Hate to say this, but it sure feels like the signs that the United States is growing collectively stupider and stupider are coming with alarming frequency these days.
Right now, far right-wing extremist radio show host of the "Infor Wars" Alex Jones has decided to make some kind of a political and/or social point by growing out a Hitler mustache.
Not a joke.
Now granted, Alex Jones seems to be an extreme example. However, he clearly does have sway. I mean, he makes headlines all of the time. And while they often are the wrong kinds of headlines, like claiming that children from schools which saw mass shootings are paid government agents, or that mass shootings in schools did not happen at all, none of that has prevented him from continuing to have a massive audience.
Clearly, people are still listening to him.
Not sure why that would be, but I am sure it's not deserved. After all, much like the president which eh seems to support (even though he was caught on mic once saying how tired he was of Trump), Jones has often not merely discredited himself, but disgraced himself. Again, this is a man who claimed that the kids who witnessed some of the worst school shootings in American history were paid government agents or outright liars, because he claimed that the shooting never took place at Sandy Hook.
You would think that being sued and losing a $1.5 billion settlement might have humbled him a bit.
Yeah, not so much.
During a recent show, Jones decided to shock people with a new expression in fashion of sorts. This one not only made him look different, but it also clearly seems to have quite obvious political and historical connotations, as well. Jones showed images of Hitler and the Nazis during their era of power in Germany, and then revealed that he had grown out a mustache in the style of none other than Adolf Hitler.
Then he went on to discuss the obvious historical and political connotations directly, lending his - shall we say unique? - interpretation of that history. Here is some of what he said:
"Now, obviously, everybody watching is only thinking about my mustache right now," he began. "And so after World War II, for the last 80 years, everything has been a paradigm of, is it Hitlerian or is it Captain America?"
"And then the Democrats and the colleges and the think tanks and the ADL, they then say that white men are Hitler," he continued. "And so a lot of people are sick of it, but they're not very sophisticated and have not actually studied that Hitler was a very kleptocratic, totalitarian, megalomaniacal individual."
At least he acknowledged that Hitler was, historically speaking, nobody to be admired.
That did not stop him from quickly heaping praise on the look, and specifically on how sharp this particular look made him appear to women. According to him, women went wild and seemed to lose all self-control at the sight of him with his Hitler mustache:
"Being a white guy that has German features, classical German features, and with a Hitler mustache, and it was very interesting," he remarked. "I could tell you it had a wild effect on women. I thought they were about to start throwing their panties at me. And they didn't know why... Lex Luther meets Adolf Hitler looks with blue eyes, and they just didn't know what to do. They're like melting."
Hmmm....now I am not a woman, nor a gay man. That said, however, it seems to me frankly difficult to believe that women just absolutely lost control by the sexual appeal of this bald, overweight, man of 51 years sporting a Hitler mustache. Is he an attractive man? If so, does the Hitler mustache really make him look that much better?
He suggested that this was a social experiment of sorts. Then, he mused about the possibility of keeping it for more than just a few days.
"I may keep this for six months, actually," he added. "Because I'm already the devil, I'm already Satan, I'm already, all these things I never did."
"And also, I've never supported Hitler, and I oppose all forms of totalitarian systems. I don't think Hitler is the worst totalitarian in history, but he's right up there in the top three or four."
Again, at least he is acknowledging that Hitler is hardly a historical figure worth admiring or emulating.
That said, it seems to me strange that the far-right (particularly Trump supporters) always get riled up and offended - one might say like overly sensitive snowflakes - anytime that they are accused of racism. Yet, it always seems like frankly bizarre stories like this keep more or less repeating themselves from these same people. Today it is Alex Jones and the Hitler mustache. Trump himself has had numerous similar instances, from infamously referring to Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists to calling for a uniform ban on immigration from Islamic nations to receiving the endorsement of the Ku Klux Klan and David Duke and other prominent white supremacists to having a difficult time condemning outright Nazis and white supremacists to dismissing dozens of countries in Latin America and Africa as "shithole nations" to posting a video of a Trump supporter yelling out "White power!" during the 2020 campaign (before quickly taking it down) to hosting some noted white supremacists to dinner, and a few other stories. Then there are many supporters of his with similarly creepy flirtations or associations with frankly obvious white supremacist ideology or connections.
Yet according to them, you should not connect the dots. There's really nothing to see here.
Except, well....these kinds of things keep happening. And it seems always to be about their apparent fixation on the issue of racism in the United States, historically or presently. It is not all that dissimilar to the accusations of authoritarianism and fascism, which seems increasingly to fit Trump's governing style. He shows a decidedly fascist bent, yet he and others grow angry whenever it is pointed out that his style indeed seems to bear an eerie resemblance to fascism.
Now, I may not have been thrilled with everything that the United States was when I was young and growing up. It was a flawed country and, looking back, it feels obvious to me that there were warning signs about the direction that we were heading in. Yet, I still find myself longing for the days when it was not quite this out in the open. The good old days when some idiotic conspiracy theorist who never tires of making a fool of himself still nevertheless would not feel so comfortable and mainstream enough that he could get away with sporting an outright Hitler mustache (by his own confession) before then talking about how this look and his rugged Germanic features makes women wild and want to throw their panties at him.
You know, I have a strange feeling that this action by Jones might get some of his followers to follow suit and grow out Hitler mustaches of their very own. In fact, given the political and social climate in this country right now, it would almost be surprising if this did not become a thing among some of his most passionate listeners and followers.
And once again, I find myself longing for an era - not so long ago, frankly - when the discourse within these United States was not so damn idiotic, frankly.
Below is the link to the article which got me onto this topic to begin with. If you click on it, you will see a picture of Alex Jones with his new Hitler mustache, which I did not want to bother posting here for numerous reasons, not the least of which is that it is, frankly, not worth posting or even mentioning beyond this particular blog entry:
Alex Jones sports Hitler mustache in shocking broadcast: 'It had a wild effect on women' by David Edwards, September 25, 2025:
https://www.rawstory.com/alex-jones-2674040002/?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawNC-69leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHuIL6Fo0I7tJcmwN7H2epN7ACNWfFVttYebzRUJS1O4vlRADbnj97RyQ2vRV_aem_-PnmbTyzK5JHNT8xJpzmNw
No comments:
Post a Comment