Dear Marc:
First, let me say that I've followed your political reporting out of Florida for several years, so I know that you're a skilled, capable journalist.
That actually makes everything else in this letter more disturbing, because it proves that even intelligent, well-educated people can suffer from incredibly dangerous blind spots.
Eighteen months ago, after the election but before he was sworn into office, then President-Elect Donald Trump threw a party at his Mar-a-Lago resort which was attended by dozens of reporters who, instead of covering it as a political story, instead yucked it up and had a grand old time, even going so far as to pose for a group photo which caused some controversy:
I tweeted the following in response to a tweet of yours:
You responded by invoking Godwin:
I'm consolidating multiple tweets down in the interest of saving space:
So, @MarcACaputo accused me of going Godwin for pointing out that a bunch of reporters grinned for the camera in a photo op w/a Nazi. I pointed out that it’s not so much the “reporters taking opportunity to have OTR convo w/PEOTUS” part which infuriates many, but the fact that a bunch of them then decided to go beyond that to actually posing for a photo op w/him, grinning like idiots at the camera, followed by at least one then posting the group shot to social media, bragging about his/their “off the record access” to a Nazi.
So I point this out, he accuses me of “going Godwin”. I note that a) Godwin himself sez it’s sometimes legit comparison, and b) when actual Holocaust survivors (including Anne Franks’ sister) say the comparison is valid, IT’S FUCKING VALID. HOWEVER, beyond that, let’s go back to his original point: It’s difficult for reporters to talk to Trump, so they’re desperate for any occasion to do so. Gee, why the hell do you think that’s the case? Perhaps because HE refuses to hold an actual press conference, and treats them like shit?
— Charles Gaba (@charles_gaba) December 19, 2016
However, OK, I was willing to accept that this part is a legitimate discussion point for reasonable people. And then I saw this:
For a moment I honestly wondered whether I was being unprofessional by saying Nazi (even tho political journalism isn’t my profession). After all, as @Langkard & @haroldpollack noted, Mussolini is a better comparison. then again, his party was literally the Fascist Party...or, specifically, “Partito Nazionale Fascista”…which also happens to include “Nazi”. So there you go.
But again…@MarcACaputo *IS* supposed to be a professional political journalist, I believe. And yet here he is, trashing @ParkerMolloy with mean-spirited, mocking language for raising reasonable concerns about press sucking up to a fascist narcissist about to gain power. I mean, I’m sorry, but all I could think of was “the top photo is missing Oskar Schindler”:
I’ve no idea who’s in that photo besides @mikeallen (who posted the photo). Perhaps they’re mostly decent reporters who had a one-time terrible lapse in judgment. But the fact that they, like so many voters, STILL DON’T SEEM TO GRASP WHAT’S HAPPENING...that they’re STILL treating Trump and his goon squad like any other PEOTUS (perhaps more “colorful” and “unconventional” but that’s it) is fucking TERRIFYING. Fascism is taking over in real time and they’re STILL treating this like a reality show.
The problem with the “don’t go Godwin!” response is that everyone envisions Hitler in 1943 or so. That’s not where we are. It’s 1932.
Hitler didn’t become “Hitler” as we envision him from movies/etc (mass murderer, etc) until a few years later. But things move very quickly, especially in the age of the internet. /end
PS, re. the “Mussolini is the parallel, not Hitler” thing: Agreed, but that’s not exactly comforting:
Credit here.
Oh, I should also credit @pookleblinky; much of my thread is inspired by this brilliant thread.
So what was your response?
“SO MUCH FUN.”
“NO CONCENTRATION CAMPS”
Well, technically speaking, you didn't say anything about apologizing if the federal government established concentration camps, so I guess you're off the hook on that one.
Oh, yes, and that'd be THAT Gen. Michael Flynn.
Moving on…
“HYSTERICAL”
It was right after this exchange that you apparently muted me:
“YOU’RE BEING SILLY.”
‘YOU NEED A NAP.”
“THE LEVEL OF SILLY IS TOO HIGH.”
But what would she know about it, amirite?
Of course, every one of these people could be wrong. Perhaps Trump isn’t a “Nazi” himself. He just supports & is supported by them...and the Ku Klux Klan. Because that's so much better. But how about if you ask @sfmnemonic (Mike Godwin) himself? I think I made a pretty good case here.
— Charles Gaba (@charles_gaba) December 20, 2016
For what it's worth, so many people did ask Godwin about it that he later responded with a blanket statement:
Your response to all of this?
No, because you’re hurling insults at me for pointing out the blatant, obvious parallels between him and the rise of Nazis/Fascism. I just posted like a dozen examples of FUCKING HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS saying flat-out “Yep, Trump is awfully Nazi/Hitler-like”. Now, is it possible that they’re all wrong? Of course. And if so, THANK GOD and I’ll be very happy to wear that egg on my face. But there’s AMPLE REASON for intelligent people who aren’t prone toward hyperbole to see the parallels, & you’re ignoring that.
You didn’t respond to ANY of my original thread beyond “yuk, yuk, look at this crazy nobody w/delusions of Nazis!” I presented cogent arguments and logical flow. You either didn’t read it or shrugged it off to call me “hysterical”.
I then presented a long list of, again, *actual* Holocaust survivors who see Trump and are scared shitless of the parallels. You’ve responded to none of this. You just keep going with “Trump’s no Nazi, anyone who sez he’s Nazi-like is crazy.”
— Charles Gaba (@charles_gaba) December 20, 2016
…and then claiming they’re “joking”. Even if they *were* “kidding”, how the hell does that make it any more acceptable? “Oh, we aren’t REALLY planning on massacring millions of Jews, we’re just PLAY ACTING at it!” Fucking hilarious. So this may all be a big joke to you—“2017 will be hilarious!” you said—but it’s deadly fucking serious to millions of others. It’s serious to Jews, blacks, homosexuals, hispanics/latinos, Muslims and transgenders, and it’s DEAD serious to the LITERAL Nazis, KKK members and other white supremacist groups. Whether TRUMP means it, THEY do.
I’ve followed you for awhile because you’ve done a lot of good political journalism…but for whatever reason, you can’t seem to accept that on this particular incident you were simply wrong. Everyone’s wrong about stuff at times.
And yet you STILL refused to get it…
Oh, wait...apparently you changed your criteria: Instead of "closing mosques", it's now defined as "starting concentration camps and genocide" to make him Hitler-like:
Well, I guess he's halfway there, huh Marc? You really want to wait for the other half before admitting that MAYBE I HAD A FUCKING POINT?
(In case you're not aware, Marc, "globalist" is a fairly well-known antisemitic dog whistle slur.)
NOT ACCORDING TO YOU, RIGHT, MARC?
Yes, yes it does, doesn't it?
Whoops. Too late for that.
“THEY’RE TOLD THEIR KIDS ARE GOING TO BE TAKEN AWAY BRIEFLY TO BATHE...THEY AREN’T COMING BACK.”
SOUND FAMILIAR, MARC?
I could go on...and on...and on...and on...and on...over the past 18 months I've posted dozens of solid examples of Nazi-like behavior, rhetoric and policies by Donald Trump and his administration...none of which you've apparently seen because you had me muted. You can catch up on all of them here, however.
Finally, last week, I posted this:
And your response?
Yesterday, we heard this from the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security:
In case you're wondering, Marc, this is what children screaming and crying for their parents sounds like:
The desperate sobbing of 10 Central American children, separated from their parents one day last week by immigration authorities at the border, makes for excruciating listening. Many of them sound like they’re crying so hard, they can barely breathe. They scream “Mami” and “Papá” over and over again, as if those are the only words they know.
The baritone voice of a Border Patrol agent booms above the crying. “Well, we have an orchestra here,” he jokes. “What’s missing is a conductor.”
Then a distraught but determined 6-year-old Salvadoran girl pleads repeatedly for someone to call her aunt. Just one call, she begs anyone who will listen. She says she’s memorized the phone number, and at one point, rattles it off to a consular representative. “My mommy says that I’ll go with my aunt,” she whimpers, “and that she’ll come to pick me up there as quickly as possible.”
Still finding it "so much fun" Marc?
I'll leave you with this:
Thanks for your time,
Charles Gaba
"Idiot" "Jerk" who has "lost his mind."
P.S. Oh, by the way: