Trump's reference to "racehorse theory" in Minnesota was straight-up eugenics

[bigtree]

Steve Silberman @stevesilberman 1h
Yes, Trump's reference to "racehorse theory" in Minnesota was straight-up eugenics - the kind that leads to ethnic cleansing and holocausts.

Trump’s gene comments ‘indistinguishable from Nazi rhetoric’, expert on Holocaust says

___The US president praised the genes of Minnesotans during a campaign rally in the city of Bemidji last week, during which he also derided refugees, gloated about a reporter being shot with a rubber bullet, and praised a general who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

“This state was pioneered by men and women who braved the wilderness and the winters to build a better life for themselves and for their families. They were tough, and they were strong. You have good genes, you know that, right?” Mr Trump said to applause from supporters.

“You have good genes. A lot of it’s about the genes isn’t it, don’t you believe? The racehorse theory you think was so different? You have good genes in Minnesota.”

Mr Trump’s comments were widely condemned as echoing the language of eugenicists, who believe the human race can be improved genetically by selective breeding.

“As a historian who has written about the Holocaust, I'll say bluntly: This is indistinguishable from the Nazi rhetoric that led to Jews, disabled people, LGBTQ, Romani and others being exterminated,” Steve Silberman, an acclaimed science writer who has covered the Nazi treatment of people with autism, said on Twitter.

read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-genes-racehorse-theory-nazi-eugenics-holocaust-twitter-b511858.html

[madaboutharry]

1. He is talking about the Scandinavians who settled across Minnesota and Iowa in the 1800's.

The same people the Nazis saw as the genetic ideal. Important to note, with the exception of Vidkun Quisling and his fellow nazi collaborators, an ideal roundly rejected by the Nordic people themselves.

Trump is an American Quisling.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. You nailed it.

But,what the hell does Trump really know? Only thing he spews is something he heard fifteen minutes ago on OAN or Murdoch.

Never in the fifty plus years of calling on out state Minnesota had I once heard the term Horse Race. Eugenics yes,especially in the mostly Germanic towns and cities. Even in 2003 there was a hard core group in one Southern Minny City,and that I would expect knowing most of the Cities Movers and Shakers.. BTW,not till Vietnam did the hostility of WW2,between Scandinavian Towns and Germanic Towns finally change. Doing route sales in the early sixties one learned enough Swede,Norwegian and Dane in order to have a successful sales career. The one language that I just could not master was Finn. Only had one Town in my territory and my tow accounts were German owned.

[Thomas Hurt]

3. (shakes head) when are they going to stop dancing around it and just call Trump a fascist.

[mr_lebowski]

4. The way I see things, 'eugenicists' are not necessarily wrong as such

"who believe the human race can be improved genetically by selective breeding"

I think that belief is demonstrably 'true'.

However ... the rub comes in with 'how does one define 'improvement'?

And of course the questions 'who gets to decide that definition', and 'what would the implementation look like' are also quite problematic.

But the fundamental concept is scientifically sound.

Just sayin.