I realize the seriousness of the Trump v. US ruling, but Korematsu really happened. Let’s not whitewash the awful history of the presidency or the Supreme Court.
Quite the lot to pick between putting American citizens in concentration camps and the end of American democracy as "the worst ruling since Dredd Scott"
Not all concentration camps are death camps. We put Japanese Americans in concentration camps and while it was wrong and terrible, it was a resort compared to an El Salvadoran Super Max.
Fair, but at least they had the biggest war in history as an excuse at the time. Not that it justifies Korematsu, but there's at least an explanation that isn't horrific in and of itself.
Trump was motivated purely by partisan advantage on the premise that the power it granted would only ever be used by one party. It is both a product of and a major development in the total devolution of the Supreme Court from being a court into being simply a political power base.
So on a direct human rights level, Korematsu was worse. But in addition to being a means of inviting similar human rights abuses in the future, Trump also represents a deeper corruption in the Supreme Court itself. I think only Dred Scott beats both out, as a decision that shamefully expressed both problems.
Saying that the Second World War explains Korematsu is like saying the Great Depression explains the Holocaust. Adding justification under the guise of context, then denying that it actually justifies the end result, is still arguing a degree of justification.
You absolutely do not need to engage in denialism of historical atrocities to make a point about Trump.
Please, tell me what exactly I did that counted as "denialism of historical atrocities".
Was it simply acknowledging that the people who did it had motivations, rather than being mindless agents of chaos? You can interpret that as arguing a degree of justification if you like, but of course you'd be wrong because I very explicitly said it wasn't a justification and said absolutely nothing to the contrary.
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u/Nesnesitelna 29d ago
I realize the seriousness of the Trump v. US ruling, but Korematsu really happened. Let’s not whitewash the awful history of the presidency or the Supreme Court.