Pol Pot absolutely loves this meme.

Oh, I know the answer to this one: they were all shot by white conservatives.

Of course, you're wrong about MLK too (who actually stated that Republicans were basically racists near the end of his life), but that's not specifically what the other poster was getting at.

About Kennedy going against Democrats. Their point was, the reason Thurmond defected to the Rs is that that's the party that opposed the CRA/VRA. Most of the tiny percentage of Ds that didn't support it ended up going there. Kennedy's efforts ended up passing, under LBJ, due to strong D support.

I needed to hear that. Thank you.

I mean, who knows, he might *also* be mentally ill. Just independently of his being an asshole.

Ah, for the days that we could trust the mainstream media to do that for us.

Also funny: I live in one and have family in the other, those are both blue cities

we have a serious "...because XYZ person that I inexplicably trust with matters outside their expertise bc they speak confidently told me so" problem

Well, since I'm muted, I'll just stand alone in seeing the irony of finally agreeing on something in the end here.

You know what - feel free to have the last word. I'm done. I really just can't even with someone who with a straight face argues that people who compare others to Hitler aren't trying to dehumanize them. First full-throated advocate of Godwin's Law as having a positive side that I've ever seen.

Shorter: "criticism or comparisons aren't inherently the same as dehumanizing" yeah, I didn't say it was. I said they aren't inherently mutually exclusive. Your characterization of criticism begs the question because you paint it as inherently well-intentioned, which is quite the stretch here.

Yeah, education makes me think silly things like, "isn't evoking outrage at ones behavior *also* not mutually exclusive with dehumanizing them?" or, "considering what we allow for the death penalty, isn't condoning a sudden murder on the side of a public street itself condoning their dehumanizing?"

Actually, a lot of people, it would seem from the comments thread. At least this murder, anyway.

The "difference?" I'm pretty sure they're not mutually exclusive. In fact, that demonstrated it pretty well.

Dunno if "civilized" is a "made up ideal" like someone else commented, but it is definitely a continuum. We're not "either civilized or not." Little to nothing in the real world of social interaction is that black and white.

Considering how Hitler's humanity is eclipsed by his symbolic significance as the canonical justification for "war against evil," it's a bit ironic that you're effectively accusing someone of dehumanization by dehumanizing them