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Strongmen: How They Rise, Why They Succeed, How They Fall | Ruth Ben-Ghiat

#NotBookRelated I am in a taxi in France where someone left a New York Times on the backseat. I enjoy the article about Trump as a bystander while thinking he rules the world but it‘s in fact so sad. European leaders being so weak, Putin doing whatever he likes and Trump, well …

Amiable My head hurts and my heart aches …it‘s all terrible. 😖 5d

sarahbarnes Yes, what @Amiable said. I don‘t read anything very uplifting in the NYT these days. 5d

BarbaraBB @Amiable @sarahbarnes I don‘t often read the NYT of course but it is so spot on and I can‘t imagine what it must be like to be confronted with this reality every day. (edited) 5d

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BarbaraBB @Amiable @sarahbarnes the Trump reality I mean. I know all about weak European leadership but somehow I don‘t mind it as much as I mind everything I read about Trump‘s stupidity (edited) 5d

sarahbarnes Yes, he‘s much more dangerous than anything else I‘ve seen here in my lifetime. He has too much power for someone so bent on destroying everything for his own gain. 5d

Amiable @BarbaraBB Weak leaders are frustrating and infuriating, for sure. We‘ve been there in the U.S. A president who is actively trying to overthrow democracy in his own country and turn it into an authoritarian dictatorship is terrifying. That‘s a new reality in this country—one that too many people are still trying to ignore or excuse. 5d

Tamra I keep thinking I‘m going to run out of disgust and outrage, but nope. 5d

AlaMich He terrifies me. 5d

Suet624 We are in serious trouble over here. 5d

ImperfectCJ It feels like we've dropped into an alternate reality. I can't figure out why no one bats an eye at the things this man does when, if anyone else did them, they'd be pilloried. 5d

CBee I would much rather weak European leadership than the absolutely terrifying shit show we have going on here. Every day brings a new worry. 5d

BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes @Amiable @Tamra @AlaMich @Suet624 @ImperfectCJ it must be terrifying. From where I live it is horrible as well but somehow abstract - I still can‘t imagine it really happening. I do really hope his age will catch up with him. And that the Democrats will stand up against this all. (edited) 5d

Librarybelle Well said, @CBee . These are horrifying times. 5d

Pigpen_Reads With the last current horrific events, it looks like America is changing. People are finally standing up for what is right and demanding an end to this insanity. Conservatives are coming out strong, loud, and proud. No more fear of what the left can do. Their policies have put us in the situation we are in as a country. 5d

CBee @Pigpen_Reads I‘m sorry, what? 5d

Pigpen_Reads @CBee Our country is a shit show because of the left. After the events this week, people are done. Senseless violence and murder. Enough is enough. I love this book community and I‘ve stayed quiet when everyone talks trash about Trump and conservatives, but I‘m not going to anymore. Why should I be silenced? 5d

Susanita @Pigpen_Reads I don‘t understand what “insanity” you mean or how the “left” contributed to the right on right violence. 5d

Pigpen_Reads @Susanita Iryna was brutally stabbed by a man who should have been locked up, but was out on a cashless bond. The school shooting in Colorado, the shooter was radicalized by liberals. The man that was beheaded in Dallas, was killed by an illegal. Charlie was assassinated by a man that was also radicalized by liberals. (edited) 5d

CBee @Pigpen_Reads I‘m sorry that you believe what you do. I had a whole response typed out, but I doubt it would make a difference. And, on the advice of another Litten whom I cherish very much, I will not clog up sweet Barbara‘s page with arguments. I wish the best to you and hope that you will dig a little deeper for the truth next time. 5d

Pigpen_Reads @CBee I hope the same for you too. 5d

Chrissyreadit I sadly canceled my NYT subscription- i believed they had Journalistic integrity but most recent events have me concerned by news they choose not to cover and the limits in the news they do. How is Journalism in France @BarbaraBB ? 5d

BarbaraBB Thank you @CBee I don‘t agree with you @Pigpen_Reads. I am not American and don‘t know about the people and cases your referring to, I only see a man doing very unresponsible things to the world and very little for the people who voted for him - unless they are billionaires too. 5d

BarbaraBB @Chrissyreadit I live in the Netherlands and things are polarized here too. The media are still neutral and doing the best they can to inform us but there are many people who prefer telegram and weird Facebook groups these days. 5d

Susanita @Pigpen_Reads I can‘t add much to what @cbee says, so I will leave it at that. 5d

Pigpen_Reads @BarbaraBB The media is doing a great job at only showing what they want. Trump did a lot for the lgb community and for people of color, but those went unnoticed. 5d

CBee @BarbaraBB 💚👏🏻 5d

AmyG @Pigpen_Reads They went unnoticed because he didn‘t do anything. I suggest perhaps you watch different media outlets. Learn all sides of a story before making a decision. Knowledge is power. (edited) 5d

Suet624 @Pigpen_Reads Hahaha. Your claims that Trump has done a lot for the groups you speak of is hilarious.
(edited) 5d

dabbe @Pigpen_Reads Nothing for the “t's“ and “q's“ though, right? Interesting. And I'd love to see proof of this. He did a lot of NOTHING for these people. Period. 5d

Chrissyreadit @BarbaraBB I am so sad to hear that. I know that economics has a lot to do with the rise of fascism, and it is devastating that it is hard to share adequate information- so many people believe lies and corrupted information. 5d

Amiable @Pigpen_Reads Oh honey, you drank ALL the kook-aid and then went back for more, didn‘t you? Bless your heart. 🙄 (edited) 5d

Pigpen_Reads @AmyG @dabbe @Amiable You do know that Trump appointed the first openly gay Cabinet member, right? He also created a task force to focus on missing and murdered Indigenous people. He signed the FUTURE act for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. What have liberals done for my people? Nothing except want modern day slavery. 5d

Chrissyreadit @Pigpen_Reads You are aware that the current budget will disproportionally have a negative impact on people- including working families, children and individuals with disabilities- all are at a very real risk of losing medicare- including parents who work full time jobs? That financial aid is what made greater percentages of all students able to receive an education- that has also been cut. But billionaires will have tax cuts. Also due process is 5d

Chrissyreadit @Pigpen_Reads no longer being followed including for people hear legally- (although to be fair that loophole was put in by Bush). and you are defending a man who openly and gleefully ogled underage girls, was convicted for sexual assault and convicted for felony fraud- all of which was well documented in the 80‘s when he was still a registered democrat. I‘m sorry that we are having this discussion but also not sorry- there are many books in 5d

Chrissyreadit @Pigpen_Reads history and science to demonstrate that reducing safety standards, not addressing climate change and not providing for public health via vaccination will result in catastrophic harm for generations because we have science. I‘m surprised that you support HBCU‘s but not Kamala btw. 5d

AmyG

For the United States cabinet, the first openly gay member confirmed by the Senate was Pete Buttigieg, who served as Secretary of Transportation from 2021 to 2025. However, the first openly gay person to serve in a cabinet-level position was Richard Grenell, who served in an acting capacity. 5d

Pigpen_Reads @Chrissyreadit Your last sentence. What do you mean by that? 5d

Chrissyreadit @Pigpen_Reads also the First openly gay congressperson was elected in 1983- Gerry Stodds. Franklin Kameny in 1975 was the first openly gay US Congressional Appointee. Pete Buttigieg was our Secretary of Transpotation under Biden and openly gay. Currently the desire to overwhelmingly discriminate against trans rights is a hallmark of this administration. 5d

Chrissyreadit Kamala Harris‘ platform was about supporting everyone- and she was very active as an alumni of an HBCU. Sadly- one of the programs she championed- expanding medicare so that our seniors could receive services that let them live independently with medical support/nursing care in the home- is now a pipe dream. The cuts to medicare will debitaste our seniors who are also disproportionately likely to die from Covid- and that vaccine will be an uphi 5d

Chrissyreadit @Pigpen_Reads uphill battle to receive. 5d

AmyG Trump states that we shouldn‘t focus on how bad slavery was at the Smithsonian. He downplays the role od systemic racism. In some red states “gag laws” have been set in place to resist how some teachers talk about slavery and Jim Crow. How does that help? (edited) 5d

AmyG As for the Trans community, MAGA does nothing by VILIFY an entire group of people. 5d

CBee @Pigpen_Reads both of those things - the task force and FUTURE act - happened in 2019. I‘d be interested to hear if those are both still in place. Because everything be is doing now is erasing any “good” he may have done previously. 5d

CBee @Pigpen_Reads have you read what Charlie Kirk said about black people - black women in particular? Not to mention the other minority groups he targeted and vilified. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/11/charlie-kirk-quotes-beliefs 5d

Pigpen_Reads @Chrissyreadit Trump is cutting out the waste and fraud in Medicare. With the OBBB act, PAYGO was triggered and that is where the cuts come from. That act has been around for decades and Congress can waive that. Trump is not looking to cut in the way you think he is. 5d

Suet624 @Pigpen_Reads Hahaha. Again! Hahaha. It's clear this thread disagrees with you. Maybe it's time to move on. Please go ahead and post under your own account. (edited) 5d

AmyG The new bill—formally named the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB)—which Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025, includes cuts to Medicaid of almost $1 trillion over the next 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this means that 11.8 million Americans may lose their health insurance. 5d

Chrissyreadit @Pigpen_Reads i‘m sorry you are not recognising that to be incorrect. There are plenty of brilliant economists who recognize that this will be a system that causes harm. unfortunately there will be nothing we can do. I‘m a provider- who will not take medicare because the requirements are so stringent already- it is very difficult to see how there is waste or fraud. Did you know that dental nor vision are covered under medicare? two services that 5d

Chrissyreadit are needed more by aging populations. 5d

Chrissyreadit @Pigpen_Reads the pay go you are describing was necessary because of the tax cuts being given to billionaires. we had an expanding population of seniors- who needed more services. honestly, while i am typically not a conspiracy theorist i am wondering if there is a hope all of the most vulnerable-elderly and disabled - will die off because they “cost money” that was just cut. 5d

Chrissyreadit @Pigpen_Reads do you think senior citizens should have medical care? housing? what about the disabled? LGBTQ? Single moms? What is your belief of who does not deserve clean water, clean air, healthy food, health in general? 5d

Pigpen_Reads @AmyG As Americans, we all have the same rights and privileges. We‘re all equal. As for the trans community, they have vilified themselves. 5d

CBee @Pigpen_Reads we‘re all equal, unless we are transgender. Is that what you‘re saying? 5d

Pigpen_Reads @CBee That those specific women he was talking about were only in their positions because of affirmative action? Yes, I saw that. Dei was dangerous and annoying, honestly. People put into positions that they didn‘t work hard for, but got because of the color of their skin? 5d

Pigpen_Reads @CBee They are both still active. 5d

Pigpen_Reads @Chrissyreadit Of course senior citizens should have medical care and housing. Disabled too. Single moms have resources to help them, as do the lgbt community. But, single moms and those in the lgbt community can help themselves. Yes, they may need a hand, but they should be helping themselves too. Not rely on the government. I‘m all for helping where it‘s needed. 5d

CBee @Pigpen_Reads well, he just signed it. It‘s not like he wrote it or did any of the work to get there. He just isn‘t that smart. 5d

AmyG Please educate me as to how the Trans community has vilified themselves. I am legitimately curious. 5d

AmyG I know some people who got put into positions that they are not remotely qualified for but got because of the color of their skin i.e. RFK Jr, Pete Hegseth, Doug Burgham, Krisi Noem, Linda McMahon….to name a few. (edited) 5d

AmyG Recent executive orders by Donald Trump, signed since his inauguration in January 2025, have rescinded or weakened federal protections for the transgender community. These orders have affected health care access, military service, housing, prison housing, and identity documents. 5d

Pigpen_Reads @AmyG Push their beliefs on people and children. Incite violence. Demand that we use their improper pronouns. And then you have the men that demand to come into our safe spaces. 5d

AmyG I‘m sorry. You are transphobic. I‘m going to stop now. Everyone have a good evening. 5d

CBee @Pigpen_Reads this is a disgusting and false comment. I‘m stopping now as well. 5d

Chrissyreadit @Pigpen_Reads I‘m so sorry that you believe this. I have never been assaulted by any one in the trans community. But i have been assaulted by cis white men- yes plural. I work with children- and btw- the single moms i know (including myself) work incredibly long hours- and do not have many safety nets at all. I am not going to write the book on the amount of ways that women are unfairly harmed. Or that i‘ve observed discrimination…the hate to 5d

Pigpen_Reads @AmyG You asked, I answered. I‘m not transphobic. 5d

Pigpen_Reads @Chrissyreadit I‘ve been assaulted. I‘m speaking from my own experiences. 5d

Chrissyreadit the trans community is intense- because they are so harmless. How do you feel about intersex ? cloacal extrophy? both which are typically when children were assigned a genital specifically vagina because it was easier to form. I WISH i could be lesbian!!!!! I can‘t stand the patriarchy but I cannot control who i am attracted to. Dis you know a disproportionate amount of trans individuals were sexually assaulted as children or adolescents ? 5d

Chrissyreadit @Pigpen_Reads approximately 50%- yet you say they are groomers???? they were not assaulted by trans adults… 5d

Chrissyreadit @Pigpen_Reads you were assaulted by a trans person? I am so sorry! 5d

Pigpen_Reads @Chrissyreadit Yes, changed my way of seeing them for sure. 5d

BarbaraBB @Pigpen_Reads I do not agree with you as I said but I appreciate your answering to all questions and I wish we would be in dialogue more than we usually do, each sticking to their own reality and truth. Polarization is scary as hell. 4d

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