Oh boy. That's pretty much the most sure-fire way to make Boone go Boom.

Legion support is rare in the Fallout community, but when touted by those inclined to support Caesar and who legitimately believe in the cause, not just committing to the bit because they enjoy playing the baddies, the Mussolini argument is often the only play they have in an attempt to justify the factions. “The trade routes are safer!” they cry, “the NCR is too thinly spread to offer the same levels of protection!”

This glosses over all the atrocities and horrors of the Legion because one aspect of their reign is not a huge red flag which only denotes undue human suffering at the hands of luddites. It also missed the point that the Legion, a glorified raider army hell bent on subjugating or slaughtering its way across the countryside, is the primary factor thinning Republic resources. If there was no invading horde biding its time until it could wrap its jaws around the neck of the Mojave, trade routes may have fewer obstacles to contend with and more robust support. Ironically, the Legion cannot actually run trains because that is a technological bridge too far and defies the mighty Caesar’s proclamation that technology weakens his men. After all, it only takes a few thousand slaves a considerably longer amount of time to do the same work as grueling manual labor!

It's also just that they're just very obviously, almost over-the-top so, the bad, evil option, so it's kinda weird to find one of your companions being okay with them. But when actual people belief they're the best options that's definitely a big red flag.

It's a weak argument, the NCR trade routes would have been much safer if the Legion didn't attack them in the first place. And safer trade routes still don't justify rape, torture and murder.

Exactly, like, sure, Arizona might have been occupied by a bunch of unorganized raping and pillaging raiders before the Legion came but now it's occupied by a group of organized raping and pillaging raiders which hardly sounds like much of an improvement.

Well, the NCR has hordes of problems of its own, but yeah, they're much better than Caesar's Legion.

^exactly, I think a lot of ppl forget that the NCR is ten years away from agricultural implosion, and the Mojave isn't exactly a nation-feeding breadbasket.

Plus, Mussolini only really made one train run on time.