• paper_moon@lemmy.world
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    24 hours ago

    Stole this description from the other post about this.

    Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

    Leaders of Young Republican groups throughout the country worried what would happen if their Telegram chat ever got leaked, but they kept typing anyway.

    They referred to Black people as monkeys and “the watermelon people” and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.

    William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair, used the words “n–ga” and “n–guh,” variations of a racial slur, more than a dozen times in the chat. Bobby Walker, the vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time, referred to rape as “epic.” Peter Giunta, who at the time was chair of the same organization, wrote in a message sent in June that “everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber.”

    • mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      15 hours ago

      Having it exposed is certainly noteworthy, if only because it removes the plausible deniability. Fascists thrive on doublespeak and dog whistles. The former allows them to attract new followers who may not be radicalized yet, but agree with parts of the language being used. And the latter allows them to publicly signal support to other fascists, without being openly accused of being fascist. Both are important tools in a fascist’s toolbox. Having the mask pulled off removes any doubt about what they’ve been hinting at, and removes the plausible deniability that they always hide behind.