• Kindness is Punk@lemmy.ca
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    18 hours ago

    It has a self-reinforcing effect: it enforces the idea that this is normal and that the system is working as intended. Even though most of us know that this is only the case because the people who are supposed to hold him accountable are beholden to him, from the outside, it looks as though this is how things should be. This makes change seem hopeless and normalises tyranny, resulting in lasting damage and a chilling effect that will persist for years.

    As long as there is no threat of accountability, there is no incentive to conceal corruption. By performing the act without defence in plain sight, it is legitimised and societal expectations are shifted.

    • FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca
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      8 hours ago

      I’m convinced my grandmother believes Trump can’t be as bad as I say he is because she has too much faith in the system. She doesn’t like Trump, she knows he’s bad, but she doesn’t seem to understand the extent of how bad he is. She thinks whatever he does must be justified on some level or else the president wouldn’t do it. She thinks he can’t be doing things that are that blatantly illegal because then something would be done about it

      • jaaake@lemmy.world
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        7 hours ago

        Everyone who isn’t terminally online thinks like this. People who aren’t exposed to the deluge of shit that is actually happening all think “He’s a pretty bad president, but if he was as bad as these people say he is, he would have been impeached by now.”

    • Maeve@kbin.earth
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      19 hours ago

      The system is working as intended. It’s just not masked anymore.