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When the physicists need burner phones, that's when you know America's changed

(www.theguardian.com)
267 points giuliomagnifico | 10 comments | 29 Mar 25 18:45 UTC | HN request time: 1.036s | source | bottom
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j_bum ◴[29 Mar 25 19:39 UTC] No.43518027[source]▶
> The looming crisis in the US is beginning to remind people in Europe of the 1930s, when the UK and the US began to realise that Jewish scientists needed to be rescued from the Nazis.

I feel like I’m living on a different planet. I am not saying things are OK in the US at the moment, but … are you kidding me? This is one of the most asinine statements I’ve ever read.

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1. thrance ◴[29 Mar 25 19:48 UTC] No.43518117[source]▶
The comparison is apt. Things didn't start that bad in Germany either. But day by day, reform after reform... Look back on the past, imagine hearing about a visiting french scientist getting detained at the border for having criticized the president under Obama, and realize how insane that would have been, how normal it seems today, how far this country has gotten and where it is currently headed.
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2. j_bum ◴[29 Mar 25 19:51 UTC] No.43518143[source]▶
I agree that it is insane what’s happening. I do not think this country is on a good trajectory.

But I think the analogy in TFA is also insane.

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3. thrance ◴[29 Mar 25 20:01 UTC] No.43518224[source]▶
Time will tell I guess, let's hope it really is unwarranted.
4. mnky9800n ◴[29 Mar 25 20:10 UTC] No.43518292[source]▶
i think the comparison to nazi germany only muddies the waters. america is not nazi germany, it did not just get thrashed in ww1 and blamed for everyone's problems. it does not have the option to massively industrialize. everything is different. that doesn't mean america cannot turn into a fascist state if it feels like doing so. it means that the nuances as to what are going on in america right now is not the same nuances as what happened in germany 100 years ago and those nuances are important to understanding what is happening.
5. p_j_w ◴[29 Mar 25 20:29 UTC] No.43518452[source]▶
> But I think the analogy in TFA is also insane.

Why? This change has happened over the course of a couple of months. The trajectory is there.

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6. j_bum ◴[29 Mar 25 20:37 UTC] No.43518515{3}[source]▶
TFA is equating the beginnings of the ethnic cleansings of a highly and historically persecuted peoples to the authoritative actions against politically active citizens and non-citizens. I’m sure there are many cases with classified rationale, and many that are also blatantly illegal.

I’ll keep reiterating: I don’t think what’s happening in the US is ok. But I also don’t think the analogy is ok.

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7. cyberax ◴[29 Mar 25 20:41 UTC] No.43518539[source]▶
> But I think the analogy in TFA is also insane.

That's what people in Russia were thinking in 2012. And now people there are literally arrested just for saying a wrong thing.

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8. fatbird ◴[29 Mar 25 20:49 UTC] No.43518615{4}[source]▶
Those politically active citizens and non-citizens have a fairly distinguishable ethnic slant. Your logic-chopping the analogy looks like rationalization.
9. LastTrain ◴[30 Mar 25 13:28 UTC] No.43524028{4}[source]▶
You stop A from happening so B doesn't happen. You Stop B from happening so C doesn't happen, and so on. Sure, it may not lead to ethnic cleansing, and likely will not, but it only can when people are complacent. Picking people up off the street for doing nothing illegal and depriving them of due process is a huge fucking deal, I can't help that a majority of people in this country are ignorant as to why. Re: "I'm sure there are many cases with classified rationale", this is your tell. You are perfectly fine with this happening here and there, which is dangerous to the rest of us.
10. LastTrain ◴[01 Apr 25 12:44 UTC] No.43546111{3}[source]▶
And here now too.