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Thursday, March 17, 2016

Trump is Hitler: Fiction and Fact - By Bionic Mosquito

The press – mainstream and otherwise – is going over-the-top on Trump-Hitler comparisons.  Some are direct, some more subtle.  I offer an examination of this comparison – what is fiction, what is fact?
Fiction
Let’s look at the history of Hitler prior to becoming German Chancellor, and see how Trump measures up.  Admittedly, this isn’t an exhaustive listing (just the highlights), but hopefully, it will suffice:
In 1923, he attempted a coup in Munich to seize power.
What was this coup?
The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch, and, in German, as the Hitlerputsch or Hitler-Ludendorff-Putsch, was a failed coup attempt by the Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler — along with Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff and other Kampfbund leaders — to seize power in Munich, Bavaria, during 8–9 November 1923. About two thousand men marched to the centre of Munich, where they confronted the police, which resulted in the death of 16 Nazis and four policemen. Hitler himself was wounded.
After two days, Hitler was arrested and charged with treason.
Trump?  Any “coups” in his background – the deaths of dozens, charged with treason? Nope………….

(Full text at link below)

Conclusion
Trump is no Hitler.  Nothing in his background comes close to this comparison.  Certainly every other candidate running in the two major parties has more in common with Adolf than does Trump – just count dead bodies and wealth destruction.  Do you offer more relevant measuring sticks?
In any case, those who seem to be most concerned about this (the political class, the pundits, the newspaper and television mouthpieces) have ensured the preconditions for a “Hitler” to take the stage.  They have been working on it for over 100 years.
They have designed and otherwise allowed for a position of almost absolute power. Trump just happens to be the first one to explicitly offer supposed “solutions” that implicitly recognizes this fact.  He is saying loudly and clearly: the clothes on this emperor confer omnipotence and I will act accordingly.
They have designed this position for a person who will be compliant to their wishes. Trump seems to be upsetting this design (well, at least for a vocal subset).
They want their own Hitler – an absolute ruler, just as they have designed the office. They also want their Hitler on a string; sooner or later (and for better or for worse), this was going to prove to be impossible.
Our best bet?  A combination of technology / communication and the inability of the state to meet their promises will move society toward a more decentralized condition.  I believe this to be in our future.  Otherwise, the path seems clear – the only question being time.