Facebook Follies of Friends and Families

[Razgovory]

So do people not understand WW2?  I get the feeling that a large number of people don't understand some of the most important stuff.  Stuff like how it started, what the belligerents wanted, how extremists came to power and how they radicalized their countries, and how the war was won and lost. I consider the Covid Crisis on a similar scale as WW2. During this whole covid thing I was struck by the selfishness of some people.  People who refused to wear masks, people who protested shutdown orders, people who come up with bizarre conspiracy theories concerning vaccines...  In the Second World War the people of the United States had to suffer all sorts of inconveniences (and they got off easy.  Just ask the Brits or the Russians).  Not just the draft, but rationing of food and fuel.  Black-outs and the no-strike pledge.  Taxes and shortages and scrap metal drives and war bonds.  The freedom of speech was curtailed and people were thrown in prison for sedition.  Do people just not know what was done on the Homefront?  It was really, really important.  Much more important than what ever silly shit George Patton was doing or whether American tanks were better than German ones.

[Jacob]

There were also selfish assholes, misinformed dupes, and ignorant morons during WWII - in all countries.

[Razgovory]

There were also selfish assholes, misinformed dupes, and ignorant morons during WWII - in all countries.

True, but we didn't let them have much of a say in the matter.

[Josquius]

Not to mention that a lot of the misconceptions people have about ww2 today are the result of intentional propeganda campaigns during and after the war.

[Valmy]

Not to mention that a lot of the misconceptions people have about ww2 today are the result of intentional propeganda campaigns during and after the war.

Shows the lasting power of propaganda. No wonder people spread memes all over the place.

[Maximus]

There were also selfish assholes, misinformed dupes, and ignorant morons during WWII - in all countries.

True, but we didn't let them have much of a say in the matter.

I dunno, the US stayed out of the war for a third of it.

[grumbler]

There were also selfish assholes, misinformed dupes, and ignorant morons during WWII - in all countries.

True, but we didn't let them have much of a say in the matter.

I dunno, the US stayed out of the war for a third of it.

I'm not sure what your statement has to do with the statement you quoted.

I'd disagree with the statement quoted not because some countries stayed out of it for longer periods than others, but because we can identify selfish assholes, misinformed dupes, and ignorant morons who not only had a say, but were leaders of various countries, armies, etc.  The US staying out of the war for another six months wouldn't have made Monty any less of a selfish asshole, Petain any less of a misinformed dupe, nor Tojo less of an ignorant moron.

[Valmy]

The joke was us staying out of the war all that time was evidence that those sorts of people had a large say in the matter. See? Righteous Canadian trash talk.

And Petain was in his mid-eighties in WWII but don't hold his youth and inexperience against him.

[grumbler]

The joke was us staying out of the war all that time was evidence that those sorts of people had a large say in the matter. See? Righteous Canadian trash talk.

And Petain was in his mid-eighties in WWII but don't hold his youth and inexperience against him.

The US staying out of the war was evidence that the bullshit French and British sabotage of a successful peace in 1919 had consequences.  WW1 ended with the British and French Empires more bloated than ever, and that went over poorly with the US public.  When France fell, though, the self-satisfied American public assumption that this was just "Europe being Europe like the last time" kinda fell apart, and awareness of the dangers posed by totalitarian regimes began to grow. 

[grumbler]

Oh, and Petain may have been old, but he was also misinformed about the chances of Nazi victory, and a dupe who considered the Nazis more honorable than the British.

[The Brain]

Not to mention that a lot of the misconceptions people have about ww2 today are the result of intentional propeganda campaigns during and after the war.

Indeed.

[Valmy]

Oh, and Petain may have been old, but he was also misinformed about the chances of Nazi victory, and a dupe who considered the Nazis more honorable than the British.

As he was a far right wing fascist sympathizer he was probably just following his heart. But come on, he could have done something truly stupid and entered the war on the Germans side.

The real dupes was our government who thought Vichy was less authoritarian and more legitimate than the Free French. Yeah Darlan is totally who we should be working with. At least Petain had the excuse of being an octogenarian fascist. What was our excuse?

[grumbler]

As he was a far right wing fascist sympathizer he was probably just following his heart. But come on, he could have done something truly stupid and entered the war on the Germans side.

The real dupes was our government who thought Vichy was less authoritarian and more legitimate than the Free French. Yeah Darlan is totally who we should be working with. At least Petain had the excuse of being an octogenarian fascist. What was our excuse?

Petain was willing to enter the war n the Germans' side, but they didn't want that (they just wanted the use of French ports in Africa to supply the Afrika Korps, which they got). 

I have no idea why you believe that the US government "thought Vichy was less authoritarian and more legitimate than the Free French."  I've read a lot about this war and the French role in it, and never saw any indication that what you claim was true.  Care to provide some sources?

[viper37]

There were also selfish assholes, misinformed dupes, and ignorant morons during WWII - in all countries.

True, but we didn't let them have much of a say in the matter.

The leaders of the movements were jailed as soon as the countries entered war against Germany.

[Syt]