For all the Trump administration’s talk of saving money and increasing “government efficiency,” the president demanded that huge amounts be appropriated in the Republicans’ recent budget bill to fund his mass-deportation program.
In all, $170 billion was set aside to be spent over the next four years for border and immigration enforcement. This total includes $45 billion to create a sprawling detention system (nearly five times the annual budget for the Bureau of Prisons), $30 billion for ICE operations, $46.6 billion for more border wall construction, and, as if that weren’t enough, a new $10 billion border patrol slush fund.
This level of funding is unprecedented. ICE is now the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the country. And that fact raises a question: What exactly are they going to do with all that money?
Dunno, I’ve seen quite a few Spanish second names on that site people link here in comments.
I’d say it’s going to be a problem for everyone, but not like Kristallnacht. That was, a reminder, SA public action, rather artistic, in line with the Nazi official policy. A show.
Though one can say today’s elites love a good show too, I won’t repeat again that thing about impression economy I’ve read about from Cory Doctorow, I think. I think in line with that some Nazi approaches are possible. That’s what they did with Gaza and Alawites in Syria (no way this was without Israel’s and US and EU approval, just no way).
But - impressions also were a big thing then. Radio just became popular. Olympic games. Automobiles gaining popularity. Airships. Electric lighting. Radiola, pianola, such various automatons using radio and punchcards. Tabulating machines that Nazis used for their population census.
That wasn’t just goons given right to do whatever (they were in Nazi Germany too, but that was small stuff - once a few dozen times someone failed to say “Sieg Heil” they might have been beaten or even killed by a Nazi, and in general Nazis were openly against any kind of due process, - all that “fanatisch, total und radikal” stuff about just vibing through grotesque cruelty and aggression, they were LARPing a tribe, after all, - so acts of random cruelty were normal).
So yes, the time is similar in some way. But when thinking that, let’s also remember that in the 30s many people would think Hitler is the future in Britain and in USA, and in east Asia that old impression still holds.
The steel monsters that broke this one’s back were too not nice, but they did the job and learned some of the lessons.