No, History does NOT 'repeat itself'.

TLDR:

    Good people don't try to enforce their will on others; the headlines are just new names for old tricks - focus on the substance, not the semantics. And buy my book if you want.

    Of the many things that I have found to be incomprehensible in our mostly indefensible world, perhaps the general inability to weigh substance over semantics is chief among them. A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet, as Juliette would have us remember, so too does vomit remain revolting no matter what it is called.

    Specific to this recognition, I've noticed that many speak of 'history repeating itself' as though History were a person that we could simply blame for human beings consistently doing the same thing while expecting different results. Conversely, but identically, others speak of the 'judgment of history' or 'being on the wrong side of history' again, as though 'history' were a dude somewhere whose decisions are incontrovertible. Both camps have their own image of what 'history' is, neither of which remotely resemble what history actually is. History is just a story - sometimes it's even based on real events.

    The somewhat recent excuse for public tantrums and law-enforcement actions orbiting ICE and protests can and will be interpreted however anyone is inclined to interpret them. History is never 'written by the winners', but rather by the loudest. Lamenting a flat out communist winning the Mayor's seat in New York - then employing Ms. Rachel's children's show in transparent propaganda aimed at toddlers may well get some clicks, but it does nothing for understanding, and it won't change anyone's mind. The loudest win.

    The whole point is that Mamdani's election and that SUV lady who was shot in Minnesota aren't anything new. Authoritarianism has always been popular and a 'grassroots' phenomenon (whether real or astroturf) - even in America. Horrifically bad ideas have consistently been wrapped in moralizing claims, and always have similar results. Don't believe me? Trace the Hatchet Lady - domestic terrorist - Carrie Nation (1846 - 1911) through Prohibition and the National Firearms Act (1934) to the Waco Siege (1993). The progression is obvious if only one looks at substance over semantics - what it is, rather than what it is called.

    Mamdani's sleazy manipulations and the recent deliberately histrionic escapades to provoke authoritarian responses are very old tricks, and they are only ever used by people who intend to impose their will on others - a thing that good men never do. I address all of this stuff in my Book where I tried to show what America was supposed to be, but I guess I'm just not loud enough. I was shocked at what I found when I decided just to look; maybe you would be shocked too.

    History does not repeat itself. People do the same things, thinking that this time will be different. Spoiler alert: it's never different.