This article in Mashable contains a gripping video in which Arnold Schwarzenegger compares the Trump coup attempt to Kristallnacht, “the Night of Broken Glass.” He remembers his childhood, surrounded by broken men, swept up and destroyed by the powerful men who ruled their society.

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SomeDAM Poet says:

January 11, 2021 at 3:17 pm

You know the irony is getting thick when the Gropenator weighs in on the ethical scale

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- SomeDAM Poet says:
  
  January 11, 2021 at 3:21 pm
  
  Sorry, I misspelled Gropinator
  
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- SomeDAM Poet says:
  
  January 11, 2021 at 3:26 pm
  
  Don’t get me wrong.
  
  I applaud Republicans who criticize Trump, but surely there must be at least one or two who actually have some integrity.
  
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  - SomeDAM Poet says:
    
    January 11, 2021 at 3:28 pm
    
    Aaahnolds actually has a great deal in common with Trump.
    
    And thank God (or at least Aliens) he was not born in the US.
- SomeDAM Poet says:
  
  January 11, 2021 at 4:14 pm
  
  And given who made it, I guess we should just be glad it was not gripping in the groping sense.
  
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  - speduktr says:
    
    January 11, 2021 at 8:27 pm
    
    You know that there have been more than a few gropers in the history of our nation who actually have done good things for the country. If we judge all people exclusively by their sexual peccadillos, we are going to have to reevaluate the contributions of a sh**l*ad of people. I may find such behavior repulsive without feeling the need to write off the good that same person may do.
  - SomeDAM Poet says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 3:50 am
    
    Schwarzenegger also expressed admiration for Hitler at one point.
    
    For a long time he denied it and then later (sort of) admitted it, but claimed the admiration was only for Hitler’s “speaking ability.”
    
    Ok, Sure.
    
    People can and assuredly will believe anything they want about Ahhhnold. After all, millions of Californians — including many Democrats — voted for him for governor even after the groping and Hitler admiration allegations. Californians are not the smartest voters in the world (to put it kindly), but maybe they just like actors, gropers and Hitler-speech-admirers. Who am I to question their choices, right?
    
    People can ‘splain to me that it was all a big mistake/misrepresentation and or just stuff Aahnold said and did “in his youth” and point to all the money Aahhnold has given to Jewish organizations over the years, yadda yadda yadda.
    
    But those who wish to ‘splain it need not waste the electrons. I don’t believe a word Schwarzenegger says. As far as I am concerned, he has a great deal in common with Trump and, for better or worse, I don’t follow the fashion of quoting such people when they say things I agree with.
  - SomeDAM Poet says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 4:55 am
    
    By the way, Schwarzenegger clearly doesn’t remember Kristallnacht very well.
    But then he was only nine when it happened, so that would not be surprising.
    
    From wikipedia
    
    “Jewish homes, hospitals and schools were ransacked as attackers demolished buildings with sledgehammers.[5] Rioters destroyed 267 synagogues throughout Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland.[6] Over 7,000 Jewish businesses were damaged or destroyed,[7][8] and 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps.”
  - FLERP! says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 6:55 am
    
    Schwarzenegger was born after the war.
  - speduktr says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 6:46 pm
    
    You beat me to it. I’m a little behind in my reading.
  - Máté Wierdl says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 6:50 pm
    
    Forgiveable, speduktr. You cannot read all the comments these days. There are thousands of them.
  - speduktr says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 6:27 pm
    
    Schwarzenegger was born in 1947.
  - SomeDAM Poet says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 6:18 am
    
    Aahnold believes Donald is in love with him and envies his muscles (including the ones in his head?)
    
    “I remember that in the old days, when we went to the wrestling matches, the way he admired people with bodies, and the way they would jump around in the ring, and to perform physical stunts and stuff like that. He had great admiration for that.”
    
    As did/does Aahnold.
    
    These are the people we elect to high office and we nonetheless still wonder why the country is so screwed up?
  - SomeDAM Poet says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 7:11 am
    
    Right you are, FLERP!
  - Máté Wierdl says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 10:43 am
    
    “But then he was only nine when it happened, ”
    
    You left off a sign. He was -9 at the time. 🙂
Linda says:

January 11, 2021 at 3:40 pm

“Broken men…powerful men”
Recently published studies found, “Acceptance of a dominant male hierarchy predicted a positive evaluation of Trump over and above any sexist, racist or homophobic attitude a voter may have.”

Conservative religion grooms a nation for a man like Trump. The conservative religious vote elected Trump, Hawley and Cruz.

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- Linda says:
  
  January 12, 2021 at 8:25 am
  
  About the Capitol rally, 1-11-2021, National Catholic Reporter, “…mob rule and those who support it”
  
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Joe Jersey says:

January 11, 2021 at 3:50 pm

Who knew that we would get good insights from Conan The Barbarian. Arnold’s video has good production values with appropriately serious music in the background and a setting that appears to be very presidential. Agree with SDP, thank goodness he wasn’t born in the US, his performance as governor of CA was very disappointing to say the least. If he had been born in the US, I have no doubt that he would have eventually made it to the WH, a la Reagan.

But……………….I do thank him for comparing the siege of the Capitol to Kristallnacht, that’s how bad it was. More and more videos are coming out revealing just how awful, violent and despicable the insurrectionists were. I am very glad that Arnold has condemned Trump on many occasions and the Jan 6th day of infamy.

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- Susan L Osberg says:
  
  January 11, 2021 at 4:00 pm
  
  Joe Jersey- I agree with your thoughts here. The whole episode was frightening, to say the least. All who participated either overtly or covertly should be condemned and punished.
  
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- Bob Shepherd says:
  
  January 11, 2021 at 7:08 pm
  
  I don’t agree with the “that’s how bad it was’ part, but I applaud the Governor’s warning about incipient fascism in the United States tied to a cult of personality around the wannabe Fuhrer Jabba the Trump.
  
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  - SomeDAM Poet says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 5:22 am
    
    It’s pretty clear that Schwarzenegger doesn’t remember much about Kristallnacht and hasn’t even bothered to learn what it actually involved.
    
    It was FAR worse than what happened at the Capitol.
    
    I don’t say that to downplay the severity and significance of what happened at the Capitol, but merely to point out the reality with which Schwarzenegger seems to be playing fast and loose.
  - Bob Shepherd says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 6:14 am
    
    Schwarzenegger’s main point is that as a child he saw the consequences for the older men around him of having participated in or tacitly accepted the horrors of the regime. The most moving part of this video is his putting us in his own eyes AS A CHILD, watching his father and his neighbors being violent and drunken out of guilt and other unprocessed emotions. The point is that this is what is happening right now. Trump, Don Jr., Flynn, Cruz, Hawley, Brooks, Giuliani, and the other conspirators against democracy are doing, he is saying, precisely what the Nazi leaders did–duping ignorant people into participation in or acceptance of terrible crimes, with worse yet to come. This is an extremely powerful Never Again video, and I am grateful for it. But no, this was NOTHING like as awful as was Kristallnacht.
  - SomeDAM Poet says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 6:29 am
    
    Maybe Aahnold should get an Academy Award.
  - SomeDAM Poet says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 6:36 am
    
    Do they give one for Best Trump/Nazi Critique?
  - Bob Shepherd says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 8:10 am
    
    LOL, someDAM
  - dianeravitch says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 10:10 am
    
    Arnold S was born in 1947, as he says on the tape.
  - Joe Jersey says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 9:29 am
    
    Absolutely Kristallnacht was far worse than the attack on the Capitol and our democracy. So why did Arnold compare Jan 6th to Kristallnacht? Because both are huge milestones in the depravity of human history? Hundreds of people were slaughtered during Kristallnacht, state sponsored terrorism, thousands of synagogues and Jewish business were burned to the ground and the after-effect was that countless numbers of Jews committed suicide in the weeks following the massacre.
kathyirwin1 says:

January 11, 2021 at 5:55 pm

We teachers are focused on the portrait of a childhood described by Arnold, multiple childhoods across a society. We know what that means for a student, a classroom, a school culture and a neighborhood. We mourn and we organize.

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- Bob Shepherd says:
  
  January 11, 2021 at 7:06 pm
  
  Amen
  
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- LeftCoastTeacher says:
  
  January 11, 2021 at 7:34 pm
  
  Eloquently stated.
  
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Bob Shepherd says:

January 11, 2021 at 7:06 pm

Extraordinarily moving piece by Governor Schwarzenegger.

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Bob Shepherd says:

January 11, 2021 at 7:32 pm

Some are making an argument that it would be too divisive to attempt to remove Trump via impeachment or the 25 Amendment so close to the inauguration. But I think this terribly misguided. TRUMP ALWAYS DOUBLES DOWN. He is a clear and present danger. If he isn’t removed by one of these means, then any further horror resulting from this failure to act will be on those who made such an argument.

This is not the time to be all Ted Cruzy.

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- SomeDAM Poet says:
  
  January 11, 2021 at 8:04 pm
  
  Whether it is divisive or not is irrelevant. Give me a break . Trump himself is divisive. That people like Lindsey Graham are giving the “it’s divisive excuse is as good a reason as any to impeach.
  
  I think it’s critical to impeach Trump even if he can’t be removed before his term ends, not least of all because it will force members of the House to record their position on what Trump did.
  
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  - Bob Shepherd says:
    
    January 11, 2021 at 9:47 pm
    
    Taxpayers should not have to provide funds for the rest of his life to a person who inciting insurrection against this country.
- Máté Wierdl says:
  
  January 12, 2021 at 10:50 am
  
  Well, if somebody breaks into my home, and then I want him apprehended, am I being unnecessarily unfriendly or I want to prevent the burglar to commit further crimes? Trump led an attack against the Capitol. It happens often that the immediate reaction is the correct one.
  
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  - Bob Shepherd says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 4:57 pm
    
    Exactly, Mate!
Neil Kulick says:

January 11, 2021 at 7:33 pm

Well done, Gov. Schwarzenegger.
I too immediately thought of Kristallnacht when I watched in horror as members of the mob shattered the windows of the Capitol. I cannot stop thinking of the person wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt. Beneath these words were a skull and crossbones and the words “WORK BRINGS FREEDOM,” an English rendering of “Arbeit Macht Frei,” the words atop the gate at the entrance to Auschwitz.
The Acting Director of Homeland Security has just resigned, just days after a domestic terror attack on the Capitol. Trump fired Secretary of Defense Esper in November, and the Acting Defense Secretary, along with the Acting Attorney General (who replaced Bill Barr, who resigned last month) have been silent.
I am worried about the safety of President-elect Biden and the incoming administration.

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- Bob Shepherd says:
  
  January 12, 2021 at 4:44 am
  
  Well said, Neil!
  
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- Máté Wierdl says:
  
  January 12, 2021 at 10:52 am
  
  “I am worried about the safety of President-elect Biden and the incoming administration.”
  
  As time goes by, we can start worrying about our own safety as well.
  
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Chiara says:

January 11, 2021 at 11:54 pm

It is a good video.
I don’t think it’s over yet, though. All of the Trump loyalists are still in place and none of them have apologized or admitted wrongdoing- in fact, the FBI is warning they’re planning another attempt, on the 17th.
I wish they were out of there but they’re not. He’s still President, he’s still surrounded by the weak-willed, venal people he hired and they all still slavishly follow his orders.
We know Republicans in Congress won’t do anything to stop him – as long as he’s still President and they still hold the senate the crisis continues.
We can all breathe a sigh of relief when (or IF, I guess) they clear out on the 20th but until then? Who knows what they’ll do.
Do you realize the US Capitol was attacked and there hasn’t been a single federal law enforcement briefing to the public?
No one appears to be in control of this. We were lucky last time, that they didn’t reach lawmakers. We better hope our luck holds until the 20th.

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- Bob Shepherd says:
  
  January 12, 2021 at 4:38 am
  
  Meanwhile, the insurrectionist rioters who broke into the Capitol and threatened the lives of lawmakers and their staffs and brought about five deaths are being charged, because they are white, with minor crimes like “unlawful entry” that carry minor penalties, such as a $1,000 fine.
  
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  - Bob Shepherd says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 4:43 am
    
    In other words, we are seeing more abetting of the treasonous criminals from the very people whose duty is to punish them.
    
    Might as well hang signs in separate “Whites Only” courtrooms saying, “Sedition, domestic terrorism, hate crimes, and violent threatening–no biggies”
- SomeDAM Poet says:
  
  January 12, 2021 at 5:40 am
  
  “We know Republicans in Congress won’t do anything to stop him”
  
  Nearly a week later and the Democrats (or at least the “leaders”, which I use very loosely) don’t seem to be doing anything either.
  
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  - SomeDAM Poet says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 5:44 am
    
    But let’s look on the bright side: if Democrats wait just a few more years, they can impeach him after he gets re-elected in 2024. So, were in good shape.
  - Sunshine says:
    
    January 12, 2021 at 12:06 pm
    
    In December, Oregon’s state capitol was also attacked. The Republican Senator from Independence was caught on security cameras letting the rioters in through a back door! Not much being done about that, the House Speaker has asked him to resign.
Chiara says:

January 12, 2021 at 12:00 am

I hope we get a real investigation into this instead of a whitewash.
The US public pays DEARLY for an absolutely massive federal security force. Let’s see if they can manage to solve a crime. I have my doubts, frankly. They’d have to want to solve it, for one thing, and more than a few of them appear to have been in on it.
I am absolutely astounded that they’re now having to VET law enforcement to determine if they’re a danger to the elected officials they’re supposed to be protecting. Horrifying.
Can you imagine what four more years would have been like? There would be nothing left standing.

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Chiara says:

January 12, 2021 at 12:09 am

I have trouble imagining how we go forward without people accepting responsibility.

How can we have another Presidential election? What if they all just decide not to recognize the result again? We just roll the dice and hope Republicans don’t hold both the House and the Senate, because if they do they’ll install the “winner”?

I don’t see how you “move on” from this without some sort of reckoning. How can anyone trust them again? What if another reality tv show star comes along and they all follow that one? I mean, for God’s sake it could be Ivanka next. We could replay this whole disaster in 4 years.

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- Bob Shepherd says:
  
  January 12, 2021 at 4:36 am
  
  What if they all just decide not to recognize the result again? We just roll the dice and hope Republicans don’t hold both the House and the Senate, because if they do they’ll install the “winner”?
  
  Exactly. This is exactly what Trump, his spawn, Ghouliani and Trump’s other lawyers, Cruz and Hawley, and all the rest of the objectors to the election results were calling for.
  
  The end of democracy
  
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Bob Shepherd says:

January 12, 2021 at 4:30 am

What They Were Wearing and Carrying. Winter Wear from the Donald Trump Collection

Trump name, images, slogans, and quotations, such as “will be wild” and “Make America great again”

Confederate flags and nooses

QAnon symbols and slogans (“Q,” “Trust the plan,” “Save the Children,” etc

Nazi and anti-Semitic symbols and slogans, such as a T-shirt reading “Six million was not enough,” a hoodie reading “Camp Auschwitz Staff,” and anti-circumcision signs and symbols

Symbols, slogans, and names of neo-Nazi, white supremacists, militia, and other hate groups such as the Boogaloo Boys, NSC-131, the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters, and Proud Boys, including the Gadsden flag (with its inscription “Don’t Tread on Me”), Norse symbols and crusader or templer crosses and helmets (associated with white Aryan hate groups), the white power hand gesture, the Marvel Comic character The Punisher

Religious and military symbols, quotations, equipment, and dress, including camouflage and various tactical gear, and weapons, including guns, rifles, pipe bombs, and Molotov cocktails

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- Bob Shepherd says:
  
  January 12, 2021 at 5:17 am
  
  climbing gear and zip ties
  
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Máté Wierdl says:

January 12, 2021 at 10:55 am

I think this video with Powell is a good company to Schwarzenegger’s.

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