My friend Gregg Seidl wrote some very wise words on Facebook.
So Trump is going to rid the country of approximately 14 million people, and, according to him, the move will be quick, “and it won’t be pretty.”
The only difference between his commentary and that of the past is the last time those plans were spoken in German.
Actually, Joe Stalin uttered similar words in Russian, as pertaining to the Kulaks … and it was not pretty.
When you reduce people to labels, they’re dehumanized. When they’re dehumanized, then “ridding” the country of them becomes nothing more than sweeping a floor, or spraying poison on insects.
But that first step remains dehumanizing them.
I realize that some other friends, and readers of this blog, are riding Trump’s bandwagon. I believe most of you will dismount of your own accord, absent the need for me to hector you with inconvenient facts. But as an aficionado of history, Gregg sees something very important: When you start bandying phrases like “make us great again,” the devil’s truly in the details.
Who are we?
And: Who must be made to suffer in order to make “us” great again? Read the history books, folks. Trump is unleashing malevolent genies. The sooner it ends, the better.
Donald Trump Just Stopped Being Funny: Win or lose, Trump’s campaign threatens to unleash the Great American Stupid, by Matt Taibbi (Rolling Stone)
So two yahoos from Southie in my hometown of Boston severely beat up a Hispanic homeless guy earlier this week. While being arrested, one of the brothers reportedly told police that “Donald Trump was right, all of these illegals need to be deported.”
When reporters confronted Trump, he hadn’t yet heard about the incident. At first, he said, “That would be a shame.” But right after, he went on:
“I will say, the people that are following me are very passionate. They love this country. They want this country to be great again. But they are very passionate. I will say that.”
This is the moment when Donald Trump officially stopped being funny.