# It wasn’t a coup **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 13, 2021, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407 "2021-01-13T05:29:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 36
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/702 "2021-02-02T19:10:04Z")
Though with not nearly so much at stake. Had the nascent tiny USA fallen apart in 17-whenever, it may well have ended up in a not too different place today. Overturning the US government now and ushering in white supremacist fascists for the next however-many years or decades is a rather bigger deal. And not just because there are more Americans now or that you and I happen to be alive now. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/703 "2021-02-02T20:13:00Z")
Posted this in the other Trump thread’ [# Poor handling of virus cost Trump his reelection, campaign autopsy finds](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/poor-handling-of-virus-cost-trump-his-reelection-campaign-autopsy-finds/ar-BB1diLrr?li=BBnb7Kz) The long and the short of it is that the campaign knew long before the election that loss was a near certainty. _Because Trump wouldn’t listen to advice._ > Advisers repeatedly encouraged Trump to wear a mask, stop attacking Fauci and signal to the public that he was taking the coronavirus more seriously, particularly after he was hospitalized and given an experimental drug. Trump was largely resistant and mocked the virus down the stretch, sarcastically saying “Covid, covid, covid” at his rallies and falsely predicting the virus would leave the news after the election ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/704 "2021-02-02T20:14:44Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Holy shit, what a Powerball of crazy that Axios story is When the movie of the trump administration comes out - and you know it will - the scene of that meeting will rival the oft-parodied Hitler-in-the-bunker scene in Downfall for sheer crazy. And it won’t be a parody. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/705 "2021-02-02T20:38:09Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Or plough or sleigh or weigh or though, which we all know are pronounced “ploff”, “sleiff”, “weiff”, and “thoff”. English is easy when you know the rules. I just might need a draught beer after this discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/706 "2021-02-02T20:59:19Z")
Beer is good. There has been a drought here… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/707 "2021-02-02T21:35:16Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I always heard it pronounced with an “r” growing up. And yes, light brown, not green. [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaki) mentions a “khaki green” which is close to the US Army’s olive drab but says it’s a term used in commonwealth countries. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/708 "2021-02-02T22:19:25Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > There has been a drought here… Well, close the windough. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/709 "2021-02-03T00:18:00Z")
Sure, as soon as I take Fi-[annnoyed grunt] for a walk. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/710 "2021-02-03T02:01:10Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I always heard it pronounced with an “r” growing up. For the life of me, I can’t even figure out where the “r” sound would go. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/711 "2021-02-03T02:38:45Z")
**kaylasdad99** nailed it in his joke. > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I said REVERSE-engineer. A Bostonian who says “khaki” is talking about a _caR key_ . ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/712 "2021-02-03T07:41:51Z")
Tip o’ the hat! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/713 "2021-02-03T13:53:26Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > who doesn’t laugh about “horse doovers” > [@Morgyn](#): > > [whispers] I used to pronounce that “whores d overs”. [/w] Reminds me of the time some friends and I were driving through downtown DC on the way to an early dinner. One of my buddies pointed out that the streetwalkers were out early, before our dinner even, and I said, “they’re the whore d’oeuvres.” ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/714 "2021-02-04T23:54:56Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > In my opinion, the sedition against John Adams was worse. Alexander Hamilton, according to at least one historian I’ve read, thought seriously about removing Adams from office. I believe those days were worse, and a greater danger, than the events of January '21. I will have to study some history. > [@DesertDog](#): > > [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaki) mentions a “khaki green” which is close to the US Army’s olive drab but says it’s a term used in commonwealth countries. It also talks about the pants that are sometimes referred to for fabric type not color. The wonders of language. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/715 "2021-02-05T01:02:25Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > In my opinion, the sedition against John Adams was worse. I’m no student of the first Adams Administration, but [this timeline by U.Va.'s Miller Center](https://millercenter.org/president/john-adams/key-events) certainly makes it sound like what Adams called ‘sedition’ was what we’d call “freedom of the press” and that the real crime was Adams’ (and later Jefferson’s) use of the Sedition Acts to charge and imprison those who opposed him. So I’d be interested to know what sedition you had in mind that the U.Va. folks left off the timeline. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/716 "2021-02-05T01:33:12Z")
There was fierce anti-Adams sentiment, especially in southern states. Per at least one writer (Ian W. Toll, author of “Six Frigates,” the early history of the US Navy) Al Hamilton seriously considered removing Adams from office by force. There were some early nullification arguments, and some early secession arguments. It was, I think, worse than anything ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/717 "2021-02-05T06:01:42Z")
Hamilton was a private lawyer during the Adams administration. How would he have removed a sitting president? ---
**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:** [February 5, 2021, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/718 "2021-02-05T06:30:45Z")
Ohh, maybe he and some friends could have stormed the capitol! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/719 "2021-02-05T08:01:49Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > > [@Irishman](#): > > > > who doesn’t laugh about “horse doovers” > > > [@Morgyn](#): > > > > [whispers] I used to pronounce that “whores d overs”. [/w] > > Reminds me of the time some friends and I were driving through downtown DC on the way to an early dinner. One of my buddies pointed out that the streetwalkers were out early, before our dinner even, and I said, “they’re the whore d’oeuvres.” Hilarious. It puts me in mind of an amusing anecdote I once heard at choir practice from a Catholic priest: _Three Oxford dons were walking along the High street one afternoon, having a spirited discussion about collective nouns, when they happened to pass three young ladies of, umm, negotiable affection._ _“Hark!” said the youngest. “A trey of tarts!”_ _“You are mistaken,” responded the middle of the three. “It is more correctly a fanfare of strumpets.”_ _“My dear fellows,” offered the oldest. “That was an anthology of English pros.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/720 "2021-02-05T20:37:02Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > There is literally no way to view this as anything other than an attempted coup Fully agreed, but this was a coup attempt that employed terrorism as its M.O. Some coups are done by cloak & dagger; some are done by army maneuvers. This one, however, used terrorism as its means. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/721 "2021-02-05T20:48:35Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Fully agreed, but this was a coup attempt that employed terrorism as its M.O. Some coups are done by cloak & dagger; some are done by army maneuvers. This one, however, used terrorism as its means. No disagreement, and frankly the groups involved should be placed on the terrorist watch list along with Al Quida, ISIS, et cetera. I’m somewhat leery in giving them too much credence, however, because the last thing I want is for a “War on [Domestic] Terror” to result in further erosion of civil liberties and a justification for increasing government surveillance on the general public absent a specific threat, but there is certainly a need for a coordinated law enforcement effort to develop a better awareness the threat of domestic terrorism, and to make a focused effort to purge it from their own ranks as there are clearly many sympathizers for this nonsense in law enforcement and military circles. Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407.md?page=35) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407.md?page=37)