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The French Revolution didn’t go “straight to guillotines”, not even close.

benoau 2y ago
Had to lynch a lot of people first! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80_la_lanterne https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80_la_lanterne
karaterobot 2y ago
I cannot tell what point you're making here. Why is this important to say?
- benoau 2y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fact-checking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fact-checking
- henryway 2y ago
  I cannot tell either. It seems to be a potentially well-intended remark about correcting an inaccurate historical analogy to the current U.S. national leadership. It may be important to remark upon potentially inaccurate information, even if in the comments section of an Internet forum, because otherwise more people will have a wrong impression of the French Revolution and the role of guillotines. When they go to watch Les Miserables they will also be surprised. This last remark was unimportant and for that, I deeply apologize.
- SpicyLemonZest 2y ago
  The original comment was based on a popular but wildly inaccurate summary of the French Revolution, where the average Joes got increasingly fed up with their rich oppressors and eventually decided to execute them. The revolutionaries never adopted a general policy that rich oppressors should face death, and most people who got guillotined were average Joes who ended up on the wrong side of some political dispute or another.
- senderista 2y ago
  Sorry for being vague. I was trying to point out that the first phase of the revolution (“the Revolution of 1789”) was basically a liberal aristocratic revolution not unlike the American Revolution. The radical egalitarians that orchestrated the Terror didn’t seize power until a few years later.
  - TheAlchemist 2y ago
    I stand corrected - thanks to pointing this out. Got to go back to some history books ! While I was aware that the Terror took some years to seize power, I always thought that guillotine usage started much sooner.
    - senderista 2y ago
      There were indeed quite a few informal lynchings in the early days, but not the organized mass executions of 1793-94 (which were largely provoked by war hysteria).

Had to lynch a lot of people first! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80_la_lanterne https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80_la_lanterne

karaterobot 2y ago

I cannot tell what point you're making here. Why is this important to say?

benoau 2y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fact-checking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fact-checking
henryway 2y ago
I cannot tell either. It seems to be a potentially well-intended remark about correcting an inaccurate historical analogy to the current U.S. national leadership. It may be important to remark upon potentially inaccurate information, even if in the comments section of an Internet forum, because otherwise more people will have a wrong impression of the French Revolution and the role of guillotines. When they go to watch Les Miserables they will also be surprised. This last remark was unimportant and for that, I deeply apologize.
SpicyLemonZest 2y ago
The original comment was based on a popular but wildly inaccurate summary of the French Revolution, where the average Joes got increasingly fed up with their rich oppressors and eventually decided to execute them. The revolutionaries never adopted a general policy that rich oppressors should face death, and most people who got guillotined were average Joes who ended up on the wrong side of some political dispute or another.
senderista 2y ago
Sorry for being vague. I was trying to point out that the first phase of the revolution (“the Revolution of 1789”) was basically a liberal aristocratic revolution not unlike the American Revolution. The radical egalitarians that orchestrated the Terror didn’t seize power until a few years later.
- TheAlchemist 2y ago
  I stand corrected - thanks to pointing this out. Got to go back to some history books ! While I was aware that the Terror took some years to seize power, I always thought that guillotine usage started much sooner.
  - senderista 2y ago
    There were indeed quite a few informal lynchings in the early days, but not the organized mass executions of 1793-94 (which were largely provoked by war hysteria).