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Demeter

(85,373 posts)
29. COMMENTS FROM ABOVE
Wed Jun 20, 2012, 07:40 AM
Jun 2012

Hugh says:
June 20, 2012 at 4:37 am

Banksters, like Dimon, are the great villains of our times. They are our Stalins and Hitlers, Berias and Himmlers. They have the blood of tens of thousands of Americans on their hands each year. They have ruined the lives of tens of millions and have damaged the lives of hundreds of millions.

I am reminded of something Hannah Arendt wrote:

The world at large, on the other side, usually gets its first glimpse of a totalitarian movement through its front organizations. The sympathizers, who are to all appearances still innocuous fellow-citizens in a nontotalitarian society, can hardly be called single-minded fanatics; through them, the movements make their fantastic lies more generally acceptable, can spread their propaganda in milder, more respectable forms, until the whole atmosphere is poisoned with totalitarian elements which are hardly recognizable as such but appear to be normal political reactions or opinions.

Origins of Totalitarianism


Substitute kleptocracy for totalitarian movement and elites for front organizations. And you have the dynamic we see today. We look at the Romneys, Obamas, and Dimons of the world, and we continue to view them as part of the normal world. In the view of the normal world, they can at most be foolish, mistaken, incompetent. Viewing them as normal effectively blinds us to their criminality and downright viciousness. We must, like Arendt, peel back the layers of feigned normalcy to see the festering reality and putrid pathology beneath. When we can begin to see these luminaries of our elites on the level of say a particularly sick and twisted serial killer, then and only then will we begin to see them as they really are. Every shred and trapping of legitimacy, every benefit of the doubt we accord them is just so much cover for them to continue their looting and destruction.
Reply

Up the Ante says:
June 20, 2012 at 5:40 am

” .. the great villains of our times. ”

Like these guys ?,
Michael Duke
Lee Scott
David Glass
Sam Walton

“Viewing them as normal effectively blinds us to their criminality and downright viciousness. ”

Probably exactly Dimon’s view of “these guys”, and what could be greater empowerment of Dimon’s looting ?

Iconic Villains sold to you.
With a hearty SMW thanks to kpete over in GD Tansy_Gold Jun 2012 #1
Linky? Demeter Jun 2012 #2
link Tansy_Gold Jun 2012 #5
Georgia to Spend $100 Million Meant for Helping Homeowners on Corporate Giveaways Instead Demeter Jun 2012 #3
Paradise Lost: The Sinking Middle Class By Thomas Magstadt Demeter Jun 2012 #4
Dimon says JPMorgan was honest with shareholders Demeter Jun 2012 #6
Moon Shot From JPMorgan's Dimon Is Day's Money Quote Demeter Jun 2012 #8
Dimon defends JPMorgan's lobbying against some financial rules Demeter Jun 2012 #9
Why the Senate Won't Touch Jamie Dimon: How JPMorgan Props Up US Debt Demeter Jun 2012 #18
Did Obama give Jamie Dimon presidential cufflinks? Demeter Jun 2012 #25
Dimon Plays Humpty Dumpty to Congress Demeter Jun 2012 #27
COMMENTS FROM ABOVE Demeter Jun 2012 #29
DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH! Will the Fed Rescue the Economy? By Dean Baker Demeter Jun 2012 #7
Senators Ask Supreme Court To Televise Health Care Decision Demeter Jun 2012 #10
They must be expecting something they can make hay with? snot Jun 2012 #14
I'm operating under the assumption that to serve in Congress Demeter Jun 2012 #15
I think this applies to just about all elected officials, local and state too DemReadingDU Jun 2012 #38
Obama confident Europeans will resolve debt crisis Demeter Jun 2012 #11
Europe gets lengthy homework assignment from G-20 Demeter Jun 2012 #12
The Trouble With Ms. Merkel Demeter Jun 2012 #13
Republicans seek cuts to food stamp program with new farm bill Demeter Jun 2012 #16
Want To Boycott Koch Brothers' Products While Shopping? There's An App For That Demeter Jun 2012 #17
CAST YOUR VOTE: NC Crowdsourcing: Will the Euro Survive? Demeter Jun 2012 #19
10 million + loans underwater, Dr Housing Bubble jtuck004 Jun 2012 #20
... Roland99 Jun 2012 #24
i hate being out of coffee. xchrom Jun 2012 #21
TO THE RESCUE! Demeter Jun 2012 #33
thank you!!! xchrom Jun 2012 #35
Teach For America is Proud to Partner with J.P. Morgan Demeter Jun 2012 #22
'Teacher of the Year' fired in ruthless California budget cuts UK LAUGHING AT US Demeter Jun 2012 #23
Yes, Barack Obama Thinks We’re Stupid (Immigration Edition) Matt Stoller Demeter Jun 2012 #26
exactly so (n/t) bread_and_roses Jun 2012 #30
G20 leaders urge Spain to make formal bank bailout request xchrom Jun 2012 #27
Insider Case Lands Big Catch: Rajat Gupta, Ex-Goldman, P&G Director, Found Guilty Demeter Jun 2012 #31
Obama’s Fannie Mae failure Demeter Jun 2012 #32
The Lessons of Watergate Do Not Belong to Us By Charles P. Pierce Demeter Jun 2012 #34
IN CONCLUSION Demeter Jun 2012 #36
to your point - and speaking of the return of the Dark Ages bread_and_roses Jun 2012 #37
Can't argue with the facts. And it all started with Nixon Demeter Jun 2012 #39
Markets didn't like something. Someone leak bad news ahead of FOMC meeting? Roland99 Jun 2012 #40
Fed extends "Operation Twist" >>>> Roland99 Jun 2012 #41
Que Chubby Checker.. westerebus Jun 2012 #43
Whot hoppened Lucy? Fuddnik Jun 2012 #42
Things are fine now. No need to concern yourself, citizen. Roland99 Jun 2012 #44
and down we go DemReadingDU Jun 2012 #45
Schizo Roland99 Jun 2012 #46
Cat still bouncing. Fuddnik Jun 2012 #47
Looks more like Dr. Frankestein's reanimation experiments Demeter Jun 2012 #48
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