Thread by @dcpetterson

I was reminded of a known psychological syndrome that explains what we see in today's Republican Party. It's the same thing that happened to Nazis. It happens sometimes in war, and it is common among the ruling class in most authoritarian regimes.

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Once one's acts have gone beyond a certain point of inhumanity, it's necessary to keep going lest the realization takes hold that one has become a monster. Each act of depravity demands another that is worse still, to justify the previous one.

That's why there's no bottom.

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Once locked into this cycle of self-reinforcing cruelty and sociopathy, the descent cannot be stopped. It ends only in self-immolation or in violent suppression by an outside force.

The cycle can be triggered within a single isolated person, or a mob-mentality group.

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An isolated person, left to himself, will spiral into increasingly depraved and sadistic acts, rationalizing each further perversion as a consequence of the last.

Members of a mob or club will dare each other to go past any previous limits.

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These sorts of self-reinforcing mobs often initiate new members by requiring them to perform some act far beyond the pale of acceptable social behavior (the classic extreme acts are sadistic murder rituals and/or cannibalism).

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If there is a leader of one of these mob cults, he's invariably the most cruel among them. Sometimes he takes part in the rituals, but often he gets his rocks off simply knowing he can force others to act in extreme, inhuman and dehumanizing ways.

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The Republican Party has become one of these cults. That's why Republican voters delight in the obscene acts of the Gestap-- sorry, ICE. They love the idea of The Poors losing healthcare and so being forced to die. They're caught in the spiral.

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The bully-arm of this cult--elected Republicans--can't let themselves back away now. They've gone too far in allowing, encouraging, defending and enabling the inhuman cruelty. To stop now is to admit to having been a part of the depravity.

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The only way for Republicans to deny their guilt is to insist they did nothing wrong, and then to prove it to themselves by doing something worse still.

As for their God-King--they must defend Trump at all costs. Republicans can't be evil, if they're not as bad as he is.

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And Trump can't be evil, if they allow him to do the next thing which is more cruel still.

This exonerates them all.

And Trump--he is Caligula, but unrestrained and worshiped by his followers who need him to push ever-farther into the filth to justify themselves.

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If left unchecked, there will be extermination camps and rape centers. There will be roving gangs of redhats semi-authorized to wreak intentional terror. There will be no courts, but rather summary executions.

All done, of course, in the Name of God.

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We've seen this story play out countless times in the history of totalitarianism.

If Democrats keep allowing ourselves to be divided, we'll be unable to stop it peacefully from within.

Choose over the next few months which direction you want the future to take.

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