Trumphitler

Or Hitlertrump.  Whatever. This criticism applies to my own generation.  Those younger may not have been around this carousel enough times.

I'm getting tired of everyone being Hitler, and then, miraculously, no one gets sent to death camps, or even labor camps. And no group is forbidden to own businesses and has their shopwindows broken - except a few of the Christians who were purportedly part of this Hitlerism, so that's not playing out. I believed in Nixonhitler, and I believed in Reaganhitler, at least in 1976.  Maybe in 1980, as well, though doubt was setting in.

Each time, when the multiplicity of Hitlers is challenged as improbable, the assurance comes back "Well, yeah, but this time it's really true."  I am reminded of Bullwinkle trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat. "This time for sure!"  The idea that he is Hitler c. 1931, not yet dangerous but any day now, as soon as he gets some power, watch out, is ludicrous. He is crude and petty.  He shoots from the hip rather than thinking about things. I think he is adopting whatever positions will bring him cheers, but even if he is sincere, he is nativist and populist, not racist and fascist. He thinks he'll be able to just give orders, but a good fascist would actually have worked out how the system can be gamed so that he can do things quasi-legally. When thwarted, Trump just picks up a new stick and swings that.

I have seen comparisons drawn to William Jennings Bryan and to Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I find those more apt.

I'm at 180 degrees on this Hitler thing now.  If someone makes the Hitler accusation, I conclude they are covering up for Hitlers of their own.  I suspect their group more than the group accused.  If you're the first one to go full Godwin in the discussion, I start looking for projection. If you think you need to go ALL CAPS so that people out there will wake up and see how serious this is, I'm betting you haven't considered the possibility that your opponents have actually heard this before. I don't think I'm the only one who has that automatic counter-reaction at this point. For persuasive reasons, if for no others, if you think someone is really very much like Hitler you are probably better off describing that some other way.