Erik Haugen @ech@qoto.org

@Kraemer_HB @wdlindsy I was pretty worried about his rhetoric in 2016 like "I'm going to open up our libel laws" – that sort of thing is gross and I'd strongly prefer a president who didn't say that, to put it mildly.

BUT: he didn't really *do* anything along those lines while he was president for 4 years. That's gotta count for something. I mean, it very much seems like he says stupid stuff because he's an idiot, and not because he's Hitler-in-waiting. (I realize this is not a *good* thing, I'm just saying it probably isn't nearly as bad as Hitler.)

What other aspects could a "serious" person compare to Hitler? The Guardian had an article about this in June, and in typical-insipid-Guardian fashion it basically just said he's legitimately Hitler-like because he's a populist that does weird political-theater.

OK so populism is probably usually bad, and political theater is annoying, granted, but the thing about Hitler that we all think of as being Hitler-level bad isn't the political theater or populism. This is not a "serious" argument.

@mike Good discussion in the comments.

@nazgul @augieray ok I'm glad I live somewhere where people seem to support the police 😂

It's good that assault rifles aren't what you'd want for self-defense; you pretty much can't get one anywhere.

@amydiehl You read this article as describing it as a weakness?

@shellheim @mjk what kinds of interview questions do people use to filter out this mindset?

@nazgul @augieray I'm not sure how to parse what you're saying; it sounds like: places where people support the police are the places where crime isn't a major issue. Is that what you meant?

@rbreich what kinds of safety protections do most Americans favor that aren't already the law in all/most states?

@thomasfuchs oh no I hope TSA-style security theater isn't the thing that comes out of this.

@Arqtec@mastodon.social you can rent an automatic AK-47 to shoot at a range, but it's really hard to buy one. (Probably possible that's why I said "effectively".)

@Arqtec@mastodon.social well assault *rifles* are indeed effectively banned in the US. I don't think there's any kind of viable political move to reverse that.

@djl @pete @baldur that or they are good at marketing?

@nazgul @augieray from crime?

@Arqtec@mastodon.social @augieray That's not even close to a good summary of gun control legislation we're seeing. They ban things like muzzle brakes and pistol grips? it's just *weird*.

@ReDevelopInc @TexasObserver where would they go? https://knockla.org/lapd-is-using-israeli-surveillance-software-that-can-track-your-phone-and-social-media/

@erictopol Do we think nasal vaccines will be effective against transmission, instead of "only" being effective against severe illness?

@ScientistRebellion This reminds me of people saying "so much for global warming" when it's cold.

@MasterMischief @nonproductive @GottaLaff so we can use spite to shop around? I like it