8 ms·

> Meanwhile there's plenty of stuff happening in the world straight from the Nazi playbook of the 30s. Can you elaborate?

by iyn 10y ago

curiousgal 10y ago
Trump jumps to mind.
- huehehue 10y ago
  Sorry to be that guy, but could you elaborate further?
  - cyphar 10y ago
    Exploitation of the public's fear, promises to make the country great again, rejection by their own party once they figured out that they might come to power. Those spring to mind as examples.
    - jfoutz 10y ago
      He really doesn't have the rhetorical flair. Hitler was a monster, but that poem about mothers was very pretty. Trump is charismatic, but not really at that level.
      - hoppa_liza 10y ago
        One point I always think of whenever the comparison between current day politicians and Hitler arises; was it apparent to the people when Hitler was elected that this is a man that will start the onslaught of millions of people? When I assume the answer is no, the current political situation seems very scary.
        Amezarak 10y ago
        By that logic, anyone might be the next Hitler; no politician can be trusted. The lessons of history are manifold indeed, but it has been my observation that when one reads a good book on any period of history one suddenly discovers its immense applicability to the present. WWII is very popular, therefore its histories are popular, therefore we find Hitlers in 2016. In 2020 there will be a new Hitler. In the past, every political opponent was a Nero or Caligula. In the future they will be someone else. History does repeat itself, but never in a crass or obvious way.
        hoppa_liza 10y ago
        I agree with you. It just seems to me that people look at events like the rise of the Nazis as diabolical plots from another world that we -as humans- got rid of, often dismissing obvious warning signs because "it is certainly not that bad".
        deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
      - smnplk 10y ago
        What proof do you have that Hitler was a monster ?
        deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
    - matwood 10y ago
      >Exploitation of the public's fear, >promises to make the country great again, So any politician running for an election? > rejection by their own party once they figured out that they might come to power. You mean, the basic reason the democrats invented the super delegate to begin with? Not sure how old you are, but when Bush 2 was in power the same comments were made. I guess Bush didn't turn into Hitler so now it's Trumps turn.
      - cyphar 10y ago
        I didn't say that I _agreed_ with the original comment, I was giving examples of why people might draw parallels. Personally (as someone from a non-US country) I think the US's system of government is quite flawed in how much power it gives to presidents -- in Australia nobody gives a shit about the Prime Minister. All that matters is what the party in power is pushing for (and what the representatives vote for). So, while I think Trump in power won't end well, I feel like this is not a problem with Trump but rather with a system of government that allows individuals to have that much power. Just because Trump is the threat _today_ doesn't mean that he is where our attention should be directed.
      - bko 10y ago
        >Exploitation of the public's fear, >promises to make the country great again, Xenophobia. Us versus them. Rejection of internationalism. Lack of empathy towards others (e.g. pro torture, pro going after the families of suspected terrorists, etc). Blatant dishonest and a disregard for facts, even when presented with proof. Yes, when people are caught up in an election, every slight disagreement or preference seems pressing, but this time I think Trump is actually a first in so many regards and has created an alternative to the regular left-right heterodoxy that has controlled America for the better part of the century. This is cult personality nationalism that hasn't made its way to the modern US in any meaningful way until now
      - morgante 10y ago
        > Not sure how old you are, but when Bush 2 was in power the same comments were made. I'm sure there are some who complained of that, but nobody I know did. There is a categorical difference between merely having a different policy agenda (most Republicans) and outright rejecting basic Constitutional principles (ex. religious equality, free press, no torture). I didn't vote for Romney in 2012, but I certainly didn't think he was a fascist. Pretending that all politicians are equivalent is rather ignorant. After all, Hitler was also a politician and clearly he was in fact different, as were dozens of other leaders who around the world who have shared his approach.
  - mynameishere 10y ago
    Consider the many parallels: Hitler was a failed artist. So is Trump. Hitler began his entry into politics in his 20s. So did Trump. Hitler was born poor and stayed poor until his dictatorship. Same with Trump. Hitler became, in large degree, radicalized by his distinguished involvement in a massive, failed war. Same with Trump. Hitler explicitly detailed his ambitions for creating a continental empire in Eastern Europe, with plans to colonize much of Poland, Ukraine, and Russia. Same with Trump. Hitler's Nazi party gained much of its early membership by siphoning off young communists due to similar promises of social revolution. Same with Trump. Hitler rose to power during a time of foreign occupation (the French invasion of the Ruhr), hyperinflation, economic collapse, and perceived national humiliation from war reparations. Same with Trump. Trump has Jewish grandchildren. Same with Hitler. ... Sigh. Their only real parallel is that they appeal to the working class rather than the upper bourgeois and our fetted elite who work in the media. Maybe that's all it takes. Maybe war and Holocaust II are right around the corner.
itg 10y ago
First person that comes to my mind is Erdogan in Turkey.
skaplun 10y ago
in my eyes it seems like most of the political rallying done in the U.S today falls in line with Hitler's method of saying very little other than screaming "make Germany great" to repeated coordinated applause.
dang 10y ago
We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12243976 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12243976 and marked it off-topic.

> Meanwhile there's plenty of stuff happening in the world straight from the Nazi playbook of the 30s. Can you elaborate?

by iyn 10y ago

> Meanwhile there's plenty of stuff happening in the world straight from the Nazi playbook of the 30s. Can you elaborate?

curiousgal 10y ago

Trump jumps to mind.

huehehue 10y ago
Sorry to be that guy, but could you elaborate further?
- cyphar 10y ago
  Exploitation of the public's fear, promises to make the country great again, rejection by their own party once they figured out that they might come to power. Those spring to mind as examples.
  - jfoutz 10y ago
    He really doesn't have the rhetorical flair. Hitler was a monster, but that poem about mothers was very pretty. Trump is charismatic, but not really at that level.
    - hoppa_liza 10y ago
      One point I always think of whenever the comparison between current day politicians and Hitler arises; was it apparent to the people when Hitler was elected that this is a man that will start the onslaught of millions of people? When I assume the answer is no, the current political situation seems very scary.
      - Amezarak 10y ago
        By that logic, anyone might be the next Hitler; no politician can be trusted. The lessons of history are manifold indeed, but it has been my observation that when one reads a good book on any period of history one suddenly discovers its immense applicability to the present. WWII is very popular, therefore its histories are popular, therefore we find Hitlers in 2016. In 2020 there will be a new Hitler. In the past, every political opponent was a Nero or Caligula. In the future they will be someone else. History does repeat itself, but never in a crass or obvious way.
        hoppa_liza 10y ago
        I agree with you. It just seems to me that people look at events like the rise of the Nazis as diabolical plots from another world that we -as humans- got rid of, often dismissing obvious warning signs because "it is certainly not that bad".
      - deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
    - smnplk 10y ago
      What proof do you have that Hitler was a monster ?
      - deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
  - matwood 10y ago
    >Exploitation of the public's fear, >promises to make the country great again, So any politician running for an election? > rejection by their own party once they figured out that they might come to power. You mean, the basic reason the democrats invented the super delegate to begin with? Not sure how old you are, but when Bush 2 was in power the same comments were made. I guess Bush didn't turn into Hitler so now it's Trumps turn.
    - cyphar 10y ago
      I didn't say that I _agreed_ with the original comment, I was giving examples of why people might draw parallels. Personally (as someone from a non-US country) I think the US's system of government is quite flawed in how much power it gives to presidents -- in Australia nobody gives a shit about the Prime Minister. All that matters is what the party in power is pushing for (and what the representatives vote for). So, while I think Trump in power won't end well, I feel like this is not a problem with Trump but rather with a system of government that allows individuals to have that much power. Just because Trump is the threat _today_ doesn't mean that he is where our attention should be directed.
    - bko 10y ago
      >Exploitation of the public's fear, >promises to make the country great again, Xenophobia. Us versus them. Rejection of internationalism. Lack of empathy towards others (e.g. pro torture, pro going after the families of suspected terrorists, etc). Blatant dishonest and a disregard for facts, even when presented with proof. Yes, when people are caught up in an election, every slight disagreement or preference seems pressing, but this time I think Trump is actually a first in so many regards and has created an alternative to the regular left-right heterodoxy that has controlled America for the better part of the century. This is cult personality nationalism that hasn't made its way to the modern US in any meaningful way until now
    - morgante 10y ago
      > Not sure how old you are, but when Bush 2 was in power the same comments were made. I'm sure there are some who complained of that, but nobody I know did. There is a categorical difference between merely having a different policy agenda (most Republicans) and outright rejecting basic Constitutional principles (ex. religious equality, free press, no torture). I didn't vote for Romney in 2012, but I certainly didn't think he was a fascist. Pretending that all politicians are equivalent is rather ignorant. After all, Hitler was also a politician and clearly he was in fact different, as were dozens of other leaders who around the world who have shared his approach.
- mynameishere 10y ago
  Consider the many parallels: Hitler was a failed artist. So is Trump. Hitler began his entry into politics in his 20s. So did Trump. Hitler was born poor and stayed poor until his dictatorship. Same with Trump. Hitler became, in large degree, radicalized by his distinguished involvement in a massive, failed war. Same with Trump. Hitler explicitly detailed his ambitions for creating a continental empire in Eastern Europe, with plans to colonize much of Poland, Ukraine, and Russia. Same with Trump. Hitler's Nazi party gained much of its early membership by siphoning off young communists due to similar promises of social revolution. Same with Trump. Hitler rose to power during a time of foreign occupation (the French invasion of the Ruhr), hyperinflation, economic collapse, and perceived national humiliation from war reparations. Same with Trump. Trump has Jewish grandchildren. Same with Hitler. ... Sigh. Their only real parallel is that they appeal to the working class rather than the upper bourgeois and our fetted elite who work in the media. Maybe that's all it takes. Maybe war and Holocaust II are right around the corner.

itg 10y ago

First person that comes to my mind is Erdogan in Turkey.

skaplun 10y ago

in my eyes it seems like most of the political rallying done in the U.S today falls in line with Hitler's method of saying very little other than screaming "make Germany great" to repeated coordinated applause.

dang 10y ago

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12243976 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12243976 and marked it off-topic.