The title’s a bit disingenuous, I know: this didn’t come out of nowhere. White supremacism is as American as Manifest Destiny and has been heavily intertwined with Nazism from its inception. That overlap with the Republican party, and their gradual slip into the extreme far-right, is evident.
But Seig Heils? Even the most dense among them must know that blatant Nazism hurts their legitimacy in the eyes of the public, even among MAGATs (as is evident right now if you peek at their echo chamber on Reddit). Surely they would have a much easier time pushing their rhetoric and establishing their agenda by keeping a purposeful distance from that sort of indefensible imagery and symbolism. How do they expect to keep cohesion in the military when you imply to the soldiers that they are Nazis now, seig heils and all.
Why Nazis?
Any theories as to where this is coming from? Follow the ketamine-fueled leader? A directive for operative Krasnov, from Putin himself, to implode the country? True Nazi beliefs among the Heritage Foundation, Proud Boys, etc? I just don’t understand how they thought this would fly. I don’t understand anything anymore lol.
I think, at least for those in their ranks who are not (yet) convinced Nazis anyway, it’s a similar principle to the mafia: the newly recruited opportunists have to publicly spout Nazi slogans to prove themselves - just as a soldier in the Cosa Nostra has to have committed a serious crime, many particularly serious ones, if he ever wants to become a “capo”.
Like other criminal organizations, MAGA tries to protect itself from potential informants, I think. If you only recruit people who are unscrupulous enough to openly admit to this Nazi bullshit, there’s less chance of someone having a conscience and making all their shady dealings public.