Robespierre Returning

Another day another supposed academic making a fool of himself on twitter:

Whatever you’re thoughts of Trump, thus far it seems hard to name any crimes that would rise to the level of execution as punishment. I suppose maybe if he coordinated with the Russians to the level of treason (frankly something I don’t see as likely just given the high bar of the definition of treason in this country, everything else aside.)

The stunning thing is that this comes from a history professor who seems ignorant of history. Let us assume, for argument’s sake that Trump is guilty of the crimes claimed by this whackobird: “Ethnic cleansing, climate genocide, subversion of voting rights, & propaganda.” History tells us that the vast majority of people who engaged in these things (climate genocide not included since it has no…well basis in fact) did not end up executed. Andrew Jackson ran the Trail of Tears, and last I checked: not executed. Propaganda is pretty much the basis of every political regime. FDR was especially apt at it. If he was executed, I missed that lesson in history class; maybe it’s covered in the PhD curricula.  And while Jim Crow was horrific, there’s a lack of executions as punishment for enacting it. Hell Strom Thurmond and Robert Byrd are still lionized today in many respects.

Now many will say the ignorance of this man should reflect on Fresno State, I disagree. He’s listed on his faculty page as “lecturer.” Fresno state is guilty here of little more than being cheap. He’s the Ikea sofa of academics, or if you prefer a Yugo. Hired (bought) because he’s relatively inexpensive and functional. If Fresno State wanted more than a functional cheap warm body to teach mandatory classes they’d have opened a tenure track line for him.

No, the real disgrace goes to John Hopkins, who bestowed a PhD on this guy while apparently teaching him nothing about the subject he supposedly excels in: history. Consider, his request that a kangaroo trial for Trump be brought up and the predetermined punishment of execution be levied. That’s not democracy in any history I’ve seen. It does however have a striking resemblance to France’s Reign of Terror. His call for the execution of 2 Republicans for every deported person only confirms this parallel. If justice is defined by the execution of your ideological enemies from crimes of merely disagreeing, then you’re well in to Robespierre territory.

The strangest thing is that Liberals always assume they will be Robespierre, manning the guillotines protecting the purity of their vision. But again, history tells us something different. It almost never shakes out this way, with relative nobodies rising up to the peak of power. It’s always someone who was already power adjacent. Lars Maischak won’t be in the role of Robespierre should his fever dream ever come to life. Indeed, it’s more than likely whoever he and his ilk elevate to power ends up turning on them for being insufficiently supportive. You don’t need a doctorate to know this, listening to “The History of Rome” will teach you that. (I’m willing to bet the sequel podcast “Revolutions” which I haven’t gotten to yet, tells the same story.)

One thinks you couldn’t get any more dumb than he already is. One would be wrong:

I don’t even have time to explain how ignorant of history this is. Someone else do it, I’m going to drink away the pain of realizing someone thought this dude should be teaching anything to anyone.

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