Mr. Smith, a special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, had signaled that he would step down before Donald J. Trump’s inauguration.
Do you know how many times I’ve heard, “if X happens, it will radicalize the people and they will take to the streets” and then X happens and it doesn’t?
Because I’ll give you one huge as fuck reminder: the end of Roe v. Wade.
Women across the country became second-class citizens overnight and it sure didn’t bring about any sort of glorious revolution.
Expecting Americans to get radicalized by him getting arrested compared to that seems a bit silly to me.
“But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. If the last and worst act of the whole regime had come immediately after the first and smallest, thousands, yes, millions would have been sufficiently shocked—if, let us say, the gassing of the Jews in ’43 had come immediately after the ‘German Firm’ stickers on the windows of non-Jewish shops in ’33. But of course this isn’t the way it happens. In between come all the hundreds of little steps, some of them imperceptible, each of them preparing you not to be shocked by the next. Step C is not so much worse than Step B, and, if you did not make a stand at Step B, why should you at Step C? And so on to Step D.
And one day, too late, your principles, if you were ever sensible of them, all rush in upon you. The burden of self-deception has grown too heavy, and some minor incident, in my case my little boy, hardly more than a baby, saying ‘Jewish swine,’ collapses it all at once, and you see that everything, everything, has changed and changed completely under your nose. The world you live in—your nation, your people—is not the world you were born in at all. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves; when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. Now you live in a system which rules without responsibility even to God. The system itself could not have intended this in the beginning, but in order to sustain itself it was compelled to go all the way.”
― Milton Sanford Mayer, They Thought They Were Free: The Germans 1933-45
Unfortunately there’s a limit to ‘‘rilled up’’ for intelligent people, because eventually you just stop engaging with politics because you need to survive and paying attention is fucking exhausting.
Yes. A rush and a push and the land that we stand on is ours. But it’s FUCKING EXHAUSTING to try and get everyone else to show up and care. They hardly ever will. I put a lot of effort into the Sanders campaign. Fuck tons of engagement and groundswell, all the buzz was buzzing. Those fucks NEVER SHOWED UP TO VOTE ON VOTE DAY!! I don’t know how or why or have any analysis to point to. It’s just fucking exhausting.
What a silly thing to say. In some very rare instances, that most people will never encounter in their lives, fighting is the smartest thing to do. In all other cases it’s probably the dumbest thing to do.
I would say most people had a bully attempt to see if they can bully them in school or other places. And those who fought back made it clear bullying them is costly and got peace. Those who gave in got years of harassment.
Going out of your way to use violence is often stupid, or having it as your only resort to handle a conflict. But categorically excluding it is often very stupid and at best a sign of an privileged life, where the privileges acted as a shield from violence.
I think this depends on how “fighting” is defined. “Fighting the system” can be done in all sorts of ways, many of them not involving anything violent or even illegal. I think what Saleh is saying is that people who have no urge to get engaged are being fools.
“Radicalized libs” is an oxymoron. “Radicalized leftists,” sure, but “libs” are centrist (if not center-right) by definition.
Edit: I should’ve said “moderate” rather than “centrist,” as my point was more about this sort of thing than pinning down exactly where libs fit on the political spectrum.
Oh it goes for so much more than just that, although those are obviously the most at risk. The minority groups are just who they’ll come after first so we better stand by them when it happens.
…and if he wants to stay out of prison and/or live he might want to get the fuck out of the USA pronto after resigning.
Absolutely. He needs to leave immediately. Retaliation is guaranteed.
Counterpoint: if he becomes a political prisoner, a ton of libs get radicalized
Do you know how many times I’ve heard, “if X happens, it will radicalize the people and they will take to the streets” and then X happens and it doesn’t?
Because I’ll give you one huge as fuck reminder: the end of Roe v. Wade.
Women across the country became second-class citizens overnight and it sure didn’t bring about any sort of glorious revolution.
Expecting Americans to get radicalized by him getting arrested compared to that seems a bit silly to me.
Unfortunately there’s a limit to ‘‘rilled up’’ for intelligent people, because eventually you just stop engaging with politics because you need to survive and paying attention is fucking exhausting.
When you live paycheck-to-paycheck, as nearly half of Americans do, taking to the streets means possibly starving your kids.
I don’t know if this is by design, but it sure as hell helps people in power.
Eh I’m open to getting a little stupid. Hmu
How stupid are we talking
Fairly stupid
I feel bad that I feel like this
Often fighting is the smartest thing to do. Not fighting is not a sign of intelligence.
Yes. A rush and a push and the land that we stand on is ours. But it’s FUCKING EXHAUSTING to try and get everyone else to show up and care. They hardly ever will. I put a lot of effort into the Sanders campaign. Fuck tons of engagement and groundswell, all the buzz was buzzing. Those fucks NEVER SHOWED UP TO VOTE ON VOTE DAY!! I don’t know how or why or have any analysis to point to. It’s just fucking exhausting.
What a silly thing to say. In some very rare instances, that most people will never encounter in their lives, fighting is the smartest thing to do. In all other cases it’s probably the dumbest thing to do.
I would say most people had a bully attempt to see if they can bully them in school or other places. And those who fought back made it clear bullying them is costly and got peace. Those who gave in got years of harassment.
Going out of your way to use violence is often stupid, or having it as your only resort to handle a conflict. But categorically excluding it is often very stupid and at best a sign of an privileged life, where the privileges acted as a shield from violence.
I think this depends on how “fighting” is defined. “Fighting the system” can be done in all sorts of ways, many of them not involving anything violent or even illegal. I think what Saleh is saying is that people who have no urge to get engaged are being fools.
“Radicalized libs” is an oxymoron. “Radicalized leftists,” sure, but “libs” are centrist (if not center-right) by definition.
Edit: I should’ve said “moderate” rather than “centrist,” as my point was more about this sort of thing than pinning down exactly where libs fit on the political spectrum.
Probably not a bad idea in general.
This is true, and incredibly fucked up. Have to flee for pursuing facts and attempting to enforce the rule of law.
That’s fascism for you. That’s where the US is headed
That honestly goes for anyone who’s a protected minority
Oh it goes for so much more than just that, although those are obviously the most at risk. The minority groups are just who they’ll come after first so we better stand by them when it happens.