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by smt88 3536 days ago
It's not lazy. It's showing the extreme (clearly unacceptable) end of the spectrum to ask someone how they decide where to draw the line. What would Trump have to do before supporting him is unacceptable to YC?

But if you really don't want to use Hitler, try Rodrigo Duterte or Silvio Berlusconi instead. They actually share a lot of similarities to Trump.
2 comments
dkopi 3536 days ago
"It's showing the extreme (clearly unacceptable) end of the spectrum to ask someone how they decide where to draw the line."

That's actually very lazy. It's shifting the burden of "drawing the line" on the other side.

It's the "well, why don't we just kill toddlers as well? Where do you draw the line?" in an abortion argument. It's the "why don't we just give 12 year old's automatic assault weapons" or "why don't we disarm the police and military as well" in a gun control debate. It's the "So why don't we just tax corporations 100% of their income" in a corporate tax debate.

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rtpg 3536 days ago
Very true. The line is important.

Trump has started heavily implying that the election will be rigged, Russia-style. He repeats Info Wars propaganda sillyness. He's come out to say that the elections will be stolen from true Americans by illegal immigrants. He's called for beating protestors.

Some of his positions are more a question of form rather than function compared to the political mainstream. His comments on muslims immigrating into the country are not far from the Republican Party mainstream, unfortunately.

But beyond his policies, he has been openly hostile to the concept of functioning democracy. There's a lazy comparison to be made to Hitler, but that's because Hitler also subverted the system through a cult of personality.

I know some people oppose him for his policies, but it feels internally inconsistent (you'd have to boycott most Republican supporters). But surely using strategies to undermine the legitimacy of the election results (that in a different country would be an obvious lead-up to a coup d'etat) is something we can all get behind as a bad thing.

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mangeletti 3536 days ago
AKA, Slippery Slope Fallacy[1].

1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope

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coredog64 3536 days ago
Berlusconi is a better comparison in that it avoids all that Godwin's nonsense.
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