Dinesh D'Souza is a 58 year-old conspiracy theorist from a wealthy family in India who:
- dated Laura Ingraham at Dartmouth College where he was a foreign exchange student
- committed a felony related to illegal campaign contributions in 2012
- received a full pardon from President Donald Trump
- wrote several books and produced several movies roundly criticized for their inaccuracies, promotion of conspiracy theories and incendiary rhetoric
Greta Thunberg is a 16 year-old Swedish student whose concern for the environment and the effects of climate change on the future of young people lead her to start the Fridays for Future (#FridaysForFuture) school strike with the time away from the classroom to be used for environmental activism.
So, guess which one is comparing the other to Nazis.
It is of course the nearly 60 year-old D'Souza targeting the 16 year-old with some of his usual hatred.
What sort of hate does D'Souza wield?
At Dartmouth College, D'Souza and Ingraham sent a tape recorder into an LGBTQ campus support group then outed the students to everyone on campus in their alumni funded independent conservative newspaper—The Dartmouth Review—and then sent the tapes to the student's families to out them at home too.
Given that sort of track record, it's no surprise D'Souza targeted a 16 year-old girl, despite calling himself a devout Christian.
On Twitter Sunday, D'Souza displayed a photo of Thunberg spliced next to a picture of a woman appearing to be from a Nazi propaganda poster.
The conservative Trump fan stated:
"Children—notably Nordic white girls with braids and red cheeks—were often used in Nazi propaganda. An old Goebbels technique!"
"Looks like today's progressive Left is still learning its game from an earlier Left in the 1930s."
As usual, D'Souza managed to get several things wrong. Thunberg is from Sweden, not Norway—a country whose people President Trump famously keeps referring to as the sort of immigrants he'd welcome to the USA.
Also, Nazis were fascists and conservative White Christian nationalists—sort of the opposite of liberals and democratic socialists. Nazis really didn't have a well documented stance on environmental issues.
Adherents to D'Souza's brand of rhetoric, similar to the people devoted to characters like Alex Jones, Jacob Wohl and Rev. Jim Jones, ...
Kool-Aid Giphy
...defended and supported men in their 50s targeting 16 year-old girls online.
But most found D'Souza's Twitter attack unacceptable and devoid of merit.
Others pointed out the group seemingly using women with a certain "Nordic" look to spread propaganda...
Ann Coulter Giphy
Kellyanne Conway Giphy
Laura Ingraham Giphy
Ivanka Trump Giphy
Tomi Lahren Giphy
...weren't "the Left" or kids advocating for the planet and their futures.
The young climate activists are actually a pretty diverse group including some very not "Nordic" looking teens.
The majority of people had no time for D'Souza's latest spin.
Sorry Dinesh, (almost) no one's buying what you're selling.
The children's picture book Our House Is on Fire: Greta Thunberg's Call to Save the Planet is available here.
*****
Listen to the first season of George Takei's podcast, 'Oh Myyy Pod!' where we explore the racially charged videos that have taken the internet by storm.
Be sure to subscribe here and never miss an episode.
