Wow, I never viewed the Holocaust through the lens you've provided here. I can bear witness to the horrific Christian K-12 indoctrination I suffered as a child. It was Lutheran, and I know now looking back that it was nothing less than a fascist training school. My parents were not aware until me and my sister were adults what happened.
I came out of it as a racist and anti-Semite. I did not share a classroom with any person of color until high school, and never anyone of another faith. I was explicitly taught that Jews and Muslims are destined for hell unless and only if they accept Jesus. All these stories you hear about whitewashing American history, that the Civil War was one about States’ rights and nothing more? Yep, that's how I came out of high school.
Only by being a first-generation college student was my mind transformed. We are ignoring the obvious flavor of fascism being offered to Americans now. One simply has to accept for the vast majority of MAGAworld, the US is part of their religion. So are guns.
We will not be able to have conversations with these people and change their minds. MAGA is not only political. It is their religion. They have made saints of the founders. They believe, with all their heart, mind, and soul that America is a Christian nation. A certain kind of Christian, one who believes the Bible to be the handwritten word of God. Literal truth - fundamentalism.
It is not the same with Jews, from what I've seen for the most part, and certainly not in the churches of Black America. Some Catholics it seems are on board with fascism.
It is still going on. My 80s-aged parents have left the church of my (and my mother’s) childhood. They are now preaching rebellion and secession from the pulpit. My mom realized she was all of a sudden sitting in a MAGA hotbed. Racial slurs being used casually by parishioners.
I figured out around age 16 that it was all bullshit. And I did not learn until college that the Earth is more than about 6,000 years old. I now teach college biology. Go figure b
That's just it - it is. Took me YEARS as an adult to realize myself. It is sad - I'm speaking about Macomb County, MI, where I grew up. I totally get what is going on in the Rust Belt states - MI, OH, PA, MN, WI. There are a lot of Lutheran Church Missouri Synod churches and I suspect it is widespread. That is the most conservative sect of Lutheranism. I've even been checking out their "academic" journal, and the articles are equally horrific from learned Lutheran minds. They are excusing the horrendous beliefs of Martin Luther.
There are two things at work here, both incredibly dangerous. First, we will not get back the MAGA faithful. Forget about it. Through the 90's and 00's, they were marginalized. Afraid to speak publicly about their horrendous beliefs. Trump put an end to all that. All the "Karens" are indoctrinated women around my age. I don't think Trump himself is a fascist, but rather a con man. His entourage are fascists. Bannon, Miller, the whole crew. But Trump let these crazies out; we just need to pay attention who the crazies are if this all ends peacefully. Because I am openly advocating the marginalization of MAGA. I believe fascism to be part mental illness. If a person is not willing to accept help and work on healing, they cannot overcome this any more than they can overcome schizophrenia on their own. They need to be shunned from civil society because they are not emotionally or intellectually capable of considering how the "others" in society feel - Blacks, Jews, Hispanics, and liberated women.
If we treat them like they're Amish (no offense to the Amish), they might decide they don't want to be Amish.
Wow, I never viewed the Holocaust through the lens you've provided here. I can bear witness to the horrific Christian K-12 indoctrination I suffered as a child. It was Lutheran, and I know now looking back that it was nothing less than a fascist training school. My parents were not aware until me and my sister were adults what happened.
I came out of it as a racist and anti-Semite. I did not share a classroom with any person of color until high school, and never anyone of another faith. I was explicitly taught that Jews and Muslims are destined for hell unless and only if they accept Jesus. All these stories you hear about whitewashing American history, that the Civil War was one about States’ rights and nothing more? Yep, that's how I came out of high school.
Only by being a first-generation college student was my mind transformed. We are ignoring the obvious flavor of fascism being offered to Americans now. One simply has to accept for the vast majority of MAGAworld, the US is part of their religion. So are guns.
We will not be able to have conversations with these people and change their minds. MAGA is not only political. It is their religion. They have made saints of the founders. They believe, with all their heart, mind, and soul that America is a Christian nation. A certain kind of Christian, one who believes the Bible to be the handwritten word of God. Literal truth - fundamentalism.
It is not the same with Jews, from what I've seen for the most part, and certainly not in the churches of Black America. Some Catholics it seems are on board with fascism.
It is still going on. My 80s-aged parents have left the church of my (and my mother’s) childhood. They are now preaching rebellion and secession from the pulpit. My mom realized she was all of a sudden sitting in a MAGA hotbed. Racial slurs being used casually by parishioners.
I figured out around age 16 that it was all bullshit. And I did not learn until college that the Earth is more than about 6,000 years old. I now teach college biology. Go figure b
That's all somewhat terrifying. I'm glad you and your parents were able to get out of what really seems like a cult.
That's just it - it is. Took me YEARS as an adult to realize myself. It is sad - I'm speaking about Macomb County, MI, where I grew up. I totally get what is going on in the Rust Belt states - MI, OH, PA, MN, WI. There are a lot of Lutheran Church Missouri Synod churches and I suspect it is widespread. That is the most conservative sect of Lutheranism. I've even been checking out their "academic" journal, and the articles are equally horrific from learned Lutheran minds. They are excusing the horrendous beliefs of Martin Luther.
There are two things at work here, both incredibly dangerous. First, we will not get back the MAGA faithful. Forget about it. Through the 90's and 00's, they were marginalized. Afraid to speak publicly about their horrendous beliefs. Trump put an end to all that. All the "Karens" are indoctrinated women around my age. I don't think Trump himself is a fascist, but rather a con man. His entourage are fascists. Bannon, Miller, the whole crew. But Trump let these crazies out; we just need to pay attention who the crazies are if this all ends peacefully. Because I am openly advocating the marginalization of MAGA. I believe fascism to be part mental illness. If a person is not willing to accept help and work on healing, they cannot overcome this any more than they can overcome schizophrenia on their own. They need to be shunned from civil society because they are not emotionally or intellectually capable of considering how the "others" in society feel - Blacks, Jews, Hispanics, and liberated women.
If we treat them like they're Amish (no offense to the Amish), they might decide they don't want to be Amish.