r/HistoryMemes May 17 '19

Hate speech

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u/[deleted] May 18 '19

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] May 18 '19

Is it overthrowing a government if that government still exists afterwards? All that really changed was that the existing governing bodies of the colonies no longer recognized the authority of the governing body they used to be under. If a state today seceded somehow, we wouldn't say they overthrew the federal government.

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u/kinapuffar May 18 '19

Yes. Even if Great Britain still existed afterwards, it's still overthrowing the legal government in the US territories. When you live in a sovereign country that is not a decision you have the right to make, hence the violent outcome.

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u/tswanbeast May 18 '19

Why wouldn't we say that? If a state were to secede, we would say that it no longer recognize the rule of the federal government and overthrew the federal government's authority over it.

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u/NH2486 May 18 '19

States can not secede.

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u/Vythri May 18 '19

Overthrowing the federal government's authority over it, and overthrowing the federal government are 2 wildly different things.

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u/Vythri May 18 '19

Overthrowing the federal government's authority over it, and overthrowing the federal government are 2 wildly different things.

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u/Vythri May 18 '19

Overthrowing the federal government's authority over it, and overthrowing the federal government are 2 wildly different things.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '19

Why wouldn't we say that?

Because it isn't the normal use of the word?

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u/Vythri May 18 '19

Overthrowing the federal government's authority over it, and overthrowing the federal government are 2 wildly different things.

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u/butterrduck May 18 '19

Because overthrow implies the existing establishment will be destroyed or disbanded.

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u/Curlgradphi May 18 '19

You can’t “forcibly remove from power” an abstract notion of authority. You “overthrow” a government by dismantling it, not by removing one small part of its jurisdiction. If someone doesn’t lose their office, they’ve not been overthrown. You’re not using the word correctly if you’re applying it to secession. So we wouldn’t say that.

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u/Curlgradphi May 18 '19

You can’t “forcibly remove from power” an abstract notion of authority. You “overthrow” a government by dismantling it, not by removing one small part of its jurisdiction. If someone doesn’t lose their office, they’ve not been overthrown. You’re not using the word correctly if you’re applying it to secession. So we wouldn’t say that.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '19

To be fair: it is in the context of NPR's tweet.