(Wikimedia Commons public domain)
He has, absolutely, beyond reasonable doubt, coarsened political speech in the United States. And now he seems to be encouraging thuggish violence:
Los Angeles Times: “Trump’s endorsement of violence reaches new level”
“Donald Trump: ‘Never said’ I would pay supporters’ legal fees”
I’m astonished, genuinely astonished, that apparently otherwise decent people can look upon this with benign indifference, let alone support it.
And here, unsurprisingly, is another healthy and related development:
“Hactivist Group Anonymous Declares ‘Total War’ on Donald Trump”
Virtual and real-life vigilantism: Making America Great Again!
Incidentally, just so you know something of the background of the smugly sneering Guy Fawkes mask that “Anonymous” uses as a symbol and that has become popular in certain circles, here are some details: Guy Fawkes was born and educated in the northern English city of York in 1570. While still quite young, he converted to Catholicism. Then, much in the manner of today’s ISIS recruits, he left England, adopted the name Guido instead of Guy, and went to the European continent to fight for hyper-Catholic Spain against the Protestant reformers in the Netherlands. Later, he went to Spain itself, where he unsuccessfully attempted to gin up support for a Catholic rebellion in England. Returning, finally, to his native country, he joined in a plot to assassinate King James I and Parliament. He was captured while guarding a cache of explosives underneath the House of Lords, waiting to detonate his bomb. He was executed on 31 January 1606, at the age of thirty-five. Is Guy Fawkes an admirable role model for our time?
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In