# So, this is what it looks like before the war. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 19, 2016, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407 "2016-11-19T07:25:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/61 "2016-11-19T20:27:34Z")
No more excuses, asshole. This is on you. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/62 "2016-11-19T20:32:09Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Oh, so not all laws are the same in your eyes! Excuse me! It took you several posts to indicate that you could tell the difference. You’re excused, of course. I mean, I thought it pretty much went without saying that felonies should draw different punishments than misdemeanors do – and that different felonies should be punished differently from other felonies – but I sure am glad to have spelled that out for you. We’re both aware that some cars cost more than others, right? I mean, I kinda figured that was too obvious to be worth spending time on – but if you’re unclear on that, if you need it patiently explained to you, I’m, like, _here,_ y’know? I’m just a guy who owns two cars, and I paid more for one than for the other, and I never thought that was at all remarkable. Oh, and some books are longer than others. You already knew that, I hope? Had you figured that I knew that, or did you need to be told? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/63 "2016-11-19T20:32:50Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Are you really saying that we’re going to have Auschwitzes, Chelmnos and Treblinkas here in the US? :smack: Yes, that’s what I’m saying. Trump has his storm troopers in the law enforcement agencies that actively supported him. He has his Reichstag fire in the 9/11 attacks. He has run on purges–purges which will be carried out regardless of actual criminality, because of course we already deport criminals. We have a lot of desert in the west. We won’t even need to dig ditches to bury the bodies, we can just pile them on the ground. He is racist and he’s crazy. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/64 "2016-11-19T20:34:13Z")
And you could have helped stop it. But you didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/65 "2016-11-19T20:37:43Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > No more excuses, asshole. This is on you. Yes, it is. I am to blame. I really saw Trump as a fool, a Berlusconi, and a\* hypothetical I wasn’t taking seriously\* until he won. I saw the Hitler motifs and I acted like the USA was still inoculated against that nonsense. I thought Hillary would gimmick in on her sex. When I saw he’d won, I was blown away. When I saw my state’s voters give him 59% of the vote in my state, I was blown away. And it hit me. We have a Nazi on the way to the White House. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/66 "2016-11-19T20:41:46Z")
To repeat, since it’s necessary: You need to STFU, asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/67 "2016-11-19T20:57:14Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > He has his Reichstag fire in the 9/11 attacks. An attack from 15 years ago doesn’t resonate or work anymore. If Trump wanted a Reichstag he’d need something new. Maybe an American version of the 2015 Paris attacks. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/68 "2016-11-19T21:09:12Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Yes, it is. I am to blame. > > I really saw Trump as a fool, a Berlusconi, and a\* hypothetical I wasn’t taking seriously\* until he won. I saw the Hitler motifs and I acted like the USA was still inoculated against that nonsense. > > I thought Hillary would gimmick in on her sex. > > When I saw he’d won, I was blown away. When I saw my state’s voters give him 59% of the vote in my state, I was blown away. > > And it hit me. We have a Nazi on the way to the White House. No, we don’t. So many fucking Chicken Littles on this board. And I say this as someone who voted for Hillary. And it was a vote _for_ her, not a throwaway vote against Trump. ---
**Author:** ![UberArchetype](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/2bfe46/32.png) [@UberArchetype](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UberArchetype)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/69 "2016-11-19T21:14:42Z")
In the Pit, no less?! Whodathunkit? :smack: ---
**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:** [November 19, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/70 "2016-11-19T21:16:55Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Oh, for crying out loud. > > I just watched a campaign, an _election,_ where (a) one side stood up and made the wacky assertion that we should treat lawbreakers like lawbreakers, and (b) the other side said, _whoa, hold on; that’s a really tough question._ Because he’s calling for ethnic cleansing. These so-called campaigns against “illegal immigration” are never about immigration, legal or otherwise. They are about persecuting the _entirety_ of an ethnic group. Including legal citizens. Any such attempt at a purge is going to be targeted at _anyone_ who “looks Mexican” or has a Mexican sounding name. It won’t matter if you’re somebody whose grandparents immigrated from India, if you are brown you risk being “sent back to Mexico”. Or just killed, because you don’t forcibly remove tens of millions of people without lots of killing and brutality. Also being an undocumented immigrant isn’t a \*crime \*in the first place. > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > The majority of people who voted for Trump do not think the sudden suspension of civil liberties is a good idea. If that as true they wouldn’t have voted for him and the Republicans. They wanted tyrants, so they put tyrants into power. > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > The voters are banking on cooler heads prevailing in Congress. Much of what he has proposed, such as mass deportation, is not possible. Of course it’s possible. You just force brown people into trucks at gunpoint, drive them to the Mexican border and dump them off there. Many of them will be dead and most probably won’t even be immigrants, but this has nothing to do with immigration, anyway. This is about persecuting brown people, and getting rid of them. > [@voltaire](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Some conservatives are just that dumb, some are craven, some really believe in white supremacy, and some are cynical enough to embrace purges as a means to keep power, > > And some, I assume, are good people. No. If they were good people, they wouldn’t be conservative in the first place. Being a conservative is\* about \*hurting and oppressing people, and how is that good? “Good conservative” is like “murderous pacifist”, a contradiction. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/71 "2016-11-19T21:17:26Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > I did notice the other day that a woman who posted a really racist remark on whateverbook about Michelle Obama not only got herself in trouble but also got her friend (who said it was a great post) fired from being mayor of a small town in West Virginia. Maybe “the people” are not as eager to embrace racism as some of you seem to fear. Even though W. Va. voted heavily for Trump. > > I agree he’s not a “normal” politician, but I don’t think the end of democracy is coming this year or next. I do think we should keep on calling out racism wherever it appears, though. As we seem to be doing so far. The mayor wasn’t fired. She resigned. I agree the Facebook post was racist and unacceptable, and so was “liking” it. It was insensitive on both of their parts. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/72 "2016-11-19T21:24:35Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Then Paul took a turn for the wurst and was set up on a bier. I saw what you did there. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/73 "2016-11-19T21:38:22Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Heh. In fairness, though, I’m maybe not especially interested in you discussing _that_ one further; I went on to ask whether you find things complicated and fraught when asked about _other_ lawbreakers across the spectrum. > > Whether you find things ‘complicated and fraught’ when asked about pickpockets, or rapists, or murderers; or armed robbers; or kidnappers; or perjurers. Whether you manage to answer _those_ questions readily. > > If you don’t feel like discussing any of that – well, that’s fine, too, I guess. But, again, I suspect and hope I know the answer. I agree, I don’t know why anyone bothers having a discussion about lawbreakers, it’s obvious how to deal with them. With no wringing or equivocating, I will answer your list. Pickpockets: Cut off their hands; rapists:cut off their penis, then shoot them in the head; murderers: shoot them in the head;armed robbers:cut off their hands, then shoot them in the head; kidnappers: shoot them in the head; perjurers: cut out their tongue. Any other answers is adding needless complication. Anything less is just being against law and order. See how easy that was. No discussion or difficulty, and we are all done in time for mimosas. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/74 "2016-11-19T21:38:52Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The mayor wasn’t fired. She resigned. I agree the Facebook post was racist and unacceptable, and so was “liking” it. It was insensitive on both of their parts. Just “insensitive”? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/75 "2016-11-19T22:16:52Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Just “insensitive”? Or whatever the fuck you want to throw in the quarry. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/76 "2016-11-19T22:18:12Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Let’s be clear. Trump ran as a political racist from Day One. He is still talking about _immediately_ deporting or incarcerating 2 million people. Aren’t you forgetting that these are illegal immigrants of all races? > [@](#): > > His closest adviser, Steve Bannon, is a _professional bigot._ Cite? Being right-wing doesn’t make you a bigot. Nor do unsubstantiated accusations. > [@](#): > > The USA may well be a one-party state shortly. Nazis don’t tolerate dissident parties. We can transfer power to Herr Hitler in “orderly” fashion, but he won’t leave in such a fashion. I’ve read some alarming stuff in my time, but I think this is paranoid drivel. > [@](#): > > And in any case, we are not _really_ a “nation of laws.” Congress is supreme over the law, and Congress is right-wing now. The Voting Rights Act is a dead letter, and Congress will be right-wing until a military defeat. Remind me how much Obama was able to accomplish? Yes, he’s started America down the road to UHC, but it’s a small start. Trump is going to be constrained by the Senate, Congress, the bureaucracy, etc. Despite the paranoid ravings of many, the Us is a stable country, unlike 1930s Germany. > [@](#): > > I suppose California, and other states with large Chicano populations, will attempt to leave the union given this state of affairs. But even if they don’t, we are in the opening stages of some kind of civil war. Let’s hope it’s not a fascist curb-stomp victory and the beginning of a millennium of unchallenged White Power. Whah whah whaa. You sound like those who want Scottish independence just because there’s a Tory government in Westminster. Get over it. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/77 "2016-11-20T00:25:59Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Yes, that’s what I’m saying. > > Trump has his storm troopers in the law enforcement agencies that actively supported him. > He has his Reichstag fire in the 9/11 attacks. > He has run on purges–purges which will be carried out regardless of actual criminality, because of course we already deport criminals. > We have a lot of desert in the west. We won’t even need to dig ditches to bury the bodies, we can just pile them on the ground. > He is racist and he’s crazy. Typical Bernie Bro. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2016, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/78 "2016-11-20T00:33:33Z")
Found this badass article on StarSlateCodex regarding Trump, racism, and liberal hysteria. Long, but well worth the read. > **[You Are Still Crying Wolf](https://slatestarcodex.com/2016/11/16/you-are-still-crying-wolf/)** > > Go away, pro-Trump bots \[Update 5/30: I originally took this post down because it got picked up by some pro-Trump accounts that I think were bots which would post it several times a day to various … In case it’s not obvious, I am very much a liberal, but this shit’s getting ridiculous and embarrassing. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2016, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/79 "2016-11-20T00:57:04Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > See how easy that was. No discussion or difficulty, and we are all done in time for mimosas. No penalty for drunkenness? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/80 "2016-11-20T01:36:43Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > He has run on purges–purges which will be carried out regardless of actual criminality, because of course we already deport criminals. > We have a lot of desert in the west. We won’t even need to dig ditches to bury the bodies, we can just pile them on the ground. I reiterate - we’re _already_ doing mass deportations. The “deportation force” Trump talks about _already exists_. We’ve deported as many people under Obama as Trump is promising to do now. At no point did these deportations involve purges, ethnic cleansing, concentration camps, or piles of bodies in the desert. Trump’s immigration policy is essentially to continue the status quo. You’re being paranoid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407.md?page=5)