Post-Partisan Forum: The Nazi Brownshirts--Any Parallels to Today?

During Germany's Weimar Republic, economic collapse and political chaos left many men desperately seeking order, employment, and belonging. Hitler's SA offered day wages and purpose in exchange for violence against rival parties. These "Brownshirts" suppressed opposition, intimidated intellectuals, attacked the press, and created a pervasive climate of fear.

Scholars describe today’s America’s "aggrieved entitlement"—men raised expecting privileges who view others' equality gains as personal loss. In this climate, DHS hastily recruited ICE agents, advertising the chance to do violence against "enemies", likening immigration enforcement as a battle against a foreign adversary (New York Times, 2025). Analysts claim ICE has transformed from an enforcement agency into a paramilitary force, "scooping people up off the streets" (Fox 9, 2025). The administration has directed ICE to raid Democratic-controlled sanctuary cities with thinly veiled threats of "chaos and violence" until municipalities "cooperate" (BBC, 2025).

At February's Forum, we'll ask: How similar are today's ICE agents to the Nazi Brownshirts—or is this comparison sensational hyperbole? History shows democracies grow vulnerable when economic crisis, institutional weakness, and polarization prevent unified defense of democratic norms. Do Americans, both Red and Blude, need to heed the warning signs and act while our institutions can still resist authoritarian consolidation?

Sound interesting? New participants welcomed! Please note that many "Hub regulars" attend the Forum without making a Meetup RSVP. We usually have 30 or so people there with opportunities for discussion in both small and large groups. See you soon.