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By Hal Brown
Having read in a Raw Story article (below) that Judge Chukan had increased the level of protective security which is no doubt in response to the heightened threats coming from Trump and the danger that he will egg on a supporter to act out violently I wrote the following comment. It is really the gist of my blog essay for today.
My comment: It's not beyond the realm of possiblity that there are a few violence prone unhinged and ignorant Trump cultists who don't know what word "recused" means and don't know it is a legal term. They may think it means something far more dire. I am glad this judge has enchanced her security detail since there may be someone out there who would be willing to martre himself for Trump, someone that is the sort that would fly this flag, one that has a message that can be taken two ways: I would give my life for Trump or I would take your life for him. See this article about the flag: Who Embraces the Slogan, ‘Trump or Death’?
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Then in looking for an image of the Trump or Death flag to add to my comment I came across this article in the venerable conservative publication National Review founded by William F. Buckley in 1955. It explores in depth the very topic I decided to write about.
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The article is by National Review senior poltical correspondent Jim Geraghty (profile).
This is the paragraph that jumped out at me:
The full embrace of a “my guy or we kill your (sic) or we die trying” really ought to spur an “are we the baddies?” moment. Then again, some people may well get a thrill out of being the bad guys.
I think the author had a typo and meant:
The full embrace of a “my guy or we kill you or we die trying” really ought to spur an “are we the baddies?” moment. Then again, some people may well get a thrill out of being the bad guys.
Clicking on "are we the badies" moment takes you to this YouTube video:
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On the menu today: What does it say about our country that there is a market for flags that declare, “Trump or Death?” Why do some fans of the former president find that an effective or inspiring rallying cry? And are they play-acting in the role of revolutionaries, or do they mean what they say?
But what caught my eye was the article’s illustration photo of dueling protesters from when Trump was arraigned in Manhattan, including a protester who’s holding a flag declaring “Trump or Death.” It’s not a homemade flag; there are at least three different versions of it for sale online. One features the skull from The Punisher wearing a MAGA-style cap that reads, “Take America back.” Another adds the slogan, “The choice is clear.”The man holding the flag in the photo spoke to a New York magazine reporter on the day of the protest:
“This is my new favorite flag,” says Dion Cini, who is holding a flag that says “Trump or Death” outside Trump Tower on Monday morning. “It doesn’t necessarily mean my death; it could mean your death.”
If you insist upon placing the choice of “Trump or death” before the rest of the country, and will accept no other terms, recognize that there are high odds that the rest of country will refuse to be intimidated into electing someone they detest. The answer may well be, “Let’s go with death, then.” The wavers of that flag think they’re emulating Patrick Henry and the Founding Fathers, but they’re much more like the British redcoats, effectively declaring, “You must accept that our guy will rule, or we will kill you or die trying.” “My way or I kill you” is a fundamentally un-American philosophy and is the modus operandi of al-Qaeda, ISIS, the Iranian mullahs, Vladmir Putin, Xi Jinping, and every other tinpot dictator, autocrat, and tyrant around the world.
‘Trump or death’: The grim circus in Manhattan as far-right figures protest historic arraignment
Although there's no such group named "Team MAGA" whoever wrote this suggests Trump or Death is their flag.
Trump shatters laws of political physics with third indictment
The former president’s support base holds firm as each negative in a court of law translates to a positive in the court of public opinion
But even as observers savored a sombre yet reaffirming moment for the rule of law, a follower of the former US president could be seen outside court waving a giant flag. “Trump or death,” it declared, not far from the halls of Congress where lethal violence erupted on January 6,2021.
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It’s much more fun to imagine yourself storming the ramparts and vanquishing the evil, whether you imagine that evil to be a child-smuggling ring operating out of a pizza restaurant; some other shadowy cabal pulling the strings behind the scenes; a president you abhor; or that liberal relative, neighbor, or coworker you can’t stand. Conspiracy theories are a form of “checking out” of mundane, boring, dissatisfying reality, and slipping away into an alternate reality where you’re the Fox Mulder, the one guy who can see through the illusion and who has it all figured out.
Sometimes people have abandoned their duty to reality so thoroughly that they think “Trump or death” is a persuasive slogan.
