The question is how to make the public "understand."
We live in an age of disinformation. Lots of people watch Fox News and believe what they see.
There are a few ways I think about this.
First, who out there hasn't already formed an opinion about what happened on Jan. 6?
1/
We live in an age of disinformation. Lots of people watch Fox News and believe what they see.
There are a few ways I think about this.
First, who out there hasn't already formed an opinion about what happened on Jan. 6?
1/
https://twitter.com/BlaneErwin/status/1483625208044998657
On one hand, I believe that direct evidence will come out making it hard to deny that Trump committed crimes.
On the other hand, the Republicans have long seen lawbreaking as a badge of honor.
They glorify lawbreaking . . .
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On the other hand, the Republicans have long seen lawbreaking as a badge of honor.
They glorify lawbreaking . . .
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There is a fantasy that indictments will create a huge change in how people vote. I don't think that.
Can you imagine these guys saying, "Trump got indicted! Oh no! He's in big trouble! We should fold up shop and learn to love liberal democracy."
I don't think so.
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Can you imagine these guys saying, "Trump got indicted! Oh no! He's in big trouble! We should fold up shop and learn to love liberal democracy."
I don't think so.
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I've talked elsewhere about why Republicans glorify lawbreaking: They don't think the laws should exist. They want to go back to the days before the New Deal and before the Civil Rights movement when there were very few limitations on what white men could do.
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On the frontier, they could grab land.
Before sexual harassment and other laws, they could grab women. For much of our history, rape was a property crime. Rape laws were intended to protect [white] men from false accusations. They weren't there to protect women from attack.
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Before sexual harassment and other laws, they could grab women. For much of our history, rape was a property crime. Rape laws were intended to protect [white] men from false accusations. They weren't there to protect women from attack.
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Women were expected to guard the goods. Don't get me started on the history of rape laws (even though I already sort of got started 🤣)
Before the new deal and regulatory agencies, white men could fix prices, manipulate markets, launder money, etc.
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Before the new deal and regulatory agencies, white men could fix prices, manipulate markets, launder money, etc.
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Trump and pals will spin any indictments or convictions as political prosecution and their followers will believe it.
Another way to see it is that things that seem obvious to us are not obvious to others.
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Another way to see it is that things that seem obvious to us are not obvious to others.
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Susan B. Anthony had a difficult time persuading people, including women, that women should have equal rights.
It should be obvious that the party responsible for the insurrection and who is now shielding the insurrectionists should be driven to power.
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It should be obvious that the party responsible for the insurrection and who is now shielding the insurrectionists should be driven to power.
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So how do we make the public understand?
It's hard. It was hard for abolitionists to get rid of slavery. It was hard for women to get the right to vote.
I think there is a strong pull toward autocracy (slavery and Jim Crow were forms of autocracy).
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It's hard. It was hard for abolitionists to get rid of slavery. It was hard for women to get the right to vote.
I think there is a strong pull toward autocracy (slavery and Jim Crow were forms of autocracy).
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https://twitter.com/BlaneErwin/status/1483625208044998657
I think a lot of people don't want to put in the work necessary to create a democracy. They want magic bullets and there aren't any.
The only solution I can see is constantly working to turn out the voters who want democracy to survive.
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The only solution I can see is constantly working to turn out the voters who want democracy to survive.
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That could be enough, but it only happens with a lot of work.
I see the crime spree of the Trump era as a political problem AND a law enforcement problem.
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I see the crime spree of the Trump era as a political problem AND a law enforcement problem.
https://twitter.com/j_consolidation/status/1483665936880185344
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I think that the select committee primetime hearings are likely to be more effective than trials.
Real-life trials are not like in the movies. They can be frustrating and harrowing and often don't come out as we like.
Juries are unpredictable.
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Real-life trials are not like in the movies. They can be frustrating and harrowing and often don't come out as we like.
Juries are unpredictable.
https://twitter.com/janespane/status/1483667438663262208
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I'm not sure screaming from the rooftops is the answer to people who just don't get it. They're likely to think we are chicken littles.
For people who don't get it, it seems to me that 🤔 is more effective than 🔥.
Here's the thing . . .
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For people who don't get it, it seems to me that 🤔 is more effective than 🔥.
Here's the thing . . .
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https://twitter.com/lauraddenison/status/1483668979289710592
I've never lived in an autocracy, but my husband and his family experienced the Pinochet dictatorship, so I can report second hand:
Your life goes on basically. You get up, have your coffee, go to work.
But, If you get into trouble, you get no help from the government.
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Your life goes on basically. You get up, have your coffee, go to work.
But, If you get into trouble, you get no help from the government.
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In an autocracy, the government isn't there to help you.
But today in the US, most people don't understand how much help they get from the government and how much they rely on public agencies designed to promote the public interest.
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But today in the US, most people don't understand how much help they get from the government and how much they rely on public agencies designed to promote the public interest.
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Agree ⤵️ In an autocracy, you have to be careful with what you say. You can't offend those in power.
But a lot of these things, non-political people don't notice in their daily lives.
And there was rampant corruption throughout a lot of US history.
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But a lot of these things, non-political people don't notice in their daily lives.
And there was rampant corruption throughout a lot of US history.
https://twitter.com/clickmomukhamo/status/1483672075378126852
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. . .corruption in the sense that in the 19th century, the wealthiest people were slaveowners who controlled all three branches of government and passed laws to benefit themselves.
Corruption in the sense that fixing prices wasn't illegal.
Consumer protection laws are new.
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Corruption in the sense that fixing prices wasn't illegal.
Consumer protection laws are new.
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Begin rant.
The criminal justice system doesn't exist to give people "faith."
Punishment is pain inflicted by the state.
It's serious and somber. Treat it respectfully. It's not a circus.
Nobody should need to see people punished to give them "faith."
Rant over.
The criminal justice system doesn't exist to give people "faith."
Punishment is pain inflicted by the state.
It's serious and somber. Treat it respectfully. It's not a circus.
Nobody should need to see people punished to give them "faith."
Rant over.
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