Actress Gina Carano became one of the highest-profile celebrity victims of cancel culture last week, when she was dropped from The Mandalorian, fired by Disney, and dumped by her talent agency. As most people know, Carano’s fatal error was believing she still lived in a society with genuine freedom of expression. Carano’s message was straightforward: Americans are being taught to hate one another, in a manner that disturbingly evokes Germany prior to World War II.
Disney denounced Carano’s post as “abhorrent,” and swiftly kicked her off the show. Reporting on the incident has invited passive bystanders to believe Carano said something anti-Semitic, when of course her post was the exact opposite.
Carano’s post was clumsy, the kind routinely seen from Baby Boomers posting on Facebook. But Carano’s post was ultimately much closer to reality than even her defenders realize. America’s political situation right now carries disturbing similarities to Germany just before the Third Reich. And it isn’t people on the right who resemble Nazis.
But first, a couple things this article is not:
-This is not a rant about “Weimerica.” There are essays claiming that America resembles pre-Nazi Germany based on the rise of transgenderism, a decline in sexual morality, or other social trends. Whether that comparison is valid or not, this essay is focused purely on political culture.
-This is not a shrill claim that “Democrats are Nazis,” that Republicans are treated on par with Jews in Nazi Germany, or anything of the sort. Instead, this is an effort to point out the worrisome and growing parallels between the political culture of late Weimar Germany, and the political culture that America is embracing with more fervor every day.
For decades, the rallying cry against the Holocaust has been “never again.” But “again” will only be “never” if we take care to understand what the precursors to politically-motivated atrocities look like, and stop them before they grow too severe.
To the Nazi Party, everything was political. The party subordinated every sector of society and every human endeavor to its broader political and social agenda. Recent breakthroughs in physics such as the theory of relativity, achieved substantially by Jewish physicists, were labeled Jüdische Physik (“Jewish physics”), and rejected in favor of Deutsche Physik (“German phyics”). Christianity was marginalized through the promotion of Nazi-aligned “Positive Christianity.”
And of course, the Nazis were very interested in the ideological state of art. Well before seizing power, the Nazis founded their own party film office and wrote about film’s propaganda value. After taking power, they founded the Reichsfilmkammer, which controlled employment in the film industry. Membership was mandatory for any who wanted to work in the movie industry, thereby ensure total ideological conformity. No doubt that aspect would resonate with Carano, who besides losing her role in The Mandalorian was also dropped by her talent agency for expressing her views.
The same phenomenon shines through in the America of 2021. Progressives might express shock at how the Nazis politicized the field of physics, and then promptly turn around and assert that mathematics is a part of “white supremacy.” Another example of this happened just days ago:
The progressive organization “Showing Up for Racial Justice,” meanwhile, teaches that “worship of the written word” and “the belief that there is such a thing as being objective” are both signs of white supremacy.
Sports, previously a unifying part of American life and a refuge from politics, was completely politicized in the past season. The NFL stenciled “End Racism” into its endzones. Players were encouraged to wear the names of alleged victims of racism on their helmets. The list of allowed names showed a clear intent to kowtow to Black Lives Matter over all other causes.
Just about every organization, group, or hobby where adherents of left-wing identity politics are present is experiencing a “reckoning” (i.e. a capitulation to political demands). Country music? Racial reckoning. Birdwatching? Racial reckoning. Dungeons and Dragons? Racial reckoning.
Should Warner Bros. make a Harry Potter TV show? A decade ago, the only relevant question was “would people watch it?” Today, long essays argue that Rowling’s entirely irrelevant views on transgenderism mean a new Potter show is categorically unacceptable.
The political colonization of all American life can be seen in surveys. A 2016 poll found that liberals were about three times as likely to unfriend or unfollow a person online because of their political views. Seventy-one percent of Democrats say they likely or absolutely would not date a Trump voter, 24 percentage points greater than the inverse.
Even when they did not officially hold power or command an electoral majority, Nazis were able to use violence to hurt their enemies and help themselves, benefiting from friends in high places — bureaucrats, judges, and business leaders — who, critically, helped them avoid consequences for breaking the law.
The single most famous beneficiary of this was, of course, Hitler himself. In 1923, Hitler and the nascent Nazi Party took over a beer hall in Munich, hoping to launch a “March on Berlin” and seize power much in the way Benito Mussolini had taken power in Italy after a march on Rome. The putsch was a mess and soon collapsed, with 16 Nazis and four police officers dying. Hitler was put on trial for treason, and convicted. But thanks to favorable treatment from the court system, Hitler was allowed to use his three-week trial as a soapbox for his political ideology. When convicted, Hitler received a five year sentence, but he served a mere nine months. Since Hitler was an Austrian national, he should have been deported from the country as well, but the favorably-disposed court simply refused to enforce Germany’s immigration laws (imagine that!).
More broadly, Germany in the late 1920s and early 1930s was wracked by low-level political violence. The SA, the Nazi’s paramilitary group, is still well-known today, but what is less known is that the Communists and even the Social Democratic Party also had their own violent paramilitary wings. The groups routinely disrupted each others’ meetings and rallies, but as tensions escalated, the Nazis benefited from a judiciary that was, on balance, more favorably disposed toward them. The Communist paramilitary group, the Roter Frontkämpferbund, was banned in 1929, but the SA was never given the same treatment.
The result was a persistent pattern. Nazis could use violence as a political asset, to intimidate and threaten their opponents and demonstrate strength, without facing meaningful legal consequences.
It takes only the most basic powers of pattern recognition to see that, today, it is the left that enjoys far greater leeway for political violence. In spring 2016, attendees at a Trump rally in San Jose were assaulted by a mob of demonstrators, while police stood aside (allegedly on the mayor’s orders).
In October 2019, two members of the Proud Boys were sentenced to four years in prison each for their role in a brawl outside New York’s Metropolitan Club. The sentences were remarkable, because prosecutors could not produce any victims for the men’s actions. The black clad people they fought with, likely members of Antifa, refused to cooperate with the police at all.
While right-wing hooligans were sent to prison for an entire presidential term over an attack with no known victim, Antifa professor Eric Clanton assaulted strangers with a bike lock. His punishment? Thanks to sympathetic prosecutors, his four violent felonies were turned into a single misdemeanor and he received three years of probation.
The apotheosis of this trend came in the summer of 2020, though. Last summer, the left effectively launched and then egged on the worst riots in the U.S. in nearly 30 years. As rioters looted and burned Minneapolis, eventually causing $500 million in damage, future vice president Kamala Harris urged supporters to donate to a bail fund to get arrested rioters back on the streets.
With hundreds of small businesses still smoldering, Wellesley professor Kellie Carter-Jackson appeared on a Slate podcast to explain that “Big structural change in America doesn’t happen without violence.”
When rioters shifted from looting small businesses to targeted attacks on American heritage, Nancy Pelosi dismissed it as nothing. For her, of course, it was all part of the usual playbook:
In Portland, Antifa rioters clashed with police and federal agents for weeks on end. When they encountered resistance, The New Republicdescribed it as a “historic federal crackdown on dissent.”
It was, of course, nothing of the sort. The historic crackdown on dissent is coming right now, against the right.
The Capitol riot stands out precisely because it was one of the only moments in the past half-century where right-leaning protesters used the tactics that the left has embraced routinely. Now, government officials are openly boasting that this manhunt is the most aggressive in FBI history:
According to Sherwin, “almost all” of the 234 people charged for the Capitol riots are charged with “significant federal felonies” carrying penalties of at least five years in prison.
In a remarkable coincidence, exactly 234 people were also charged for their involvement in riots during Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017. In the end, exactly one was convicted on a felony charge. He served four months.
A central myth for the Nazis was the “stab in the back,” the claim that Germany’s defeat in World War I and all its subsequent problems were due to treason from within, especially by Jews.
The myth was false, but crucially, it exploited real facts to exert a hold on the public. The leaders of the 1919 Communist uprisings in Germany, like the Spartacist uprising in Berlin and the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic, were substantially Jewish, which Nazis exploited to promote the idea of a “Jewist plot” to lost World War I. For the Nazis, it was never enough to oppose Communism. The party routinely blasted the concept of “Judeo-Bolshevism,” conveniently merging its most-hated ideology with a scapegoat ethnic group.
From this, it’s easy to draw a parallel to the endless witch hunt for “white supremacy” in every sector of American life. Jim Crow was real, and for a century after the Civil War racism was a very real part of American law and American society.
By now, though, “institutional racism” is little more than a conspiracy theory. Laws at all levels of government prohibit racial discrimination against blacks, often with severe penalties for doing so. Admissions at thousands of American schools expressly give favorable treatment to non-whites. Federal contracting gives favorable treatment to minority-owned firms.
Yet as set-asides and preferences pile up, the level of grievance only goes greater. Now, The New York Times promotes the 1619 Project, whose creator Nikole Hannah-Jones asserts that “anti-black racism runs in the very DNA of this country.” Books with titles like White Fragility, Whitelash, and White Rage shovel the blame for America’s challenges on the one racial group it has become acceptable to attack with impunity.
Over time, the ability to criticize whites as a group has transformed into more openly hateful and racist rhetoric. Last summer, The New York Times published a piece by columnist Charles Blow, which tarred white women as “instruments of terror,” collectively sharing guilt for torture and mass murder.
“There are too many noosed necks, charred bodies, and drowned souls for them to deny knowing precisely what they are doing,” Blow wrote (emphasis ours).
Rhetoric on white Americans frequently veers into the outright dehumanizing. For instance, in late January, Middlebury College hosted a virtual event titled “Middlebury’s Opportunity to Facilitate the Demilitarization of White Bodies.” The description of the event says that “in order to .ss must be demilitarized so that bodies designated as ‘White’ might become human.”
Shortly after the Capitol riot, The Washington Post published an opinion column explaining that even non-white people could be guilty of “whiteness,” because in fact being white simply means being evil:
“Reichstag Fire” has become an idiom for a reason. Shortly after Hitler became chancellor in 1933, a Dutch Communist set fire to the Reichstag building. The fire was so conveniently-timed that ever since, historians have speculated it may have been a false flag. Whether the incident was planned or merely lucky, it was a boon to the Nazis. Party leaders instantly warned that, far from being an isolated episode, the fire was the first strike of a planned nationwide Communist uprising. The first official account of the fire, released within hours, said in part:
>Within days, the Reichstag Fire decree suspended basic civil liberties and enabled the mass arrest of Communists or other political enemies. A shrill hunt for “insurrectionists” was crucial to the long-term Nazi seizure of power.
So of course, it’s worth noting just how much panic America has seen over “insurrectionists” and “sedition” thanks to the Capitol riot.
In the hours and days after the Capitol riot, the press and big tech used the moment opportunistically, not to address a real threat, but to crush enemies. Parler was labeled a tool of insurrection and “hate speech,” and taken offline. President Trump was banned from Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, and was even cut off from his campaign email list. Countless supporters of the president were caught up in a social media purge as well.
More aggressive maneuvers are already in the works. The FBI sought, and received, banking information on ordinary Americans, looking to make as many arrests as possible. The Biden administration is mulling a new domestic terrorism law, which would supplement the already vast surveillance powers of the Patriot Act and the censorship powers of left-controlled big tech. General Stanley McChrystal, former commander in Afghanistan, compared supporters of the president to Al Qaeda. Former CIA station chief Robert Grenier used the pages of the New York Times to demand an Iraq-style counterinsurgency against domestic political foes:
Just like the Reichstag Fire reaction, the over-the-top response to the Capitol Riot is built on myths. Claims of an insurrection, for instance, were built almost entirely on the claim that Trump supporters brutally murdered Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick. Now, thanks to reporting by Revolver it is clear that claim, reported as fact almost everywhere in the days after the riot, was false.
Nazi Germany recognized the enormous power wielded by the university system, and one of the party’s chief goals was to make higher education totally ideologically subservient to the party. In the spring of 1933, the party passed the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service, which barred Jews and Communists from working as college professors (among other jobs).
Of course, American colleges have leaned to the left for longer than anyone has been alive. But it’s not widely realized how much more left-wing American colleges have become over the past 30 years.
In entire fields, right-of-center academics have nearly ceased to exist. In sociology, Democrats outnumber Republican 42-to-1. It’s easy to be dismissive of this tilt, but domination of the universities matters. Like it or not, almost every member of the American elite passes through the universities, giving them a powerful role in ideologically shaping our leaders. Universities shape which ideas are considered acceptable to think, and now they are entirely subservient to a single political faction.
The Nazis did not run on being a “conservative” party. They did not promise to protect the German constitution, or restore the old monarchical one from before the Great War. The Nazis promised (and delivered) enormous change to Germany’s laws and basic system of government.
They were able to do that because the Weimar constitutional order was weak. The Weimar constitution guaranteed freedom of speech, of association, of religion, and so forth. But constitutional rights and democratic systems only survive when elites treat them as legitimate, and sustain them instead of ignoring them in the pursuit of power. In Weimar Germany, that didn’t happen. Thanks to the calamities of Versailles and the Great Depression, democracy enjoyed feeble support in Germany, and there was instead large-scale support for both radical right-wing parties (of which the Nazis were only one) and Communist revolutionaries. With the passage of the Enabling Act in 1933, the Weimar constitution became an irrelevant dead letter.
In America, liberty has survived so long precisely because the Constitution and its norms have enjoyed so much prestige, including from elites. Even during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln held a democratic election. Even with total domination of the federal government, FDR failed to pack the Supreme Court.
President Biden has launched a Supreme Court commission whose purpose is to recommend “reforms” for the institution. For millions of leftists, only one reform will be enough: Packing the Court to achieve a new, preferably permanent, far-left majority.
Of course, packing the Supreme Court would do nothing to “repair” it. It would eradicate it. The explicit purpose would be to transform the Court from a meaningful constitutional entity into a rubberstamp for left-wing policies. With the Court nullified, the left could move on to priorities like sharper censorship laws and major gun control without the slightest concern these laws will be struck down. Even if Republicans later won an election and reclaimed power, the Court would not recover. Its status would be fatally compromised. It would not longer be seen as a separate, co-equal branch of government, but as a political hurdle that a legislative majority could shove aside at any time. America would be perpetually more vulnerable to single-party tyranny. And of course, that’s exactly the point.
—
But look on the bright side. America isn’t exactly like Weimar Germany. For instance, America hasn’t gone through a period of catastrophic hyperinflation due to economic mismanagement.
But hey, almost a quarter of all U.S. dollars in circulation were created last year. So there’s still a chance!
DON'T BELIEVE A DAMN WORD YOU READ ON THIS WEBSITE!
The reader is responsible for discerning the validity, factuality or implications of information posted here, be it fictional or based on real events. Moderators on this forum make every effort to review the material posted on this site however, it is not realistically possible for a one man team to manually review each and every one of the posts atomicbobs.com gets on a daily basis.
The content of posts on this site, including but not limited to links to other web sites, are the expressed opinion of the original poster and are in no way representative of or endorsed by the owners or administration of this website. The posts on this website are the opinion of the specific author and are not statements of advice, opinion, or factual information on behalf of the owner or administration of Atomicbobs. This site may contain adult language, if you feel you might be offended by such content, you should log off immediately.
Not all posts on this website are intended as truthful or factual assertion by their authors. Some users of this website are participating in internet role playing, with or without the use of an avatar. NO post on this website should be considered factual information on face value alone. Users are encouraged to
USE DISCERNMENT
and do their own follow up research while reading and posting on this website. Atomicbobs.com reserves the right to make changes to, corrections and/or remove entirely at any time posts made on this website without notice. In addition, Atomicbobs.com disclaims any and all liability for damages incurred directly or indirectly as a result of a post on this website.
This website implements certain security features in order to prevent spam and posting abuse. By making a post on this website you consent to any automated security checks required by our system to authenticate your IP address as belonging to an actual human. It is forbidden to make posts on this website from open proxy servers. By making a post on this website you consent to an automated one time limited port scan of your IP address which is required by our security system to validate the authenticity of your internet connection.
This site is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. You should not assume that this site is error-free or that it will be suitable for the particular purpose which you have in mind when using it. In no event shall Atomicbobs.com be liable for any special, incidental, indirect or consequential damages of any kind, or any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, those resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether or not advised of the possibility of damage, and on any theory of liability, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of this site or other documents which are referenced by or linked to this site.
Some events depicted in certain posting and threads on this website may be fictitious and any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental. Some other articles may be based on actual events but which in certain cases incidents, characters and timelines have been changed for dramatic purposes. Certain characters may be composites, or entirely fictitious.
We do not discriminate against the mentally ill!
Fair Use Notice:
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Users may make such material available in an effort to advance awareness and understanding of issues relating to civil rights, economics, individual rights, international affairs, liberty, science & technology, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
At some point freedom of speech and copyright law merge. The following interpretation of "Fair Use" and subsequent posting policy were developed with the assistance of qualified legal council however, we are not lawyers and cannot offer you legal advise as to the limits of "Fair Use"
In accordance with industry accepted best practices we ask that users limit their copy / paste of copyrighted material to the relevant portions of the article you wish to discuss and no more than 50% of the source material, provide a link back to the original article and provide your original comments / criticism in your post with the article.
Though legally each situation is evaluated independently according to guidelines that were intentionally left open to interpretation, we believe generally this policy represents "Fair Use" of any such copyrighted material for the purposes of education and discussion.
You are responsible for what you "publish" on the internet. You must be sure any copyrighted material you choose to post for discussion on this forum falls within the limits of "Fair Use" as defined by the law.
If you are a legal copyright holder or a designated agent for such and you believe a post on this website falls outside the boundaries of "Fair Use" and legitimately infringes on yours or your clients copyright
we may be contacted concerning copyright matters at:
If you require a courier address please send a fax or email and we will provide you with the required information.
For expedited human review & removal of potential copyright violations we encourage users & copyright holders to utilize the "Report Copyright Violation" button that accompanies each post published on this website.
In accordance with section 512 of the U.S. Copyright Act our contact information has been registered with the United States Copyright Office. "Safe Harbor" noticing procedures as outlined in the DMCA apply to this website concerning all 3rd party posts published herein.
If notice is given of an alleged copyright violation we will act expeditiously to remove or disable access to the material(s) in question. It is our strict policy to disable access to accounts of repeat copyright violators. We will also ban the IP address of repeat offenders from future posting on this website with or without a registered account.
All 3rd party material posted on this website is copyright the respective owners / authors. Atomicbobs.com makes no claim of copyright on such material.
Please be aware any communications sent complaining about a post on this website may be posted publicly at the discretion of the administration.
---
DON'T BREAK THE LAW!
---
Other than that you can do / say whatever you want on this forum.
We reserve the right to block access to this website by any individual or organization at any time for any reason whatsoever or no reason at all.
| 
