No surprise!
German Chancellor denounced Trump administration’s support of Germany's Nazi Party and hate speech promotion.
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/15/nx-s1-5298683/jd-vance-afd-germany-olaf-scholz-musk
Nazi Party? Sure, because they are against war and for free speech. If your history book tells you that's similar to Nazis then it's written by uneducated left lunatics.
shareThe Germans have learned it the hard way.
Me born in Germany in the 60s have live through the aftermath of it.
My grandfather born in 1897 who served in both world wars as a German soldier, has spent the entire rest of his life repeating several times a day "never again war". His favorite addition to that was "they shall negotiate indefinitely, even without hope for results, just keep negotiating, because as long as they are negotiating they won't throw bombs".
My parents both born around 1940 spent their childhood in destruction and misery.
They were the strongest supporters of the slogan that came up in the 70s "wehret den Anfängen", which Google translates to "nip it in the bud" or literally translates to "beware of the beginnings".
To this day, my own generation included, the Germans are extremely sensitive to the first indications that can lead to facism.
I myself have intensly studied the events before the two world wars and the time in between, because I really wanted to know what my parents and grandparents were talking about.
Only in eastern Germany, which was for 40 years under Russian control, where what came after the war wasn't much better than what they had during the war, namely a permanent shortage of about anything, we see the fascists returning today. They simply haven't experienced what social democracy during the 70s was like and by the time in 89 when the reunification happened the right wingers had long gotten hold of politics again. Even though these right wingers were still democrats, under them things for the middle class had already gotten so bad that the eastern Germans figured, since they came out of 40 years socialism and since the moderate right seemed to be so bad, the logic idea was to vote far right.
From a western German perspective that's absurd, because the one thing that is the defining factor of social democracy that socialism doesn't have, which makes all the difference for the middle class, is liberal politics while the far right are maximized authoritarians.
In your world "liberal politics" presumably includes concerted efforts to ban popular parties like the AfD because they offend the State morality.
shareWhat a powerful post!
Many who have lived through authoritarianism have repeatedly warned about seeing the early signs of it in the U.S..
Economic struggles lead to a survival mentality which far-right extremists exploit with messages of division, nationalism, xenophobia and scapegoating. Many Republican policies since the 1970s only drove more wealth inequality which helped Trumpism gain a foothold.
European countries and American democrats should have been better prepared to defend against far-right extremism. They don't appear to take the threat to democracy and freedom seriously since I see no plan.
Western leftists have clamped down on free speech, debanked everyday citizens, tried to ban opposition parties, arrested and held show trials for dissidents, and repeatedly tried to murder a U.S. Presidential candidate, all in an effort to thwart popular will.
Tells us more about how you're on the side of angels.
Oh pleeease .... this sort of thing is an insult to the millions who do actually live under repressive regimes, the ones in China. N Korea, Russia, Afghanistan and the rest.
shareHere comes the White Knight.
And golly, Western governments aren't as bad as North Korea? Well, that makes it all right, doesn't it!
Western governments aren't as bad as North Korea? Well, that makes it all right, doesn't it!
We did see the early signs of it. It's why we voted democrats out of office.
If upholding the Constitution is "extremism", then I guess I'm an extremist..........to an extreme leftist.
You assholes are the oppressors and you're too dumb to realize it.
What never fails to amaze me is the reactions I get in here when I point out the one (and as far as I know only) example in the world that clearly shows that liberal politics is so much better than authoritarians.
Switzerland has throughout its entire history never participated in a war, they have no military worth mentioning but have managed to remain neutral while two consecutive world wars were raging all around them.
Switzerland has the most liberal politics imaginable (unfortunately that's limited to politics while business is still organized top down authoritarian), where the people have all the power because they can demand a referendum on any political decision they don't like.
I bet nobody here knows the name of any Swiss politician, simply because those aren't more than the servants of the people.
Switzerland has virtually no corruption in politics because it's totally pointless bribing politicians into doing something that will for sure be overturned by the people in the next referendum.
There's no shortage of attempts of the rich in Switzerland pushing for right wing politics, i.e. they have tried several times to abolish public media and replace it with just private media, but the people have always demanded a referendum on that and voted with overwhelming majorities to maintain public media, because the Swiss know private media is the source of fake news and right wing propaganda.
I can't even count anymore how many comments I got, all insisting that liberals shall be the worst possible evil or something like that, most often alongside such a level of foul language that I didn't bother replying to them but just put them on my ignore list.
I mean how obvious can it be, that a factual (without even needing a law about it) minimum wage of over $25 an hour is better than a minimum wage by law of $7.25 that the authoritarians in the US actually want to entirely terminate now.
Switzerland has no homeless people, low unemployment and never had a terrorist attack in the country, even though they have the highest percentage of immigrants of all European countries, simply because no immigrant earning $25 an hour will be willing to lose his job and go to jail.
The only type of comment I haven't gotten (yet) when I point this out, was someone claiming Switzerland shall be socialists, which is weird because for the right wingers in here liberal and socialist seem to be just two different words for the same thing.
But then I guess, over $25 an hour and a thriving economy isn't really a good example for how bad socialism is.
The problem is that right-wingers are ruled by their emotions instead of brains. Their politicians tap into their hatred, fear and anger especially against "other" with the culture wars. They would rather feel good about sticking it to "other" even when it means they are hurt also. The rich have used this divide and conquer strategy against the poorer classes for centuries.
I believe the left-wing responds better to positivity like hope which explains Obama's strong support. But in 2024, Democrats used a lot of fear tactics about abortion, authoritarianism, etc. while bombing Gaza and demonizing protestors against genocide. The Left aren't going to support that.
DNC communication is also very bad. Inflation came down and the economy was strong but both were ignored.
Notice how inflation is going up along with unemployment but it's a non-issue for Trumpites now. Messaging and emotion. That's my 2-cents anyway.
Why do you believe the Democrats lost?
"They would rather feel good about sticking it to "other" even when it means they are hurt also."
Decades ago there was a survey result published, I believe it was in Germany, but not sure and either way may have happened in other countries in parallel as well.
The survey asked
Would you want a 49% wage increase under the condition that your neighbor gets a 51% wage increase, or would you rather take a 49% wage cut under the condition that your neighbor gets a 51% wage cut?
I don't remember the percentages, but over 50% of all answers would choose the wage cut.
"Why do you believe the Democrats lost?"
I've written in over a dozen posts of mine here in this forum in always different wording, I believe Democrats lost near exclusively because of their war mongering, when Harris pointed out several dozen times during her campaign that she would keep Bidens support for Ukraine and Israel going, sending them money and weapons.
For left wing voters this "lesser evil" was still too bad to vote for.
Furthermore I believe it wasn't Democrats switching sides and voting for Trump, it's been Democrats staying home and not voting that gave Republicans the majority.
It would be interesting to know if the people in the survey leaned right or left.
I agree. I came thisclose to staying home also. The Left wants their leaders to be moral.
As far as I remember it was people all across the board, but obviously there's always the problem of most people not knowing where "left" would be.
I mean look at politics in Europe
https://www.politicalcompass.org/euchart
There just isn't anything located on the left, there are (just like in the US) hard right wingers and a little bit less right wingers who are defined to be left.
Look at the political spectrum in Germany
https://www.politicalcompass.org/germany2021
and then realize that "Die Linke" barely gets 5% of the votes, meaning 95% of all voters vote permanently for right wingers and at least half of them don't even know it.
The elections coming up next sunday will be interesting because last year there has formed a new party, left-authoritarians, literal socialists, polls say they won't reach 5% (where 5% is the minimum a party must get to get seats in parlament), but I wouldn't wonder if those would get more votes than the left-liberals.
You spelled Kamala Harris incorrectly.
shareAnd Trudeau.
Remember when some people were treated like second class citizens for making medical choices and had their bank accounts frozen when they protested against the government? Some of us do. Where was everyone calling out fascism then?
What’s even more pathetic is the left is trying to shame President Trump for not having mercy or compassion yet I don’t seem to remember them showing any mercy to Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray, any of the parents designated as domestic terrorists for questioning their child’s school curriculum, any of the children who were manipulated into “consenting” into having their genitals removed, the victims of Hurricane Helene, etc.
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