For American, I agree with Alaska, Zinn is a good start. Critical reading of lib sources can be ok. (IE, Ken Burns' general messaging is off, but its a decent overview if you can read between the lib brain)

This is the first book I read about Taping. That was like 10 years ago, I don't really remember how well it was all presented, but might be a decent start. Written by a Yale guy in 96, so it might be a bit... you know. https://archive.org/details/godschinesesonta0000spen/page/n3/mode/2up

How the fuck do you get to your 30s in America (or anywhere honestly) without learning that 99% of "debates" are worthless. I think I learned this as a teen seeing "Creationist vs athiest" debates. Really solidified in college when I spoke to people (including one who was on the Alex Jones train "early" in ~2014/15) and I realized no matter what I said they seemed to not understand. Had the exact same experience talking with a Scientologist, and realized that me/my family/friends were doing the same as christians. Just straight up not engaging and getting mad everytime anyone brought up anything that couldn't be easily thrown away.

IE: you can just lie. You can just refuse. If your "opponent" doesn't realize or doesn't call you out, they are immediately on the back foot. Even if they do, then you "logical fallacy" them. Debate is worthless unless you know the other person is interested in learning. Like, I've seen some "debates" here and on reddit and elsewhere online that are at least somewhat meaningful. But these guys already have won by you engaging. There people aren't stubborn or don't understand. They don't want to change, on purpose.

Like I guess cover your ass, but if I were him, I'd at least couch it in "Kirk engaged in a dangerous game of courting right wingers that are unstable and prone to killing anyone they think "betrays" them." But of course, Hasan does the same shit. Engaging with weirdos (and not the good type, like us), so he's afraid of the same. And he should be, but maybe don't wander off into the swamp if you know gators are out there, brother.

American with a more serious answer: I'd pick Lincoln picking a slaver as his VP and then getting shot. Functionally destroyed every good thing he did. Revealed the truth of "compromise" in 1865 and liberals still haven't learned it.

Since I'm Pasta-American: Italy in general. Going from ruling "the world" to being ruled by a combo of the french, the popes, proto-hyper-capitalists, and vikings. Then they didn't even have it in them to fully conquer to pope after uniting the peninsula, in the mid/late 1800s. Then stumbling through the late 1800s, helping invent fascism, rejecting the huge support communists gave for freeing them from the upside down man...

Not my nation, and not "stupid" but kind of hard to process for a young American (Like I was when I first read about it): the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom happening because of the Qing state's decline, their civil service system becoming corrupt, peasant-middle class disaffection, and the influx of Christian missionaries, etc etc. All leading to a guy claiming to be Jesus' brother and leading a revolt. Late Qing in general was a cluster. Shocked it didn't collapse into the warlord era earlier.

Bonus to all Americans that still think Bush etal was a good president/did the right things after 9/11. Don't know how you can look at America now and say "yeah it was right to invade the wrong country twice and waste all these resources and disaffect so many abroad and at home" (and kill people abroad too, but hoping for that from Americans might be asking too much).

I'd count (at least "casually", as in casual conversation) supporting/enacting a genocide as social murder. Maybe a stretch of terms, but support for one is almost always tied to the other.

I don't think your account gets nuked unless you're posting illegal shit.

I think I could login to mine and see what I'm subbed to still, even though I was perm'ed like 4 years ago.

I'd vote for the "JFK effect". Mostly because I remember older folk talking about how they'd heard about it randomly ("where were you when he was shot?").

Probably an older/better example, but that'd take actual research effort.

APnews already has a list of democrats saying "no place for political violence".

There, however, is a place for violence when it comes to the American government murdering members of my family, other workers, those abroad, anyone who sneezes wrong, etc, etc, etc.

Social murder is too big a concept for liberals I guess.

Listen here Jack, I ain't gonna miss when I take my shot. Corn pop trained me to always hit.

Maybe not exactly "theory" in a stricter sense, but I enjoyed listening to Graeber's Debt: the First 5000 Years. Maybe a bit more "pop"-y, but a pretty good dive into what money/debt actually is and how it evolved. Some probably would disagree with some of his remarks about communism/socialism being an ideal that might not be realisticly achievable, but it has some interesting ideas about non-capitalistic economies. I also liked his framing of "everyday communism".

AI protein is actually just a probablistic function that may or may not output an amino acid, a protein, or a prion.

"Do something!" says the only people with actual access to power.

Can't wait for him to get the "felon" label officially applied, spend 2 weeks in jail, then get elected while in jail, pardon himself, send the judge and jury to the border camps, then the liberals to cry and do nothing about it.