I think some of their surprise springs from their thinking the normalizing and rise of their Imperial Wizard Trump, meant it was okay to come out

DURec for a thoughtful post

DJT won by the barest of slim margins.
And with efforts to suppress the Dem vote.

He would be absolutely annihilated if there were any election today. The racists and hatemongers in the GOP will be forced back underground -- as long as they aren't able to steal the 2018 election via voter suppression.

not that it's any excuse for commenting on an ongoing investigation in violation of DOJ norms.

Well, Trump sure fixed his little boat.

They don't believe Russia had anything to do with the election. They believe there were millions of illegal votes for Hillary. They believe any voter suppression that took place was against Republicans. They believe all the current polls that show Trump has shitty approval ratings are fake. They believe everyone who protests their events is being paid to do so. Etc.

MineralMan is right about this. They really do think most people agree with them. They rationalize and dismiss every bit of evidence to the contrary.

They'll wear a hood next time.

It's interesting to see some of the stories, though, about people who are facing consequences for their actions. There are a lot more of those people that we know about. People recognize people they know when they see their faces on the TV. Next time they see them, they'll remember.

Even if such people don't make the news, they do get known for their actions where it matters - near where they live.

We'll hear more such stories over the next week or month.

there's a law that makes wearing a mask in a public place a felony (originally passed as an anti-KKK measure).

I imagine that in a case like that there would be a religious exemption since there's a difference between wearing something as part of religious/cultural practice and "I'm covering my face to hide my identity while I terrorise people".

since it says, "with the intent to conceal his identity...". They don't have to be listed among the exceptions, because Muslim women don't wear face coverings for the purpose of concealing their identities.

...which have nothing to do with concealing identity.

Doesn't change the fact that covering the face is only prohibited if it's for the purpose of concealing identity.

most often, we know where someone stands. We may not realize how entrenched or outrageous thebelief system is, until there in an incident. I hear of hundreds every week. Our country is divided, our families are divided!! & we have no strong leadership to unite us. Even if DT goes, the ones is line, are divisive too, though maybe not as unstable, crazy and incompetent.
Plus, so much irreparable damage has been done, which will last far after this ship of fools is gone.I do believe we are in the early stages of civil war. It would be fine with me to divide into 2 countries, but many would have to move. We do not have the same values. Why should either of us fight with blood to change that. Now, that the alt right, Nazis, etc. are proudly out, with support, and have even been legitimized, the Toothpaste can't be put back in the tube.

Interesting though that 20000 people shut down their rally
On Saturday.This is our best hope. The people.

Thirty years from now one of them will be trying to get housing or a job and the stink will still be there. I call that Karma.

forever, popping up when we least expect it. On the Internet, everything still exists and can be found.

Some people involved in the debacle in Virginia will learn that lesson over time, I'm sure. While we know of people whose names became known, we do not know all of those names. Others, however, do, and I'm sure there are people who have been named but who have not become nationally known.

Yet.

While Quinn was at that museum in Arkansas, white supremacists were gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia -- and on the Internet, outraged onlookers misidentified Quinn as one of the participants.

Did he think there was a resemblance? "Not really. I understand, I've got a beard!" he laughed. "I understand that some people could see a resemblance there. But anyone that knows me knew right away that that's not me."

But people who didn't know Quinn decided that he had to be punished. He began receiving "really vulgar messages that you could never air. There were messages coming to my email, messages on my work phone. Things on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook as well." The messages implied that he was a racist.

That was Kyle Quinn's introduction to a modern form of public humiliation known as Internet shaming, where online mobs descend upon one person in a wildly out-of-proportion attack.

regardless of how sure I am that I have correctly identified the person. It should, I think, be up to people who know the person in real life to do that, and people are doing that. I also never communicate with any private individual with whom I don't have a relationship. I would never post anything to someone in anger who wasn't actually known to me on a personal level.

Those are my rules of engagement. I don't dictate rules if behavior to anyone else, though. Not my job.

While I empathize with Kyle Quinn for being falsely accused because of mistaken identity. This sort of thing has been happening to black and brown people since always. People have been lynched by a mob or shot dead by police because they looked like someone else who might have committed a crime.

It's wrong no matter who is involved. I would hope these types of incidents would cause people to think twice and be absolutely sure they know who they are targeting with their online mobs.

nt