Inauguration

In high school, I was an overachiever in people-pleasing and terrified of upsetting anyone. So of course, my junior year history teacher took a class discussion about economics in Nazi Germany and turned it into a debate with me assigned to the pro-Nazi argument.

It could have been a great teaching moment if he had bothered to explain to us what he was trying to do and how academic debates work. Instead, the kids in the class who didn’t understand what he was trying to do were beyond horrified and disgusted that I was defending Hitler and shut everything down.

Some of those kids never treated me the same after. And I never took another history class.

Beyond being a shitty move on the teacher’s part, the kids weren’t wrong. It doesn’t matter that some of what Hitler did benefited some German citizens; he committed nightmarish atrocities on a scale I hope I never fully comprehend. When you vote for someone, you don’t get to pick and choose which parts of their words or platform you’re voting for; you vote for the whole package. In arguing for the economics, I was arguing for everything else he did, by extension.

But the kids weren’t right, either. They heard, “Hitler,” and lost the ability to comprehend that there even was an assignment.

You know Godwin’s Law? The longer any internet conversation goes, the more likely someone is going to make a comparison to Hitler. It’s so prevalent it has become a punchline. When people on the internet compare someone to Hitler, those making the comparison get laughed at for being overdramatic.

So I wasn’t surprised when Trump supporters laughed at the comparisons during his first presidency. Hell, I thought was a bit extreme back then. But my skepticism didn’t last as he showed us more and more who he is and what he values, the rights and climate progress he eroded away. (And apparently applying critical thinking skills makes me a “brainwashed paranoid liberal,” according to some people who once upon a time used such skills themselves.)

I’ve been working on this post for months. I first started wrangling my thoughts into something coherent in the wake of the election results last November, when it was all I could do not to scream myself hoarse at every single person who voted for hate and lies. Because, I repeat:

YOU DON’T GET TO PICK AND CHOOSE WHICH PARTS YOU VOTE FOR.

I was going to include Trump’s rampant lies, his admiration of fascist dictators, his part in the events of January 6, 2020, how hate crimes rose during his first presidential campaign as white supremacists took his violent rhetoric as tacit permission to flaunt their hate and entitlement, his Madison Square Garden rally…

Then Elon Musk—whom Trump values, trusts, and relies on—went and did a fucking Nazi salute* at inauguration. That says it all.

side by side .. with the full gesture i don't see a lot of doubt about this

— Miles / @utunga (@utunga.bsky.social) 2025-01-20T23:49:43.870Z

As Maya Angelou said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”

* Of course, it’s being called a Roman salute, which is exactly like calling a swastika an ancient symbol of harmony. No matter their history, both salute and symbol were used in hate so heinous, we can’t untangle it.