
Be Careful What You Wish for (especially If It Is Hitler) - thescribe
http://blog.dilbert.com/post/156540315831/be-careful-what-you-wish-for-especially-if-it-is
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mcphage
So what he's saying is, if Trump ends up being like Hitler, it's our fault,
for thinking he would end up like Hitler? Because we'd prefer Hitler to having
Scott Adams think we're confirmed morons?

I guess I _am_ a confirmed moron, because I used to look up to Scott Adams.
What a disappointment he's turned out to be.

~~~
stephenr
It was weird enough when Adams was doing his "I don't support him, but trump
will win because he's so enchanting" bit.

When he flipped his support _to_ Trump over Hillary's estate tax policy,
because "it might one day" apply to him (it wouldn't have applied to him
currently, had (Hillary, if she won|Trump) enacted that policy, by a long
shot) I just stopped trying to understand his logic.

Edit: clarified about ET not applying to Adams.

~~~
sharemywin
talk about not wanting to admit your wrong and looking like a moron.

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nindalf
Some top class victim blaming right here. He doesn't address the concern that
this particular Executive Order victimizes a broad swath of minorities for no
justifiable reason other than to please a large section of society. What's
more, the hatred amongst that section for the minorities was stoked by the
person issuing the order in the first place. That is remarkably similar to how
Hitler started out. But no, it's the protesters' fault if the situation turns
anarchic.

> the alternative to Trump becoming Hitler is that they have to live out the
> rest of their lives as confirmed morons.

No, it isn't. If a candidate makes promises that sound a lot like the ones
Hitler made ("all of your problems are because of <minority>. We'll get rid of
them and make <country> great again") it's reasonable to think that the
candidate might follow through with that. If the candidate later sees the
light, or is unable to push that agenda for some reason, then that's
excellent. Everyone is happy with that and no one looks like a moron, they're
just relieved.

> how excited/happy the Trump critics seem to be

Perhaps people are happy that others share their views, that others are
willing to stand up for what they feel is right and they're willing to protest
on the streets to make it happen. If people saw that everyone around them
reacted with apathy, they'd feel the exact opposite.

Maybe what Scott Adams is saying would be easier to swallow if it didn't come
right on the heels of this Executive Order, which implements some of the worst
things Trump promised on the campaign trail. The Order even has some classic
authoritarian hallmarks - a temporary measure until we can "figure out what is
going on". Makes it easier to accept for now, but does anyone imagine that on
day 57, the White House will experience an epiphany about this that will
"solve" the problem they're talking about? No, this measure will be renewed
again and again, similar to how Erdogan in Turkey and Maduro in Venezuela
renew their "temporary" emergencies.

Coincidentally, Erdogan, Maduro and Trump all promised to return power "to the
people".

~~~
teslabox
> He doesn't address the concern that this particular Executive Order
> victimizes a broad swath of minorities for no justifiable reason other than
> to please a large section of society.

This point was addressed in his prior blog post (same day):

>> [...] Are Trump’s temporary immigration plans chaotic? Yes. _Do they hurt
innocent people who were minding their own business? Yes, temporarily at
least._ Did he scare the pants off of half the country? Yes. Will there be
lots of unintended damage from Trump’s immigration orders? Yes. No honest
person should deny the cost component of the equation. It’s ugly. But don’t
stop with a half-pinion. If you want a full opinion on immigration you have to
compare those costs to the potential benefits that include fewer terrorist
acts and avoiding Europe’s refugee problems. Are people making that
comparison? >> >> No. [...]

\- [http://blog.dilbert.com/post/156532225711/the-persuasion-
fil...](http://blog.dilbert.com/post/156532225711/the-persuasion-filter-and-
immigration)

The first post is much better than its followup.

I appreciate Scott Adams' take because he provides a deeper reason for why the
candidate/president does what he does.

~~~
stephenr
Of ~780K refugees accepted since 11-9-2001 about a dozen have been
arrested/deported for terrorism/related threats/risks.

That's 0.0015%.

Trump is a racist, sexist, self absorbed human shit can. No ifs or buts about
it. He proved that himself during the ridiculous primaries and election
process.

There is no deeper reason. The man is a clown obsessed with his own reflection
in the mirror and how many people love his balloon animals.

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EGreg
There is something to this. Collective expectations are a powerful force. If
most of us feel that in the 21st century every child deserves a good
education, or healthcare, we will act in a certain way when we see a child not
getting it.

That having been said, most Americans on the left and right have an
expectation that their country has a great tradition and robust institution
for human rights. Conservatives emphasize financial freedom. Liberals
emphasize social freedom. Both claim to emphasize freedom of speech, etc.

So the difference is that even if Adams' theory is correct and people "wishing
for" Hitler thereby "bring him about", they have also "wished for" a Congress
and Judicial branch that care enough about the above rights that they would
impeach and charge him with high crimes or treason if he ever violated serious
rights.

We can apply this logic to existing phenomena. I am a liberal and see
Republican opposition to Obamacare largely as hypocritical partisanship.
Millions of Republicans are _gleeful_ if Obamacare leads to growing
deductibles, bad availability of good insurance plans in some states, and
millions dropping coverage because they can't afford it anymore. Sad right?
But, they are doing it out of a sense that at the Obamacare mandate is against
the principle of Freedom. While that may be misguided, and their opposition to
single payer in Healthcare might look silly alongside their acceptance of it
in Public Education, nevertheless look at the motivation. Americans across
every major party share a respect for values of Human Liberty and Limited
Government. This is a good common ground.

I say that, what as should really preserve is the systsm of checks and
balances. Hitler by himself no matter how powerful is nothing without
centralization of government and a removal of the opposition. What you
_should_ worry about is the 2010 REDMAP gerrymandering and the refusal to vote
on supreme court justices nominated by Obama. That is actually a dangerous
example of a party stealing power permanently from the people by breaking the
rules.

Already a judge in NYC pushed back on the ban. And by pushing the GOP to
repeal-and-replace Obamacare ASAP, or refusing to do anything negative to
Saudis and Russians, Trump is not actually making the Republicans any more
comfortable with him.

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softwaredoug
Trump is seen negatively because he can't deescelate any situation. He doubles
down on the dumbest, most easily disprovable stuff. His narcisism runs deep so
it's easily taken advantage of by folks with nutjob agendas like Bannon and
Flynn.

Honestly he's more of a King George III than Hitler. Hitler had much more of
an agenda, backed by a competent team, than Trump has. Trump's a 2-bit
narcissist that's attracted crazy dead-enders. The threat is a combination of
fringe politics, insanity, and incompetence.

~~~
mcphage
I agree Trump doesn't have much of an agenda, but I fear Bannon and his ilk
do.

~~~
sharemywin
scott adams talks to breitbart

[http://www.breitbart.com/big-
government/2016/08/15/dilberts-...](http://www.breitbart.com/big-
government/2016/08/15/dilberts-scott-adams-breitbart-trump-not-trying-win-
moment/)

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altern8tif
I don't entirely agree with him, but I think we need to be careful about
confirmation biases.

This situation about a police state may get out of hand, especially if Trump
and local government authorities feel like they need to crack down on it.

What's more important (and more effective) will be lobbying directly to
members of Congress to oppose Trump's (and Bannon's) directives.

We are already seeing a number of Republican senators condemning Trump's
actions. This number needs to grow to have a chance of Congress being a check
to Trump's powers. If Americans think Trump is unfit for the presidency and
should be impeached, it needs to be done the right way and via legitimate
channels.

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singularity2001
Scott Adams makes a very valid point. Fortunately some of us don't get excited
at all. Just disgusted and watchful.

The worldwide solidarity which is building up can even be net positive.

Also once he decides to open his first torture chamber he can be assured that
everyone in his family involved or complicit will one day be persecuted as war
criminals. The judgement of the righteous people is ultimately inevitable.

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gaspoweredcat
say what you will about Hitler, at least he killed Hitler!

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Tmp_login
In Soviet Russia wall not keep people out; wall keep YOU in!

