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No, what you should takeaway is that misoverusing the term Nazi as an insult patently no longer works precisely because noone cares about being called a Nazi an

No, what you should takeaway is that misoverusing the term Nazi as an insult patently no longer works precisely because noone cares about being called a Nazi anymore due to its misoveruse. In a different timeline, Trump being called a Nazi or any of the vicinity terms should have been an immediate termination of his campaign chances. What actually happened is Trump ignored it (as he should) and the American people shrugged "OK" and went to vote for him with complete disregard. Then Musk got called a Nazi at the inauguration, and the American people shrugged "OK" and went back to facepalming at just how much sheer waste the government has with complete disregard. The moral you should take away is you should not invoke Godwin's Law. It's probably too late for "Nazi", "racism", "sexism", and a host of other insults the Left have thrown around to see what sticks (none have), but that doesn't mean future originally-valuable-terminology have to face the same fate. Another moral is that insulting Americans probably doesn't actually work in general. "Deplorables", "Garbage", and others were turned around into rallying cries during the 2016 and 2024 campaigns, not unlike the original meaning behind the term "Yankee" which was originally an insult not unlike "Kraut" or "Jap" but is now one of the fondest nicknames of Americans.

aisenik 2y ago
Trump is a neonazi, openly aligned with American white supremacist militias, attempted a violent coup in 2021, and "the American people" who shrugged "OK" are neonazis. It is the inescapable reality of our present moment, and it has been visible for a very long time. Godwin himself openly endorsed calling Trump a Nazi. My takeaway is exactly the opposite, that not only were people right to call out radical fascist elements and influences in our society, they (we) were wrong to be cowed.
- Dalewyn 2y ago
  I sincerely thank you for perfectly demonstrating my point.
WitCanStain 2y ago
The reason why terms like nazi, racist, sexist etc did not affect Trump's chances is because his voting base _does not care_ that he is those things. The right wing in America, magnitudes more than the left, does not care about the personal qualities of their chosen candidate, only about whether he advances their agenda. Why do so many nominal Christians vote for Trump despite him being a cheater, hoarder, and a person who otherwise embodies so many of the qualities the Bible cautions against? It is, again, because they will cook up any number of excuses and denials to justify their support as long as he hurts those they consider the enemy. The only way to make the application of those terms hurt Trump would have been to make the population care about them in the first place (beyond the thinnest veneer of superficial handwringing) which would have required a much stronger education system than America has.
- pjc50 2y ago
  Indeed. The allegation of "racist" has lost its power because people feel free to be openly in favor of racism again.
roenxi 2y ago
> Another moral is that insulting Americans probably doesn't actually work in general. "Deplorables", "Garbage", and others were turned around into rallying cries during the 2016 and 2024 campaigns... It depends on the insult; sometimes that doesn't work. One of the purest expressions of joy I've seen in politics was Scott Adams (Dilbert guy) back in 2019 analysing [0] a group of anti-Trumpers trying to rally around being called "human scum". He had a lot of interesting things to say back then about the art and science of persuasion. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_3HGjAVv0M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_3HGjAVv0M 1:30 to 7:30
- teddyh 2y ago
  Direct link to segment: <https://www.youtube.com/embed/1_3HGjAVv0M?start=90&end=450 https://www.youtube.com/embed/1_3HGjAVv0M?start=90&end=450>
ljm 2y ago
So, Americans were insulted by being called Nazis and in true progressive fashion decided to reclaim the term and, well, embrace it? Cool - it’s nice that you say this is an American trait. I was almost about to say that this entire setup was manufactured to pit Americans against each other, weaponising victimhood and identity, with the complicity of legacy media and big tech. And out of the three players in this game - the ‘left’/‘libs’, ‘right’/‘conservatives’ and the billionaire fascists up top pulling the strings, only the billionaires stand to win.
ruszki 2y ago
If this had been true, Musk and other far right people wouldn’t have tried to defend Musk’s nazi salute. But they did.

aisenik 2y ago

Trump is a neonazi, openly aligned with American white supremacist militias, attempted a violent coup in 2021, and "the American people" who shrugged "OK" are neonazis. It is the inescapable reality of our present moment, and it has been visible for a very long time. Godwin himself openly endorsed calling Trump a Nazi. My takeaway is exactly the opposite, that not only were people right to call out radical fascist elements and influences in our society, they (we) were wrong to be cowed.

Dalewyn 2y ago
I sincerely thank you for perfectly demonstrating my point.

WitCanStain 2y ago

The reason why terms like nazi, racist, sexist etc did not affect Trump's chances is because his voting base _does not care_ that he is those things. The right wing in America, magnitudes more than the left, does not care about the personal qualities of their chosen candidate, only about whether he advances their agenda. Why do so many nominal Christians vote for Trump despite him being a cheater, hoarder, and a person who otherwise embodies so many of the qualities the Bible cautions against? It is, again, because they will cook up any number of excuses and denials to justify their support as long as he hurts those they consider the enemy. The only way to make the application of those terms hurt Trump would have been to make the population care about them in the first place (beyond the thinnest veneer of superficial handwringing) which would have required a much stronger education system than America has.

pjc50 2y ago
Indeed. The allegation of "racist" has lost its power because people feel free to be openly in favor of racism again.

roenxi 2y ago

> Another moral is that insulting Americans probably doesn't actually work in general. "Deplorables", "Garbage", and others were turned around into rallying cries during the 2016 and 2024 campaigns... It depends on the insult; sometimes that doesn't work. One of the purest expressions of joy I've seen in politics was Scott Adams (Dilbert guy) back in 2019 analysing [0] a group of anti-Trumpers trying to rally around being called "human scum". He had a lot of interesting things to say back then about the art and science of persuasion. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_3HGjAVv0M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_3HGjAVv0M 1:30 to 7:30

teddyh 2y ago
Direct link to segment: <https://www.youtube.com/embed/1_3HGjAVv0M?start=90&end=450 https://www.youtube.com/embed/1_3HGjAVv0M?start=90&end=450>

ljm 2y ago

So, Americans were insulted by being called Nazis and in true progressive fashion decided to reclaim the term and, well, embrace it? Cool - it’s nice that you say this is an American trait. I was almost about to say that this entire setup was manufactured to pit Americans against each other, weaponising victimhood and identity, with the complicity of legacy media and big tech. And out of the three players in this game - the ‘left’/‘libs’, ‘right’/‘conservatives’ and the billionaire fascists up top pulling the strings, only the billionaires stand to win.

ruszki 2y ago

If this had been true, Musk and other far right people wouldn’t have tried to defend Musk’s nazi salute. But they did.