>Usually, when someone brings Hitler or the Nazis into the conversation, I consider it just an attempt to make a big stink; it signals the end of the debate. I don't think that's what you meant.
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>Of course it wasn't and you know it. I was just pointing out all the losers we had in history and wondered what they had to teach us because I couldn't figure out what it could possibly be.
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>My point is this: Abusing, ridiculing, demeaning and, in general, attempting to silence one's opponents is a sign of democratic decline. From the late Roman republic to Weimar Germany, these attitudes have been the prelude to thuggery.
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>Oh. Are you referring to the behavior of the left wing toward the conservatives a-la "Rules for Radicals" by Saul Alinsky? If so, I agree with you whole heartedly.
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I wasn't specifically, but thanks for bringing it up. Especially, rule no 5:
[“Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions.]
Ironically, more recently it has been the behaviour of the rebelling right wing, i.e. used as a guide by the conservative group FreedomWorks that later established the TeaParty movement.
http://www.freedomworks.org/content/albanys-freedomworks-manager-trains-group
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