As Trump stumbles from one self-created crisis to another, the main hub of Trump support on Reddit is thriving. The_Donald now boasts more than 200,000 subscribers, many of them eager cyber-warriors who love nothing so much as Googlebombing anti-Hillary memes (like the one above) to the top of the search engines results, or flooding online polls with votes for the man they call their God Emperor.
For today’s Memeday, here are some of the more, well, interesting memes posted to The_Donald in the last week. All these memes got upvotes, some thousands of them, others only a handful.
Though many of Trump’s most enthusiastic fans are Internet Nazis who’ve flooded Twitter with a wide assortment of antisemitic memes, more than 1200 The_Donald readers evidently felt no shame about upvoting a meme that libels lefty rich dude philanthropist George Soros as a literal Nazi working for the literal Hitler.
Soros, who is Jewish, was 13 when the Nazis invaded Hungary; he survived the Holocaust by posing as the godson of a government official. On one occasion, when he was 14, he traveled with this government official to inventory the belongings left behind by a wealthy Jewish family that had fled the country. This incident has been cast as “collaboration” by assorted right-wing media sources; this meme takes the false allegation one step further.
Here, in something of an ironic twist, The_Donald readers joke about murdering many times the number of people Hitler and the Nazis murdered.
It should be noted that Trump himself has made a point of saying that he won’t rule out using nuclear weapons against countries he deems enemies of the US.
Here The-Donald denizens try some cold-war style redbaiting with a meme suggesting that Hillary is a Communist agent because some of her campaign buttons make reference to a “new day dawning.” Which is apparently Commie-speak for world domination or something.
And why not round out the whole bunch with a rape joke featuring accused rapist Julian Assange?
Just a reminder: When Donald Trump went to Reddit to do an AMA (Ask Me Anything), this was the subreddit he did it in. These are his peeps.
Happy memeday, everyone!
@Lea and Virgin Mary
Okay… so that really explains why they turned him into their hero. The whole “consent is forever granted” thing is precious to those assholes.
You ever think about what you’d have thought if, say, 3 years ago, someone would’ve shown you this whole page and the discussion we’re having in the comments, and told you : “this is an actual article you’re gonna read, and an actual discussion you’re gonna have, in three years” ? Wouldn’t it have all seemed incredibly surreal ?
@Axe
I prefer “fascistoid” because it’s also somewhat insulting.
*unapologetically politically incorrect* /s
@Paradoxical Intention
That was incredibly helpful, thank you.
I’ll probably stay away from it then. I don’t do good with scary, but I love tense survival, stealth, that sorta stuff – part of why I loved The Last of Us in the higher difficulty modes. It kept me on my toes with an eye on my stuff, while also not scaring the living crap out of me. I don’t do well with spiders either. Okay, to be fair, they creep the shit out of me sometimes. I got scared by the ones in freaking SKYRIM, goshdarnit ! You can imagine how painful the constant search for the perfect game can get in those conditions…
Shade seems like a cool character that I absolutely do not want to see on my screen. I got this sort of love-hate relationship with horror games. I can absolutely appreciate the appeal in gameplay terms, but the shape it takes is just not something I manage to deal with, even though I’d love to. A friend of mine who studies psychology told me there’s a chance it could’ve something to do with my insomnia – something about being tired causing heightened activity in the “fear” department, a state that eventually becomes somewhat permanent even at those rare moments you’re not tired. But then she also told me that she hasn’t studied enough to really say, and it’s just hypothesis, so I might just be chicken.
Lea: Aiee, I hadn’t kept up with Assange’s case. Seems clear he’s guilty if he’s admitting to that.
I think at some point figuring out the exact label for Trumpism is less useful than mapping the dangerous similarities.
There’s really no arguing that Trump fits in with the macho strongmen archetype of many dictators. He supports his supporters regardless of what they do to others, and punishes any slight to himself. He has contempt for the democratic process and co-operation. He has the support of, and ties to, the explicitly anti-democratic and white supremacist factions of the Alt-Right as well as the christian theocrats and anti-lgbtq forces of the Republican mainstream.
Even if Trump is not explicitly anti-democracy like the fascists of the early 20th century, he is being propelled by the same impulses that drive dictatorial strongmen across the globe.
While I’m not worried about him becoming president, I worry about the mainstreaming of the Alt-Right in radicalizing the Republicans even further.
@leftwingfox : you’re perfectly right. Trump isn’t a threat by himself and actually isn’t all that likely to be a dictator.
But he facilitate the work of the next Hitler.
He definitely is a huge leap forward in the great chain of enablers.
As for his likelihood of being a dictator… well he’s certainly trying. Reality might disagree at some point though. Even should he somehow manage to get into office, reality (and, y’know, the Constitution) would definitely disagree. But that’s the thing with Trump : he doesn’t care about either reality or the Constitution.
All that being said, I’m gonna try to get some sleepsies. Good day, or good night, everyone.
Good day/night John…and I’m glad you like my “shameless bingotry”
I’d say that it is very difficult to claim that Trumpism doesn’t fit Umberto Eco’s definition of ur-fascism. The cult of action over thought, the belief in a past golden age, the simultaneous over- and under-estimation of the enemies… it’s all there.
Whether or not it fits Trotsky’s definition of the word is a different story.
@Alan
I believe this is the comment you’re referring to, yes?
@ viscaria
That’s the one; thanks. The judgment makes interesting reading but probably should warn people it describes some disturbing allegations.
@Alan: I missed your email too lol. For some reason I don’t check the email listed on my blog (!), Imma fix that the next time I fiddle around with the blog template. Would you believe I joined AOL as my first personal internet provider in 1997 and still have the email addys I created then? Of course AOL is owned by Talk Talk now so it’s the same In Name Only, but I am that loyal. Or lazy. Whichever. I mailed you a response anyway 🙂
@axe
@ej
I posted on another thread about Umberto Eco’s definition of fascism.
Here it is again if you haven’t read it.
http://interglacial.com/pub/text/Umberto_Eco_-_Eternal_Fascism.html
What I tend to see here is a tendency for Eco to see the symptoms and mistake them for the root cause.
Using kittehs in memes. Now they have crossed a line (I know, they’ve crossed plenty already, but … kittehs).
Re Assange – there may finally be some progress as Swedish prosecutors have agreed to question him at the Ecuadorian embassy (they have refused to do so previously)
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/aug/11/julian-assange-to-be-questioned-inside-embassy-as-ecuador-agrees-to-set-date
I don’t know for sure, but this could be partly related to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s recent finding that Assange’s detention is arbitrary. I’ve followed this case feeling like I need to split into two people: I don’t want the US to get hold of him, but that has overshadowed the Swedish case from the start, which is tragic.
That meme with Assange … ugh.
@sfhc
Yes, they went some way to demonise the Clintons in all their corrupt glory in this spiteful little vid. The narrator of the film keeps says ‘follow the money’…..so I did. All the way to Breitfart ‘news’. 🙁
@leftwingfox
The Christian theocracy (more properly Christian Reconstructionists) set are easy pickings for a demagogue because they are anti democracy, and wish to return the country, and then the world to an imagined ‘Golden Age’ pre dating feminism, civil rights and LGBTQAI+ rights, by going back to the Mosaic and Levite laws outlined in the Old Testament. Ironically, these exact same texts form the basis for shariah law, which they are happy to get all worked up over. It’s really a case of looking into a mirror. Reconstructionalists won’t ever say this on the public stage, but in private among their initiates they discuss biblical punishments such as stoning (presumably meant for gay people and not divorcees) a return to biblically sanctioned slavery, and removal of social security and healthcare, instead expecting churches to give ‘charity’ to only ‘Born Again Christian ™’ families which meet their approval.
This leads to the other problem with the Reconstructionalist view, which is its basis in the doctrine of Calvinism, which basically assumes that the wealthiest people are virtuous and the most highly favoured by God, and the poorest are poor and sick as a result of their sinfulness. When you see Tea Baggers railing against paying taxes, it’s because they are genuinely incensed by ‘left wing’ plans to steal their God given wealth and redistribute it to sinners, who may be coloured, gay, single mothers of other religions or none. They are vehemently against public schools also which they consider liberal hotbeds of non scriptural education such as evolution.
The ‘prosperity gospel’ is a big sham in that it preys on these poor who hope that piously giving money to the super rich preachers, some of their blessing will rub off on them. It’s basically the religious form of trickle down, they are simply putting money in the well stocked Armani pants of the likes of TD Jakes, Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland.
Trump is well in with the prosperity preachers, no surprises there.
@Mary
Well, it depends. Is fascism a pathogenic disease (more accurate term appreciated)? Something a society can catch or be given by germ or trauma. Or is it a symptomatic illness(again, appreciated)? Like most neurological conditions, the symptoms and the cause are one and the same
Anywho, are there any other definitions of fascism, ‘ur’ or otherwise. 3 so far, we’re on a roll. The diction of political identification is fascinating
@Virgin Mary:
Interesting links, thanks for that!
@Lea:
Presumption of innocence till proven guilty not applicable here?
Gert’s at it again… Do fuck off
@Axecalibur: Middle Name Danger:
Sigh… in what way “am I at it again“? Do explain, please. I’m all ear.
Joseph Schmitz, Trump’s foreign policy adviser, allegedly said that Nazi Germany’s ovens were too small to fit 6 million Jews:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/donald-trump-foreign-adviser-accused-anti-semitism-article-1.2757054
Schmitz is the son of a notoriously right-wing member of Congress John G. Schmitz. According to Wikipedia, the elder Schmitz was forced to resign his seat in 1982 after the fact that he fathered two children out of wedlock came to light when his infant son was admitted to the hospital for what seemed to be child abuse. The mother was threatened with arrest if she didn’t identify the father. Schmitz refused to support the children.
He’s also the brother of Mary Kay Letourneau Fualauu, who herself is infamous. She was a teacher who had sex with her twelve-year-old student and went to prison for that. She also had two children with him. They are now married.
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. ―Leo Tolstoy
Internet comment sections are not courts of law and people are allowed to have the opinion, based on the available evidence, that Assange is a rapist.
This is not that hard to understand.
@WWT:
And people should be allowed to politely question that opinion.
This is also not that hard to understand.
No one right now knows the actual truth about the Assange rape accusations. Considering that the Greatest nation on Earth (TM) has clear motives to lean on Sweden, it’s hardly unreasonable to suspect foul play.
Sh*t you couldn’t make up if they paid you for it…
Mediamatters:
Obama’s War on rural Conservatism: with lesbians!
The second I read Rush Limbaugh, I lost interest. Did you know the Agriculture Department will give grants to anyone that qualifies for one? Even lesbians? Who would have thought?
@Gert
At it again in that you say something obliviously contrarian. Something that makes no sense. Something that makes to justify, or deny, actual problems. Problems this blog tackles regularly, so you should know better. All mixed in with a bit of oversold nicety
IIRC, 1st it was ableism, then antisemitism and dogwhistles, now it’s the, for lack of a better term, Cassandra Effect. How hard it is for rape survivors to be heard and believed amidst all the people who harass them and those people’s enablers. Enablers who peddle this bullshit about presumption of innocence, as if the ‘court of public opinion’ was an actual court. It isn’t, but, if it is, that’s not even how presumption of innocence works
The cops don’t presume innocence, or they’d never get anything done. The attorneys don’t presume innocence, or they couldn’t zealously represent their client. The jury doesn’t presume innocence, seeing as they make the verdict. The judge, sorta, is the only person in a courtroom that needs to presume innocence. Sorta. I’m a jury member. I’ve heard the evidence against him, and I believe the victims. So no, not applicable
Wanna withold judgment? Fine, your right. Don’t, however, do so with ‘presumption of innocence’. It’s in the pit of despair, the receptacle for good ideas made nasty by people who don’t know the law, along with ‘free speech’ and ‘religious liberty’