Windmill Political: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
{{trope}}
[[File:windmill_7488.jpg|link=I Drew This|right]]
[[File:windmill 7488.jpg|link=I Drew This|right]]
A Windmill is a quite different creature from its distant cousin, the [[Strawman Political|Strawman]].
A Windmill is a quite different creature from its distant cousin, the [[Strawman Political|Strawman]].


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# Any [[The Only Righteous Index of Fanatics|fanatic]] who needs excuses to make his beliefs socially relevant. This may be an overlap between the first two alternatives, since the fanatic is likely to honestly believe everything that doesn’t fit his narrow worldview to be actual threats as well as being hypocritical enough to [[Utopia Justifies the Means|lie and tell himself that it’s the only way to make people see the truth]].
# Any [[The Only Righteous Index of Fanatics|fanatic]] who needs excuses to make his beliefs socially relevant. This may be an overlap between the first two alternatives, since the fanatic is likely to honestly believe everything that doesn’t fit his narrow worldview to be actual threats as well as being hypocritical enough to [[Utopia Justifies the Means|lie and tell himself that it’s the only way to make people see the truth]].


Compare [[Gravity Is Only a Theory]] and [[Dead Unicorn Trope]]. Contrast [[No Mere Windmill]] for something that is not a windmill but gets mistaken for one. Compare and contrast [[The Scapegoat]]. This character gets wrongly blamed for a real problem, while a windmill gets blamed for a problem that isn't real in itself - but might be used to explain away a real problem. For example, the Nazi attitude towards the Jews was two levels of scapegoat with one level of windmill in between. Ordinary Jewish citizens got [[The Scapegoat|blamed]] for the evil actions of the non-existent [[Windmill Political|global Jewish conspiracy]], and that conspiracy was in turn given the [[The Scapegoat|blame]] for why Germany lost the previous war.
Compare [[Gravity Is Only a Theory]] and [[Dead Unicorn Trope]]. Contrast [[No Mere Windmill]] for something that is not a windmill but gets mistaken for one. Compare and contrast [[The Scapegoat]]. This character gets wrongly blamed for a real problem, while a windmill gets blamed for a problem that isn't real in itself - but might be used to explain away a real problem. For example, the Nazi attitude towards the Jews was two levels of scapegoat with one level of windmill in between. Ordinary Jewish citizens got [[The Scapegoat|blamed]] for the evil actions of the non-existent '''global Jewish conspiracy''', and that conspiracy was in turn given the [[The Scapegoat|blame]] for why Germany lost the previous war.


No [[Real Life]] examples. [[Poe's Law|While there are some people with views so extreme it's hard to believe they're not a joke]], this is not the place to settle what threats are real and what threats are windmills. Stick to how Windmills are portrayed. If we don't, the windmills are going to come and take away our children in the night.
No [[Real Life]] examples. [[Poe's Law|While there are some people with views so extreme it's hard to believe they're not a joke]], this is not the place to settle what threats are real and what threats are windmills. Stick to how Windmills are portrayed. If we don't, the windmills are going to come and take away our children in the night.
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== Film ==
== Film ==
* ''Der Untergang'' (''[[Downfall (film)|Downfall]]'') is one of the many works that take this view on the concept of a global Jewish conspiracy: It was a total windmill crackpot hoax and delusion, but Hitler and his followers honestly believed in it — making them [[Windmill Crusader|Windmill Crusaders]].
* ''Der Untergang'' (''[[Downfall (film)|Downfall]]'') is one of the many works that take this view on the concept of a global Jewish conspiracy: It was a total windmill crackpot hoax and delusion, but Hitler and his followers honestly believed in it — making them [[Windmill Crusader]]s.
* Paul in ''[[The Last Temptation of Christ]]'' is briefly portrayed as the misguided kind of [[Windmill Crusader]]. However, he is quickly deconstructed as a [[Straw Hypocrite]] who simply don’t care if the [[Windmill Political|gospel he preaches]] is true or not.
* Paul in ''[[The Last Temptation of Christ]]'' is briefly portrayed as the misguided kind of [[Windmill Crusader]]. However, he is quickly deconstructed as a [[Straw Hypocrite]] who simply don’t care if the gospel he preaches is true or not.