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    AdjraBrendan O'Connor
    3/28/16 11:29pm

    Yeesh, I really wish Gawker would put more of an effort into actually bothering to at least include facts that add context. Yes, I know. Isn’t quite the bait click outrage when we have to acknowledge that not all is as black and white or fits as tidily in a good/bad frame as we’d like.

    So, here goes. Mrs. Peterson was surrounded by protesters, one of whom was holding a picture of Hitler. Here is the actual explanation provided by her to the Times as to why she gave the Nazi salute:

    Ms. Peterson, who was born in West Berlin in 1946 and became an American citizen in 1982, said she took offense to the comparison of Mr. Trump to Hitler.

    “They said Trump is a second Hitler,” Ms. Peterson said. “I said do you know what that sign stands for? Do you know who Hitler really was?”

    “I make the point that they are demonstrating something they had no knowledge about,” she said. “If you want to do it right, you do it right. You don’t know what you are doing.”

    Guess what? The constant casual invocation of Hitler and Nazism by Americans is actually quite shocking and offensive to many non-Americans, particularly those from Europe (hmm...I wonder why? Maybe it’s because Americans should consider that their country did not live under Nazi rule and should maybe show some respect for not appropriating a history and experience that they actually have very little understanding or sensitivity to? Just a thought).

    I can’t stand Trump, but I do agree completely with Mrs. Peterson on this point. Trump is not Hitler, his supporters are not Nazis, and the protester holding that sign indeed demonstrates a profound lack of knowledge in using that image. Shockingly, Hitler and the Nazi party are not merely symbols for Americans to parade around with to protest whatever political issue we find objectionable. It is so disrespectful, arrogant, and ignorantly American-centric. And, yep, you may find yourself confronted by a person who finds your childish comparison offensive and disrespectful.

    Sincerely, a person who has repeatedly argued with conservative protesters on this point during the ACA protests and during abortion protests.

    TL:DR Guess what? nationalised health care (not that the US even has this)- not Nazism. Abortion- not genocide. Trump- Not Hitler.

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      Douche GossageAdjra
      3/28/16 11:46pm

      So how DO you explain her gesture? If it’s not - as you claim - a callback to Nazism...what the fuck is it? What is she trying to communicate with that gesture?

      tl;dr You’re a fucking idiot.

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      mtutigerAdjra
      3/28/16 11:49pm

      While what you are saying may be true, I guess I’m not sure how all of this absolves Donald Jr. from smearing a private citizen residing two states away by incorrectly identifying her in the picture. That’s the main issue for me... if anything, it tells me that the Trumps have little understanding (even less than Gawker) to the nuance of Peterson’s reasoning for why she was demonstrating the “heil” sign in that situation.

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    GrimmpulseBrendan O'Connor
    3/28/16 11:00pm

    Someone needs to put that on the Trump supporter rally signs...

    Front: I STAND FOR TRUMP

    Back: GOT BAD INFO. MY APOLOGIES.

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      aranxa1Grimmpulse
      3/28/16 11:22pm

      I needed that laugh, thanks!

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      gimmesummerGrimmpulse
      3/29/16 12:44am

      Frump Grumps, Humps Stumps for Trump

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    ARP2Brendan O'Connor
    3/28/16 11:08pm

    1. Likely they’d been sued for some form of defamation.
    2. In true Republican fashion, they wait to issue the correction weeks after the fact, so it’s already been absorbed as fact to the masses.

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      Mrs.Choate PFLAG GrandmaARP2
      3/28/16 11:16pm

      “The masses” Oh, yeah.

      GIF
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      crouching tigerMrs.Choate PFLAG Grandma
      3/28/16 11:28pm

      That was filmed at a megachurch, right?

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    ad infinitumBrendan O'Connor
    3/28/16 11:04pm

    Poor persecuted woman. What is the world coming to when you can’t even perform Nazi salutes at your political opponents without people calling you a Nazi?

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      miketheburritoad infinitum
      3/28/16 11:53pm

      Liberal lamestream media SJW PC police censor freedom-loving patriot’s free speech right to bear arm in Nazi salute.

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      anniegawker2-electricboogalooad infinitum
      3/28/16 11:57pm
      GIF
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    LetsgobowlingBrendan O'Connor
    3/28/16 11:02pm

    His first instinct made sense though; as we all know, Nazis love Jews and are absolutely itching for a Jewish president.

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      GregSamsaLetsgobowling
      3/28/16 11:56pm

      Well, they did have a Jewish Chancellor.

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      Hatless Süspęçt and 6 othersLetsgobowling
      3/29/16 8:12am

      Well, he was trying to convey that the person giving a Nazi salute is only pretending to be a Trump supporter to smear all Trump supporters. And not an open Bernie supporter, as your comment alludes to.

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    GregSamsaBrendan O'Connor
    3/28/16 10:55pm

    “Good lord, Jed. If you’re going to do something, do it correctly. Don’t hem and haw about it. If you’re going to salute, use a straight arm and a flat palm.”

    “Yes, Mrs. Landingham.”

    “Don’t yes me, Jed. Just do it. Or it isn’t worth doing.”

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      LizzieMaeGregSamsa
      3/28/16 11:53pm

      Thanks, I just found myself practicing the Nazi salute.

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    HellephantBrendan O'Connor
    3/28/16 11:03pm

    Got bad info. My apologies. Sad!

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      Deadly the EternalHellephant
      3/29/16 6:20am

      “Ate bad pork. My apologies. Toot!”

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    ╰(　´◔　ω　◔ `)╯< Woke and BokeBrendan O'Connor
    3/28/16 11:17pm

    I like his chutzpah. He could make a big name for himself as the Apologizing Trump as his Trump Klan niche.

    Malala Trump could be about to give Mama Kardashian a run at the crown. You know the whole Trump campaign began as a reality show and they just ran with it, but they never stopped filming.

    Imagine the premiere of this new Trump reality series a month before the election: Trump Of The Will.

    Ivanka, the hot one.

    Donny Dorko, the apologetic bumbler.

    Barron Trump, the kid’s clothing line.

    Eric Trump, ghost face killer.

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      Mrs.Choate PFLAG GrandmaBrendan O'Connor
      3/28/16 11:04pm

      “More than two weeks after the fact...”

      Well, it’s hard to find anything in that brain of his.

      GIF
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        Eli Manning stars in: Omaha! Omaha! Omaha!Brendan O'Connor
        3/28/16 11:02pm

        Donnie Jr. going off brand message here. The entire Trump campaign has been built on the perpetual energy created by never apologizing for anything you say, and in fact mocking the very idea that anything you previously said could be held against you today.

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          boaboaboatengtengtengEli Manning stars in: Omaha! Omaha! Omaha!
          3/29/16 2:50am

          A shiny new dime says that Boulger lawyered up, sued Trump for libel/emotional distress, and the settlement required as public an apology and/or correction from Trumpy Junior as possible.

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