Excellent summary (E: except for the last paragraph, the dude doesn't understand greater-than-his-mind-allows-him-to-see perceptions). Thank you! From what I studied of 1880-90s and on, it was getting pretty shitty quick, and it was mostly egged on by the dimwitted liberals but it started much, much earlier, with "Peter the Great" who wasn't great at the very least but it's all pretty complex and is irrelevant in this context.