The Minnesota governor said that the path to tyranny “is littered with people telling you you’re overreacting”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was testifying before Congress about his state’s handling of immigration when he learned Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from a Department of Homeland Security news conference Thursday.

The irony, he told the attendees of the Center for American Progress’ “Listening to Lead” event Friday, was in lawmakers grilling him and his colleagues, Govs. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y. and JB Pritzker, D-Ill., over the “incredible crime of treating people like human beings” as FBI agents tackled a sitting senator to the ground and handcuffed him in Los Angeles.

“I am not prone to hyperbole. I am prone to, like, popping off a little bit. I know that,” Walz said, prefacing his argument that Americans are living in a “dangerous” time. “I believed all along we were marching towards authoritarianism, and people were telling me in December, ‘You know, you’re overreacting.’ And I said, “The road to authoritarianism is littered with people telling you you’re overreacting.”

  • randon31415@lemmy.world
    2861·
    2 days ago

    people were telling me in December, ‘You know, you’re overreacting.’

    One day after saying this, the former speaker of the Minnesota house is gunned down by a pro-Trump extremist.

        • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          3·
          2 hours ago

          It’s technically redundant, but it’s also meaningful, intentional, and warranted. Especially when at least half of our legacy media establishment is committed to grossly misrepresenting the entire fascistic political movement, and the other half seems to be going whole hog on false equivalence and theatrical shock at entirely predictable authoritarian developments.

          It’s a lot like how we need to refer to the rapist Brock Turner (who is a rapist), for the simple reason that it needs to be aggressively forced into public perception. A lot like how the rapist Brock Turner aggressively forced himself on his rape victim, except the outcome here is increased public knowledge instead of Brock Turner (the rapist) getting his jollies.

          • BassTurd@lemmy.world
            2·
            2 hours ago

            I agree. I also think a bit of humor can help spread a message. I think the statement is kinda funny and I do think they are terrorists, and so do they.

        • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.worldEnglish
          24·
          2 days ago

          It’s not redundant until the mainstream media frames the narrative based on reality instead of propaganda.

          Words have meaning, and we should do our best to use the most accurate, truthful words to reframe the narrative and ensure clarity; even when others do not.

            • nednobbins@lemm.ee
              2·
              3 hours ago

              How would you react if you saw a similar exchange between MAGAs?

              MAGA A: <some sweeping negative generalization>.
              MAGA B: You don’t really mean that, right? It’s not all of them.
              MAGA A: I’m just joking. Relax.

              Would you take that response at face value or would you assume that the joke is a thinly veiled statement of their actual beliefs?

              • BassTurd@lemmy.world
                1·
                2 hours ago

                I should clarify a little. I do think MAGAs are terrorists, all of them. I was being cheeky about the part about the redundant statement being redundant. My last comment was in response to the person saying it’s not redundant until mainstream media calls it, which is technically true.

                Let’s not forget when they called themselves terrorists. If someone wanted me to support my belief, I would reference that. If I were to ask a MAGA the same thing for their negative generalization, I’d imagine I wouldn’t get a response built in truth, like when they say all Dems are pedophiles, or something like that

      • barneypiccolo@lemm.eeEnglish
        6·
        4 hours ago

        Yeah, the cowardly Minnesota leadership cancelled the No Kings protests, and their constituents said “Fuck That,” and showed up anyway. 80,000 angry Minnesota Americans chose to publicly protest, knowing that a vicious murderer who was targeting them was on the loose, while their elected representatives chose to cower behind closed doors.

        It’s long past time for Democratic politicians to match the energy, anger, militancy, and COURAGE of their voters. We elected them to represent and fight for US against the MAGA Nazis, and now we expect them to DO THEIR JOBS!

        If they won’t, we’ll elect people who will.

      • peoplebeproblems@midwest.socialEnglish
        15·
        2 days ago

        I guess you missed the memo lol.

        He had to say that because the assassin is still at large. He knew it wouldn’t stop the protests, not if the protests really mattered to the people.

        And boy, from what my friends up there showed me, they showed up.