• PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    But Donald Trump, on his social-media network, Truth Social, wrote that Mark Milley’s phone call to reassure China in the aftermath of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was “an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.”

    What does ”in times gone by” (emphasis mine) mean in this context?

    • remotelove@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      A time that has already passed. The olden days. The before-fore times.

      Basically, he is using words that are supposed to sound like he is from Downton Abbey or some shit.

      I have a theory that he doesn’t write half the shit on his social media site. The same with exTwitter, when he was still on that platform.

      • PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Thanks for your response, but I must admit I’m still confused. I’m assuming he’s referring from some time after the US was an official country, since what he’s referring to (or the equivalent of) would still be relevant in some countries today (North Korea, China, Russia, etc).

        I was assuming the US since ~ 1784 or so, and I still cannot figure out when Milley’s actions (or the equivalent) would have warranted the death penalty…unless he’s just making shit up again, which is also completely plausible of course.

        • remotelove@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          You are thinking too deep into it, unfortunately.

          The past was “always a better time”. It doesn’t matter when. People generally tend to only remember the best of the past and that can be exploited. Remember his main theme is “make america great again

          Edit: What I mean by “exploited” is that memories of the past are more malleable than people realize. If you start to infect people’s memories with stories of things that didn’t actually happen, they probably will start to believe those things did happen. The older the person and the older the memories, the more exploitable they are. If you are dealing with a younger person, you can get them to believe things that never actually happened at all. Basically, they start believe stories of the past as a future dream.

          Do you know how older people sometimes like to start sentences with “Back in my day…”? Same concept.

          One of my favorite things to do was question maga people about what past are they trying to re-live again? What was this magical past they are always talking about? The Cuban Missile Crisis? The oil shortages of during the 80’s? Lack of advanced medical care? World War 2? Slavery? Mass segregation? What exactly are they trying to make great again?

          The problem is, Trump probably believes his past was better as well. It’s a common human flaw.

          Edit: This song was from 1989. Different times, same shit: https://youtu.be/eFTLKWw542g?si=6cYpHc7jyGxPDE9O

          • PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            Okay, this helps, thank you. And it’s not surprising that I’m thinking too deeply about it- I have a tendency to do that with everything, which is annoying as hell to friends and family.

            Thank you for taking the time to explain it all, I do appreciate it :)