it happens to be. but it's not because they changed or we changed. society changed and re-normalized behavior we found "deplorable" 20 years ago.
maxsolomon
(33,400 posts)Human Nature is static.
0rganism
(23,971 posts)all 12000 years of "civilization" appear to have left our basic nature remarkably unscathed.
maxsolomon
(33,400 posts)I remember reading an essay by Mao Tse-tung on the topic.
His conclusion was (I'm paraphrasing) "If human nature is selfish, Communism cannot work".
0rganism
(23,971 posts)hard to accept. humans want so much to believe we improve greatly over time, even over the span of a single lifetime.
at times, i get annoyed when someone remarks about how some extreme evildoer is "a monster" or "not even human" as their actions are, in all probability, not only human-like but exclusively so. why must we deny our destructive natures? i figure it's part of human nature to do so.
i think Mao is probably correct in his assessment. strong leaders seem able to work around such limitations to change society without trying overly hard to change humanity. one of the flaws in communism, and socialism generally, is the selfishness of human nature. trying to squeeze selfishness out of humans in re-education camps and such in order to make socialism work is largely a waste of time.
madaboutharry
(40,224 posts)Ancient literature, from biblical times to the Viking Sagas to the literature of the first millennial, stand as evidence that people have not changed. Only what is acceptable in a particular culture has changed.
Trump has made base human instinct acceptable.
maxsolomon
(33,400 posts)What's normal? Strongmen. Force. Coercion.
Trump reminds us how easily it can regress to the baseline.
Liberal In Texas
(13,580 posts)(Apparently they don't have real jobs.) And the other day I saw something where they make payments (envelopes full of cash) to rally-goers. Ya gotta think when you see the odd person of color in the crowd, they are there because they're getting paid.
We know he pays crowd "extras" as far back as when he came down on the escalator that half the group he spoke to were paid actors.
Traildogbob
(8,826 posts)Across thier forehead. Just heard a caller on Michelangelo said people in Florida, bubbas, wearing tee shirts with confederate and Russia flags saying Trump/Putin 2020. With MAGA hats. I just last night watched a documentary of the Kennedy/Cuban near disaster, and how close we were to nuke war. Russian Agression, Russia is an enemy. Every dead soldiers family that faught against this shit should be in the streets confronting these traitorous assholes. And I mean seriously in the streets making an Impact on these assholes.👊🏼 becoming more and more ashamed that I served.
TalenaGor
(1,104 posts)Fla Dem
(23,765 posts)However, I would guess a majority of them are Nevada locals. They may also be paid actors. Regardless, it's a conspiracy of deplorables.
JustFiveMoreMinutes
(2,133 posts).. got a ticket to attend the event... he's just more enamored with seeing a President.. I don't think he's that well versed in what's really going on...
I told him if anybody yells 'Go back to where you came from!' at him.. let me know and Uncle JustFiveMoreMinutes will take care of it.
I hope this opens his eyes a bit.
padah513
(2,506 posts)My God! 2018 hasn't taught you people anything yet? There are more of us than there are of them! All we need to do is GOTV and we win! Period! Where the hell is your backbone? What is it with all this defeatist crap?
Ilsa
(61,698 posts)0rganism
(23,971 posts)Trump and Trumpism have been thoroughly normalized.
of course, Russia will still help, but ... easiest job ever.
NRaleighLiberal
(60,022 posts)RussBLib
(9,037 posts)We just have to stay sharp and motivated.
madinmaryland
(64,933 posts)It says..
Make Obama President Again.
🤣🤣