Excellent point. It is both the perception of change and the maintenance of order. This is the most galling aspect of the use of identity politics, and the cultivation of crt as the stand alone boobie prize (elevated and divisive individual "marginal" storytellers equalling meaningful redress of poverty and all of its outcomes) instead of actual resources that could threaten the internal economic hegemony. Its the ordination of neocolonialist power structure internally. That intersectional humans of the cia video is the epitome of this.
Excellent substantive comment; I'm glad that the flippant garbage I throw out can lead to something like this.
"Its the ordination of neocolonialist power structure internally"
The neocolonialist power structure requires The Enemy. The collapse of the USSR and the end of the Cold War was the worst thing that ever happened to its business model.
The Cycle of Official Enemies is telling:
In the '90s it was "domestic white supremacists" (Tim McVeigh, Randy Weaver, David Koresh, Ted Kaczynski). In the '00s it was "Islamofascist terrorists" (a.k.a. poor Muslim people in faraway countries). When Trump won in '16 it was Russia (which makes a great second-stage villain when it isn't collapsing and can't be looted by international finance).
I think it's going to be "white supremacists -- domestic terrorists -- insurrectionists" again.
Agree with your points. Also, hasnтАЩt the definition of тАЬwhite supremacistsтАЭ expanded exponentially since the 90тАЩs? Where even our UN ambassador is calling the U.S. a white supremacist country in front of the entire United Nations. Which is convenient for the national security state, they have all kinds of permission to spy on all of us since we may all be a white supremacist terrorist.
Isn't in interesting how the previous war on Muslim Fundamentalism and current war on White Nationalism are both led by the same groups and require all the same solutions that result in more power for them and less freedom for us.
So true. The gatekeepers were still in full control back then.
It's funny how many younger people walk up to me today and say "can you believe what happened at that fucking Ruby Ridge" or "can you imagine that goddamn Crime Bill!?"
It's interesting to imagine what the 90's would have looked like if the internet had been released to the American public only a decade earlier.
Indeed. ItтАЩs especially funny that Joe, lock them up, anti-bussing, pro credit card Biden is head of the coalition against тАЬWhite SupremacyтАЭ(INC).
You mean the 1974 pro-choice "I don't like the Supreme Court decision on abortion. I think it went too far. I don't think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body" Biden?
If America can elect a politician with a 50 year recorded history for president, then my Mom was right that truly anyone can be president.
I think the definition of "white supremacist" is about to expand to "any white person who does not live in NYC, DC, SF, or Seattle."
Note that of the four '90s American Boogeymen I name-dropped above, only two could reasonably be described as white supremacists, and the evidence is thin.
McVeigh was motivated to do OKC because of Waco; Gore Vidal's interview with him is illuminating. It's funny how when a government starts killing its own citizens internal violence escalates. Almost like a feedback loop, or something.
I remember Timothy McVeigh because IтАЩm from OKC and was in high school and heard that bomb go off that morning. As far as I knew he was anti-government but if he was a white supremacists he just succeeded in killing a bunch of whites people that day.
In my ongoing effort to always be the least popular guy around here, I never understood this tendency we have to identify what ideology killers belonged too.
Whether it's the Muslim Brotherhood, White Supremacists or incels, there are plenty of odious ideologies out there were the vast majority of their members don't go out and blow a building up. People seem to focus on the most politically advantageous, but least instructive explanation for why killers do what they do.
"When Trump won in '16 it was Russia (which makes a great second-stage villain when it isn't collapsing and can't be looted by international finance)."
...prompted my recollection of Naomi Klein's excellent book, "THE SHOCK DOCTRINE--The Rise of Disaster Capitalism".
No doubt, the fabrication and public propagandizing of Official Enemy constructs is, indeed, a required ingredient of said "neocolonialist power structures". It's a large scale modern day hybrid of a "bait & switch" scheme, designed, of course, to distract the attention of and manipulate the reasoning of public opinion.
You close forecasting...
"I think it's going to be "white supremacists -- domestic terrorists -- insurrectionists" again."
..and I think you may be on to something, especially if these particular fringe elements are all armed with 5g cell-phones in addition to their already amassed collections of military-grade weapons.
Will the majority of our citizens actually be able to make a distinction between such a future Official Enemy, and one that may actually socially 'evolve'?
I refer to M.'s point above -- I think all the culture war "woke" stuff is now being actively exploited (even if it was not originally engineered) by vested financial interests.
If you can make someone hate someone who has a different skin color, it's easier to pick his pocket while he's glaring at them.
I disagree with your comment only on this point: "Their goal now is 'social change'."
I think the goal is "social stay the same."
Excellent point. It is both the perception of change and the maintenance of order. This is the most galling aspect of the use of identity politics, and the cultivation of crt as the stand alone boobie prize (elevated and divisive individual "marginal" storytellers equalling meaningful redress of poverty and all of its outcomes) instead of actual resources that could threaten the internal economic hegemony. Its the ordination of neocolonialist power structure internally. That intersectional humans of the cia video is the epitome of this.
Excellent substantive comment; I'm glad that the flippant garbage I throw out can lead to something like this.
"Its the ordination of neocolonialist power structure internally"
The neocolonialist power structure requires The Enemy. The collapse of the USSR and the end of the Cold War was the worst thing that ever happened to its business model.
The Cycle of Official Enemies is telling:
In the '90s it was "domestic white supremacists" (Tim McVeigh, Randy Weaver, David Koresh, Ted Kaczynski). In the '00s it was "Islamofascist terrorists" (a.k.a. poor Muslim people in faraway countries). When Trump won in '16 it was Russia (which makes a great second-stage villain when it isn't collapsing and can't be looted by international finance).
I think it's going to be "white supremacists -- domestic terrorists -- insurrectionists" again.
Agree with your points. Also, hasnтАЩt the definition of тАЬwhite supremacistsтАЭ expanded exponentially since the 90тАЩs? Where even our UN ambassador is calling the U.S. a white supremacist country in front of the entire United Nations. Which is convenient for the national security state, they have all kinds of permission to spy on all of us since we may all be a white supremacist terrorist.
What could possibly go wrong?
Isn't in interesting how the previous war on Muslim Fundamentalism and current war on White Nationalism are both led by the same groups and require all the same solutions that result in more power for them and less freedom for us.
I don't know how many people who read this board are too young to remember the '90s, but they were wild times in a lot of ways.
The Clinton administration really liked to lock up a lot of black people and visibly exterminate a few white weirdos. "Equity," maybe?
So true. The gatekeepers were still in full control back then.
It's funny how many younger people walk up to me today and say "can you believe what happened at that fucking Ruby Ridge" or "can you imagine that goddamn Crime Bill!?"
It's interesting to imagine what the 90's would have looked like if the internet had been released to the American public only a decade earlier.
Indeed. ItтАЩs especially funny that Joe, lock them up, anti-bussing, pro credit card Biden is head of the coalition against тАЬWhite SupremacyтАЭ(INC).
CanтАЩt make this stuff up!
You mean the 1974 pro-choice "I don't like the Supreme Court decision on abortion. I think it went too far. I don't think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body" Biden?
If America can elect a politician with a 50 year recorded history for president, then my Mom was right that truly anyone can be president.
I think the definition of "white supremacist" is about to expand to "any white person who does not live in NYC, DC, SF, or Seattle."
Note that of the four '90s American Boogeymen I name-dropped above, only two could reasonably be described as white supremacists, and the evidence is thin.
McVeigh was motivated to do OKC because of Waco; Gore Vidal's interview with him is illuminating. It's funny how when a government starts killing its own citizens internal violence escalates. Almost like a feedback loop, or something.
I remember Timothy McVeigh because IтАЩm from OKC and was in high school and heard that bomb go off that morning. As far as I knew he was anti-government but if he was a white supremacists he just succeeded in killing a bunch of whites people that day.
According to this book, he once bought a "White Power" T-shirt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Terrorist
Here's the Vidal essay in case you're interested, published imminently before 9/11/2001: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2001/09/mcveigh200109
In my ongoing effort to always be the least popular guy around here, I never understood this tendency we have to identify what ideology killers belonged too.
Whether it's the Muslim Brotherhood, White Supremacists or incels, there are plenty of odious ideologies out there were the vast majority of their members don't go out and blow a building up. People seem to focus on the most politically advantageous, but least instructive explanation for why killers do what they do.
Re: grisha koshmarov Apr 5 @~1PM PCT
One of your latter observations....
"When Trump won in '16 it was Russia (which makes a great second-stage villain when it isn't collapsing and can't be looted by international finance)."
...prompted my recollection of Naomi Klein's excellent book, "THE SHOCK DOCTRINE--The Rise of Disaster Capitalism".
No doubt, the fabrication and public propagandizing of Official Enemy constructs is, indeed, a required ingredient of said "neocolonialist power structures". It's a large scale modern day hybrid of a "bait & switch" scheme, designed, of course, to distract the attention of and manipulate the reasoning of public opinion.
You close forecasting...
"I think it's going to be "white supremacists -- domestic terrorists -- insurrectionists" again."
..and I think you may be on to something, especially if these particular fringe elements are all armed with 5g cell-phones in addition to their already amassed collections of military-grade weapons.
Will the majority of our citizens actually be able to make a distinction between such a future Official Enemy, and one that may actually socially 'evolve'?
As Usual,
EA
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes.
They are assiduously trying to change our culture and society.
I refer to M.'s point above -- I think all the culture war "woke" stuff is now being actively exploited (even if it was not originally engineered) by vested financial interests.
If you can make someone hate someone who has a different skin color, it's easier to pick his pocket while he's glaring at them.