> Slogans like "Resist" and "Not My President" ... Hopefully they don't mean what they are literally saying,
It's not that bad. The people who say these things are neither so dangerous that they really mean something terrible, nor so silly that they don't mean what they say.
They mean what they say, but they mean it according to a pretty benign interpretation. They wish "resist" the government using the tools of democratic action. Trump is "not my president" for all those who find his stances repugnant to their ideals -- i.e. those whom he does not represent.
That's all fine; in a free country it is good and proper for people to stoutly oppose the supreme executive. But you are right to be concerned there is a fashion for stating that opposition in language that has darker meanings too. And the danger is that when this language becomes standard, people will slide into really meaning those darker things.
It's not that bad. The people who say these things are neither so dangerous that they really mean something terrible, nor so silly that they don't mean what they say.
They mean what they say, but they mean it according to a pretty benign interpretation. They wish "resist" the government using the tools of democratic action. Trump is "not my president" for all those who find his stances repugnant to their ideals -- i.e. those whom he does not represent.
That's all fine; in a free country it is good and proper for people to stoutly oppose the supreme executive. But you are right to be concerned there is a fashion for stating that opposition in language that has darker meanings too. And the danger is that when this language becomes standard, people will slide into really meaning those darker things.