Bill Barr says Trump often suggested executing rivals in heated White House outbursts

Despite Bill Barr’s repeatedly voicing concerns about Donald Trump, he has now said he will vote for him again this November

Bill Barr has claimed Donald Trump often suggested executing his political rivals during heated moments of his four-year tenure in the White House.

Former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin told The View back in December that Mr Trump once called for a staff member to be put to death for leaking a story about the then-president going down to a bunker during Black Lives Matter protests in summer 2020.

Former Trump administration attorney general Mr Barr was asked about the claims during an interview on CNN last week.

DefiantBidet,

and yet when pressed, “the Biden administration’s liberal agenda” is worse than anything - ANYTHING - Trump ever did.

fucking shill.

Dubskee,
@Dubskee@lemmy.world avatar

That’s facts, though.

ArbitraryValue,

I vote for the party that wants to protect abortion rights. It would take quite a lot for me to vote for any anti-abortion Republican. I think Trump-level disrespect for democracy from the hypothetical Democrat would be enough to change my vote, but I’m not sure some people I know would vote for the Republican even then. Would expecting Republicans to vote for Biden be a double standard in this context?

(What this doesn’t explain is why Trump was so overwhelmingly popular in the primaries.)

FlyingSquid,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

My dad used to say, and this was back in the Bush era, that the wort Democrat was better than the best Republican, and I still can’t argue with that.

Viking_Hippie,

It’s ridiculously close, though, considering that the GOP has literally become a fascist party…

Nougat,

My dad used to say “There’s too many Mexicans coming around my shop, I have to shoo them away with a rake.” I loved him for a lot of reasons, but that was not one.

ApostleO,

the [worst] Democrat [is] better than the best Republican

That’s generally true, but not in the hypothetical. I’d honestly vote for Mitt Romney before I’d vote for hypothetical Democrat-Ticket Trump.

AbidanYre,

Would expecting Republicans to vote for Biden be a double standard in this context?

Maybe if they could articulate what it was they disliked about Biden without using some generic “open borders” nonsense.

natural_motions,

What has given you the impression that Dems actually want to protect abortion rights though? They want women’s bodily autonomy to be under threat because it drives donations and voting for their corporate fat-sacks.

Democrats would be utterly at a loss if they actually legislated abortion rights. It’s why the Obama admin suddenly wasn’t in the mood when they got a super majority.

What solid abortion rights exist right now have been achieved by every day citizens getting it put on as ballot initiatives and forcing it into their state constitutions themselves.

Vote Dem, sure, but don’t labor under the illusion they want to put an end to the abortion issue for good.

ArbitraryValue,

Well, I would have said something similar about Republicans but then the dog actually caught the car, so to speak, and they managed to get Roe v. Wade overturned despite the fact that doing that is now predictably hurting them at the polls.

AbidanYre,

You mean that 60 days when they got healthcare reform passed?

Abortion wasn’t their top priority at the time because there was other shit to worry about.

natural_motions,

“Healthcare reform”

Are you talking about the republican crafted bill that forced everyone to buy private insurance and if they couldn’t afford it get billed $700-$1000? That “healthcare reform”?

The one, solitary good thing that came out of the Trump presidency was him repealing that mandate.

limelight79,

That law, had it been passed, would have been repealed the moment the R’s had the majority during Trump’s first two years. It would have been pointless, especially since abortion was then legal.

As you essentially noted, it requires a constitutional amendment to make it harder to overturn, and you know plenty of states would not sign off on that.

natural_motions,

Then let them try to repeal it. There’s literally no cost to passing it.

limelight79,

There was also literally no cost to repealing it. They would have done so, right before they passed the huge tax cuts for the rich. There would have been no “try”; it would have been repealed about 2 minutes after everyone was sworn in.

Repealing a law is as easy as passing a law.

natural_motions,

I see, so Democrats shouldn’t try to legislate bodily autonomy because the Republicans will just undo it if they get a majority one day.

Fucking idiotic.

limelight79,

Okay I’ve tried to be civil, but you’re obviously not doing the same. My point, since you seem unable to grasp it, is that it even if they had it would have been repealed and nothing would be different now. Is that so difficult to understand?

I’m blocking you. I’m looking for real conversation, not people intentionally missing the point so they can stay angry at whatever boogeyman.

themeatbridge,

The worst part about this, besides all the other parts, is that the Biden administration is defending against this, like “Nuh-uh, We don’t even have a liberal agenda!”

I wish Biden was the progressive that conservatives pretend he is.

Gradually_Adjusting,
@Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world avatar

“Trump’s as bad as people are afraid he is, but I could never compromise my values so much that I’d vote for a centre right neoliberal.”

Anyone who feels this way is an actual nazi

BolexForSoup,
BolexForSoup avatar

Neoliberals are Bush Jr-era republicans, really 90’s through Trump basically. It’s not a liberal ideology. It’s an almost rigid orthodoxy that the free market will solve every societal woe, so deregulate everything that isn’t nailed down.

PugJesus,
PugJesus avatar

That's Neocon. Neoliberals are essentially the mainstream consensus in the West since Reagan (🤮). Both Clinton and Obama would be considered neoliberals; both very pro-free trade.

BolexForSoup,
BolexForSoup avatar

Neoliberals would never raise the minimum wage or expand Medicare/medicaid. Neocons are foreign policy focused - American soft (and some hard) power to advance its interests, as outlined in Project for the New American Century. Neoliberalism is an economic ideology focused on capitalism/free market as the magic bullet for everything especially domestically. Free trade is part of that and is just something Dems and Republicans (less so these days) agree on.

PugJesus,
PugJesus avatar

Neoliberals would never raise the minimum wage or expand Medicare/medicaid.

That's more Austrian School stuff; Neoliberals tend to adhere more to the Chicago School of Economics.

BolexForSoup,
BolexForSoup avatar

Wikipedia

The term neoliberalism has become more prevalent in recent decades. A prominent factor in the rise of conservative and right-libertarian organizations, political parties, and think tanks, and predominantly advocated by them, neoliberalism is often associated with policies of economic liberalization, including privatization, deregulation, globalization, free trade, monetarism, austerity, and reductions in government spending in order to increase the role of the private sector in the economy and society. The neoliberal project is also focused on designing institutions and is political in character rather than only economic.

Like virtually any ideology/theory there will be elements incorporated by both parties. But neoliberalism is decidedly the domain of conservatives in US politics.

FlyingSquid,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

The problem is that all the people inside the right-wing media bubble don’t know he’s as bad as people are afraid he is. Because they’re regularly lied to.

Gradually_Adjusting,
@Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world avatar

I feel like I’ve said this before, but maybe letting right wing billionaires own all the major media outlets was a bit of an oopsie.

HubertManne,
HubertManne avatar

what I would not give to have 70's style regulation again, of course getting rid of citizens united would be bigger but owe man I hate the direct we have taken since the 80's

djsoren19,

The older I get, the more I realize just how much I hate Ronald fucking Reagan.

DigitalTraveler42,

The Reagans fucked this country like Hollywood fucked Nancy’s mouthhole.

Eldritch,

Tha throat goat.

DigitalTraveler42,

Tracy Morgan: “gurgle gurgle”

HubertManne,
HubertManne avatar

yup. it reminds me a bit of nixon. growing up I understood he was bad but boy how rabidly upset he would make folks older than I. I did not get it but then I learned more and more about his actions and understood over time. Reagan same but experienced it. One thing is you don't even know the real bad stuff till its to late. People still don't seem to understand iran contra or the october surprise. effed up. now we just had trump. can you imagine the stuff we don't know yet. ugh.

disguy_ovahea, (edited )

He’s also the one who set the precedent in 1986 of support in the Israel-Iran proxy conflict that we’re protesting today.

He did that after supplying Iran with arms in the Iran-Contra scandal.

Prior to that, he removed foreign aid from Israel, and then supplied military aid under specific agreement that they use it to invade Lebanon and attack Hezbollah.

He put this shit pot on the stove and started stirring.

DrWeevilJammer,
@DrWeevilJammer@lemmy.ml avatar

“Fun” fact: Those two things are connected! Without the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine by Reagan’s FCC in 1987, the group called Citizens United would likely not have been able to form in 1988, as they would have been required to provide opposing viewpoints when they expressed their terrible views on national tv or radio networks.

Additional fun fact: Rush Limbaugh’s nationally syndicated radio show (which began in 1988) also would not have been possible without the repeal of the fairness doctrine.

HubertManne,
HubertManne avatar

unholy hannah. thanks. I did not know this connection. Once again finding out more about a politician make me hate them more.

Sanctus,
@Sanctus@lemmy.world avatar

Its almost like they were just waiting in the wings to swoop out and create these social bubbles for the sole purpose of weakening the American people.

BolexForSoup,
BolexForSoup avatar

I get it is popular on Reddit and related forums to advocate for the return of the fairness doctrine, and I’m not necessarily opposed to it, but like ranked choice voting it is not the magic bullet people think it is.

The fairness doctrine presents its own issues, like allowing the government to decide what is “fair“ and balanced coverage and threaten outlets with punitive measures. Imagine that in the hands of another Trump admin.

Conservatives also used to abuse the fairness doctrine to get fringe ideas and presenters on programming that they argued were “too left leaning.” When it was used to get liberals on to more conservative programming (as conservative voices grew in the AM and broadcast television spheres), they suddenly wanted to get rid of it. Back when they more generously and one-sidedly abused FD, they loved it.

kent_eh,

And Limbaugh opened the door for Hannity, Alex Jones, and the rest of the Faux News screaming liars.

TheFriar,

Just a little uh-oh Woopsie-doodle flub

xmunk,

They’re a lost cause - but apathetic left wing voters need to hear that message.

Our democracy may simply end if Trump is reelected.

Dubskee,
@Dubskee@lemmy.world avatar

TRUMP NATION!!!

themeatbridge,

Is anyone surprised that Bill Barr is an actual nazi?

UnderpantsWeevil,
@UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world avatar

Whatever you do, never question what J. Edgar Hoover’s COINTELPRO division was up to during the serial murder of black civil rights leaders in the 1960s. Don’t question how similar disappearances and slayings occurred during Iraq War protests, the BLM protests, and appear to be happening again during the Palestine protests. Ignore the LA Sheriff’s Gangs that operate independently of city government and the mass privatization of police forces in Detroit, Miami, and Atlanta. Don’t google who Allen Dulles was or what he spent his career doing (and definitely don’t question where he was or what he was doing in November of 1963). Don’t ask who Bill Barr’s dad is or question why he hired a a very young, very unqualified Jeffrey Epstein to teach at one of the most elite private schools in the country.

Don’t ask what the 1994 Crime Bill had to do with the rise in mass incarceration. Don’t ask who sponsored that bill. Don’t question who wrote large sections of the Patriot Act and lobbied for their passage even before 9/11. Don’t think about PRISM or question how the US Congress responded to its outing.

Just fixate on the Big Cheeto who wants to be back in the White House.

Our status as a fascist nation has nothing to do with our long history of police brutality and state surveillance. It has nothing to do with the structure of business or the anti-democratic judicial and senatorial systems that decide our laws. It certainly has nothing to do with the Military Industrial Complex and the continuous need for cheap labor at home and abroad.

Its just this one weird guy who might return to the White House. Everything else is fine.

Zink,

You know, if Trump was an elaborate psyop to distract us from the REAL nefarious shit, it would actually help the world make more sense.

UnderpantsWeevil,
@UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world avatar

He’s like the giant cold sore that lets us know we’ve got herpes.

Except we keep insisting if we just put a band-aid on it, we won’t have herpes.

Gradually_Adjusting,
@Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world avatar

Everything that keeps happening and everything that has happened keeps making me feel satisfied with my choice to leave. I just wish it felt safe to look away.

Zombiepirate,
@Zombiepirate@lemmy.world avatar

Those Germans who would do anything, be anything, join anything to stop Bolshevism had, in the end, to be Nazis. And Nazism did stop Bolshevism. How it stopped Bolshevism, with what means and what consequences, did not matter—not enough, at least, to alienate them. None of its shortcomings, mild or hideous, none of its contradictions, small or calamitous, ever swayed them. To them, then and now, Nazism kept its promise.

-They Thought They Were Free, The Germans 1933-45

Fascism is always a right-wing reactionary movement against leftists.

ChicoSuave,

We say individuals are evil, amoral, and are the cause of suffering but no mention given to the organizations which enabled the suffering. There is no social reason to abhor Bolshevism but there is a profit driven motive. Bolshevism, and Communism that it became, are scary for businesses and people who see money as the only way to live.

Preventing businesses from having political power will see “We the People” more accurately represented.

NABDad,

Fascism is always a right-wing reactionary movement against leftists.

Except, in the U.S. our fascists don’t have any real Bolsheviks to stop, so they have to pretend that the center-right conservatives are actually Bolsheviks.

Professorozone,

Now, now don’t be hasty. Maybe he meant to say, “Trump often suggested executing rivals in heated outbursts… and I really like that in a president.” Not hypocritical at all really. Just a, you know, personal choice or something.

lobut,

Remember that Barr would vote for him again as well.

dariusj18,

I wonder, could it be a method for him to tell right wingers how awful Trump is and not get dismissed outright. It is probably helping more people hear the truth than would have.

_haha_oh_wow_,
@_haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works avatar

No, you are giving this bastard way too much credit.

Viking_Hippie,

Nah, he keeps telling the media how awful Trump is because they keep paying him and he keeps saying he’ll vote for him again either in the hopes of being paid by the next administration, to keep from being executed by it or both.

Altofaltception,

But for a group of people who always will put party ahead of nation, what will it actually do?

Edited to add Barr’s quote:

And in my mind, I will vote the Republican ticket. I will support the Republican ticket. I think the real danger to the country – the real danger to democracy, as I say – is the progressive agenda.

Eccitaze,
@Eccitaze@yiffit.net avatar

That goes against his long and storied history of being in the tank for the Republican party. He convinced Bush Sr to pardon the few people who were convicted in the Iran-Contra scandal to execute a cover-up, he slow-walked and misrepresented the findings of Mueller’s report on Russian interference, and he’s always ascribed to the unitary executive theory. If his history and career is any indication, I suspect he talked about it because he legitimately thinks the president should be able to execute his political rivals (as long as they have an elephant pin on their lapel, naturally).

FlyingSquid,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Because Barr also wants to be bale to execute his own rivals, I guess.

Sam_Bass,

Hes a damn crackpot judge if hes voting for the homicidal orange maniac

lennybird,
@lennybird@lemmy.world avatar

Dude, fuck Bill Barr and Chris Sinunu and Mitch McConnell and all these pathetic hypocrites.

mindbleach,

He was totally just joking about what his lawyers are arguing before the supreme court, ha ha ha!

None of these motherfuckers deserve to sleep in their own beds at night.

Dagwood222,

He should have publicly called for Trump to be removed under Amendment 25 while he was still a Cabinet officer.

RememberTheApollo_,

He was just kidding, of course.

/s. Deeply. Deeply. /s

Churbleyimyam,

So what? I threaten to kill people all the time, when I’m talking to myself. He just has friends who he feels really comfortable around.

anon_8675309,

Really? That’s… odd.

darkpanda, (edited )

It was just locker room talk about extrajudicial killings of people who inconvenienced him slightly.

Dubskee,
@Dubskee@lemmy.world avatar

deleted_by_moderator

    •
    Captainvaqina,

    Oh look, it only knows how to repeat its fuhrer’s lies. What a dumb fucking sheep.

    WldFyre,

    You’re a fake patriot

    Dubskee,
    @Dubskee@lemmy.world avatar

    deleted_by_moderator

    •
    WldFyre,

    What a snowflake you are lol

    blazera,
    @blazera@lemmy.world avatar

    Hey its that guy that was found in criminal contempt of congress and is supposed to be in jail

    TropicalDingdong,

    Yeah he just endorsed Trump, why do you ask?

    /s I hope unnecessarily.

    Crikeste,

    Hey man, what don’t you understand about FREEdom? This is a FREE country. Heeeellllllllllllllooo?

    mindbleach,

    Can you narrow it down?

    charonn0,
    @charonn0@startrek.website avatar

    “He would say things similar to that on occasions to blow off steam. But I wouldn’t take them literally every time he did it,” Mr Barr said, adding: “At the end of the day, it wouldn’t be carried out and you could talk sense into him.”

    So either we’re counting on people to refuse the president’s orders, or we’re hoping the Trump is more mature than he lets on?

    How about not electing people who would even entertain such an idea in the first place?

    WindyRebel, (edited )

    The fact that he gets so angry that this is his go to proves he’s not mature enough, so people will need to rely on those to oppose those wishes.

    Natanael,

    He’s as mature as a 12yo on Xbox Live

    fukurthumz420,

    deleted_by_moderator

    •
    RustyShackleford,
    @RustyShackleford@programming.dev avatar

    What makes you think you’d survive a purity test by a “strong leader”?

    fukurthumz420,

    man, you gotta get the idea out of your head that only evil people murder. we killed plenty of nazis and the world is better for it. pacifists never win.

    RustyShackleford,
    @RustyShackleford@programming.dev avatar

    I’m not a pacifist. People kill other people for a lot of reasons all the time. Some of them good. What makes you think only <insertStrongLeaderHere> can judge who deserves to be “purged” en masse?

    fukurthumz420,

    oh, you can do it too my friend

    RustyShackleford,
    @RustyShackleford@programming.dev avatar

    Do what? Political purge?

    fukurthumz420,

    we can do anything we set our minds to. we have the technology to allow one half of america to coordinate something that the other half has no clue about.

    i honestly want to know how we can make it to the end of this century with half of the population perpetuating a culture of cruelty. how long will you deprive future generations of the utopia that we could be enjoying NOW if only the obstacles to that path were removed? how many innocent creatures will suffer and die before we do something?

    Jimmyeatsausage,

    Anything?!?!? Like, changing the world without killing millions of the most vulnerable among us?

    And yes, millions are dying now anyway, but that won’t stop if just start killing more people faster.

    Russia are the bad guys because they invaded another country. That is unacceptable violence. Ukraine are the good guys because they’re defending themselves. That is acceptable violence. If Ukraine had preemptively attacked Russia, they wouldn’t be the good guys. Hamas are the bad guys because they targeted civilians. If they had only attacked military targets, I don’t think things in Gaza would have gone so bad so fast. The Israeli government and military are also the bad guys, and in fact they probably think they’re doing exactly what you’re advocating for. Kill the bad guys before they do anything bad to make the world better/safer for everyone else. That’s the problem when your only solution is killing.

    You seem to arguing that the only solution to 1/2 the world being cruel is for the other 1/2 to be cruel, too…we can’t end suffering by inflicting suffering…even if went perfectly we’d still have a world where 1/2 the people were cruel, it’d just be a different 1/2.

    fukurthumz420,

    okay. tell me how you realistically think we’re going to avoid the coming dystopia then. show me a practical path that creates change for the better in time to stop our destructive path.

    Jimmyeatsausage,

    We’re seeing it now. I don’t know how old you are, I’m assuming you are in your teens or early 20s? Even 5 years ago, what we’re seeing on college campuses now would have been, literally, unimaginable. Especially in the face of such harsh crackdown. I was in the US military when DOMA was repealed in 2013. The questions people asked felt legitimate at the time, but in retrospect, they all sound like arguments from 75 years ago. People were concerned about LGB couples in base housing, getting benefits, etc. At one point, the General giving us the briefing last his patience and just yelled at the old guys hounding on those questions that they could quit being bigoted or leave the service. I left the TQ+ off intentionally because those people weren’t even an afterthought at that point in time. We’ve got legal medical and recreational marijuana in about 1/2 the country and even got some cities experimenting with UBI. I cannot stress how absolutely wild the idea of any level of American government just giving people money…no strings attached is to people who grew up hearing about welfare queens and worries people were buying the wrong foods with their food stamps.

    Solidarity is the path. Unionize, vote in numbers large enough to overwhelm, then dismantle gerrymandering. Tell the stories of the disadvantaged and underprivileged to as many people as you can. Get involved in politics at the local level…not just every 4 years. Support RCV, welcome mid- and high- density housing in your neighborhood. Use whatever privileges you have under this system to be the voice for those without said privileges.

    It’s a big world, it won’t change overnight…and if it did, it’s unlikely that change would last. Even if it changed over 20 years, it might not last unless we take the time to convince a majority of the people that those changes are worth protecting.

    It’s hard work, and it’s frustratingly slow at times. Burning down the house easy, building it isn’t.

    fukurthumz420,

    All this completely ignores corporate greed ruining the planet. You’re talking about social issues. These are just the carrots that they (the owners) dangle in front of you to appease you every so many years. This is not a path towards utopia (which is currently completely feasible). This is just social progress.

    You think they’re ever going to just allow themselves to be dethroned?

    I’m 50. I’ve been watching this shit show closely since 9/11. Let me tell you, this is all just progress theater. Protests on campus? lol. They don’t care. They’ll just use it to justify more authoritarianism. They’ll let you show your activism on social media until you get bored of it, finally cave in and become another cog in the machine.

    None of you are any different from the hippies in the 60’s. They will infantilize you in the media (they already are) and move on. Slow progress is just the status quo now. None of it will stop the next near extinction event that is coming.

    charonn0,
    @charonn0@startrek.website avatar

    Normalizing political violence will inevitably, and possibly literally, blow up in your own face.

    fukurthumz420,

    or you can hope it doesn’t happen until it does and then you’re standing there with your pants down. the entire future of every living thing on this planet may come down to whether we have the balls to do the right thing or not. the path to utopia may not be pretty, but when hell on earth is a possibility, you kinda don’t have a choice.

    charonn0,
    @charonn0@startrek.website avatar

    You’re hardly the first person to think they can kill their way to Utopia. It has never worked.

    fukurthumz420,

    You’re hardly the first person to think that the end result is always the same

    charonn0,
    @charonn0@startrek.website avatar

    And neither of us will be the first person proven wrong on our respective points.

    Dasus,

    Except the end result has historically always been the same; Hate begets hate.

    “I swear, our needless violence won’t result in needless violence, this isn’t like all the others, our needless violence is special and kind!”

    What do they say about the ‘definition of insanity’ again? “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

    fukurthumz420,

    Insanity is doing nothing while you watch sociopaths ruin the world for all living creatures for the foreseeable future.

    Dasus,

    The fact that you can only see violence as the option to “doing nothing” is sort of the problem.

    en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_resistance

    There’s power in unity. Much moreso than in violence.

    fukurthumz420,

    nonviolent resistance worked in the 20th century because there were still plenty of people who cared or at least pretended to care. the 21st century is basically sociopaths, dissociative personality types, and pacifists. there’s no good people left with a spine and you’re about to see what that world breeds. it may already be too late.

    Dasus,

    Unions still work just as well as they did last century. Hell, they work better.

    What you’re essentially saying is that “well this thing that has never worked is the solution and we shouldn’t use the thing that has been proved to work”.

    It is hard to organise activism globally, but nonviolence still works better than violence.

    What stands in it’s way is people believing there’s no point to nonviolent resistance… a bit like you.

    fukurthumz420,

    violence was never a viable option because organizing it has been impossible for the common man. we now have the tools to coordinate globally and discreetly.

    Dasus,

    Yeah the ‘lack of organisation’ isn’t the problem.

    Unions work, authoritarianism doesn’t. Your lack of belief in nonviolent activism is partially responsible for the state of the world, so stop it with the inane violence fantasies and start doing something.

    fukurthumz420,

    deleted_by_moderator

    •
    Dasus,

    What non-violent resistance movements of Jews were there in Europe? Because I don’t know of any. en.wikipedia.org/…/Jewish_resistance_in_German-oc…

    The battle for humanity’s future is fought with words, not bullets. Lovely irony in you trying to call someone else naive, as all you’re capable of is cheap “we should beat up the baddies” BS, which achieves less than nothing, being in itself harmful to the discourse.

    I’m actually in the military reserves. I’m trained and ready to defend my country, with weapons, if necessary. Can you say the same? It would be somewhat naive to call someone a “limp-wristed do-nothing” if you’re not in the military and you think vague threats of violence to some poorly defined “them” is more effective at achieving things than discussing them like adults.

    fukurthumz420,

    “What non-violent resistance movements of Jews were there in Europe?”

    There was no resistance. everybody saw it coming and did nothing until it was too late.

    “The battle for humanity’s future is fought with words, not bullets.”

    The history books tell a very different story. Again, naive.

    “Lovely irony in you trying to call someone else naive, as all you’re capable of is cheap “we should beat up the baddies” BS, which achieves less than nothing, being in itself harmful to the discourse.”

    I promise you if the baddies fear for their life, they’re going to be very hesitant to roll over the people. If the last time X baddie attempted some sociopathic cruelty, they ended up picking up their teeth afterwards, they will think twice about doing it again.

    “I’m actually in the military reserves. I’m trained and ready to defend my country, with weapons, if necessary. Can you say the same?”

    I’m armed and trained as well buddy.

    "It would be somewhat naive to call someone a “limp-wristed do-nothing”

    If it walks like a duck…

    "some poorly defined “them”

    I have a list.

    Again, you’re ignoring the last 4000 years of civilization if you think violence is an ineffective tool for change.

    Dasus,

    The history books tell a very different story. Again, naive.

    Your refusal to read history doesn’t make your fantasies true.

    en.wikipedia.org/…/Jewish_resistance_in_German-oc…

    “I promise you if the baddies”

    And you don’t see any irony in writing out things like that in the same comment that you deign to call someone ‘naive’ in?

    I’m armed and trained as well buddy.

    So that’s a “no, I’m not in the military, but I’m an American gun-owner”. Yes, I think that’s probably readily apparent to most people reading this conversation.

    You still can’t even define “the baddies” (what a hilariously inane concept to begin with), let alone propose anything else than vague threats of violence aimed at “them”. Unions and politicians actually achieve things, while you sit there, terminally online, shining your Walmart bought guns and fantasizing of violence.

    It really isn’t the fault of others that you refuse to read history. “Facts don’t care about your feelings” as I’ve heard some other equally rhetorically talented American say.

    Authoritarianism doesn’t work. Unions do, like other forms of cooperative movements which utilise the extremely broad economic and political power that the masses have, when organised.

    Never heard of Tank Man either, I suppose?

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_resistance

    The “Singing revolution” (1989–1991) in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, led to the three Baltic countries’ restoration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991

    Recently, nonviolent resistance has led to the Rose Revolution in Georgia. Research shows that nonviolent campaigns diffuse spatially. Information on nonviolent resistance in one country could significantly affect nonviolent activism in other countries.

    There’s a whole list of hundreds of examples from before the beginning of our calendar to modern day. I stress, once again; you refusing to read history doesn’t make your fantasies true. Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

    fukurthumz420,

    You still can’t even define “the baddies”

    Jim Grech Shaikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah Michael Whatley Larry Fink Clarence Thomas Samuel Alito Neil Gorsuch Jonathan Lockwood Tucker Carlson Ryan Lance Amin H. Nasser Greg Abbott

    I could go on…

    But whatever. You refuse to acknowledge that the death of any of those guys would be a win for humanity? I guarantee you we would see more results with swift action in that direction than useless protests and -checks notes- singing.

    Dasus,

    “I could go on.”

    Oh, please, do.

    So you are asserting that we should just straight up execute those people, and some other possible petroleum company leaders and shitty corrupt politicians, and that will definitely fix the world. And you don’t see that being reductive or naive in the slightest?

    You refuse to acknowledge that non-violent activism can deal with systemic change better than your ridiculously vague threats of violence towards a couple of examples of politicans and fossil fuel people who could be replaced instantly with another one just like them.

    You still refuse to read history. Just just refuse. Just like you claim you’re “trained”, which you are not, you do not know history, in the slightest.

    How did the civil rights movement work in the US? Why?

    Who has arguably been more influenftial in the history of the human race, Jesus or Hitler? Do you know what the word “martyr” means and where it comes from? Can you name the last time workers rights were improved by explicitly violent movements (and not peaceful protests which turned rowdy).

    No-one is denying the power of change of violence, but I’ll forgive you thinking that, because reading comprehension doesn’t seem to be one of your strengths. The point is that non-violent cooperative movements are much more powerful for meaningful, lasting change.

    Since you just absolutely refuse to acknowledge the power of nonviolent resistance in favour of your childish fantasies, allow me to list examples.

    en.wikipedia.org/…/History_of_Trinidad_and_Tobago…

    en.wikipedia.org/…/Women's_suffrage_in_the_United…

    en.wikipedia.org/…/Passive_Resistance_(Hungary)

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1st_Movement

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1919_Egyptian_revolution

    en.wikipedia.org/…/Non-cooperation_movement_(1919…

    en.wikipedia.org/…/Norwegian_resistance_movement

    en.wikipedia.org/…/Internal_resistance_to_aparthe…

    en.wikipedia.org/…/Hawaii_Democratic_Revolution_o…

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights_movement

    en.wikipedia.org/…/Opposition_to_United_States_in…

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Spring

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Revolution

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larzac

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_Power_Revolution

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singing_Revolution

    en.wikipedia.org/…/Women_of_Liberia_Mass_Action_f…

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otpor

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Revolution

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Egyptian_revolution

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_revolution

    The fact that you can’t see that your resistance to the idea that nonviolent resistance is more powerful for meaningful change (not to mention morally superior) is partly responsible for why the world is as shit as it is. And if yo somehow found a genie to make your fantasies true, the world would be an even worse place. Who do you think you are? The Unabomber? Just drop off a few “evil” keyfigures and the world will all right itself. It’s not about achieving systemic changes in attitude, let’s just summarily execute some corrupt idiots, because there’s definitely not more to replace the ones you decide aren’t worth living.

    It’s just so utterly utterly childish what you’re writing mister not-a-trained-soldier. I have taken a literal vow to defend my country, and will do so, but unlike some deeply disturbed gun-bros, I don’t dream about violence, I actively avoid it. See, unlike you, I’m not afraid. That’s why I don’t own a gun, I’m not a pussy who “needs one for protection”. I confront people, but I don’t need to resort to violence. I use my words, like an adult person. And I do that with for example the fairs I drove when I used to drive a taxi, oftentimes meaning drunk and drugged up bikers as well. None of them ever hit me, although everyone that got mad said they would. Hot air, just like you. Nothing more.

    If you actually want to improve the world, at least keep your mouth shut so you’re not bothering actual conversations with your useless violence fantasies.

    fukurthumz420,

    as i said in my previous reply, i’d like to really explore our differences in depth. i would like to mention now that, if you rinse repeat the process i described, no one would ever want that job and without leadership, these companies would begin to crumble and exert less influence over global politics.

    AA5B,

    That’s got to be a Farside comic or something: Thag standing there with his pants down while the asteroid destroys Dinotopia.

    Or Dr Strangelove or something, yeah the end of the world coming, let’s make it happen

    Doomsday cult preaching the Rapture so opening the portal to Chthulu to rain down terror and insanity

    Jimmyeatsausage,

    Thank goodness there isn’t a publicly accessible, written version of a plan to replace everyone with sycophants right here: www dot project2025 dot org

    Natanael,

    And lawyers working for the dude telling SCOTUS that assassinating rivals should be legal for the president since it should be considered an “official act”…

    samus12345,
    @samus12345@lemmy.world avatar

    “Seriously, but not literally; literally, but not seriously.”

    NABDad,

    How about not electing people who would even entertain such an idea in the first place?

    The people who vote for Trump vote for him because he would entertain such an idea &/or they are deluded enough to think they’re not on his list.

    Dubskee,
    @Dubskee@lemmy.world avatar

    deleted_by_moderator

    •
    NABDad,

    Sad, not mad.

    Captainvaqina,

    He won’t. Fuck your fuhrer.

    zbyte64,

    I think “every time” could be read in different ways.

    Empricorn,

    That ship has sailed. But the US still has a president rather than a dictator. For now. So, a better question is, how about we limit the authority of the president, in accordance with the Constitution!? This country was literally founded on the idea that a king (or queen) has too much power and the Leaders need to be accountable to the People.

    Chainweasel,

    Then, endorsed him for president.
    Is he really dumb enough to not realize he’s going to be on the list if Trump gets re-elected?

    frezik,

    This is the guy who wanted the Imperial Presidency, where the President is practically a king. Instead of finding some kind of enlightened philosopher king, he finds Donald Trump.

    I used to not understand Barr, because he didn’t seem to be a complete idiot, but now I think he might actually be an idiot.

    4grams,
    @4grams@awful.systems avatar

    IMHO, he’s hedging his bets. turnip isn’t exactly a barr fan so he’s calculating that he’ll stay off the list after the next election. he knows that nothing he says matters and so is laying the groundwork to keep his head.

    frezik,

    Still an idiot. Fascists won’t accept anything other than 100% loyalty to the leader. Barr is far from the only one to fall into this trap.

    Zink,
    1. Go on TV talking shit about the guy who wants to kill adversaries.
    2. Vote for that guy anyway
    3. Pikachu skull & crossbones
    Reverendender,

    He was jokingnotjoking though, so it’s ok

    AppleTea,

    reminds me of Nixon getting blackout drunk and ordering nuclear strikes on Vietnam. Apparently the SS just ignored him whenever it happened.

    Fapper_McFapper,

    But you carried his water Bill. Didn’t you? And I’m willing to bet .25 cents that if he gets elected again you’ll be vying for a position in his administration. You fucking traitor.

    ILikeBoobies,

    Well the rest of the quote was that he will always vote Trump because he doesn’t believe in regulating automobiles

    Zink,

    “While the dismantling of the United States would be a shame for sure, and nobody wants it, I cannot stand for this constant slippery slope towards 4 cylinder engines and EVs”

    I can hear it in his dumb voice

    Dubskee,
    @Dubskee@lemmy.world avatar

    Trump Nation!!

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