Although my posts here have not always been apolitical, I have generally attempted to avoid political posts that have no connection to computing, mathematics, or academia. But sometimes it seems impossible to avoid, even though (with so little concrete that I or others can do) it may seem more hand-wringing than anything else.

Trump's campaign seemed at its start to be a joke by an obvious incompetent, another swindle (for the campaign money) by a long-time swindler. Nobody sane and well-informed could even consider voting for him. But then he was elected. At each choice he has taken whatever polluted most, caused the most poverty, decreased healthcare or in any other way would hurt citizens in general the most. Enough of the crazy conspiracy theories behind his election have turned out to be based in fact to make it hard not to believe that he is an outright traitor, deliberately sabotaging US interests in payback for an election he won with knowing assistance from foreign intelligence. He has made enemies of the progressive democracies that should be our closest friends and snuggled close to the most tyrannical dictators of the world. He has presided over a natural disaster in Puerto Rico with thousands of citizens dead and complete unconcern and nonresponse from the government. And he is in deep and wilful violation of clear injunctions in the US constitution not to seek personal profit from his position. So, a bad choice, one to be repudiated as strongly as possible through the normal process of elections and (if possible) impeachment.

But now, with the latest stories of babies literally snatched from their mothers' breasts, taken away on the pretense of having a nice shower, thrown into literal cages, stuck in tents in the Texas summer heat, misplaced or otherwise disappeared, it becomes clear that those responses (while still necessary) are not sufficient. Trump, his cronies, his enforcers, and his enablers in Congress must be brought to justice for their crimes against humanity.

As the linked story states, "There was a term used for non-members of the Nazi party in Germany who looked the other way and allowed things to happen. They were called Nazis."

Maybe we're not yet at the point of literal death camps and an outright existential threat to the free people of the rest of the world. I hope not (although I would argue that the Trump camp's approach to climate change really is a big part of an existential threat). But can we wait until we are at that point?