“If you prick us do we not bleed?
If you tickle us, do we not laugh?
If you poison us, do we not die?
If you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”
“The Merchant Of Venice, Shakespeare. Act III, scene ii .
With any luck, this will be my last Troll series post. After a day of letting a hater live free in my head, after being stigmatized for daring to defend the well-intentioned Trump supporters who found the Capitol “Riot” as appalling as just about all Americans found it, after suggesting that President Trump’s side of the story, with evidence , be presented, before he is judged, I thought Shakespeare might be worth considering.
I am concerned I will lose dear friends in the blogging world for writing this. Donald Trump, even as loathsome at times as he can be and as people find him, at least is entitled to a competent defense. So there.
Like Shylock, I am a human being. Unlike Shylock, I do not consider revenge a viable solution for any grievance.
But here we are. I probably have forgotten more about Nazism, its origins, ideology, and crimes, than what all of my detractors know combined. So dragging out the Nazi analogy is particular annoying, if only for its breath taking stupidity.
Once one sees a blue-inked number, with a European “7”. tattooed on a man’s forearm, the history lesson gets very real.
If a blog is a place where persons can post their thoughts, and expect no pushback, well I guess I broke an unwritten rule.
No apologies will be forthcoming. None is needed.
Dispatches From Dystopia 
While I think about the issues that get discussed on anyone’s blog, it is amazing more of us don’t vent. I agree with you, that Trump was NOT a fascist, plain and simple, (say he is, is an attempt to compare him to Hitler.) He did at times lean into some demagoguery. The name-calling and rhetoric from the right and the left really need to cool off.
Just a few days in office, after his passionate call for peace and unity, is evidently not to concerned about the impact an Impeachment trial will have on any attempts at unity in our country. Were Biden’s pleas empty words? I guess we’ll see.
In the meantime, most likely the ‘trolls that are pinning the Fascist label on Trump and his supporters, are hardly aware of the true ‘evil’ Hitler and his brand of fascism were capable of.
Exactly. Historical ignorance is their stock in trade. There are words these folks use that hook me, like entitlement, but their language is mostly chatter among “true believers”. They don’t want to be challenged. If you do, you’re a troll. And you’re one step away from being an Enemy of the People.
I’m reading Stalingrad by Vasilly Grossman. He describes an activity among Party Members and academics. That could be taking place on an American campus today. Just updates some terms
Strange times indeed.
Yep.