# 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:** 42
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/821 "2019-08-13T16:27:45Z")
I’d also like to pooh-pooh **Bone** ’s apparent pooh-poohing of folks who get very angry about small-scale instances of government action (or inaction) that results in suffering. Without such anger, there’d be almost no chance of ever fixing these sorts of small-scale atrocities. By our history, it’s usually through this kind of anger and activism that such things change. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/822 "2019-08-13T16:36:58Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > This idea of morality wasn’t brought up in earnest until iiandyiiii introduced it in post #762 and #763. There were some mentions of morality prior to that, but the discussion was ongoing for quite some time before it took a turn towards morality. It’s been there all along. Examples: posts #27, 36, 39, 46. You can argue whether it’s been the _dominant_ theme in the discussion (not sure what you mean by ‘in earnest’ if those posts don’t qualify), but morality has at the very least been a major subtheme of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/823 "2019-08-13T16:40:03Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I’d also like to pooh-pooh **Bone** ’s apparent pooh-poohing of folks who get very angry about small-scale instances of government action (or inaction) that results in suffering. Without such anger, there’d be almost no chance of ever fixing these sorts of small-scale atrocities. By our history, it’s usually through this kind of anger and activism that such things change. To follow up on this thought, **Bone** , do you think it was wrong, or ineffective, or tiresome, or some other negative descriptor, for Civil Rights activists to use the murder of Medger Evers to try and emotionally appeal to parents across the country? It seems incredibly obvious to me that this was very effective, and (of course) by my moral system, the right thing to do. What about you? ---
**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:** [August 13, 2019, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/824 "2019-08-13T16:47:40Z")
If you know of a man who has stolen some bread to feed his starving child, you must turn him in because IT IS THE LAW. It does not matter if the end result is that he will be tossed in a dank cell, and his child will die. IT IS THE LAW. Stop with your mushy appeal to emotions. We must all FOLLOW THE LAW, otherwise we are no more than animals. If a law is passed that says left-handed people are an abomination, then we must not question THE LAW. We must do as THE LAW tells us. There is no morality, no human emotion allowed in this equation. There is only THE LAW. au·thor·i·tar·i·an·ism /ôˌTHäriˈterēənizəm/ noun the enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom. lack of concern for the wishes or opinions of others. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/825 "2019-08-13T16:49:30Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > This disconnect is what I’m trying to get to the bottom of – and you’ve repeatedly been ignoring my questions about Civil Rights and gay rights. Do you believe CR and gay rights leaders attempted to appeal to morality and/or emotions? If so, do you believe this was a counterproductive tactic? IMO, there was no chance of success without such tactics. I’m sure all avenues were taken, and different people are persuaded by different things. The outcomes have been positive so far, and hopefully continue that way. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/826 "2019-08-13T16:51:06Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > If you know of a man who has stolen some bread to feed his starving child, you must turn him in because IT IS THE LAW. > It does not matter if the end result is that he will be tossed in a dank cell, and his child will die. IT IS THE LAW. > > Stop with your mushy appeal to emotions. We must all FOLLOW THE LAW, otherwise we are no more than animals. > > If a law is passed that says left-handed people are an abomination, then we must not question THE LAW. We must do as THE LAW tells us. There is no morality, no human emotion allowed in this equation. There is only THE LAW. > > au·thor·i·tar·i·an·ism > /ôˌTHäriˈterēənizəm/ > > noun > the enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom. > lack of concern for the wishes or opinions of others. If your post was a joke, my apologies. “We must all FOLLOW THE LAW, otherwise we are no more than animals.” If we follow the law under the circumstances you describe, we ARE animals. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/827 "2019-08-13T16:53:38Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > If you know of a man who has stolen some bread to feed his starving child, you must turn him in because IT IS THE LAW. > It does not matter if the end result is that he will be tossed in a dank cell, and his child will die. IT IS THE LAW. And yet, that’s not the law. Good job with the false hyperbole though, really nailed it! You mention authoritarianism, yet I’m a libertarian. The mind boggles. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/828 "2019-08-13T16:53:44Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > I’m sure all avenues were taken, and different people are persuaded by different things. The outcomes have been positive so far, and hopefully continue that way. This sounds good to me, but different than my understanding of what you were saying previously. If “appeals to emotion” result in policies that no longer send mentally ill homeless people to their deaths in countries they have no connection to, wouldn’t that be a good thing? ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/829 "2019-08-13T17:10:00Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > . Allowing discretion means that you’d be okay with deporting some mentally ill criminals who have been in the country virtually since right after birth. Because if you’re not okay with that sometimes, then you’re not actually in favor of discretion. Actually no. To my knowledge the law itself makes no mention one way or the other about mental illness. To use that as a mitigating factor is the definition of discretion. So discretion would be deciding that mentally ill petty criminals should not be sent to a troubled country where they don’t know the language, but a person who entered the country illegally as an adult to sell Meth should be sent back. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/830 "2019-08-13T17:39:03Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > And yet, that’s not the law. Good job with the false hyperbole though, really nailed it! You mention authoritarianism, yet I’m a libertarian. The mind boggles. Rosa Parks should have stayed at the back of the bus. It was THE LAW. She should not have let her emotions get the better of her, and just waited patiently for the day when she might have been allowed at the front of the bus. Really, she should have just been grateful she was allowed on the bus in the first place. I don’t care if you classify yourself as libertarian, conservative, left, right whatever. This is not, I believe, a forum for comments about others of a personal nature. Following THE LAW with no moral foundation will, in my opinion, frequently put you on the wrong side of history. This is (again, in my opinion) the case with Trump’s concentration camps, and also the case with deporting a mentally ill homeless person to a country he has never lived in, with an expected outcome that he will die. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/831 "2019-08-13T19:20:18Z")
Well, we’ll just have to remind ourselves the primal importance of following the letter of the law without question or thought the next time the subject arises of what to do if government becomes tyrannical. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/832 "2019-08-13T19:24:45Z")
Good to know that when the second amendment is repealed and guns are banned that there will be no objecting to following the letter of the law and all the weapons will be turned in peacefully. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/833 "2019-08-13T19:36:42Z")
I think that it is not the discussion of morality that is upsetting to some, but the inevitable discussion of _im_morality that follows. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/834 "2019-08-13T19:43:58Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Good to know that when the second amendment is repealed and guns are banned that there will be no objecting to following the letter of the law and all the weapons will be turned in peacefully. It’s a direct implication of **Bone** ’s argument here concerning morality that that’s what **should** happen. If invoking morality shouldn’t be done because it can be used as a (strictly metaphorical) cudgel against anything, then it goes without saying that owning guns shouldn’t be done because their capacity to be used against **people** \> capacity of literal cudgels to be used against people \> capacity of metaphorical cudgels to be used against ideas. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/835 "2019-08-13T19:54:56Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Good to know that when the second amendment is repealed and guns are banned that there will be no objecting to following the letter of the law and all the weapons will be turned in peacefully. “when” seems more than a tad presumptuous. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/836 "2019-08-13T20:23:21Z")
It might be worth noting that a tyrannical government \*depends \*on its people unquestioningly following whatever the law is. If that position becomes generally accepted, then the takeover is already complete. Historical parallels, anyone? Current ones, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/837 "2019-08-13T20:41:20Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > If invoking morality shouldn’t be done because it can be used as a (strictly metaphorical) cudgel against anything, then it goes without saying that owning guns shouldn’t be done because their capacity to be used against **people** \> capacity of literal cudgels to be used against people \> capacity of metaphorical cudgels to be used against ideas. You and others are misconstruing my statement. Here is what I wrote, and you previously quoted: > [@Bone](#): > > Anytime someone presents an argument as one of morality, I pretty much reject it. The thing is, we probably don’t share the same sense of morality. Sure, there is likely heavy overlap because of shared experiences, etc. and we probably agree more than we disagree. But given we each work with our individual experiences, there are bound to be differences and that is where disagreements may arise. Arguing morality to me, is a fool’s errand and I leave it to religious zealots. Morality as a cudgel draped in righteousness can often lead to hyperbolic escalation. > > I have my own sense of morality, and it informs my actions. I don’t expect others to conform to my morality. No where did I say that invoking morality shouldn’t be done. Do it to your heart’s content. I personally don’t find those types of arguments persuasive. They are essentially,[‘won’t someone think of the children’](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_of_the_children) arguments. See what I said about hyperbolic escalation - that’s pretty much what happened. You have me saying deporting this person was a bad outcome, and the next step is genocide! ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/838 "2019-08-13T20:58:42Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > You and others are misconstruing my statement. Here is what I wrote, and you previously quoted: > > No where did I say that invoking morality shouldn’t be done. Do it to your heart’s content. I personally don’t find those types of arguments persuasive. They are essentially,[‘won’t someone think of the children’](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_of_the_children) arguments. > > See what I said about hyperbolic escalation - that’s pretty much what happened. You have me saying deporting this person was a bad outcome, and the next step is genocide! What convinced you to support gay rights, if not morality? ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/839 "2019-08-13T21:06:49Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > What convinced you to support gay rights, if not morality? Wanting the government out of the lives of individuals to the maximum extent possible, the 14th amendment, Loving v. Virginia, nearly a decade of reading Andrew Sullivan, and not being a fucking asshole. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/840 "2019-08-13T21:07:56Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Wanting the government out of the lives of individuals to the maximum extent possible, the 14th amendment, Loving v. Virginia, nearly a decade of reading Andrew Sullivan, and not being a fucking asshole. So, morality, then. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738.md?page=41) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738.md?page=43)