The Prankster: Spocking Fives: A plurality of people also voted for various socialist and communist parties. It was a choice made by the people in power to keep letting them get away with it. Fascism has never had true popular support, just a system that they know how to game.

I think a lot about how the Nazis were voted into office. But that outcome wasn't inevitable—people could've made a different choice. Fascism is like a vampire; you must first invite it inside.

The UK and France just proved that getting out and actually voting makes a difference. Don’t let anyone ever tell you differently.

If memory serves, Hitler actually came in third, but the Chancellor was alarmed by the size of his minority so decided to bring him into the government thinking once installed they could control him. Instead, it legitimized him.

You're right. I glossed over the details, but still: invited the vampire inside

Significant that it was the people in power who did this, not the voters

Enough people (a plurality) voted for the Nazis to persuade Hindenburg that he had to share power with them. It wasn't entirely an elite-driven phenomenon

A plurality of people also voted for various socialist and communist parties. It was a choice made by the people in power to keep letting them get away with it. Fascism has never had true popular support, just a system that they know how to game.

The splintering of the left in Germany and the obedience of the center holds a warning for us all

Which is why the biggest danger is complacency, apathy, or in the case of the upcoming US elections, the protest vote by those who think the worst can't happen.

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