# What Effect Will Trump's Concentration Camps have on his reelection campaign? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 19, 2019, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738 "2019-06-19T12:15:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/281 "2019-06-25T18:40:04Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The topic is “concentration camp”, not “holocaust”, despite your attempts to conflate the two. Who here has compared what is happening to those children a “holocaust”? Mine was not an attempt to conflate “holocaust” with “concentration camp” but to share an opinion about the labeling of migrant detention centers as “concentration camps”, which, AFAICT, is just the Left’s latest attempt to label things it doesn’t like as Nazis / “literally Hitler”. If they (the migrant detention centers) are so bad, one would think you wouldn’t need to resort to a “rhetorical cudgel” and Godwinizing the discussion to make your case. Just tell us about how they have the wrong flavor of toothpaste and leave the nazis out of it. Is that so hard? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/282 "2019-06-25T18:55:11Z")
No, they’re concentration camps. Did you support Bush’s use of torture openly or did you pretend that what you supported wasn’t torture? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/283 "2019-06-25T18:57:42Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Mine was not an attempt to conflate “holocaust” with “concentration camp” but to share an opinion about the labeling of migrant detention centers as “concentration camps”, which, AFAICT, is just the Left’s latest attempt to label things it doesn’t like as Nazis / “literally Hitler”. If they (the migrant detention centers) are so bad, one would think you wouldn’t need to resort to a “rhetorical cudgel” and Godwinizing the discussion to make your case. Just tell us about how they have the wrong flavor of toothpaste and leave the nazis out of it. Is that so hard? Someone here keeps bringing up Nazis, Hitler and The Holocaust, and I don’t think it is us lefties. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/284 "2019-06-25T19:10:44Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Someone here keeps bringing up Nazis, Hitler and The Holocaust, and I don’t think it is us lefties. Did you read the OP? It mentions “the nazis” twice. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/285 "2019-06-25T19:13:55Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Just tell us about how they have the wrong flavor of toothpaste and leave the nazis out of it. Is that so hard? Even if he was gassing them, I’m sure you’d argue Trump was using a different flavour of poison gas than the Nazis. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/286 "2019-06-25T19:17:14Z")
Do note that I cite the holocaust museum myself - and bring up quite a few times in post 272. 4 posts later, we have someone making the precise mistake I just pointed out. Does **Ditka** remark on how deeply uncomfortable it is to say “The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum unequivocally rejects efforts to create analogies between the Holocaust and other events, whether historical or contemporary” while simultaneously holding exhibits on “early warning signs” and the Syrian genocide? No points for guessing. :rolleyes: Meanwhile, in the news that doesn’t come straight from [a Trump appointee](https://www.ushmm.org/information/press/press-releases/president-trump-appoints-howard-m-lorber-as-museum-chairman), [here’s Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-concentration-camps-immigrants-detention-centers-southern-border-experts-1445483), with a long, long, long list of academics who agree that these are concentration camps. 🙂 Also, as pointed out upthread, any accusation of “Godwinizing” is deeply ironic, as Mike Godwin has endorsed AOC’s take and taken Chris Hayes to task for hedging. Let’s waste no more time on that nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/287 "2019-06-25T19:23:25Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Just tell us about how they have the wrong flavor of toothpaste and leave the nazis out of it. Is that so hard? Yes, in fact it IS hard to tell you about how the detainees have the wrong flavor of toothpaste because THEY DON’T HAVE ANY TOOTHPASTE! And I, as someone with claim to being being Jewish and who’s father’s family was nearly wiped out in the Holocaust, have NO PROBLEM comparing the “facilities” on our southern borders with the general term “concentration camp”. But do carry on as if nothing terrible or even merely bad is happening, done by your government, in your name, with your tax dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/288 "2019-06-25T19:35:36Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Just tell us about how they have the wrong flavor of toothpaste and leave the nazis out of it. Is that so hard? **Ditka** , serious question. Are you aware of the conditions in the camps? Because the sheer flippancy of this statement tells me one of two things: 1. You don’t actually know anything about what’s going on in the camps at the border. In which case: I welcome you to read the thread, or even just the very first link in the very first post of the thread. In this case, I welcome your apology for saying something so incredibly insensitive and wrong. 2. You know, and you are so unbothered by it that you don’t see a problem using these kids as the butt of jokes. I implore your basic human decency to look into the conditions, and just… not say shit like this. It’s not funny. It’s not cute. It’s propagandizing for concentration camps by downplaying and mocking what’s happening to the victims. I know you and I have our disagreements, but I feel like “children being kept in unsafe, inhumane conditions” shouldn’t be a partisan issue to be mocked. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/289 "2019-06-25T19:44:27Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I don’t think that running concentration camps is going to lose Trump any support. It may motivate other people to come out and vote against him, but his supporters are clearly ready to excuse him, and will go back to old tired rhetoric like ‘they shouldn’t have come here illegally’ when defending the practice of imprisoning children and not even providing them soap to bathe with. > > Also, it’s darkly amusing to look back at Trump supporters in the past who defended him with things along the lines of ‘he may not on the best of terms with Mexicans, but he’s not creating concentration camps, stop exaggerating’. While I don’t think there was that much on this board, I definitely remember seeing and hearing that. And on this board there are things like the below from just two years ago that make you wonder what’s next, > > [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=828153](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=828153) (2017) I agree. As I posted on another thread, here’s what is next: “Hey, you can’t call these concentration camps! That is a term reserved ONLY for those in WWII Germany! And besides, our centers are not using Zyklon B gas. We use only VX organophosphorus gas, which is much more efficient and humane. And the sub-humans are transported to OUR centers using trucks not trains. So it’s TOTALLY DIFFERENT” ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/290 "2019-06-25T19:47:13Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Did you read the OP? It mentions “the nazis” twice. And your post mentioned Nazis too, which is why I have a hard time taking it seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/291 "2019-06-25T19:56:46Z")
When the arguments from the GOP start to come down to “We’re not EXACTLY like the Nazis”… You know we’re nearing the bottom of the barrel. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/292 "2019-06-25T20:03:42Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > **Ditka** , serious question. Are you aware of the conditions in the camps? … I’m aware of some of the reports of conditions in the “camps”. I don’t generally find those sources terribly credible. I think they, like you, have an agenda they’re propagandizing for and pushing, and they’ll pick a couple of anecdotes and try to pretend / imply that those exceptions represent conditions generally. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/293 "2019-06-25T20:06:30Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > When the arguments from the GOP start to come down to “We’re not EXACTLY like the Nazis”… You know we’re nearing the bottom of the barrel. Out of curiosity, do we have any GOP elected officials left who, y’know, fought Nazis? Abroad or at home? (Obviously WWII vets are very old at this point, but what about people who fought “Illinois Nazis” and the like?) ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/294 "2019-06-25T20:07:19Z")
So… “Fake news” Gotcha. Sleep well tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/295 "2019-06-25T20:07:31Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > When the arguments from the GOP start to come down to “We’re not EXACTLY like the Nazis”… You know we’re nearing the bottom of the barrel. When the arguments from the Dems start off “You are EXACTLY like the Nazis” there’s not much further down to go. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/296 "2019-06-25T20:15:03Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m aware of some of the reports of conditions in the “camps”. I don’t generally find those sources terribly credible. I think they, like you, have an agenda they’re propagandizing for and pushing, and they’ll pick a couple of anecdotes and try to pretend / imply that those exceptions represent conditions generally. The banality of evil. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/297 "2019-06-25T20:20:13Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > When the arguments from the Dems start off “You are EXACTLY like the Nazis” there’s not much further down to go. Don’t underestimate yourself. We’ve learned not to long ago. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/298 "2019-06-25T20:21:03Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m aware of some of the reports of conditions in the “camps”. I don’t generally find those sources terribly credible. I think they, like you, have an agenda they’re propagandizing for and pushing, and they’ll pick a couple of anecdotes and try to pretend / imply that those exceptions represent conditions generally. What sources _would_ you find credible? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/299 "2019-06-25T20:21:32Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > When the arguments from the Dems start off “You are EXACTLY like the Nazis” there’s not much further down to go. > > Regards, > Shodan And yet that’s not what is happening. “These are concentration camps” “WHAT! This is nothing like the Nazis! You are an idiot!” That’s the conversation that’s happening. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/300 "2019-06-25T20:27:56Z")
Well, at least now we have a good reminder of what the Trump-supporter’s response is - “It’s all fake news”. Look, while I understand that this is an opinion that some people hold, the fact that some people hold it does not make it in any sense a serious opinion worthy of respect or further acknowledgement and I think we’d all do well to not give it more respect than it deserves. Remember, best practices when dealing with - let’s just call them “things that are definitely not true”, because I don’t know if the error is intentional or not - is to restate the truth without repeating the untrue statement, so as not to trigger the “illusory truth” effect. While I’m surely not accusing anyone in the thread of lying, [this article](https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/words-matter/201807/when-correcting-lie-dont-repeat-it-do-instead-2) dealing with lies is still very useful when talking about how to deal with statements that are simply false: Instead of directly repeating a false claim, consider this framing instead: “The facts are X, but some have falsely claimed Y. Let’s focus on X.” This is a simple solution that journalists, social media managers, fact-checking websites, and individuals can use to make sure that we spread truth, not lies. This advice is especially valuable if you’re worried that there’s an ongoing propaganda war, and that powerful people are trying to get others to believe the thing that isn’t true. Like that the conditions at the camps are not as bad as [countless](http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/the-inhumane-conditions-at-migrant-detention-camps.html) [independent](https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a27813648/concentration-camps-southern-border-migrant-detention-facilities-trump/) ([and DHS](https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/31/politics/inspector-general-warns-overcrowded-conditions/index.html)!) [reports](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-firsthand-report-of-inhumane-conditions-at-a-migrant-childrens-detention-facility) have made them out to be. The _truth_ is that they not only are that bad, but that the specific joke in question refers not only to [a report](https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/06/236127/migrant-children-without-soap-overcrowded-detention-centers) that children don’t have access to toothpaste (or soap, or diapers), but also the a lawyer from the trump administration arguing that these things are [not necessary under existing law](https://www.gq.com/story/trump-doj-safe-and-sanitary). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738.md?page=16)