Do you think the broad reach with buzzwords aimed at the “other” (“Anti-fa”, “leftists”, “lock her up”, “CRT”, BLM and so on) and repeated over and again by the right also has a desired affect to render this language unusable by the left. The right takes language that is ‘progressive’, gets ahead of it and then the Democrats turn on each other in fear of using ‘buzzwords’ within the intended context as if they’re ashamed. “Heck yea, I’m a liberal lefty, support immigration and DACA , appreciate critical race theory and am anti-racist, and You keeping calling us the ‘Democrat’ party but the l’ll correct you as we are the DEMOCRATIC party”. This makes me think of kids who are bullies on a playground where one says, “Sally, you’re so dumb”, Sally cries and retorts “I’m not dumb - you are!!!” and then the bully laughs and mocks Sally and says, “Copycat! You can’t say that cause I said it first”.
Another excellent piece. Long time ago I heard from somebody (who fled Germany before WWII started) who attended some of his sessions that Hitler started his speeches quite tame and boring, stating a lot of obvious true facts but then somehow managed to convince his audience that his opponents were all opposed to those creating the image of him as the good guy. Having created some fear and an enemy in the room, which raised the temperature in the room, he then started to attack his opponents , bring in his own falsehoods and extremist ideas. It was all well planned and well rehearsed, including all hysterical outbursts He used to leave the stage completely calm and composed so all the excitement was part of the show. Even opponents in attendance became overwhelmed and influenced by the whole show and many became supporters. Others fled the room to escape his influence. Trump's rally seem to follow a similar pattern....
Just noticed that this article was noted on Twitter by Morgan Fairchild and retweeted by Rick Wilson of Lincoln Project. More and more people are ‘Lucid!’
You mention that "he or she" love bombs followers. Who is the "she" you're referring to? La Pen? And if so, does she really qualify as a cult leader? Genuine question, as I can't think of other women who fit this mold.
So, to counter this finely tuned propagandist machine we have to offer real world incentives (mainly economic) to these disaffected people to ditch the charlatans who have given them nothing and motivate them to pursue a constructive, reasonably well-compensated, contribution to the world at large, and access to the education required to get them in the ball game.
"If the history of authoritarian cults is any measure, his followers won't be satisfied until he is back in the White House, no matter the cost to America". I agree 100% with your statement Ruth!
Trump has not only got his fervent base of loyalists and followers doing his bidding but he has also got almost all of the GOP (save for the likes of Liz Cheeny or Mitt Romeny) and several media outlets doing his bidding, no matter the damage done to the country. Goebbels ran Hitler's ministry of propaganda. Today we see those same functions privatized to the FNC and several other alternative far right media outlets and then further propagated on social media.
With new voter suppression laws enacted in 17 states and counting, Trump has underway a coherent strategy going on within compliant state level GOPs all over the country to take over the administration and certification of elections, so that if a Democrat wins they can fix it so he/she can't. RHINOs like Brad Rhafsenburger are being purged out of the party and staunch stop the steal loyalists like Dana Hines in Georgia are taking over secretaries of state positions. They presumably don't care about upholding the sanctity or integrity of elections while their leader is carrying on hysterically claiming falsely that voter fraud is rampant and the democrats are cheating. They are all about clicking their heels and saluting to their corrupt cult leader. No matter the damage to democracy or the rule of law, Its all about the leader's return to power.
Outstanding piece Ruth. Something that Trump said really hit a nerve with me; "I know your pain, I know you're hurt," Sociopaths like Trump do not feel empathy, sympathy or compassion, so Trump's comment was a lie and manipulation. His rant to get his people to storm the Capitol was nothing more than narcissistic triangulation; a narcissists way of getting others to do his dirty work for him.
Thank you Ruth for another wonderful piece! Also, Saturday’s presentation was wonderful! The whole process here is aided and abetted by Republican enablers interested only in power for its own sake. To win at any cost!
Thanks. Hopefully, after some of the Jan 6 def's admit to sedition / terrorism (if charged, finally), and conspiracy (if charged), and attribute motivation to DJT, and IF DOJ pursues (which it won't because it's letting bygones be bygones and moving on), you would be a stellar expert witness. I think Mary Beck, who has written about polarized groups / extremists, evidently was such an expert in a matter involving fringe groups. Maybe have a joint program some day with someone from DOJ about dealing with defenses of cultists and their leaders in criminal matters. Just a thought
Do you think the broad reach with buzzwords aimed at the “other” (“Anti-fa”, “leftists”, “lock her up”, “CRT”, BLM and so on) and repeated over and again by the right also has a desired affect to render this language unusable by the left. The right takes language that is ‘progressive’, gets ahead of it and then the Democrats turn on each other in fear of using ‘buzzwords’ within the intended context as if they’re ashamed. “Heck yea, I’m a liberal lefty, support immigration and DACA , appreciate critical race theory and am anti-racist, and You keeping calling us the ‘Democrat’ party but the l’ll correct you as we are the DEMOCRATIC party”. This makes me think of kids who are bullies on a playground where one says, “Sally, you’re so dumb”, Sally cries and retorts “I’m not dumb - you are!!!” and then the bully laughs and mocks Sally and says, “Copycat! You can’t say that cause I said it first”.
Another excellent piece. Long time ago I heard from somebody (who fled Germany before WWII started) who attended some of his sessions that Hitler started his speeches quite tame and boring, stating a lot of obvious true facts but then somehow managed to convince his audience that his opponents were all opposed to those creating the image of him as the good guy. Having created some fear and an enemy in the room, which raised the temperature in the room, he then started to attack his opponents , bring in his own falsehoods and extremist ideas. It was all well planned and well rehearsed, including all hysterical outbursts He used to leave the stage completely calm and composed so all the excitement was part of the show. Even opponents in attendance became overwhelmed and influenced by the whole show and many became supporters. Others fled the room to escape his influence. Trump's rally seem to follow a similar pattern....
I would share this, but object to my personal email appearing in the Subscibe box.
Just noticed that this article was noted on Twitter by Morgan Fairchild and retweeted by Rick Wilson of Lincoln Project. More and more people are ‘Lucid!’
You mention that "he or she" love bombs followers. Who is the "she" you're referring to? La Pen? And if so, does she really qualify as a cult leader? Genuine question, as I can't think of other women who fit this mold.
So, to counter this finely tuned propagandist machine we have to offer real world incentives (mainly economic) to these disaffected people to ditch the charlatans who have given them nothing and motivate them to pursue a constructive, reasonably well-compensated, contribution to the world at large, and access to the education required to get them in the ball game.
It is a cult…and it’s growing. Steve Hassan wrote a book called The Cult of Trump.
More critical links below…
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/inside-the-cult-of-trump-his-rallies-are-church-and-he-is-the-gospel
https://www.voanews.com/usa/qanon-strains-relationships-loved-ones-try-show-way-out
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/07/is-it-finally-time-to-begin-calling-trumpism-fascism.html
"If the history of authoritarian cults is any measure, his followers won't be satisfied until he is back in the White House, no matter the cost to America". I agree 100% with your statement Ruth!
Trump has not only got his fervent base of loyalists and followers doing his bidding but he has also got almost all of the GOP (save for the likes of Liz Cheeny or Mitt Romeny) and several media outlets doing his bidding, no matter the damage done to the country. Goebbels ran Hitler's ministry of propaganda. Today we see those same functions privatized to the FNC and several other alternative far right media outlets and then further propagated on social media.
With new voter suppression laws enacted in 17 states and counting, Trump has underway a coherent strategy going on within compliant state level GOPs all over the country to take over the administration and certification of elections, so that if a Democrat wins they can fix it so he/she can't. RHINOs like Brad Rhafsenburger are being purged out of the party and staunch stop the steal loyalists like Dana Hines in Georgia are taking over secretaries of state positions. They presumably don't care about upholding the sanctity or integrity of elections while their leader is carrying on hysterically claiming falsely that voter fraud is rampant and the democrats are cheating. They are all about clicking their heels and saluting to their corrupt cult leader. No matter the damage to democracy or the rule of law, Its all about the leader's return to power.
God forbid that Donald Trump or any of his family returns to the White House!
The death cult of Donald Trump.
Outstanding piece Ruth. Something that Trump said really hit a nerve with me; "I know your pain, I know you're hurt," Sociopaths like Trump do not feel empathy, sympathy or compassion, so Trump's comment was a lie and manipulation. His rant to get his people to storm the Capitol was nothing more than narcissistic triangulation; a narcissists way of getting others to do his dirty work for him.
Thank you Ruth for another wonderful piece! Also, Saturday’s presentation was wonderful! The whole process here is aided and abetted by Republican enablers interested only in power for its own sake. To win at any cost!
Thanks. Hopefully, after some of the Jan 6 def's admit to sedition / terrorism (if charged, finally), and conspiracy (if charged), and attribute motivation to DJT, and IF DOJ pursues (which it won't because it's letting bygones be bygones and moving on), you would be a stellar expert witness. I think Mary Beck, who has written about polarized groups / extremists, evidently was such an expert in a matter involving fringe groups. Maybe have a joint program some day with someone from DOJ about dealing with defenses of cultists and their leaders in criminal matters. Just a thought