I normally refrain from making comparisons to Hitler, but.....

[mopinko]

3. there is an authoritarian playbook. they're all the same, and imho

what it is is the ‘lizard brain’ taking over. the higher functions either never rly developed, or they have deteriorated. drug use, dementia, other things can cause this.
but in many ppl, they never develop. the science of brain development has been something i’ve watched since my kids were small. i remember vividly, in about 1978, the chgo tribune did a deep dive into this topic. iirc, they ran several articles for a week, then the sunday edition had a huge double page spread.
the tl/dr version is- mothers who r stressed during pregnancy, for whatever reason, shaped their children’s brains, and bodies, to fight. mothers who were well fed, well cared for, loved, supported, shaped their baby’s brains toward the ‘higher functions’, art, music, language, etc.

sometimes that stress is just poverty. even if they have food, they still live w more adrenaline than average. but it cd b lots of things- they have a lot of kids to take care of already. they care for an ailing family member. they’re sick themselves. etc, etc, etc.
this continues after birth, but it is prenatal development that has the most impact.

bottom line- it became my yardstick for any ruler anywhere that women and children r the top priority. if every mother i america was well cared for, this wd b a different country in a generation.
cuz nobody wd fall for this authoritarian bullshit.