Echo's of the 20s and 30s

[Mikero]

Sometime ago someone asked why there was a fascination with all things Trump. My opinion was that things were happening that had parallels in the inter war years and these should be taken as a warning. The latest is the appearance of a private army on the streets of Washington DC. They kitted out in military equipment and weapons but without any badges, insignia or numbers. When asked by the press who they are they will only say they work for the Justice Department. So the Attorney 'General' really has an army to command. They are thought to be made up of Prison Department Swat teams, Border force officers and possibly FBI squads, the problem is they have no warrant to do anything. How does this work with DC Police? Who takes presidence? Answers need to be found before anyone else is killed.

At least the Police have name and number badges, although there are reports of badges now being covered up. Thus they can be recorded and their excessive actions reported, but how do you do that when they are all wearing dark glasses and Covid masks? So will it be open season on protesters? If any of the bands of people wandering around US cities in military gear carrying hand guns and rifles decide to 'uphold law and order' what is there to stop them?

This is clearly an echo of the thirties with uniformed political groups trying to dominate local populations. My father and his cousin went to East London to stop Mosely's Black Shirts marching through Jewish districts. In Germany they became armed and held sway over local Police forces and we all know how that ended.

Obviously Trump is dangerous, not in a machiavellion, plotting way but as an insecure narcissist who reacts to criticism and failure with the stamping foot of a truculent five year old. The only problem is this five year old now has a private army of his own and they are not toy soldiers.

Mikero

[Rich Tea Wellin]

Good post.

To me, the last few years have highlighted the gaps in our democracy. If you get in you can more or less do what the hell you want. Scary times.

[LittleMate]

Good post.

To me, the last few years have highlighted the gaps in our democracy. If you get in you can more or less do what the hell you want. Scary times.

As opposed to a dictatorship or autocracy where you CAN do what the hell you want.

No system is or will ever be perfect, none whatsoever.

[slacker]

Yes, there’s some parallels. But also a big difference: there’s no current existential threat to capitalism as there was then (Soviet bureaucratic totalitarianism/communism). China under the CCP doesn’t really count - it’s just another competing “Empire” that’s looking to increase market share at the expense of the dominant players (USA, Europe), which is more a pre-WW1 situation.

[Mikero]

That part of it is a complete turn a round, Russia is now Trumps best friend, but the political machinations going on are very similar.

Mikero

[ComeOnYouOs]

Sometime ago someone asked why there was a fascination with all things Trump. My opinion was that things were happening that had parallels in the inter war years and these should be taken as a warning. The latest is the appearance of a private army on the streets of Washington DC. They kitted out in military equipment and weapons but without any badges, insignia or numbers. When asked by the press who they are they will only say they work for the Justice Department. So the Attorney 'General' really has an army to command. They are thought to be made up of Prison Department Swat teams, Border force officers and possibly FBI squads, the problem is they have no warrant to do anything. How does this work with DC Police? Who takes presidence? Answers need to be found before anyone else is killed.

At least the Police have name and number badges, although there are reports of badges now being covered up. Thus they can be recorded and their excessive actions reported, but how do you do that when they are all wearing dark glasses and Covid masks? So will it be open season on protesters? If any of the bands of people wandering around US cities in military gear carrying hand guns and rifles decide to 'uphold law and order' what is there to stop them?

This is clearly an echo of the thirties with uniformed political groups trying to dominate local populations. My father and his cousin went to East London to stop Mosely's Black Shirts marching through Jewish districts. In Germany they became armed and held sway over local Police forces and we all know how that ended.

Obviously Trump is dangerous, not in a machiavellion, plotting way but as an insecure narcissist who reacts to criticism and failure with the stamping foot of a truculent five year old. The only problem is this five year old now has a private army of his own and they are not toy soldiers.

Mikero

Excellent post. The description of Trump in the final paragraph, is as good a description of him as I've ever seen/read

[Mikero]

Thank you for your kind words.

Mikero

[RedDwarf 1881]

When the police are defunded or even disbanded in the States as some people are demanding, will these type of army's take their place. ?

[Beradogs]

Aside from his disregard for the environment he doesn’t bother me at all. He shouldn’t of course, he is right wing as am I. The left, and others, utterly despise him. I think the thing we have learnt in the last few years and made apparent with the invention of the internet is the gaping chasm between left and right. Previously, and on my side of the fence, I knew one or two on the left, primarily my A level economics teacher, just thought he was a bit mad. All my family had the same political views, friends too. Work colleagues. Mostly we never discussed politics. Now, it’s everywhere and it’s one of those topics that works perfectly for the internet and it’s anonymity. Most of us like chocolate, bunny rabbits, politics, boy, can humans be polar opposites of one another. Next war will be a civil one.

[Orient_Man_And_Boy]

When the police are defunded or even disbanded in the States as some people are demanding, will these type of army's take their place. ?

Who needs the Police when the average citizen can walk along a public street packing an assault rifle and enough ammo to put a Hollywood blockbuster to shame.

I fear it’s gonna end in tears with this unstable guy in charge.

[RedDwarf 1881]

When the police are defunded or even disbanded in the States as some people are demanding, will these type of army's take their place. ?

Who needs the Police when the average citizen can walk along a public street packing an assault rifle and enough ammo to put a Hollywood blockbuster to shame.

I fear it’s gonna end in tears with this unstable guy in charge.

Biden .? yes I agree . With no police what could possibly go wrong .

[NuneatonO's]

Just to add to Mikero's excellent post. Police witholding their identity is certainly nothing new.

Hiding of their heppolette numbers was a regular occurence with the Special Patrol Group (SPG) and their ilk (Maggies blue rats); on UK picket lines back in the 80's.

It was actually picked up by the Daily Mirror back in the day. Therefore, instead of completely removing their silver easily-detachable numbers, they then resorted to putting black insulating tape over them. That was until Daily Mirror journalists turned up with cameras, whereby the tape was quickly removed.

Other effective tricks, such as the SPG infiltrating crowds in plain clothes in order to throw things (to therefore cause riot cops and the horses to charge in); causing damage, etc. to property, crowd barriers, etc. certainly aren't new to the U.S.A. Our own SPG were getting away with it for years.

I'm not going by hearsay - I witnessed it personally many, many times.

[Mikero]

I to saw this happen at meetings in the London Dock, you would see a space around one or two dockers in the crowd, they were the only ones wearing shiny boots and cleanish clothes.

Mikero

[Kent]

Great post…I absolutely concur that Trump is an insecure narcissist

There are comparisons to the 1930s Facist Germany and present day America and therefore Hitler and Trump:
Influential, unashamedly racist, women-hating, disability-mocking, African-American-cursing, migrant-reviling, anti-Semitic, LGBTQ-dehumanizing, demonising the free press…also all non-conservative politics as communist/socialist and anti-German/American
(Trump is also: Hispanic-slandering, Muslim-baiting, Asian-denigrating…)
Trump has also sought to overturn any progressive legislation made by the Obama Government as Hitler did to the Weimar liberalist laws.

Trump’s words and actions encourage and embolden those with Facist opinion…he is a dangerous figure

Sometime ago someone asked why there was a fascination with all things Trump. My opinion was that things were happening that had parallels in the inter war years and these should be taken as a warning. The latest is the appearance of a private army on the streets of Washington DC. They kitted out in military equipment and weapons but without any badges, insignia or numbers. When asked by the press who they are they will only say they work for the Justice Department. So the Attorney 'General' really has an army to command. They are thought to be made up of Prison Department Swat teams, Border force officers and possibly FBI squads, the problem is they have no warrant to do anything. How does this work with DC Police? Who takes presidence? Answers need to be found before anyone else is killed.

At least the Police have name and number badges, although there are reports of badges now being covered up. Thus they can be recorded and their excessive actions reported, but how do you do that when they are all wearing dark glasses and Covid masks? So will it be open season on protesters? If any of the bands of people wandering around US cities in military gear carrying hand guns and rifles decide to 'uphold law and order' what is there to stop them?

This is clearly an echo of the thirties with uniformed political groups trying to dominate local populations. My father and his cousin went to East London to stop Mosely's Black Shirts marching through Jewish districts. In Germany they became armed and held sway over local Police forces and we all know how that ended.

Obviously Trump is dangerous, not in a machiavellion, plotting way but as an insecure narcissist who reacts to criticism and failure with the stamping foot of a truculent five year old. The only problem is this five year old now has a private army of his own and they are not toy soldiers.

Mikero

[Max B Gold]

Great post…I absolutely concur that Trump is an insecure narcissist

There are comparisons to the 1930s Facist Germany and present day America and therefore Hitler and Trump:
Influential, unashamedly racist, women-hating, disability-mocking, African-American-cursing, migrant-reviling, anti-Semitic, LGBTQ-dehumanizing, demonising the free press…also all non-conservative politics as communist/socialist and anti-German/American
(Trump is also: Hispanic-slandering, Muslim-baiting, Asian-denigrating…)
Trump has also sought to overturn any progressive legislation made by the Obama Government as Hitler did to the Weimar liberalist laws.

Trump’s words and actions encourage and embolden those with Facist opinion…he is a dangerous figure

Sometime ago someone asked why there was a fascination with all things Trump. My opinion was that things were happening that had parallels in the inter war years and these should be taken as a warning. The latest is the appearance of a private army on the streets of Washington DC. They kitted out in military equipment and weapons but without any badges, insignia or numbers. When asked by the press who they are they will only say they work for the Justice Department. So the Attorney 'General' really has an army to command. They are thought to be made up of Prison Department Swat teams, Border force officers and possibly FBI squads, the problem is they have no warrant to do anything. How does this work with DC Police? Who takes presidence? Answers need to be found before anyone else is killed.

At least the Police have name and number badges, although there are reports of badges now being covered up. Thus they can be recorded and their excessive actions reported, but how do you do that when they are all wearing dark glasses and Covid masks? So will it be open season on protesters? If any of the bands of people wandering around US cities in military gear carrying hand guns and rifles decide to 'uphold law and order' what is there to stop them?

This is clearly an echo of the thirties with uniformed political groups trying to dominate local populations. My father and his cousin went to East London to stop Mosely's Black Shirts marching through Jewish districts. In Germany they became armed and held sway over local Police forces and we all know how that ended.

Obviously Trump is dangerous, not in a machiavellion, plotting way but as an insecure narcissist who reacts to criticism and failure with the stamping foot of a truculent five year old. The only problem is this five year old now has a private army of his own and they are not toy soldiers.

Mikero

So it's all Trumps fault. Case closed.

Even Petrocelli would have taken time off building his house to look at this one in a bit more depth.

[Mikero]

Trump is the 'point man' for a section of a party that seeks to make the USA a one party state. So its a bit more than his fault alone.

Mikero

[Max B Gold]

Trump is the 'point man' for a section of a party that seeks to make the USA a one party state. So its a bit more than his fault alone.

Mikero

Ok better. Keep going.

[Disoriented]

Great post…I absolutely concur that Trump is an insecure narcissist

There are comparisons to the 1930s Facist Germany and present day America and therefore Hitler and Trump:
Influential, unashamedly racist, women-hating, disability-mocking, African-American-cursing, migrant-reviling, anti-Semitic, LGBTQ-dehumanizing, demonising the free press…also all non-conservative politics as communist/socialist and anti-German/American
(Trump is also: Hispanic-slandering, Muslim-baiting, Asian-denigrating…)
Trump has also sought to overturn any progressive legislation made by the Obama Government as Hitler did to the Weimar liberalist laws.

Trump’s words and actions encourage and embolden those with Facist opinion…he is a dangerous figure

Sometime ago someone asked why there was a fascination with all things Trump. My opinion was that things were happening that had parallels in the inter war years and these should be taken as a warning. The latest is the appearance of a private army on the streets of Washington DC. They kitted out in military equipment and weapons but without any badges, insignia or numbers. When asked by the press who they are they will only say they work for the Justice Department. So the Attorney 'General' really has an army to command. They are thought to be made up of Prison Department Swat teams, Border force officers and possibly FBI squads, the problem is they have no warrant to do anything. How does this work with DC Police? Who takes presidence? Answers need to be found before anyone else is killed.

At least the Police have name and number badges, although there are reports of badges now being covered up. Thus they can be recorded and their excessive actions reported, but how do you do that when they are all wearing dark glasses and Covid masks? So will it be open season on protesters? If any of the bands of people wandering around US cities in military gear carrying hand guns and rifles decide to 'uphold law and order' what is there to stop them?

This is clearly an echo of the thirties with uniformed political groups trying to dominate local populations. My father and his cousin went to East London to stop Mosely's Black Shirts marching through Jewish districts. In Germany they became armed and held sway over local Police forces and we all know how that ended.

Obviously Trump is dangerous, not in a machiavellion, plotting way but as an insecure narcissist who reacts to criticism and failure with the stamping foot of a truculent five year old. The only problem is this five year old now has a private army of his own and they are not toy soldiers.

Mikero

So it's all Trumps fault. Case closed.

Even Petrocelli would have taken time off building his house to look at this one in a bit more depth.

Aye, but Taggart wouldn’t.

[Max B Gold]

Great post…I absolutely concur that Trump is an insecure narcissist

There are comparisons to the 1930s Facist Germany and present day America and therefore Hitler and Trump:
Influential, unashamedly racist, women-hating, disability-mocking, African-American-cursing, migrant-reviling, anti-Semitic, LGBTQ-dehumanizing, demonising the free press…also all non-conservative politics as communist/socialist and anti-German/American
(Trump is also: Hispanic-slandering, Muslim-baiting, Asian-denigrating…)
Trump has also sought to overturn any progressive legislation made by the Obama Government as Hitler did to the Weimar liberalist laws.

Trump’s words and actions encourage and embolden those with Facist opinion…he is a dangerous figure

So it's all Trumps fault. Case closed.

Even Petrocelli would have taken time off building his house to look at this one in a bit more depth.

Aye, but Taggart wouldn’t.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but he's pan breid.

[Mikero]

Just a hint of the ethos of US policing. After two officers pushed an elderly protester to the ground causing a serious head injury were, quite rightly, suspended 57 other members of the squad resigned in protest. Not at the injury but the suspensions.

Mikero

[Max B Gold]

Just a hint of the ethos of US policing. After two officers pushed an elderly protester to the ground causing a serious head injury were, quite rightly, suspended 57 other members of the squad resigned in protest. Not at the injury but the suspensions.

Mikero

They only resigned from the emergency response team. Not all of that team did. There were only 57 bad apples in that team of 75.

The 18 officers who did not resign may have disagreed with their work colleagues behaviour or more likely they wanted to stay in the emergency response team and get straight back onto the streets to batter, in no particular order, old men, women and children for extra pay. I like to think that amongst the 18 there was at least one good apple. It gives me hope.

[Mikero]

The problem is the motto refers to one bad apple ruining the whole barrel Max, one good apple can't last long.

Mikero

[Max B Gold]

The problem is the motto refers to one bad apple ruining the whole barrel Max, one good apple can't last long.

Mikero

It was indeed a play on that motto. Good spot, but your further analysis has removed any residual hope I had. Thanks.

[Mikero]

Trump in one of his bumbling moments hovered around how many 'good cops' there were and finally settled on 99%, thus pointing to 7000 odd 'bad cops'. Who knows what the malaria pills are doing to him.

One of the 'reformed' Police forces, Compton, is interesting as all police workers were sacked and had to re-apply, fill in 26 page forms and take a psych evaluation. This was seen as only option as all union agreements work on the basis of 'last-in first-out', as one commentator put it "leaving the old and cynical". Additionally the local union branch was disbanded and its leadership retired. The cost saving was passed to other areas so that there was mobile addiction and metal health units available, something police forces everywhere have been complaining about, even in the UK. Crime has now fallen across all areas and public complaints have dropped.

Whether this will work in larger cities remains to be seen, but bans on neck and choke holds are a start.

Mikero