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1/ Thread: Why trump without guardrails is so dangerous
Lets look at another example of a country that had an undisputed leader with a cult like following where his every word was gospel.
Mao's China is a good example of what happens when there are no guardrails.
Lets look at another example of a country that had an undisputed leader with a cult like following where his every word was gospel.
Mao's China is a good example of what happens when there are no guardrails.
2/ But..but.. but Mao was a commie...trump is an all-American right wing nutjob.
Surely they are not the same?
History has taught us that extremes of both left & right resemble each other.
-Communist crazies thrive in poor countries
-Fascist crazies thrive in richer countries
Surely they are not the same?
History has taught us that extremes of both left & right resemble each other.
-Communist crazies thrive in poor countries
-Fascist crazies thrive in richer countries
3/ The point is that the "ism" is only important at the beginning when they need to build their cult.
Sure they may pay lip-service to ideology but once they come to power both extreme left and right look the same:
Crazy nutjob at the top who doesn't care if lots of people die
Sure they may pay lip-service to ideology but once they come to power both extreme left and right look the same:
Crazy nutjob at the top who doesn't care if lots of people die
4/ But back to Mao's China:
Like trump he was fond of crackpot schemes and weird ideas.
Some of these involved increasing agricultural production in the 1950s. He was a fan of deep plowing (plant seeds deeper & they will grow bigger plants!)...
Like trump he was fond of crackpot schemes and weird ideas.
Some of these involved increasing agricultural production in the 1950s. He was a fan of deep plowing (plant seeds deeper & they will grow bigger plants!)...
5/ His other favorite was Lysenkoism - a pseudoscience that argued that interventions made to plants would be inherited by other plants - more details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkoism
6/ The point is these crackpot ideas didn't work.
They were garbage.
As any farmer could have told him
But in a dictatorship where cult followers ignore reality and say that the leader is always right, crazy ideas become very dangerous.
trump has already started doing this.
They were garbage.
As any farmer could have told him
But in a dictatorship where cult followers ignore reality and say that the leader is always right, crazy ideas become very dangerous.
trump has already started doing this.
7/ So during the Great Leap Forward of 1959-61 Mao put these ideas into practice.
All farms were taken over by the state & deep plowing and Lysenkoism took off.
They were the only game in town.
Nobody could protest. https://www.npr.org/2012/11/10/164732497/a-grim-chronicle-of-chinas-great-famine
All farms were taken over by the state & deep plowing and Lysenkoism took off.
They were the only game in town.
Nobody could protest. https://www.npr.org/2012/11/10/164732497/a-grim-chronicle-of-chinas-great-famine
8/ What happened?
Crops failed spectacularly.
But because Mao was the cheerleader of this stuff, nobody could tell him things were going badly wrong.
Local goons faked figures & staged photo-ops using fake wooden food etc. Crazy stuff. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/t/tap/7977573.0006.104/--photographic-manipulation-in-china-a-conversation-between-fu?rgn=main;view=fulltext
Crops failed spectacularly.
But because Mao was the cheerleader of this stuff, nobody could tell him things were going badly wrong.
Local goons faked figures & staged photo-ops using fake wooden food etc. Crazy stuff. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/t/tap/7977573.0006.104/--photographic-manipulation-in-china-a-conversation-between-fu?rgn=main;view=fulltext
9/ Mao enablers didn't want to break the bad news to him because they were more afraid his wrath than lots of people starving.
Why?
Ordinary people don't count in a dictatorship - pleasing the leader is all that matters to enablers. Cover up & hide problems even if people die
Why?
Ordinary people don't count in a dictatorship - pleasing the leader is all that matters to enablers. Cover up & hide problems even if people die
10/ Result of all this: largest man made famine ever
The real numbers of deaths are still secret but range from about 20 to 70 million people
Think about that: millions died because weak enablers were afraid of hurting their careers by challenging the insane ideas of a nutjob
The real numbers of deaths are still secret but range from about 20 to 70 million people
Think about that: millions died because weak enablers were afraid of hurting their careers by challenging the insane ideas of a nutjob
11/ And because the Mao cult was so strong, it was impossible to call out this madness or protest.
Anybody who did was executed.
People were trapped: die of starvation or be executed because you were criticizing the great leader.
http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/greatleap.htm
Anybody who did was executed.
People were trapped: die of starvation or be executed because you were criticizing the great leader.
http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/greatleap.htm
12/ Eventually the famine got so big that it couldn't be hidden anymore. Millions were dying everywhere.
One army general spoke out and others finally joined in.
Mao backed down.
The famine slowly ended.
But Mao stayed in power & plotted revenge. Which he got 5 years later.
One army general spoke out and others finally joined in.
Mao backed down.
The famine slowly ended.
But Mao stayed in power & plotted revenge. Which he got 5 years later.
13/ You can see it in the current coronavirus in China – enablers didn't want to talk about bad news that could hurt their careers so they covered it up & hoped it would go away.
Result: it got out of control & people died. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/03/asia/coronavirus-doctor-whistle-blower-intl-hnk/index.html?utm_content=2020-02-04T03%3A11%3A05&utm_term=link&utm_source=twCNN&utm_medium=social
Result: it got out of control & people died. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/03/asia/coronavirus-doctor-whistle-blower-intl-hnk/index.html?utm_content=2020-02-04T03%3A11%3A05&utm_term=link&utm_source=twCNN&utm_medium=social
14/ Ok relax - we're not anywhere near that with trump.
But the warning signs are there.
-He's divorced from reality & will push crazy ideas (nuke hurricanes etc)
-Enablers suck up to protect jobs - won't call him out on crazy stuff
-Cult followers bend reality & stop protest
But the warning signs are there.
-He's divorced from reality & will push crazy ideas (nuke hurricanes etc)
-Enablers suck up to protect jobs - won't call him out on crazy stuff
-Cult followers bend reality & stop protest
15/ The best way to protect the environment and the health of people is by having a functioning democracy where politicians are held to account.
-Because it keeps them grounded in reality.
-And if they mess up badly they get voted out.
That is why 2020 matters so much.
-Because it keeps them grounded in reality.
-And if they mess up badly they get voted out.
That is why 2020 matters so much.
16/ The warning signs are all here with trump & he's getting worse.
If he wins a 2nd term he will be completely off the leash.
With the new uncontrolled powers of his presidency, weak enablers & a cult that stops protest he will be very, very dangerous.
If he wins a 2nd term he will be completely off the leash.
With the new uncontrolled powers of his presidency, weak enablers & a cult that stops protest he will be very, very dangerous.
END/ But you shouldn't take my word for this. Think about it for yourself.
Some other references for you to check out:
https://theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/01/china-great-famine-book-tombstone https://nytimes.com/2010/12/16/opinion/16iht-eddikotter16.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/05/after-50-years-of-silence-china-slowly-confronts-the-great-leap-forward/257797/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1127087/
Some other references for you to check out:
https://theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/01/china-great-famine-book-tombstone https://nytimes.com/2010/12/16/opinion/16iht-eddikotter16.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/05/after-50-years-of-silence-china-slowly-confronts-the-great-leap-forward/257797/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1127087/
Some books on the subject if you prefer:
https://www.amazon.com/Maos-Great-Famine-Devastating-Catastrophe/dp/1408886367/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=chinese+famine&qid=1580924435&sr=8-2
https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Ghosts-Secret-Famine-Paperback/dp/0805056688/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=hungry+ghosts+jasper+becker&qid=1580924381&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/Maos-Great-Famine-Devastating-Catastrophe/dp/1408886367/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=chinese+famine&qid=1580924435&sr=8-2
https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Ghosts-Secret-Famine-Paperback/dp/0805056688/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=hungry+ghosts+jasper+becker&qid=1580924381&sr=8-1
