gonna try to address this topic with some nuance, so bear with me. seeing goyim compare trump to hitler en masse right now felt bad at first. however, the more i dug into those feelings, and considered the past times that i’ve even done the same thing, i have some thoughts.

the truth is, it’s really difficult seeing people use sources of jewish trauma (hitler, 𝗻𝗮𝘇𝗶𝘀, the holocaust, etc) as a way to add shock value to a take. we see it constantly and sometimes it gets... really vile. a prominent example of this is vegan activism. let me explain.

a lot of the rhetoric around vegan activism likes to call the meat industry “a holocaust.” it’s a way to force people to care, to bolster the point being made, unaware that it’s essentially comparing jews to literal animals. the pro-life movement has the same exact problem.

the interesting paradox here is that these talking points use jews as a way to force onlookers to recognize the apparent humanity (or humanity-adjacent) value of an animal or a fetus life, but by doing so, it robs jews of our humanity by comparing us to non-human beings.

it also undermines the violence of the holocaust. holocaust comparisons are extremely wrong for many reasons, but the biggest and central reason they’re bad is that by comparing something to the holocaust, you’re essentially bringing the holocaust down on the bar of severity.

to compare the holocaust to anything, you’re undermining and lessening it, and for a tragedy already openly exploited, denied, and trivialized, this only harms jewish people further, as our trauma is already brushed under the rug so much.

...but what about hitler comparisons?

my jewish grandparents, my instagram story archives from 2016, and plenty other jews and jewish activist groups have been calling trump a fascist for years, sometimes even comparing him to hitler too. not every jew is comfortable doing that, i’m not speaking for everyone.

however, even for jews who have made the comparison ourselves, seeing goyim bring up hitler can feel uncomfortable. i want to be clear though. it’s not because it’s a false comparison. it’s because we are so used to having our trauma used as a shock value political talking point.

despite this, it *is* an apt comparison. just a few days ago, a jewish graveyard in michigan was desecrated with MAGA and TRUMP in red paint. jews are not remotely safe under trump, whose similarities to hitler are shockingly high and terrifying. jews are in danger again.

it’s hard to see hitler’s name everywhere, but the important distinction for me is that these are *not* holocaust comparisons. they’re points being made to draw parallels between the fascism of the past and the fascism of the present, and it matters that we acknowledge them.

starting this conversation is a protective measure, an educational measure, something that isn’t just for the sake of modern jews, who *are* in danger again under a trump administration, but for all marginalized people who have suffered during to the newest rise in fascism.

P.S. goyim, please feel free to boost this thread and/or any of the tweets in it. uplifting jewish voices who are making these comparisons is still better than retweeting a goy or making a take yourself. if we’re gonna have this conversation, let jews and romani people lead it.

disclaimer to this: apparently the quote a few tweets up is fake. however, people close to trump have made comments like that in regards to him for decades, which says something in and of itself. quote aside... https://theintercept.com/2020/09/27/trump-supporters-fascism-election/