Brutkey

Thomas Zimmer
@tzimmer_history@mastodon.social

The Right’s political and intellectual leaders believe they are engaged in a noble war for the “soul,” the identity, the very existence of the nation. If the stakes are so high, moderation, restraint, and patience are not an option. There is no line they don’t feel justified to cross.

David Mitchell :CApride:
@DavidM_yeg@mstdn.ca

@tzimmer_history@mastodon.social

“They did it first, so we have no choice” is the simplest and most direct way to get most people to cross all kinds of moral lines that they think they have. Which is why the rhetorical propaganda about the left has been so wildly over the top, and reads from here as so much projection: because for every step in the program they want to do, they need to convince their base that the left has already crossed that line.

joriki
@joriki@infosec.exchange

@DavidM_yeg@mstdn.ca @tzimmer_history@mastodon.social

it's inoculation against cognitive dissonance

David Mitchell :CApride:
@DavidM_yeg@mstdn.ca

@tzimmer_history@mastodon.social

Incidentally, this is part of the reason the Epstein business doesn’t seem to phase a lot of republicans: they are sure that democrats went there first, and they already know their guy is a Very Bad Person, but having a Very Bad Person of your own is how you fight the Very Bad Person on the other side, right?
This theme encapsulated the core plot of a large percentage of the action movie industry (propaganda for the fascist movement imho) : the idea that it’s not only permissible but good and redemptive and laudable to do Very Bad Things as long as you do them to people prejudged to have been Very Bad People themselves.