The people standing behind Trump at his rallies.

[lunatica]

For the first time I realize who they are and it woke me up and scares me. They are the brown shirts, the concentration camp guards, the Gestapo, the good Germans, the anonymous callers who turn their neighbors in to the state police, the people who acquired the properties and personal effects of the interned Japanese, the people who took Native American lands for themselves, the hunters of African people to sell them as slaves, and the modern day ICE agents who are ripping families apart because “it’s their job. What else can they do?”

History is replete with these people and what they do. I don’t need to list every example.

People like Trump are nothing without these enablers and sycophants.

We are insane to try to win these people over or to even think we could. And we are enablers if we don’t fight them with everything we have.

[superpatriotman]

1. Dead eyes no souls

nt

[lunatica]

4. They look just like us

and in many ways they act like us. That’s my point.

[OhNo-Really]

37. All hoping for a job inflicting some form of misery/control on "them"

Authoritarian rule rewards "loyalists" not talent.

This explains people like DeVos heading Bureau of Ed.

Hoefully enough will suffer sufficiently like the farmers in soaked NC & SC to cross over so their kids don't starve and have to live under a bridge.

[forgotmylogin]

66. I think they're getting paid on Craigslist.

It's $5 extra if they bring a sign.

[OhNo-Really]

67. desparate people if so

[Wellstone ruled]

2. You are so right.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Some of them are also people who answered ads in Craigslist for paid claqueurs.

[lunatica]

6. And they would easily move onto more violent activies

[KPN]

88. +1.

[Brother Buzz]

7. Some of them look like people who are waiting for their promised a free buffet

[olegramps]

33. Or those gourge yourself slop lines of all you can stomach.

[Brother Buzz]

45. I thought that was what I was implying

[Louis1895]

8. A new word for my vocabulary!

claque | klak |
noun
1 a group of sycophantic followers: the President was surrounded by a claque of scheming bureaucrats.

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/claque

I wonder how many of the claquers make it to multiple regional speeches by Trump. There is frequently the black guy behind Trump who has his own Wikipedia page.

[Historic NY]

64. The black guy is one of Trumps traveling circus ......

[kentuck]

5. And they are paid to be enthusiastic ...

it's the visual they want .

[HipChick]

9. Hired help..the same smoke and mirrors he did when he came down the escalator..

Hired folks there to stand around and clap..

[lunatica]

13. I think they're now his true believers.

There’s a difference.

[brooklynite]

10. Sigh.....

We're NOT trying to win them over.

We're trying to win over the Trump voters who PREVIOUSLY VOTED FOR OBAMA. People who aren't going to his rallies. Tarring every Trump voter is bad politics.

[lunatica]

12. I tarred the people standing behind Trump in his rallies.

Are you going to defend them too?

[Atticus]

17. Sigh----"tarring every Trump voter"? Who did that? nt

[Butterflylady]

70. Those voters, the ones who voted for Obama,

have already been awakened and wish they could take back their vote.

[lunatica]

11. They're more dangerous than Trump is

because they would and will do his bidding no matter how depraved it is.

He knows this. He is quite open about cementing their blind loyalty to him. All he has to do is whip their basest emotions up to a froth. He doesn’t need to promise them much or even need to give them anything in the end.

[brooklynite]

14. "We are insane to try to win these people over'

As I said, we're not trying to. We're trying to win over the approachable 5-10% of Trump voters -- who aren't at the rallies.

[lunatica]

15. If you read my OP

You’ll see I’m referring to the people standing behind him in his rallies. The people you’re referring to aren’t even there.

[brooklynite]

22. And I'm referring to your suggestion that we are trying to win them over

[lunatica]

24. Obviously we disagree on reality.

[brooklynite]

27. Point to any evidence that we ARE trying to win them over...

[lunatica]

41. I don't need to when it's self evident

[brooklynite]

43. Then it should be easy...

[LanternWaste]

54. I too dismiss the obvious and request the inane to support anything other than my perspective.

And I'll rationalize it as anything other than what it is to preserve my ego as well.

[olegramps]

34. I agree. Trump knows he is manipulating these jerks. They are just stupid pawns.

[whopis01]

59. He loves the poorly educated. n/t

[Martin Eden]

16. Were they born Deplorable ...

... or is it learned behavior?

[lunatica]

18. I have no idea what creates people like that

It’s hard enough to even recognize them.

[Woodycall]

44. The Authoritarians - Bob Altemeyer

https://www.theauthoritarians.org/

This is the researcher/author that John Dean based much of his book "Conservatives Without Conscience" on which in itself is a great explanation of this horrible phenomenon.

Here's an excerpt:

Susceptibility to Liars

One consequence of the followers’ strong need for consensual validation, experiments have found, is that they will trust someone who says things they believe, even if there is a lot of evidence that the person does not really believe what he says. They’re just so glad to hear their views coming back to them, they ignore solid reasons why the person might be insincere or outright lying. Relatively UNauthoritarian people, on the other hand, are downright suspicious of someone who might have ulterior motives for reinforcing their beliefs.

[lunatica]

56. Thanks for the link

It explains a lot about the people who follow Trump!

[Martin Eden]

75. "just so glad to hear their views coming back to them"

... that does explain susceptibility to liars, but the question remains how those views were imbedded in the first place.

[HipChick]

19. It's easy to pull folks into a cult..

[Fred Sanders]

25. My dad always said "stupid people face backwards, smart people face forwards, pick a direction"!

Cults are stupid people, united in their stupidness and facing backwards toward their Leader in a herd.

[erronis]

51. Like that. Perfect visual and analogy.

[japple]

62. I think some people feel really lost and need someone to tell them what to do and how to act.

Maybe that's why they are such easy marks for TV preachers, cults, folks like Jim Jones and tRUMP.

[True Blue American]

36. Learned

A lot depends on your experiences in life and how you respond to them.

Some people spend their lives blaming others. Most take control and change.

I will welcome anyone who wants to vote for a Democrat. They changed their minds after experiencing a situation.

[Martin Eden]

76. Agreed

We all have different life experiences, and some are capable of change.

[jambo101]

20. Our best option

Is to vote trump and his trumpanzees out of existance come voting day.

[lunatica]

23. Exactly

It may also be our last chance now.

[MiniMe]

21. Plaid shirt guy made that obvious

[sandensea]

26. A lot of them would indeed be if given the chance.

At the risk of overgeneralizing, I have noticed the same thing among most Republicans since the Lumpball era began in the '92 election:

They're nothing if not hateful.

It's more important to most right-wing voters that their elected officials inflict harm on those they hate, than to see anything worthwhile be done for the country - even things that benefit them directly.

They really are pathological, most of them.

[uponit7771]

28. VERY VERY CLOSE !! The people Nazis got to gas others were true believers in the end cause the

... regular military were getting sick and it became one of the reasons the Nazis had to go to gas chambers.

Most humans didn't want to be around what the Nazis wanted to do en masse.

[smirkymonkey]

29. I'm just curious, because I don't remember ever seeing it, but

has any other presidential candidate conducted speeches or rallies with their supporters (i.e. paid actors) standing behind them?

There might have been, but I just don't remember it. I just find it very strange that he isn't speaking to their faces. They only seem be there to reflect to the viewer their insane devotion to this cheeto-dusted assclown.

It's just really fucked up.

[True Blue American]

38. My understanding is

Trump’s Staff plan these to feed his ego. That is how pathetic he is.

[lunatica]

47. It started with Bush

Remember when he stood on the ship with the banner “Mission Accomplished”?

?itemid=11955686

[LiberalArkie]

30. Like this guy?

[George II]

31. It came out during the campaign that many of those who stand behind him at rallies.....

....(not the throngs behind the camera who are wildly cheering him) are paid to be there.

[annabanana]

81. This

Scour the casting calls a week or so before a rally. . .

[George II]

83. They advertised on local craigslist under something like the "performers" category. The pay was....

....$10 an hour, a minimum of something like 3 or 4 hours.

I believe the actual ad was posted somewhere here on DU.

[pdsimdars]

32. That's why I think it is crazy for Dems to even take what they might think into account.

Many Democratic candidates always seem to be worried about what that group will think or how they'll react by this or that vote or action. No! Ignore them and focus on your OWN base and what THEY want and hope for. The good people far outnumber the bad ones. Speak to and work for them.

[lunatica]

87. You are absolutely right

You’re not going to win over people who want to see you hurt just for being liberal or a Democrat.

[griloco]

35. TrumpMarks

[House of Roberts]

39. You got read on Hartmann!

Nice one!

[lunatica]

48. ?

I don’t understand what you mean?

[stopwastingmymoney]

63. Thom Hartmann read your post on the radio this morning

Last edited Thu Oct 4, 2018, 12:41 AM - Edit history (1)

I heard it too

[lunatica]

69. Thanks for letting me know.

Wow!

That makes me feel good!

[lunasun]

80. Good post got a read out on the waves!

[iluvtennis]

40. You are spot on!!!

[catbyte]

42. Absolutely. And then there are the "lovely people who just want everyone to think happy thoughts"

[IMG][/IMG]

[magicarpet]

46. Good Germans....

TOP DEFINITION
Good German
Somebody who turns a blind eye to criminal atrocities committed by the government. This includes: needless war, lying to the public, stripping civil rights away from the public, ignoring laws held to keep it in check and disrespecting the general populac.

________



Good German
A citizen of Nazi Germany who participated in or overlooked atrocities while denying personal moral responsibility by appeal to his submission to supposedly legitimate authority.
The American CIA agents who relied on the White House legal justification of torture were nothing more than Good Germans.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Good%20German

[Silver1]

49. You are so right.

That's exactly who they are.

[sarah FAILIN]

50. There was a "handler" behind him last night

Long brown hair, white sweater, texting.... same woman that removed plaid shirt guy.

[gordianot]

52. They are scarier than Trump.

Some live next door, down the street, at work and are relatives. This is what they choose.

[vlyons]

53. The money grubbers

who motivate and inflame them are a bigger problem. Nothing will change, unless we get the dirty money and corruption out of politics.

[LudwigPastorius]

55. In your analogy, the people behind Trump are the Nazi party members and their supporters.

The "Good Germans" are the ones who remain(ed) silent, who didn't, or won't, actively oppose him.

[SWBTATTReg]

57. I can't believe that these people have jobs...who has time to drop everything, run to one of ...

idiot's campaign ripoff rallies, and stand there for at least 3 hours (not counting the time before and after the event either). The rest of us in America are working. All these people want to do is mouth off at others (I guess that's all they can do, since more than likely they don't have jobs).

I always wondered why rump picks way out of the way places in America to hold his stupid rallies. Now we know. He can get them because under his so called economic plan, they should be working but obviously aren't.

Doesn't rump even work?

[Cary]

58. True

[pstokely]

60. a combo of brownshirts and deadheads

tRump is their Jerry Garcia, following him from rally to rally

[BadgerMom]

61. I know I'm supposed to say, "I know there are good people from Mississippi."

I don't believe any/many are white. I traveled through it one time when we moved from Miami to southern California. I'll never go back for even so transitory a trip.

[spanone]

65. such diversity....

[LakeArenal]

68. I think everyone wants to belong and be validated.

Trump does that for what I think are fringe lunatics (no disrespect meant, lunatica).

They are validated to be dangerous, boorish clowns. (Deifinitely not the ha ha kind). Tastelessness, crassness, vulgarity is funny to them.

Add fart joke here.

[spanone]

71. 'Deplorable' is a compliment to these hateful, heartless slugs

[pangaia]

72. I wonder. Does it really matter what they think?

trump and the fascists will do what they want.

Do they really need those ignorant racist fuckers any more?

EXCEPT, of course, as the creators of violence?

[lunatica]

73. If Trump would ever get dictatorial powers

Those people would be the ones who would do his work for him. They would be the ones who turned us in and who would take our property. They would be his jailers, his secret police. That’s what I was trying to say. They aren’t nice people although they can be considered good people. They would go after those of us who disagree with Trump as if we were enemies of the state.

[pangaia]

74. You are right.

How do you see where the 'authorities' fit in? (God I HATE that word.)

Police, troopers, Nat guard, military

[lunatica]

77. I imagine it would be the same as other dictators do

All you need to do is replace the top ranks of all these with your people and the rank and file would fall into place. A great example is how Trump put Kirsten Nielsen as head of Homeland Security. He acquired her through JOHN Kelley, his Chief of Staff. Kiersjen Nielsen follows his orders without question so when he directed her to separate the children from their parents at the border she did it without hesitation. She ordered ICE to implement the order and they did it without question. There doesn’t seem to have been any hesitation or question about the legality of tearing families apart.

It’s not that hard to imagine Trump getting someone to replace Jeff Sessions who will follow his orders and replace the top ranks of law enforcement with people like the ones behind him in his rallies.

[pangaia]

78. That is frightening.. and when you explain it, it seems so obvious.

It is the way of the authoritarian dictator.

I throw around that phrase like a smarty pants, but have refused to really see what the consequences will be.


As if-- " Oh we now have an authoritarian dictatorship. OK, well, I have things to do. I have to go to rehearsal now. Or, I think I'll book a flight to visit my (hopefully ) girlfriend in Kyoto (which, BTW, I am doing next month) Okay, now I think I'll check in on DU.. Ooppss.. what happened to DU.. hello... are you there?"

[liberalmuse]

79. These people worry me, but you know who really terrifies me?

The vast majority of people in all of these situations throughout history who stood by, watched, and did nothing because they were safe or didn't want to take even the smallest risk to help. The truly evil people are small in number, but the complacent and apathetic people are the reason why they get chance after chance to commit atrocities. Go out amongst your friends, co-workers, neighbors and strangers and you will find out just how many people out there are clueless or don't give a shit about what our government is doing. Be scared when you find out how many people among you will justify putting children in cages or deporting and oppressing legal or illegal immigrants and green card holders, or about the police shooting unarmed persons of color. I could go on.

[lunatica]

82. What you say haunts me too

I know and worked with dozens of people who didn’t know about things and didn’t care. If I tried to tell them they just looked polite until they looked bored. Not a clue and couldn’t care less!

They are the true enablers.

[liberalmuse]

91. I have a co-worker from the UK.

He knows more about current events, civics and history than anyone I’ve ever met, including myself and some DUers. He told me he gets harassed a lot by Trump supporters and told to leave America if he has a problem with it. He debated on continuing with his citizenship after Trump was put in office, but he’s going through with it. He was in a bar and a MAGA harassed him and told him to leave America. He told him no thanks, he’s going to stay, stir some shit and fight Trump and his ilk. He told me the bar cheered, but we are near Seattle.

I wish there were more like him out there, more DUers out there, too, because this is what America needs. We need people to speak out loudly against what is happening, like that young lady warrior in yoga pants at the supermarket ( the video is here on DU).

[Liberalhammer]

84. Thom Hartmann read your post

On today's show.

[lunatica]

86. A few people upthread told me

It explains why this thread got so many views and recs. I’m totally blown away that he read it! And, of course, very happy!

Thanks for telling me!

[ZombiWoof]

85. i don't get it...

Acting against one's own best interests is just insane. How do these people not understand what it happening, or is that they do and they're just awful people? As a child, I was taught to look for the best in others, I just don't think that's possible anymore. Anyone who believes in that bag of orange shit is clearly insane. And now, there's a movie about how he was chosen by GOD!

The Trump Prophecy

[lunatica]

89. .

[sellitman]

90. I call them

The Ignorati