Thread by @WeirwoodRaven

Images of anonymously uniformed federal agents arresting protestors in Portland feels like fascism. We are witnessing the ground level of something terrible.

It reminds me of a deeply disturbing book called Ordinary Men by Christopher R. Browning.

#Portland
#NeverForget

1/

Ordinary Men describes the descent of average German citizens to murderers who would say things like, "It was supposed to be...soothing to my conscience to release children unable to live without their mothers," describing how they rationalized murdering children.

#Holocaust

2/

"...it was desirable at the time that platoon leaders were also party members, I entered the party shortly before the outbreak of the war." - Nazi Lt. Drucker, reflecting on his time in a mobile killing squad.

It certainly didn't start that way.

3/

"My entry into the general SS in May 1933 is explained by the fact that at the time the SS was seen as a purely defensive formation." -Nazi Captain Hoffman reflecting on his time in a mobile killing squad.

16- Nazi High School Group
18- Hitler Youth
19- Nazi Party, SS

4/

Most of these men rationalize away their actions but stating they were simply following orders, someone else would have just done it if they had not, some considered "a quick death without the agony of anticipation" as an act of "human compassion."

5/

These are men who committed "atrocity by policy."

It is stated that a major contributing factor to the ability of the SS to commit "atrocity as policy" was the polarized climate, an Us vs. Them mindset, and distancing.

Anonymous uniforms are a form of distancing.

#Portland

6/

The hateful and divisive language of @realDonaldTrump creates the Us. vs. Them mindset. It deepens the distance between those in authority and those they believe are "them."

There is a reason why Police have identifiers. There is a reason why these forced do not.

#Portland

7/

How do you pick a Storm Trooper out of a lineup?

Can you identify which unmarked mystery police force member violated your civil rights?

#Portland

8/

"Atrocity as policy" can also be "standard operating procedure."

Nazis killing 100 civilians because 1 Nazi soldier was killed was standard operating procedure.

9/

Christopher R. Browning discusses the role of "desk murderers," those who never touched a weapon but were complicit in the creation and execution of orders that led to the deaths of millions of people.

Bureacracy is another form of distancing.

10/

Think of all of the politicians who have coddled and enabled @realDonaldTrump and #BillBarr to bring us to this place.

What orders have they passed on that will lead to deaths?

11/

The Nazis were very mindful of the psychological toll that mass murder took on their soldiers.

There were certainly weeding out processes. Remember: "...it was desirable at the time that platoon leaders were also party members."

12/

Ultimately, the practice of mobile death squads ended not because of their brutality, but because of the emotional toll it was taking on the men who were responsible for the calculated, cold-blooded, and systematic murder of thousand and thousands of innocent people.

13/

Browning notes that a certain type of personality seemed best suited for the type of Nazis who excelled at "atrocity as policy" and seemed unphased by the psychological trauma that shook other men to their core:

Authoritarian personalities.

@realDonaldTrump #BillBarr

14/

Browning describes these men as "unusually violence-prone."

These men are described as having deep-seeded personality traits that make them susceptible to FASCISM.

Ready to hear them?

#CreepingFascism

15/

Traits of individuals susceptible to Fascism, as per Browning:
1. Adherence to conventional values
2. Obedience to authority
3. Aggressiveness towards out-groups
4.Opposition to introspection
5.Obsession with power and toughness
6.Tendency towards superstition and stereotype

16/

Traits of individuals susceptible to Fascism, as per Browning contd.:
7.Cynicism
8."the disposition to believe that wild and dangerous things go on in the world"
9. Exaggerated concern with sexuality
10. Aggressive Impulses

#CreepingFascism

17/

How many people does that describe that you know? How many politicians? What is happening to the people in government who are speaking out against this type of thought?

They are being shunned, fired, ostracized, they are having charges cooked up against them.

18/

After the war, Browning notes that the men who showed these personalities seemed to revert back to law-abiding citizens. Few would seriously consider the reasons for their violence and murdering. They were simply following orders, that is enough justification for them.

19/

The problem with just following orders? They don't have to.

"In the past 45 years no defense attorney or defendant...has been able to document a single case in which refusal to obey an order to kill unarmed civilians resulted in the allegedly inevitable dire punishment."

20/

Anonymous uniforms, distancing, Us. vs. Them, obedience to authority.

None of this is normal.

It is not American.

#Portland
#TrumpFascism
#Holocaust
#CreepyTrump
#PortlandProtest

21/

*Forced=forces

https://twitter.com/WeirwoodRaven/status/1230930760045072384