(This post was intended for politics@lemmy.world, but as it seems they don’t allow text posts, I’m posting it here)

This post will likely not go over well with everyone and some people may not agree with the premise of the question. Mods please remove if not allowed.

I am curious if the MAGA-esque approach to politics is new for the US, or if there have been other examples of similar political movements which may be considered “cult-like”. To better define what I mean, here are some examples:

  • Large amounts of signs bearing a candidate’s name being shown by single individuals (e.g. big trucks covered in Trump signs everywhere)

  • Use of a candidate name over the US flag

  • Use of a kind of supporter uniform (e.g. the red MAGA hat)

  • The “alternative facts” of MAGA, where debate can be impossible because supporters believe anyone who is a detractor must be lying

  • In some cases, voter intimidation or coercion from staunch supporters

It seems to me that some of this is new but I’d love to hear other thoughts. I have heard and seen many relatively obvious parallels to German politics in the 20s-40s, but I’m specifically wondering if anything similar has ever been seen in the US before.

  • thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org
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    2 months ago

    Lyndon LaRouche

    LOL oh man I have not thought about that fool in years… I would spit on the ground when I would walk by those fools. There was a lot of them in Seattle. One time a guy took offense on me looking him in the eye and then spitting at his feet. Since I lived in the neighborhood I went home and grabbed a couple eggs and tossed them at their booth. Good times!

    • sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip
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      2 months ago

      I was born and raised in the PNW and first saw the LaRouchies at the UW, with a large display of Obama with a Hitler mustache… though I did not spit at them lol.

      • thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org
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        2 months ago

        I was living downtown in Seattle and they were always near the market bothering people. They would setup their little booths right on the sidewalk and force people to walk around them. When they would try to talk to me is when I would just spit at their feet. I probably fit the street punk look and they would talk shit at me so I escalated it that one time. The Obama Hitler shit just enraged me