Why the Proud Boys' sentences matter: They're scaring the rest of MAGA straight ( www.salon.com )

D61 , 9 months ago

Each of these folks is now a hero in the eyes of MAGA enthusiasts. They’ve been martyred after a fashion. They’ll be able to generate a steady flow of cash for probably a solid decade whether behind bars or released.

Maybe they will be pissed that Trump and the rest of the really fashy right wingers in the USA political establishment have left them out to hang, but the next time a right wing populist gets them all riled up they will know to go full force and not waver like they did during January 6. They got to experience first hand what “going halfway” gets you and will learn from it.

beef_curds , 9 months ago

They’ll probably get a good cash stream at first. But I’m not sure most people in America have enough object permanence to care about these folks after a few years. Won’t they be like a Reality Winner, where almost no one remembers them a few years later except as a trivia answer at trivia night?

D61 , 9 months ago

Not saying these people are going to be millionaires… But they’ll be able to make the rounds on right wing radio, local church speech circuits, all the neo fash militia groups that are around and be probably be able to have a nice safety net that most of the rest of us won’t have when we need it.

CannotSleep420 , 9 months ago

No more half measures Walter.

M68040 , 9 months ago

Like, seriously, the answer to “If you actually punish them they’ll become a martyr” is to punish all the people they become martyrs to in turn. Pretty simple stuff frankly

D61 , 9 months ago

I’m not saying that they shouldn’t get punished, hurt them any way possible, they’re the enemy and fair game. But I don’t think this is going to finish them. And how long before the libs decide that “the government is going too far” and stop supporting the judicial attempts to punish these people? How much mileage can they get from the schadenfreude before it gets boring? I’d imagine that once that happens, Dems won’t be able to get as much juice for their fundraising efforts over this and prosecutions will start happening less and less.

And the people that were sitting on top of the walls cheering them on, have gotten to walk away pretty much free from all serious punishment. In a better country, this might make some lights come on in the old thinkin’ box that their leaders are mostly grifters and stop supporting them… but… if the polls are anything to pay attention to, Trump is as popular as ever and he’s the only one even remotely getting into some legal trouble.

I’m hoping that all the fashy TeaParty types stabbing each other in the backs over crumbs might have some negative effects on the disparate fascist groups organizing with each other… but I’ve got to admit that its most cope than hope at this point.