Trump is going scorched earth on what he calls the “lunatic left.” After FBI director Patel said it appears some people on Reddit were aware of the Kirk assassination plan and didn’t report it to authorities, Trump has extrapolated that to mean there are multiple domestic hate groups planning terror acts, and they all must be eradicated.
What could go wrong?
If you have to ask that question, you probably need a long education in totalitarian government history.
Government crackdowns like this are very slippery slopes and *inevitably* they always expand to include whomever the government considers a threat to them — or their political party. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Technically speaking, this approach is called “collective punishment.” It’s when authorities punish a massive group of people for the actions of a few. Collective punishment is a feature of totalitarianism, communism, and other human rights wrecking isms. The question begs: if they would do it to them, which stops them from eventually doing it to us?
The problem with this sort of collective punishment is that there are no specific definitions of what “hate group” means. The left, including Mark Zuckerberg and other social media platform owners, did the same thing when they started canceling anyone for posting “hate speech.” Turns out they had a very narrow definition of hate speech and they only applied it to one group and not everyone. I should know because they accused me of hate speech on multiple occasions and all I was doing was criticizing, political policies, and other arrangements.
In the case of Donald Trump, the danger is that— if history is any indicator— he will use this as an occasion to go after all of his own personal enemies, and anyone he personally deems a threat to American safety and security, not necessarily everyone across the board on both the left and right who are posting dangerous things.
How will the new witch-hunt crackdown effect all of us? It moves America one step closer to requiring a REAL ID for absolutely everything, followed by a biometric ID. In other words, it moves us a colossal step closer to the beast system. All in the name of “national security,” as always.
How many times have I said “they can do anything in the name of national security”? How many times have I observed that we have our constitutional freedoms— until there is a “national emergency” and they throw them all out the window and impose martial law? Too many times to count.
I am very concerned about our freedom. I am very concerned about our way of life. I am very concerned about the massive expansion of our federal government—unlike anything anyone has ever seen before. America is literally turning into the “big brother“ government of the 1984 prophecy and it’s terrifying. and I’m even more concerned that most of my fellow citizens are in denial about it.
If you’re in denial about it, here’s a question to ponder. How do you define “leftist hate group“ ? More importantly, how does Trump define it? Do you see the problem with these kind of sweeping generalized labels? What if he starts moving the goal posts to mean “anyone who criticizes his presidency“? I mean, after all, I criticize his presidency, and although I’m a conservative, I am constantly accused by his followers of being a “leftist hater.” How long before they start using the “crack down“ to come after absolutely everyone who disagrees with Trump? Is this what we want?
Speaking of crackdowns. When are they going to start cracking down on pedophiles and all of the politicians who protect them? Such as the 50 Republicans who just voted to keep the Epstein files sealed as Charlie Kirk was being assassinated?
“Those who would trade their freedom for the promise of security deserve neither.” -Ben Franklin