this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2025
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[–] FirstCircle@lemmy.ml 31 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Inventing and punishing thoughtcrimes seems to be a favored tactic among dictators. Trump-MAGA and ICE remind me most of Stalin and his NKVD (secret police). Solzhenitsyn wrote about how ordinary citizens would frequently be arrested/shot/sent to the gulag over mere assertions that they held anti-Soviet/anti-Communist beliefs, or had counter-revolutionary sympathies. It was illegal to not rat out others who you suspected held such beliefs and inclinations - if you didn't you could be shot yourself.

I think we're getting there. I soon expect to see federal government websites and apps where you can report your friends/neighbors/family members for anti-capitalist and/or anti-fascist and/or anti-evangelical-Christian leanings.

From Wikipedia (Great Terror article)

The purges were largely conducted by the NKVD, which functioned as the interior ministry and secret police of the USSR. Soviet politicians who opposed or criticized Stalin were removed from office and imprisoned, or executed, by the NKVD. The purges were eventually expanded to the Red Army high command, which had a disastrous effect on the military. The campaigns also affected many other segments of society: the intelligentsia, wealthy peasants—especially those lending money or other wealth (kulaks)—and professionals. As the scope of the purge widened, the omnipresent suspicion of saboteurs and counter-revolutionaries (known collectively as wreckers) began affecting civilian life.

The campaigns were carried out according to the general line of the party, often by direct orders by the Politburo headed by Stalin. Hundreds of thousands of people were accused of political crimes, including espionage, wrecking, sabotage, anti-Soviet agitation, and conspiracies to prepare uprisings and coups. They were executed by shooting, or sent to Gulag labor camps. The NKVD targeted certain ethnic minorities with particular force (such as Volga Germans or Soviet citizens of Polish origin), who were subjected to forced deportation and extreme repression. Throughout the purge, the NKVD sought to strengthen control over civilians through fear and frequently used imprisonment, torture, violent interrogation, and executions during its mass operations.

[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 15 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

It's chilling.

None of this should sound plausible in the USA. These simply aren't the kind of concerns citizens should have to have in a free democracy, because it shouldn't be possible to let things get this far.

It truly breaks my heart to see the US as it is now. It's frightening, and it's extremely disappointing. I think of all the people who give these totalitarians their vote, and I'm deeply disappointed in them.

[–] Typhoon@lemmy.ca 9 points 6 months ago (1 children)

These are exactly the kind of concerns citizens should have in a free democracy because that's how you keep your democracy free. We only have rights because normal everyday citizens fought for them and continue to fight for them. The problem is that we've all become complacent and lazy about it and let things slide to where things are now.

[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

These are exactly the kind of concerns citizens should have in a free democracy because that's how you keep your democracy free.

I do hear you, and I know, and I agree... It's just that I always expected to fight against the slow creep of totalitarianism. I expected to have to look out for veiled threats, or hidden signs of tyranny. I never expected to face overt, blatant totalitarianism. I never expected the US president to openly endorse white nationalist organizations. I never expected so much of the public to be on board with what are so clearly unethical policies, with an administration that closely mimics the rise of the Nazi party...

If politics is a tug of war, I expected to have to constantly pull in the right direction, I didn't expect the other side to light the rope on fire.

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

If you thought this was all sudden you just might not have been paying attention. Every president whether its a D or an R has continued the slide.

[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I don't think that's really an accurate portrayal of events... I mean, how much did Obama or Biden work to add to political polarity and divisiveness? When did they try to pit Americans against each other?

I think that argument breaks down when you get to the most recent presidents we've had.

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 months ago

The only difference between parties is what group of people in the world we will take advantage of. Democrats take advantage of "third world countries" and republicans take advantage of "fake americans".

The whole country is based on greed and abuse of power.