The White House is being accused of doctoring the arrest photo of a Minneapolis protester by using artificial intelligence to alter her face.
  • IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.wtf
    91·
    3 days ago

    I know history is full of nasty little dictators and their lackeys but have any of them ever been this fucking childish?

    • MiddleAgesModem@lemmy.world
      10·
      3 days ago

      I don’t know about childish but the Khmer Rouge was batshit insane, their way of “governing” was completely unsustainable.

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
      3·
      2 days ago

      Hitler was actually extremely childish as was his entire regime. The similarities are remarkable.

      Henry VIII of England was basically what would happen if a pro American football player was a powerful king. He’s suspected to have had CTE.

      Versailles was basically a cruel experiment on the mental health of trapped nobility and rulers, that involved basically nothing but petty social games for power and prestige, but no options to use them.

      Rome had plenty of emperors like this including Caligula and Nero. Nero had a neck beard and unhealthy attachment to his mother. Meanwhile if half of what was written about Elagabulus is true then we have proof of how bad of an idea it is to give absolute power to a horny teenager with neither qualifications nor training.

      Speaking of weird mommy issues, Wilhelm I of Prussia/Germany was a weird childish man whose family spat was the first world war. On the other side was Nicolas of Russia who wasn’t much better.

      Also Ghaddafi was nuts, like in funny and horrifying ways, but definitely never matured after taking power young.

      So yeah, I’m conflating kings, emperors, and dictators as all more or less the same, because they kinda are. Julius Caesar took the title of dictator, was assassinated to prevent him from being a king, and was invoked by the emperors. We have a modern tendency to think of dictators as people who came to power through coups or the military, which can lead towards more mature and sane figures, but we still use the term for the hereditary absolute ruler of North Korea (it’s a socialism themed monarchy) and we don’t use it to describe the huge portion of roman emperors who were generals installed by coup. Additionally, history indicates (to me at least) that you likely have to be a bit nuts and immature to overthrow an established republic, because of the behavior shown by citizens in a destabilizing republic.

      I understand the urge to treat this administration as a freak of history, but they’re just too similar to the third reich to do so responsibly. And yeah those similarities include immaturity. It seems that a destabilizing republic is best hijacked by the narcissistic, and narcissists who are leaning into their disorder tend towards immaturity because growth often requires painful self reflection.

        • FiniteBanjo@feddit.onlineEnglish
          24·
          3 days ago

          You can sue Donald Trump without suing the US Government. Right now several lawmakers are preparing a lawsuit against Pam Bondi over the Epstein Files.

          If we flip the house and senate I’m gonna start sending drafts to representatives for a law that makes the Trump estate and all future president’s estates liable for all the avoidable and frivolous lawsuits on the basis of which they did not protect the human beings who live in this nation nor represent the system of laws which govern them, rather that they were personal and need to be paid for personally by the officials responsible for giving the orders resulting in lawsuit.

          • halcyoncmdr@piefed.socialEnglish
            10·
            3 days ago

            You would have to show that Trump specifically ordered the alteration. That almost certainly didn’t happen and it was someone else in the administration that actually made that call.

                • Koarnine@pawb.social
                  1·
                  3 days ago

                  Just because they avoid it doesn’t mean that the express purpose of a CEO isn’t to take that fall…

                  That’s the entire point of the role and excuse for the compensation, is it not?

    • betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world
      31·
      3 days ago

      Depends on the reason for the arrest. If I get zip-tied and dragged off the streets for saying mean things about orange man, I won’t be the embarrassed one.

      • jof@lemmy.world
        112·
        3 days ago

        No I certainly would agree with that. But being restrained against your will and having your records publicized about being an offender of the law certainly doesn’t bode well for your own public image or on employment applications.

    • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
      8·
      3 days ago

      They probably think the sobbing makes people scared. It makes the arrested look weaker, regretful and vulnerable.

    • Deceptichum@quokk.auEnglish
      61·
      3 days ago

      How? Cops are pieces of shit and arrest innocent people all the time.

      It’s embarrassing to be arresting someone.

      • jof@lemmy.world
        111·
        3 days ago

        Enforcing the law is embarrassing? Breaking the law is embarrassing.

        And my point isn’t that she was necessarily breaking the law. I’m simply stating that it’s already an embarrassing enough act to be restrained and then on top of that have images of you in a vulnerable state circulate around the internet.

        • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          1·
          3 days ago

          Breaking the law is embarrassing.

          Slavery was legal, you know… Was flaunting the Fugitive Slave Act also embarrassing?

        • Deceptichum@quokk.auEnglish
          61·
          3 days ago

          “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.”

          “The law” and the entire legal system of injustices behind it is embarrassing as fuck too. Same goes for those who simp for it.

          • jof@lemmy.world
            16·
            3 days ago

            I’m not saying it’s perfect. It has its share of flaws, but rules and law create order. I’m not a simp for US law, but without it, injustice would run even more rampant. If you claim to love justice then you must also, by principle, be in favor of some sort of law system that enforces it.

            • Deceptichum@quokk.auEnglish
              5·
              3 days ago

              Rules != the law. The legal frameworks are inherently flawed and globally protect the rich and powerful, while harming minorities.

              Yes societies need rules, those can be agreed upon by people living in the societies.

              • jof@lemmy.world
                14·
                3 days ago

                What would you argue are the differences between rules and laws in society? I use the two interchangeably as I believe them to mean the same thing.

                • Deceptichum@quokk.auEnglish
                  5·
                  3 days ago

                  I would say

                  Laws are backed by states and their sole authority to use violence to enforce them.

                  Rules can be made by any group of peoples.

      • jof@lemmy.world
        17·
        3 days ago

        The act of being arrested is not particularly fun. You know, being restrained and walked off like an animal in some sense. Depends what it’s for in general. But it’s the public image of it. And then the repercussions of having to deal with follow up court work, possible jail time and it being a future talking point of a potential employer. It’s just not really something to be proud of.

        That is a rule in general, with exceptions of course.

        But my point stands, that the act is embarrassing enough already, especially if it’s publicized. So having your face edited to make it look even more humiliating is worse.

        • Buffalox@lemmy.world
          6·
          3 days ago

          being arrested is not particularly fun.

          Being an inconvenience is not the same as embarrassing.

          having to deal with follow up court work

          Which is probably near zero has her case will likely be dismissed, but again she is a lawyer.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
      277·
      3 days ago

      Harris adviser says VP ran ‘flawless’ campaign, GOP campaign managers candid on primary missteps

      Damn, I guess people were just too stupid to vote for the most qualified candidate to ever run for office and the country deserves what it gets. Maybe four more years of fascist tyranny will teach people to vote correctly next time. Or maybe we just won’t have elections anymore, because stupid idiot Americans aren’t responsible enough to manage their own country.

      The important thing to remember is that it’s never the fault of the people in power. It’s always the gross, dumb, smelly voters who can’t pick the Lesser Of Two Evils often enough.

      • LePoisson@lemmy.world
        155·
        3 days ago

        The important thing to remember is that it’s never the fault of the people in power. It’s always the gross, dumb, smelly voters who can’t pick the Lesser Of Two Evils often enough.

        It’s both. I’m not going to pretend that people voting against their own self interests isn’t a problem. If people actually voted in a way that would help them we’d have a lot more Dems than Republicans in the USA.

        It’s stupid to pretend we don’t live in a first past the post system where most voters are going to vote straight D or straight R. Voting 3rd party is just shredding your vote in almost all cases.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
          52·
          3 days ago

          I’m not going to pretend that people voting against their own self interests isn’t a problem

          The problem with “lesser evil” politics is that neither candidate represents your interests.

          You had a corporate Democrat running against a fascist Republican. This after four years of liberals breaking their campaign promises, fattening the wallets of Techbro AnCaps, and beating up civil rights protestors on national TV.

          It’s stupid to pretend we don’t live in a first past the post system where most voters are going to vote straight D or straight R.

          It’s stupid to close off your primary so an unpopular incumbent in a dementia spiral doesn’t have to campaign against another wave of progressive outsiders.

          When Henry Cuellar or Jim Justice or Kristen Sinema are the Ds on my ballot, it isn’t even FPTP. It’s a forgone conclusion I’m getting fucked from either side.

      • SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.worldEnglish
        522·
        3 days ago

        Her primary problem was going for the left’s vote when the left doesn’t vote.

        The only way to fix it is to go further right and pick up the voters who are disillusioned by Trump in 2028.

      • Optional@lemmy.world
        53·
        3 days ago

        Three weeks after doomsday, yeah her campaign manager’s gonna say something nice. What is this supposed to show, anyway?

        Did they get caught giving away the dark secret that they did their best to run a successful campaign?

    • WHARRGARBL@lemmy.world
      105·
      3 days ago

      But Harris wouldn’t say the words I wanted hear! How could I vote when she won’t tell me the thing?!1 ThiS Is All HeR fAuLt

        • WHARRGARBL@lemmy.world
          142·
          3 days ago

          Honestly I’m so far left of left, I don’t belong here. But I didn’t fall for the obvious whataboutGaza campaign, and voted D to stop trump.

          • Optional@lemmy.world
            64·
            3 days ago

            Aha! So you admit you love genocide and have no moral compass whatsoever!

            You’re an embarrassment to purity-test political nut-scratching! Can you just imagine, for ONE second what would have happened if Harris had won?? It’s too terrifying to contemplate!

        • grue@lemmy.world
          32·
          3 days ago

          Those weren’t progressives. Those were right-wing concern trolls cosplaying as leftists.

      • socsa@piefed.socialEnglish
        74·
        3 days ago

        What do you mean Harris literally said “ceasefire?”

        She didn’t order the IDF to stand down though. So, fascism I guess.

        • SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.worldEnglish
          32·
          3 days ago

          No the left is just the western imperialists trying to make glorious Russia look bad by pretending Joseph Stalin was the propagandist not those imperial western swine.

      • GuyIncognito@lemmy.ca
        14·
        3 days ago

        Nikolai Yezhov, head of the NKVD during the height of the great purge. He fell out of favour, was tortured, convicted of various crimes (including wrongful purgings, funny enough), and secretly executed. Don’t feel too bad for him though, he was a nasty character.

        I don’t think it’s a particularly apt comparison. He was previously an important government minister, edited out of the picture to pretend that actually, Stalin was never cool with him. This woman is just a citizen that the US government has decided to humiliate using generative AI.

  • CaptPretentious@lemmy.world
    37·
    3 days ago

    As an American, watching the highest office in this country be turned into an absolute joke over the decades has been demoralizing, to say the least. There’s nothing to be proud of. I feel like, thanks to social media, we got to see the real people, and then it distilled people down to their worst parts. I despise seeing the leaders of the nation be so petty, so idiotic, so childish.

    I mean, throw this on the pile of reasons the current administration isn’t worthy. The felonies, the child raping, the blatant attempts to start wars, the blatant disregard of the Constitution, and just misinformation galore. They edited a photo… how small of a person do you have to be to think “I’m part of the government, I have access to the White House official channel, I’m going to be very transparent about what I think of the current situation and use AI to mock and try to spread misinformation.” I hope people link back to these things (all of these things, not just this photo) every single time anyone in the current administration speaks. When ever any company supports them. When ever any person supports them. Like NEVER let it go. Just flood them every single time. They say Merry Christmas, bring up the Epstien files, the rape, the photo editing, the felonies, the… everything. Just non-fucking-stop.

    It’s just so god damn fucking embarrassing to be an American right now. And I know by the end of the year, I’ll be wishing to get back to how it is now, I’ll look back fondly on how it was “only” so bad at the start of 2026.

    Sorry for the rant, I’m just, so god damn tired of every single day Dimentia Don, doing yet again, another dumbass thing.