So I attended the protest at Los Angeles International Airport earlier today, and while it was an afternoon of chants and an afternoon of empowerment and an afternoon of donuts (really, there were lovely people handing out free donuts), what really struck me were the signs.
Signs like this …
And this …
And this …
And this …
And this …
The sign that really got me thinking, however, was spotted on my way back to the car. I was walking terminal to terminal when I stumbled upon a woman holding this …
Bam.
Like most people, I immediately cringe when it comes to Adolph Hitler comparisons. I have never personally made them about American politicians, because as much as I disagreed with George W. Bush or Rudy Giuliani, I never saw even the slightest similarities to the most brutal murderer in the modern history of the world.
This time, however, I am beginning to think the comparison applies. Or at least feels like it’s beginning to apply. Do I think Donald Trump/Steve Bannon (the two belong together at all mentions) plan on literally murdering millions of Muslims? No. Do I think Donald Trump/Steve Bannon used racism and xenophobia to rise to power? Yes. Do they believe in mass deportations and a return to American whiteness? Yes. Do they blame immigrants for our problems? Yes. Are they attempting to marginalize (and mobilize) their lemmings against the media? Yes? Do they aspire to limit First Amendment rights? Yes. Do they rely on dishonesty and misinformation to sway the masses? Yes.
In fact, it’s uncanny. It truly is. I keep hearing the famed George Santayana quote flowing through my mind—”Those who forget the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat them.” Right now, we feel doomed. Or at least very forgetful. No, it’s not the same. As a Jew, I don’t feel threatened (yet). But, come that first inevitable terrorist attack under a Trump/Bannon administration, I see the potential for a very rapid erosion of liberties. For more scapegoating. For a restricting of the media. For deportations. For prison camps.
I’m no expert on world history. I am, however, an expert on Donald Trump. I can tell you, factually, he is a man of little-to-no empathy; a man whose three obsessions are fame and power and money; who doesn’t “love” America, but loves the idea of being loved overseeing America.
Fill in the blank, only insert Adolph Hitler and Germany, and you can use the same sentence.
Be warned.
Be militant.
Be prepared.
This is about to get very ugly.
