Why We Root for Strongmen
The dangerous comfort of control in chaotic times First, there’s applause. Then the silence gets scary. You hear the chant, the anthem, the promise to make something great again.He’s confident. He’s loud. He points fingers. He claims he alone can fix it.And deep down, part of you exhales. Finally—someone’s in charge. Even if you know better.Even if you’ve seen the endings before. Still, you watch. Still, you hope. When Simplicity Feels Like Salvation Let’s be honest: the […]#strongmen
"The difference in how #Trump talks about this military presence, in contrast to the resentment he regularly expresses over American bases in Europe and the Pacific, is striking. When describing American commitments to Gulf states, Trump does not insult our allies as freeloaders, or lambaste former U.S. presidents for their stupidity in giving away American protection, or demand that these countries pay what he calls “dues” to retain it."
#Qatar
#corruption
#Strongmen
"Personality cults are key to normalizing corruption. They present the leader as a selfless fighter on behalf of the people, and religious elites collude by proclaiming that he was placed in office by divine mandate. The more corrupt the leader becomes, the harder they work to maintain an aura of holiness around him."
"Journalists and activists who might expose thievery are imprisoned or smeared through propaganda. Virility makes taking what you want, and getting away with it, into the measure of manhood."
"Corruption is key to authoritarianism because for strongmen, public office has nothing to do with public service: rather, it is a vehicle for private enrichment, as well as escaping prosecution for crimes. They use corruption in tandem with violence, propaganda, and other tools of rule. Purges of the judiciary result in a justice system that exonerates crooks or doesn’t prosecute them at all."
~ Ruth Ben-Ghiat
#Trump #authoritarianism #strongmen #corruption
/11
https://lucid.substack.com/p/corruption-and-authoritarianism
"Beware of 'peace' proposals from autocrats. ... Autocrats want to make the world safe for them to plunder, kill, and steal, and the Trump administration is now the accomplice of such criminal activity."
~ Ruth Ben-Ghiat
#Trump #Putin #Russia #Ukraine #autocrats #strongmen #PutinsPoodle
/1
https://lucid.substack.com/p/trump-shows-his-hand-as-a-putin-partner
This book on MBS’s “ruthless quest for global power” sadly seems an inspiration to those currently leading the U.S.
Let’s hope they don’t kill any journalists as MBS had Jamal Khashoggi brutally assassinated.
#dictators #strongmen #saudiarabia #journalism #books
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FocQITpJnaQ
#world of the #antidemocratic #strongmen? like #hitler, #mussolini
and #pinochet 2.0 ? really?
this #world can be #different #better and more #democratic, #democracy can be #better, there are #solutions ask #ai how to stop #ukraine #war https://infosec.exchange/@Linknation/114234717501500255
The paradox of Strongman Rule:
The ”stronger” the man on top,
the more submission they require.
The more submissive those below,
the more weakness they let slip.
This is why strongmen always lead their countries to poverty & pitifullness.
#strongmen #paradox
…The events of the last few days, which have left #Ukraine feeling betrayed, US #allies alarmed, & even some Republican senators outraged, have renewed debate about #Trump’s motives….
Is the president being driven by personal animosity toward #Zelensky? Or contempt for a smaller nation in need, as he seeks to reorient #US #ForeignPolicy to promote a spheres of influence system controlled at #superpower summits by #strongmen like himself, #Putin & Chinese President #Xi Jinping?
📷 Reaching goals. Summer of 2024
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Can a fifty plus guy still built a sixpack? That was the question. And the answer came here in the outback of Alaska.
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With a long past of various fysicsl deficits and downfalls since young years, and continued at adult era, there was always a spirit to get back.
To nevertheless find a forgotten body after Covid times, when bad habits of wrong nutrition and perhaps too common use of alcohol had created the typical body of a 50+ guy who thinks it's due to age.
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Since summer of 2022 there has been work and dedication to alter that.
.
On this inlet shore the celebration was there.
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.
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#alaska #innerpassage #batterypoint #kelgayapoint #chilkoot #chilkootinlet #fitover50 #fitoverfifty #fitness #healthandfitness #beatmode #sixpack #celebration #target #fitnesstarget #happiness #fitbody #hardwork #youreonyourown #fitnessmotivation #fitnessgoals #fitguys #strongmen #strongman #bodyshape #beardstyle #beardguys #silverbeard #thewildwest #wildwest #happinessfromwithin #itsyourlife #lastfrontier #intothewild #thelastfrontier #truealaska #mountains #riverside #natureiseverything #atmosphericperspectives #nationalgeographic #photomaarten #selfie #thephotographersselfie #photographerselfie
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Can a fifty plus guy still built a sixpack? That was the question. And the answer came here in the outback of Alaska.
.
With a long past of various fysicsl deficits and downfalls since young years, and continued at adult era, there was always a spirit to get back.
To nevertheless find a forgotten body after Covid times, when bad habits of wrong nutrition and perhaps too common use of alcohol had created the typical body of a 50+ guy who thinks it's due to age.
.
Since summer of 2022 there has been work and dedication to alter that.
.
On this inlet shore the celebration was there.
.
.
.
.
.
#alaska #innerpassage #batterypoint #kelgayapoint #chilkoot #chilkootinlet #fitover50 #fitoverfifty #fitness #healthandfitness #beatmode #sixpack #celebration #target #fitnesstarget #happiness #fitbody #hardwork #youreonyourown #fitnessmotivation #fitnessgoals #fitguys #strongmen #strongman #bodyshape #beardstyle #beardguys #silverbeard #thewildwest #wildwest #happinessfromwithin #itsyourlife #lastfrontier #intothewild #thelastfrontier #truealaska #mountains #riverside #natureiseverything #atmosphericperspectives #nationalgeographic #photomaarten #selfie #thephotographersselfie #photographerselfie
I only listen sporadically to the Ezra Klein show, but this was a great episode with Erika Frantz on personalist regimes and how they erode democracy. Frantz is a Michigan State professor of political science and co-author of https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-origins-of-elected-strongmen-9780198888079.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show/id1548604447?i=1000683440510
#democracy #Strongmen #government
Women’s interest in strong men adapts to environmental cues of potential threat https://www.psypost.org/womens-interest-in-strong-men-adapts-to-environmental-cues-of-potential-threat/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #StrongMen #EnvironmentalCues #PotentialThreat #Research #SocialPreferences
Purchased online at 6:30am from our local independent bookstore & picked up on my way home from work, after seeing a quote from the author, Ruth Ben-Ghiat:
"We will fight on. There are proven strategies to fight autocrats, which I wrote about in the resistance chapter of #Strongmen, and a world of talent and knowledge and experience in America to draw on."
@colin ??? #Strongmen are NOT the solution. I'm on team #ClanMacKenzie, not #PortlandProtectiveAssociation.
:coffeev60: Thoughts
Since 2020. we have been seeing the increase of the fascism movement w/o brakes, surging. Another #MAGA act by GOP members of #Congress . Freedom of speech, thought and academic information is being mocked and aggressively suppressed. We should be outraged and paying particular attention.
https://pen.org/press-release/cancellation-of-naval-academy-lecture-by-ruth-ben-ghiat-at-behest-of-republican-politicians-threatens-institutional-autonomy/
#fascism #Trumpfacism #GOP #Project2025 #Strongmen #Bookbanning
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/lukashenko-warns-of-war-if-russia-attempts-1729846029.html
"#Lukashenko warns of #war if #Russia attempts to annex #Belarus"
wait, wait, wait...
i think i just figured something out
do #fascist #strongmen like #Putin demand loyalty, offer lies in return, then betray you when it suits them?
is there a lot of fools in this world who don't seem to understand that?
is this playing out in #easterneurope, and places all over the world, including in the #usa with #plutocrats?
🤔 🤔 🤔
(/s)
The #EU is now trying to find means of its own to bolster enforcement & reinforce its curbs on #Russia.
Tom Keatinge, of think tank the Royal United Services Institute, said European policy makers had been preparing "autonomous European #sanctions considering the possibility of a #Trump presidency" but would have to bolster enforcement.
#geopolitics #Authoritarianism #StrongMen #dictatorship #totalitarianism
#ForeignPolicy #Security #democracy #VoteBlue #HarrisWalz2024
#Europe seeks to underpin #Russia #sanctions, fearing that a return of #Trump could undermine Western efforts to isolate Moscow….
The talks among #EU ofcls & envoys are centred on several initiatives to ensure that European sanctions would remain in place longer term, bolstering them through tighter enforcement, even if Washington changes tack.
#geopolitics #Authoritarianism #StrongMen #dictatorship #totalitarianism
#ForeignPolicy #democracy #VoteBlue #HarrisWalz2024
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/europe-seeks-underpin-russia-sanctions-fearing-trump-overhaul-2024-10-25/
"Il Duce replaced democratic elections with occasional plebiscites. In 1934, as he prepared to invade Ethiopia and was dealing with increased internal unrest, he staged a vote. Italians were actually weighing in on a purge of the political class: a single list he had approved of nominees for seats in Parliament, with the choices YES or NO."
#RuthBenGhiat author,
#Strongmen
https://lucid.substack.com/p/from-mussolini-to-trump-elections
#election2024 #DonaldTrump #Fascism #authoritarianism @ruthbenghiat
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