• gAlienLifeform@lemmy.worldOP
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    21
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    11 months ago

    Cults, mafias, and terrorist organizations have been doing the “troublesome priest” routine for forever, and prosecutors judges and juries have been able to see through their bullshit and apply laws anyway. It isn’t easy, and there’s certainly lots of times those organizations (mafias in particular) have been able to corrupt or intimidate people, but it got done and it can be done again.

    • 520@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      13
      arrow-down
      5
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      This isn’t like those. None of those even come close. Those have the power to maybe get someone, maybe even a few people, murdered. Trump’s useful idiots were prepared to storm the capital and upend democracy in the USA, and they very nearly succeeded.

      Trump doesn’t operate like a traditional cult. There are no official cult power structures or communication channels. He just has to hold a press conference and let the mainstream media do its thing. He just needs to say ‘we need to fight for our rights’ and then mention a target in the vein of ‘this person is a corrupt individual who undermines democracy’ and they’ll be at that person’s house in thousands.

      Which is why I wish they were much harsher on him when it came to violating gag orders.

      Sure, they might be able to trace back evidence to pin on him. Years after the judge is dead.

        • 520@kbin.social
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          9
          arrow-down
          3
          ·
          edit-2
          11 months ago

          These are the same people that stormed the capitol and the same people a single member of which stormed a US senator’s house and fucked up her husband with a hammer simply because Trump constantly shit talked about her.

          No I am not giving these people too much power. They are dangerous and they don’t know limits. They’ve proven this much.

          The last time a cult tried anything approaching this level of magnitude, they ended up coining the term ‘drinking the kool-aid’

      • CoderKat@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        11 months ago

        Heck, he doesn’t even have to do anything. Trump could disappear for good and I bet his followers would come to their own conclusions and pull some shit.

        • 520@kbin.social
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          11 months ago

          Only takes a few in the crowd to break through. Imagine if one or a few of them got as far as Ashli Babbit did. The outcome of the riots could have been very different.

            • 520@kbin.social
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              3
              ·
              11 months ago

              True, but that’s no reason to be complacent. This could easily become a ‘lessons learned’ aspect for the Trump family too. They might do more to ensure that someone turns up armed and at the right spot, which will also be a lot easier for a judge’s house than the Capitol building.