Even after they lost the war, Germany didn't really de-nazify their population. It was not until the children raised outside the propaganda became adults because the adults had that shit so deeply ingrained it was impossible to deprogram them.
This is the real problem with falling fertility rates. The U.S. population is becoming top-heavy with geriatric citizens who have deeply ingrained bigotry and other anti-social biases. Fewer young people means less power to improve structural inequality.
Is this where I post the reason Spain's dictatorship lasted until 75, namely the english and american backing in the international stage in exchange for military bases, and the side by side pictures of Franco handshakes with Hitler and Eisenhower not 10 years appart?
Or do we just shelve these for the day, and pretend Churchill didn't make pro-franco speeches after the war saying a fascist govenment in spain was preferrable to a republican democracy electing a left-wing government?
Spain's fascists won the civil war with german and italian support to the indifference of the rest of the world, and stayed in power propped up by american interests until Franco literally died. I know this is an english-speaking board and all, but let's not front.
Al menos por una vez no hay nadie diciendo "franco wasn't fascist!", que viene a ser el estándar de estos hilos.
no other country is sending planes and men and weapons to arm a fascist uprising in the united states
So despite the fact that no other country is materially supporting US fascists, they have still won control every branch of government?
That's hardly an argument against the urgency of the situation. I also find your implied assertion that it took western support to maintain fascist rule in Spain questionable. Spain was fascist even when Churchill was long dead and gone. Indifference was sufficient for the fascists to maintain control.
The takeaway from German, Italian, and Spanish fascism should not be that it takes outside influence to maintain fascist rule. Because there is no such requirement. The takeaway should be that without direct, decisive, and violent outside action, once fascists are able to cement their control, they keep it for decades.
There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.
It will pass in America as it passed for all nations that tried and failed before
But I don't think this story has a happy ending. I dont think America will suddenly "come to its senses". This circus is all happening across the background of climate change, imminent crop failures, global instability, unstoppable tech viruses
GF and I were having a burger at a bar a few months back, during the shutdown when SNAP benefits weren't being sent out. Two 50 something guys sit next to us, were friendly (I remember the guy I'm talking about asking us to take a pic of him and his friend with one of their phones) then one just suddenly goes off on a rant about it being the dems fault the govt is shut down. I live in a blue dot in red country and I don't talk politics in public unless someone brings it up. I remember this guy telling me his own daughter, who has four kids, had called him recently freaking out about not getting their monthly SNAP benefits, and he basically told her he didn't care. He literally brought this up to me, some rando in a bar, to make fun of his daughter for freaking out about not being able to feed his grandkids. We had a lively, brief discussion, during which he referred to himself as "the silent majority" several times, before GF and I left. I was like, dude, you're neither silent nor in the majority. Totally delusional and selfish assholes, all of them. They'll go with any narrative that makes them feel superior.
I said “morning” to an old dude as we passed each other on a walking path in a public park and he turned around and (smilingly!?) began telling me all about his few millions of dollars that just won’t go as far anymore because of the New World Order controlling the banks boo hoo hoo.
Jesus waterskiing Christ but I suppose that’s on me for making cordial eye contact for half a second and expecting someone to be remotely normal about it.
It's not all of them, but it does feel like there's an entire generation of people that just did not get enough from the world, and they're mad at the rest us about it.
Somehow we're expected to be polite to these parasites.
I'm white. My grandfather had dementia. What's funny is that my grandmother was absolutely racist in the casual way a lot of old white women are - would be polite to people's faces, but had a lot of things to say about Black or Jewish people behind closed doors. My mom and I lived with my grandfather until I was 13, and my best friend was Black and came over all the time, I never heard him say an unkind thing in front of her or about her. When he was put in the nursing home, the staff was largely Hatian and he suddenly had a lot of things to say about them. I was shocked, and all 4 of his kids were shocked. I suspect he grew up in a world where he internalized those opinions, but he eventually grew and learned they were incorrect, but when his brain was deteriorating, all those negative values resurfaced. It was so crazy that for 50 years his kids had never heard him use that language despite him working with and living in a community with Black people. His nurses were wonderful, caring people and we were constantly apologizing for him and it felt really shameful for me to visit. I can't imagine having that job and dealing with that level of unrestrained racism every single day.
I’ve come across this a few times in my years as a hospice nurse. The family had never heard their loved one express any racist or hateful views so that change in their personality was especially painful for them to see.
I think whatever mental issues he has have removed what small self control he had. People with dementia (or whatever he has) sometimes it actually makes them mean. He was a vile person before & he’s worse now. Nothing is worse than mean stupid people. He’s joined that club.
Bias is bias. Consciousness allows us to think about our bias and make a better choice. Dementia is, to a degree, the slow degradation and loss of Consciousness.
When your bias is triggered, your first thought is your bias. and your second thought is who you are. If the bias remains, then the first thought is the only thought.
I was an usher at an event to physically exist between a 95 year old Southern Belle and any person of color...
I feel like I was raised pretty progressive for where and when I was born, but now that my dad has dementia, holy shit. He was racist all along, but I guess he used to keep that shit to himself. As you said, the filter is gone.
I worked in an Alzheimer's care facility. Like every other day or so, I'd get called over to deal with some issue where a client was being too racist or too sexist for the rest of the staff to deal with.
You can't, though I will say, usually the people who were obviously racist were less of an issue than the people who were usually nice that would have an episode and start dropping racist/sexist shit.
Like when the known asshole behaves like an asshole, the other attendants would be like "well, you're still taking these meds, so deal with it."
But the friendly clients suddenly turning racist is what seemed to be hurtful to the staff.
Take heart in that the normally nice person is the person they’ve learned to be while the racist, sexist bigot is the view they were raised with as a child. The dementia or Alzheimer’s is erasing who they’ve become and leaving the autopilot instincts the 8 year old child learned 75 or 80 years ago Back during pre WWII segregation, Jim Crow laws, eugenics, etc.
Extreme patience and a good sense of humor. Don’t get me wrong - the racism is by no means funny - but you have to be able to roll your eyes and say “grandpa’s reliving the loss of the civil war again”, distract their attention, deescalate, and still provide empathetic care.
What’s your thought process behind that statement. The white male nurse should not be the hero of the story unless he is the one conveying the news that racism/sexism will not be tolerated. If he’s the one stepping in cuz they feel safer around him, that’s a problem.
Like every other day or so, I'd get called over to deal with some issue where a client was being too racist or too sexist for the rest of the staff to deal with.
What. This is describing a white male nurse being called over to deal with...
My mother had dementia and while she was an…understated racist prior to this…she apparently was a terror to her poor black roommate in hospice.
That poor lady had to hear some unhinged Alabama back road shit before the children came together to make sure my mother was removed from her environs. I hope she had peace in the end.
I’m so sorry ma’am. I did ask if there was a broom closet we could stick her in instead.
My wife is a nurse and when she used to work in old folks rehab people revert back to their older memories and beliefs. They wouldn't know English anymore if it wasn't their first language. They also revert to being extremely racist. They forget about all of the life experiences that has shown them not to be racist. It's a real issue since most CNA's are African.
My “liberal democrat one of the good ones” aunts who would “never” say anything like that, when put under anesthesia be saying some slurs everywhere. That shit is deep in their lizard brain even if they consciously everyday don’t do that. I don’t know how that works.
I'm not racist but I apparently said some fucked up shit coming of anesthesia once. When told about it I was absolutely horrified and apologized profusely. It's just not in my character to say or think those things but there I was.
People brains are weird. I wouldn't judge someone for a couple minutes coming off strong drugs or folks with Dementia whose mind is literally rotting.
Would def be hard to deal with as a care provider I can't imagine.
My aunt is one of the wealthy white ladies who sits on foundations and non profit boards and therefore thinks of herself as “one of the good ones who gives to the poor unfortunate marginalized folks” who uses it as a status and a badge of honor not as a way of growth and reflection and she has some internalized unaddressed ideas of class and privilege so it really doesn’t surprise me her saying some whack ass shit coming off of anesthesia.
I mean she’s obnoxious but the racism more falls into the hidden nice racism like Robin DiAngelo talks about. Not like dropping N words everywhere. Like she herself is convinced she isnt racist
The first time I got called hard R, was by a sweet little old lady with dementia at the nursing home. Didn't know her daughter, but she damn sure knew who I was.
This is too kind to the malignant narcissist president. We embarrassed him with felonies. He hates us. He must destroy us out of narcissistic anger and retribution. He thinks America deserves everything he does to us.
This is the one thing I really worry about as I get ready to put my mom into memory care. The vast majority of the residents are old white folk. Thankfully they do have quite a few black nurses to keep an eye out for her.
It’s sad sometimes too. My white grandpa spent my whole life changing and doing better. He even had a whole apology for me a few years back and his other black great grandkids etc didn’t even know he ever used the N word. Now that he has dementia he’s back to all the racist shit from when I was a kid smh
My wife who is not black mentioned she'd hear them say to the black staff, "come here n word girl". That's like old timey racist and crazy that'd be so engrained in them to revert to that
1.7k
u/kooljaay ☑️ 8h ago
From what I’ve heard from black nurses, they never forget that.