Uli’s Facebook Post January 14, 2025:
They say there is a German word for everything. Today’s word is Gleichschaltung.
It literally means switching everything around until it becomes the same. Lock stepping would be the result of Gleichschaltung, making everything and everyone follow the same beat. Another example for the sentiment is making everything equal in height, literally leveling it. I’ve seen it translated as “coordination” but disagree. Coordination infers acknowledging that there are two sides working out a way between them to productively co-exist. Not that.
In fascism, dictatorships, authoritarian regimes – choose whatever word scares you the least – Gleichschaltung is a phenomenon of eliminating diversity and replacing it with the monopoly of synchronized mainstream serving the powerful. Example: Gleichschaltung der Presse, synchronization of the press.
The weird and unexpected thing about Gleichschaltung is how little effort it takes by the powerful to achieve compliance – as if a herd of buffalos race towards the abyss and the second guy really, really, really wants to beat the first guy. See any parallels?
Today Marc Zuckerberg made a quantum leap in Gleichschaltung. Not only did he terminate the inclusionary employment policy at Meta, he also aligned with Trump by visiting Maralago, joined the fraudulently named “free speech movement” and lashed out at outgoing President Biden as prove of allegiance to his new overlord. Mind you, this guy owns more eyeballs than the entire press of the United States, throw in Fox News.
Noticeable the timing and combination of moves. Submitting to the great dictator, aligning with the new class of robber barons – he’s hoping for a top place in the handful of Internet billionaires who only know one God: Their self.
Amen
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