# I pit over-the-top Anti-Trump hysteria **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 5, 2025, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735 "2025-08-05T18:11:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/521 "2025-09-02T20:02:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’d say a bigger problem are people who are doing nothing while other people are losing their right to vote or due process or a decent wage and who say to themselves “Don’t look at me for help. I’m busy fighting slavery.” Are you _still_ yelling at people who don’t exist? After nearly a whole month? Man, imagine what you could accomplish if you invested the energy you put into _picking fights with your allies_ into fighting the actual enemy. ---
**Author:** ![Frilly\_Heck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/90ced4/32.png) [@Frilly\_Heck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frilly_Heck)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/522 "2025-09-02T20:02:30Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > This is sensible. Shaming people because they don’t share your opinions is not helpful. In my opinion Nemo is pretty much talking in circles, imagining these amorphous people who agree with them. This appears to enable them to preen and tell us how right he is. Thanks for reading what I wrote. I’ve been working hard on building community, and it has been a meaningful experience so far. I wish I could share more about that, but this is clearly not the thread for it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/523 "2025-09-02T20:20:12Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Man, imagine what you could accomplish if you invested the energy you put into _picking fights with your allies_ into fighting the actual enemy. I am fighting the actual enemy. And I’ve been telling you guys to stop fighting imaginary problems and join in the fight against the real enemy. I’m not going to quit the real fight and join in your imaginary fight. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/524 "2025-09-02T20:21:19Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Did I say that I don’t think that Laura Loomer is racist? I’m pretty sure I said the exact opposite, that she’s an odious, disgusting, ethnonationalist monster. I think you missed the point of my post completely. It wasn’t about her, in particular, but about the rhetorical strategy her communication employs. **Little Nemo** also missed the point. You are **so** committed to the binary, to black and white, that you don’t seem to understand that there’s a continuum, a grey area, a space in between. 1 mph is slow; 60 mph is fast; 120 is too fast. But if you’re going to go too fast, you can’t get there without passing 60 mph. All freeway speeders drive 60 mph at some point on their way to “too fast.” There isn’t a bright line between 60 and “too fast” the way there is between 0 and 120. You’re expecting a bright line to cross from “not genocide” to “genocide,” or “not racist” to “racist,” and seem to prefer that we ignore the repercussions of current reality in order to fight the evils of current reality. Weird, and fine if it works for you, but it’s really not how everyone else works. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/525 "2025-09-02T20:34:21Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > 1 mph is slow; 60 mph is fast; 120 is too fast. But if you’re going to go too fast, you can’t get there without passing 60 mph. All freeway speeders drive 60 mph at some point on their way to “too fast.” There isn’t a bright line between 60 and “too fast” the way there is between 0 and 120. Are all people who go 61 MPH on their way to 120 MPH? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/526 "2025-09-02T20:36:35Z")
In the numerous local rallies that my wife and I have attended, never once have we been grilled – asked to “ranked-choice vote” the particular issues – being very specific – that drew us to that event. It’s almost as if you’re drawing some sort of mystifying equivalence between @Der_Trihs and Laura Loomer here. Due respect? In my early days on the SDMB, I remember one venerated Doper saying to another venerated Doper – one whose stance he found inexplicable – that the latter had chosen an odd hill on which to die. This really seems like an odd hill on which you’re choosing to – proverbially – die. It’s painfully reminiscent of an _ad hoc_ flameout that I/we witnessed from **Smapti,** and – interestingly – on pretty much the same subject. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/527 "2025-09-02T20:44:02Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And I’ve been telling you guys to stop fighting imaginary problems and join in the fight against the real enemy. I’m going to regret this I’m sure… You want to tell us who the real enemy is? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/528 "2025-09-02T20:45:56Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > You’re expecting a bright line to cross from “not genocide” to “genocide,” or “not racist” to “racist,” By the way - this is an _excellent_ post, because it very effectively demonstrates the problem with the “genocide” crew. Genocide is a _legal term_. There _absolutely_ is an _extremely_ clear line between “genocide” and “not genocide”, like there is between “murder” and “not murder”. That’s what legal terms are so rigorously defined, with legalistic language rather than natural language. Specifically, the line between “genocide” and “not genocide” is termed _dolus specialis_. It’s a thing genocide advocates like to ignore, because it ruins their point of calling anything they don’t like “genocide”. “Racist” on the other hand is a vague descriptive term. You’re right, there’s no bright line between “racist” and “not racist”. So it’s _super telling_ that you would compare a rigorously defined legalistic term like “genocide” to a vibes based term like “racist”. It’s because _you treat genocide like it’s a vibes based term_. To you and your ilk, genocide doesn’t mean “the set of actions legally defined as genocide”; it quite literally means “thing I don’t like”. And your post _perfectly_ (though presumably unintentionally) demonstrates this. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/529 "2025-09-02T20:51:25Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Genocide is a _legal term_. There _absolutely_ is an _extremely_ clear line between “genocide” and “not genocide”, like there is between “murder” and “not murder”. That’s what legal terms are so rigorously defined, with legalistic language rather than natural language. Specifically, the line between “genocide” and “not genocide” is termed _dolus specialis_. It’s a thing genocide advocates like to ignore, because it ruins their point of calling anything they don’t like “genocide”. Bricker would be proud of you. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/530 "2025-09-02T20:55:45Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > To you and your ilk, genocide doesn’t mean “the set of actions legally defined as genocide”; it quite literally means “thing I don’t like”. In other words, you are still mad that people don’t agree with _your_ genocide denial and support for genocide. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/531 "2025-09-02T20:56:43Z")
No. Did I say that they were? My entire point was that it’s a grey area. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/532 "2025-09-02T20:58:14Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > To you and your ilk, genocide doesn’t mean “the set of actions legally defined as genocide”; I literally posted the UN definition of genocide above! I don’t define it as “things I don’t like.” Please read for comprehension. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/533 "2025-09-02T21:00:50Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I literally posted the UN definition of genocide above! And yet, you also said: > [@Dr.Drake](#): > > You’re expecting a bright line to cross from “not genocide” to “genocide,” or “not racist” to “racist,” You ignore the UN definition when it’s convenient for you. That’s ok - so does the UN. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/534 "2025-09-02T21:03:22Z")
My primary issue with that – apart from the fundamental nature of this OP – is how much _intent_ comes into play, and how much, and to what degree, that must be litigated and adjudicated. It’s worth referring to that UN page again: > **[Definitions of Genocide and Related Crimes | United Nations](https://www.un.org/en/genocide-prevention/definition)** The same argument applies to your use of murder as an example. As a nation – or, in the case of Genocide, as an international community – we _adjudicate_ these things at great length. Which differs significantly from taking impassioned sides on a message board. Sometimes, the aggressive certitude of positions taken on this Board – where the actual and critical facts are inherently neither _known nor knowable_ isn’t a great look. Fun, though. Big, BIG fun. I gotta’ say … ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/535 "2025-09-02T21:10:12Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > The same argument applies to your use of murder as an example. As a nation – or, in the case of Genocide, as an international community – we _adjudicate_ these things at great length. That doesn’t mean that there is a _gray area_. You either are, or are not, a murderer. That’s a _factual_ question, and there is an _absolute_ answer to it (in any given jurisdiction, at least). Society may not _know the answer_ offhand and may need to work to figure it out, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a binary. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/536 "2025-09-02T21:10:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I am fighting the actual enemy. Not in this thread, you aren’t. In this thread, you’re fighting a made-up shibboleth that does not exist anywhere in the real world. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And I’ve been telling you guys to stop fighting imaginary problems… “I’m not going to fight Trump on deportations, because I’m fighting him on genocide,” is 100% an imaginary problem. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m not going to quit the real fight and join in your imaginary fight. This is also an imaginary problem, because literally no one is asking you to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/537 "2025-09-02T21:11:50Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > In this thread, you’re fighting a made-up shibboleth that does not exist anywhere in the real world. That’s not a nice thing to say about Der\_Trihs. Unfortunately for all of us, he isn’t made up and unfortunately for anyone forced to interact with him in person he does exist in the real world. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/538 "2025-09-02T21:16:59Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > That’s not a nice thing to say about Der\_Trihs. The shibboleth is not, “Trump is going to commit genocide!” The shibboleth is, “Trump is going to commit genocide, and therefore, _I will not invest any effort in resisting Trump that’s not specifically about the genocide he’s going to commit._” ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/539 "2025-09-02T21:19:22Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > The shibboleth is, “Trump is going to commit genocide, and therefore, _I will not invest any effort in resisting Trump that’s not specifically about the genocide he’s going to commit._” Is that what Little Nemo said? I thought it was more like, “When DerTrihs is ranting and raving about Trump committing genocide and feeding all Hispanic people to alligators, normies wipe the spittle off their face and decide that lefties are as crazy as MAGA are”. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/540 "2025-09-02T21:43:26Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Is that what Little Nemo said? Yes, explicitly and repeatedly > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But you go to her and ask _“What about the way the government is kidnapping people? Aren’t you going to help us with that fight?”_ And she says _“No, sorry, I put all of my efforts into stopping the genocide, which was a greater horror. I don’t have anything left for fighting kidnapping, which isn’t as horrible as genocide anyway.”_ > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > That’s right. You can’t do anything about black people being arrested because you’re focusing on the struggle against genocide. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s people like you who say you’re too busy fighting against genocide when you’re asked to join the fight against illegal arrests. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’d say a bigger problem are people who are doing nothing while other people are losing their right to vote or due process or a decent wage and who say to themselves “Don’t look at me for help. I’m busy fighting slavery.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735.md?page=28)