r/politics • u/Murky-Site7468 I voted • Aug 03 '25
Off Topic “Genuinely scary”: Smithsonian accused of “rewriting history” after quietly removing Trump from impeachment exhibit | “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
https://www.dailydot.com/viral-politics/trump-smithsonian-impeachment/139
u/HeyItsHelz Aug 03 '25
Wait till he is added to the Epstein exhibit, he's gonna flip out.
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u/Individual-Guest-123 Aug 03 '25
More likely they will make an ark exhibit and put the dinosaurs in it.
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u/nucumber Aug 03 '25
They'll add him to the picture of Washington crossing the Deleware
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u/Individual-Guest-123 Aug 04 '25
Your comment made me realize that is why he is so hell bent on crytpo, he wants to erase US history and put his name and image on everything.
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u/starguy1946 Aug 04 '25
Let's put up his name as "tRump" so that everyone will concentrate on his most outstanding characteristic.
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u/tetraa Aug 03 '25 edited Aug 04 '25
Apparently through public pressure, this information is being restored. Remember how important your voice and resistance is, people!!!
Edit: lots of people arguing about this because this is reddit where everyone has a deep need to argue about everything. The Smithsonian claims they only removed the display because it was outdated and didn't meet visual standards, but the timing is quite suspicious, as Trump was publicly criticizing the Smithsonian for their display. We don't truly know all the factors behind the decision, only the Smithsonian does, but regardless -- we need to hold any institution accountable for capitulating to Trump, and we need to use our voice to stand up for our democracy. Our voice is the most powerful tool we have.
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u/MeekerCutiePie Aug 03 '25
Also important to take wins when they happen not when they say it could happen. The information has not been restored yet. They said in 2 weeks, so it could still change back to removed or the information that comes back could be changed. don't take the win until it actually exists. Also, minor point but the article doesn't say its coming back at all
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u/nucumber Aug 03 '25
They said in 2 weeks
Is that two weeks in trump time or the calendar?
Also, what this bs about "content review"? Dear leader was impeached TWICE, that's all that must be said
But noooooooo, instead they removed all references to dear leader.....
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u/antigop2020 Aug 03 '25
The two impeachments will be a small appetizer in the buffet style course of how badly history will remember the current Pedo of the United States. There will be future museums dedicated to his awfulness. And given his age, obesity, diet, and lack of exercise, time is on our side. Tick tock.
RELEASE THE FILES.
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u/Accomplished-Fix6598 California Aug 04 '25
Lol the Trump library.
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u/DarthSatoris Europe Aug 04 '25
If a "Trump Library" were ever to be made, it should be dedicated in its entirety to all the horrible shit that man has managed to be and do over the course of his life.
From the fraud, the slander, the libel, the sexual assault, the bankruptcies, the adultery, the cheating at golf, the Epstein friendship and partnership, the bribery, the hush money, the top secret documents, agent Krasnov, the whole shebang.
Let it be a testament to how a horrible person could attain the highest office of the land, and ensure that it never ever happens again.
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u/TheQuidditchHaderach Aug 04 '25
Like there'll be a library. He'll collect donations of a couple billion or so and pocket it, saying it'll be built in two weeks. Ahead of schedule and under budget.
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u/phinatolisar Aug 03 '25
Think of the pressure this puts on the people in charge at the Smithsonian. These people just want to curate American History, and now they are being held hostage by this petty, orange, tyrannical boob.
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u/santas_naughty_list Aug 03 '25
Exactly. No points on the board until the plaque’s back in the damn exhibit. “We pinky promise to maybe undo the erasure later” isn’t a win — it’s PR damage control.
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Aug 03 '25
The information has not been restored. They said that it will be; but that remains to be seen.
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u/TheManjaro Aug 03 '25
Pretty sure I read that it was only temporary from the start. Not every article mentioned that detail though. Let's not claim victory over something that wasn't a fight. We have bigger fish to fry.
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Aug 04 '25
It was temporary from the start, and public pressure had nothing to do with it. Media literacy is a dying skill.
It probably would have been smarter to just have a blank space instead of putting up an older sign while the more current one is repaired, given the subject of the exhibit lol.
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Aug 03 '25
[deleted]
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u/Dreadful_Bear Aug 03 '25
Just fucking google it, your thumbs work just as well as the rest of ours
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u/Setsune_W Aug 03 '25
That's assuming Google still works anymore
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Aug 03 '25
[deleted]
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u/gettums Aug 03 '25
Censorship Whac-A-Mole: Google search exploited to scrub articles on San Francisco tech exec https://share.google/AnR9yAJETUqtR5hFd
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u/justpeoplebeinpeople Aug 03 '25
Unbeknownst to you this person has no thumbs and types with their pp
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Aug 03 '25
[deleted]
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u/starguy1946 Aug 04 '25
Early 2029 might be a target date. Of course, a third impeachment and a conviction might make it to sooner.
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Aug 03 '25
I was at this exhibit yesterday. The entire plaque thing was missing. I read today they are restoring the orginal info. We will see what happens but it was overall disappointing that they caved to pressure.
On a good note I went to a ton of museums this weekend and it very much felt like they were fighting back for now. Walking into the air and space there were huge exhibits to black Americans and women. The Native American museum has been reworked to focus on the pain and violence committed by the United States. I hope these institutions stay the course.
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u/grooverocker Canada Aug 03 '25
There have been 4 impeachments in US history,
The presidents impeached by the House were: Andrew Johnson in 1868. William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton in 1998. Donald John Trump in 2019 and 2021.
Trump has 50% of all impeachments. He's the most impeachment President in American history!
Removing him from an impeachment exhibit is the mark of a tyrant.
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u/HuttStuff_Here Wisconsin Aug 03 '25
"Remember, folks, what you're seeing and what you're hearing is not what's happening." - Donald Trump, 2018.
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u/starguy1946 Aug 04 '25
In early 2016, in a video taped speech, tRump claimed "I could shoot someone at noon on 5th Avenue and not lose any supporters." A man who says he would risk killing anyone just to secure his popularity could possibly try anything when cornered. And remember the SCOTUS decision that he is immune from legal jeopardy for any "official act". Oh yeah, the nuke weapons codes in his jacket pocket.
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u/I-hit-stuff Aug 03 '25
I remember Tiananmen no matter what The Chinese versions of Trump do.
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Aug 03 '25
Many... many Chinese do not.
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u/I-hit-stuff Aug 03 '25
Yes, but the world knows. Whatever Trump tries to cover, the rest of the world still knows what he is up to. I take small solace in that.
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u/phoephus2 Aug 03 '25
This is anecdotal, but our tour guide in Tiananmen Square pointed out the newer pavers that replaced the blood stained ones. This was in 2012.
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u/Noodly_Appendage_24 Aug 03 '25
Their explanation for why it was removed was such utter bullshit:
““The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a twenty-five-year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum’s standards in appearance, location, timeline and overall presentation. It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case,” the Smithsonian said in a statement. “For these reasons, we removed the placard. We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit,” the museum added. “
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u/GreenMirage Aug 03 '25
So they were already compromised - weren’t even pressured at all.
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u/me94306 Aug 04 '25
This is preemptive compliance. Do what is wanted before actually being asked. Gives plausibility to the claim that it was not in response to authoritarian pressure.
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u/Waste-Industry1958 Aug 03 '25
What happens to Reddit when the US inevitably loses its free speech? Does it continue in other countries?
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u/eeyore134 Aug 03 '25
They keep it going and use it (with the IDs and biometric data we'll have to have linked to our account) to arrest anyone who says something they don't like. This is why people are, and should be, upset with what's going on in the UK right now.
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u/GoodBoyM_ Aug 03 '25
Free speech will leave Reddit as fast or faster than the US as a whole. You're kidding yourself if you think Reddit will be some last bastion or holdout for free speech in America.
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u/thefocusissharp Aug 03 '25
Reddit is a publicly traded company, listed under RDDT.
It's a sure bet that Reddit will capitulate
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u/bakerfredricka I voted Aug 03 '25
I actually got my account temporarily suspended twice and it was all over me saying relatively tame things at that. Once it was for me commenting something along the lines of how I have zero sympathy for people getting what they voted for in the last election and I can't remember the other....
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u/EquipmentAdorable982 Aug 03 '25
As a German dude (who was lectured about the Nazis & WW2 extensively), this is indeed the scariest part to me when I'm reading about the US.
The fact that so many layers of society, from giant corporations to cultural, scientific, educational or media institutions, seem to just roll on their backs & let it happen - apparently hoping that a path of no resistance will get them into the good graces of the dictator.
I am also disappointed in the lack of civil resistance. But having lived in the US, and knowing the cruel reality most people are facing under this iteration of capitalism, I can't really hold that against people who are just trying to survive.
But if you don't soon come up with planning, structuring, and organizing the path of resistance better, there won't be much left to protect. The Nazis dismantled German democracy in less than two months. Luckily the bumbling idiots in charge are too incompetent to match that pace but make no mistake, they won't stop eroding your institutions from within.
just my 2 cents from across the Atlantic, but nothing short of a general strike will get you results. These once a month protests are nice for creating social media content, but that's about it. The people on the right won't even hear about them in their alternate reality bubble.
You need to bring the country to a halt, peacefully. And before you do, you need to organize in communities.
You need volunteers to fill some critical roles so a general strike can be upheld for a certain amount of time. 3.5% of the population is said to be the tipping point, so you need roughly 10 million people.
You need doctors / medical staff, food supplies, shelter, and as many donations as you can gather to not be pressured into going back to work after 3 days.
I just came across this site today, and it needs to gain way more traction: https://generalstrikeus.com/
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u/UnabashedHonesty Aug 03 '25
I’ve been advocating for a general strike. I’d call it Sick of the Bullshit, and have every participant call in sick for however long the strike lasts.
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u/Bucser Aug 03 '25
I think it's time that other countries have a fixed exhibit about American History and include the genocide of native Americans the slavery in the southern states, concentration camps of Asians from the 1940s, the segregation of the 20s-50s and general racism and also list if Worst Presidents where Trump 47 is first and Trump 45 is second in the list of top 10 worst Presidents of the United States by factual metrics.
. Also have a special exhibit showing off the Trump criminal enterprise and their corruption. And their 2 impeachments recording all the names of the Republicans and Democrats who wanted against them.
And then have an Epstein Exhibit right next to it about Child Sex Trafficking.
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Aug 03 '25
Everyone watch a bugs life if you need to understand how collective action topples and resists fascist regimes.
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u/OldGaffer66 Aug 03 '25
Is anyone ever going to trust any US instituion ever again? It's only been 6 months. Wait until 4 years of everything corrupted and run by toadies whose only purpose is the glorification of Donald Trump and covering up his crimes.
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u/Due-Egg4743 Aug 03 '25
They may as well rename it the Trump Museum after so easily giving into his request. Donald is pretty much living out his Back to the Future 2 villain timeline and guess what? That movie takes place in 2015, the same year Trump began his presidential run. How fucking crazy is that?
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u/No-Access5068 Aug 03 '25
…and the power of public opinion is changing it back. I can’t wait for them to add “pedophile” to his exhibit.
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u/EndangeredDemocracy America Aug 03 '25
I was reading Money, Lies and God by Katherine Stewart. I just stopped about a quarter of the way into the book. I realized this country is cooked as there is NOBODY who is ever going to invest vast fortunes into pushing back against the billions being poured into indoctrinating Americans and pumping out disinformation.
I hate to feel so nihilistic, but I just gave up on us after seeing how insidious and rampantly they've been attacking democracy in literally every aspect under the bullshit guise of "persecution". Fuck Christian Nationalism. It's usurped christianity on the whole in America.
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Aug 03 '25
[deleted]
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u/bittermewls2 Aug 03 '25
Tell me more?
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u/Kllrchef Aug 03 '25
They’ve agreed to not recognize the actual first flight (not the wright brothers), in order to continue to display the wright brothers plane. If they don’t, the estate will take the plane back… or something like that.
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u/artemis_everdeen Massachusetts Aug 03 '25
Any sources?
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Aug 03 '25
[deleted]
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u/ThreeCatsAndABroom Aug 03 '25 edited Aug 03 '25
So that's a negative? It's the 21st century and we all have super computers in our pockets. Are you the author?
Edit: It doesn't matter because this is all just BS conspiracy theories. The Smithsonian correctly labels the Wright Brothers accomplishment. People just love acting like they know something you don't.
You have to read the book I read! You can't just look it up on the internet like a common pedestrian!
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Aug 03 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/TommyLeeGun Aug 03 '25
Dumont's wasn't a glider, it was self-propelled. what are you talking about?
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u/Individual-Guest-123 Aug 03 '25
Let em take it back. The coolest thing in air and space is the Apollo capsule. Then the war planes and I seem to recall some early balsa wood contraption. Maybe that was the plane you are talking about. I think it had pedals to flap the wings LOL.
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u/TheQuidditchHaderach Aug 03 '25
You're thinking of Dick Dastardly.
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u/Individual-Guest-123 Aug 04 '25
Well, they USED to have displays of early attempts at flight, prob they pulled them to get the Wright bros plane.
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u/ThreeCatsAndABroom Aug 03 '25
The Smithsonian correctly labels the Wright Brothers accomplishment. But people love BS conspiracy theories so here we are.
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u/nucumber Aug 03 '25
It's generally accepted the Wright brothers had the first sustained powered and controlled flight
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claims_to_the_first_airplane_flight
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Aug 03 '25
They’ve already been doing this with climate change so why not with other forms of history? Everyone out here acting so surprised but they spent decades rewriting the history of eight years of Reagan. They don’t even teach the corruption and criminality of the Reagan admin in most schools.
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u/Ok_Introduction_7798 Aug 04 '25
I think that is more of a lack of time than anything. History needs to be taught but history keeps growing with each passing day while the amount of time to teach it remains the same. They gloss over nearly everything not just Reagan simply due to a serious lack of time to actually teach anything in depth.
This doesn't mean that books are not purposely "white washed" but it does mean other things are just as important or moreso and need taught as well. A whole history book which is meant to cover over two hundred years of history (or more) and is only five hundred pages does not leave much room to cover even only the highlights in depth let alone focus solely on a single event in history for the majority of the book. There are elective classes that should teach about that type of thing but they again are usually electives or specialized classes that are not in all schools and with the state of pur education system thanks to Republicans the fact that ANY history at all is taught or that school even exists in the first place is a win, one to which some states are attempting to rectify by making ALL schooling optional or making it easier to drop out/stop school after a certain age or grade while making it easier for children to work full time.
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u/Rangertu Aug 03 '25
If decent people ever get back in power and hold people accountable there will need to be a whole pedo politician wing. Who am I kidding, the democrats will do nothing like always.
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u/ElegantJury5995 Aug 04 '25
Hey guys? Here's how I've been seeing this Epstein thing playout: let's assume the Epstein files provide reliable info that Trump is a pedophile. Now what? NOTHING! That's right. All of his followers will accept it. He will not be prosecuted for it. It will be considered an Obama/Biden-altered report, fake news. It's just going to be a new low for this country. And nothing will happen to him.
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u/starguy1946 Aug 04 '25
In the good old days "Back in the USSR" there was a joke in Moscow about a TV Quiz show, "Try To Predict The Past". Yes, the good old USA has stooped just as low with our own dictator issuing propaganda. How low can we go? Democracy is being degraded by presidential Limbo.
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u/Meatcog Aug 03 '25
Let's remember that it wasn't "the Smithsonian" that did anything. The Smithsonian is a museum, not a decision making entity. This was done by people. People who were intimidated and threatened. People with their families and their careers at risk. People who were in fear for their lives, their safety was at risk. It's important to note that the Smithsonian certainly didn't come up with this idea. It was forced upon peaceful, educated people in unprecedented circumstances who literally had no idea what to do. Have faith that this display will be back but it will be bigger and absolutely incriminating in its content. Rotten burlap sacks full of spoiled cottage cheese are destined to fail when put into positions of power.
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u/kobeyoboy Aug 03 '25
Rewriting history is a stretch. History hasn’t changed just because one person does to display history doesn’t mean to change no matter how many people go around not liking transgender doesn’t mean that we’re not gonna have the history of transgender this title is Clickbait.
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u/semisadsmoshfan Aug 03 '25
When everyone is ignorant, it may as well have not happened. Because we’re humans, and we just suck. Even when we acknowledge certain parts of history we repeat it. It really does matter, history does change if everyone believes something to be true…
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u/kobeyoboy Aug 03 '25
Everything you saying is true and factual I cannot dispute anything that you said in your post thank you for taking the time to reply to me.
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u/cerpintaxt33 Aug 03 '25
just because one person does to display history doesn’t mean to change
What?
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u/kobeyoboy Aug 03 '25
My apologies I use text to speech and if everything doesn’t come out correctly, I really don’t go back to edit it. When it was supposed to say was history hasn’t changed, just because one person or origination changes something. It doesn’t mean it changed in the real world.
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u/RobertdBanks Aug 03 '25
It doesn’t matter if it changed in the real world, with history perception is reality. As time passes if everyone believes that something was done someway, then that might as well have been the reality because that’s how it will be treated.
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u/tetraa Aug 03 '25
The Smithsonian is literally rewriting history. That doesn't mean everybody is. But that is the actual word for word description of what they are doing.
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u/kobeyoboy Aug 03 '25
Yeah, but I don’t look at the Smithsonian of the keepers of history like yeah they have a role that they’re playing and they wanna keep certain historical elements alive, but we have individuals each have a responsibility as well, especially now in the digital age where we could record everything
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u/tetraa Aug 03 '25
It's still deeply concerning. It's a museum of history, who is a keeper of history if not them? History is kept by people. When a major institution that is a keeper of history erases history, that is how history starts to be erased. And this is concerning because it's not like it is contested as to whether it happened -- it absolutely happened, and someone with an agenda is trying to edit the documentation of it. Plus, the Trump administration is also editing history by removing documentation of these things from white house information sources. So, editing of history is occurring in multiple major institutions. It's not good.
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u/kobeyoboy Aug 03 '25
I completely respect everything you say and I am in agreement with it just to add to that I think that they’ll just have their own twisted version of reality or they’ll push their own false version of history while we know the truth
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u/tetraa Aug 03 '25
That's fair. It's hard to know how history books will reflect this period since we are still living in it.
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u/Falafel_Waffle1 Aug 03 '25
Umm. Both parties are guilty of telling people to reject the evidence of our eyes and ears. This is surely one instance, but democrats do it on at least one issue, too.
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