5000 soldiers

Discussion in 'Politics' started by sculptor, Feb 26, 2021.

  1. parmalee peripatetic artisan Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,266
    Yep. And I think the "pretending" aspect here is critical: there are undoubtedly some small number who are, in fact, genuinely clueless and ignorant, however hard to believe that may seem. But I think most would agree that Sculptor here has, at the very least, read a book or two within his lifetime--and he ain't stupid. There's only so many ways in which one can read his...curious tactical (strategic?) suggestions.

    I don't think that I'm being rash or overstepping by suggesting that Sculptor is very much advocating white supremacism.

    In the past (and presently?), mainstream media has largely pushed the more generous readings. Events of the previous few years may well be shifting that to the more nefarious--and, IMHO, vastly more likely--readings, but, as usual, it's a bit late and long overdue.
     
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  3. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    37,882
    The priorities of their focus are evident ...

    ... as is their preferred narrative ...

    ... and sure, their antisociality, as well, but ...

    ... your own approach would, per observable history, only empower them.

    Well, at least until they shoot or arrest people for laughing at them.

    It's like incels, in a way: We tried to ignore them, as much as we could, but the actual murders kind of forced society to pay attention. And, generally speaking, people still really, really don't want to.

    Neither was it just incel-masculinism: A men's rights advocacy icon went on a bicoastal shooting tour; did you know he made Colbert's show, at one point? Actually, another men's rights advocate who made it onto Colbert's show later emerged as an American Nazi icon, and was just sentenced to forty-one months for extortion and an associated threat. And if, in the wake of the Wednesday Putsch, we might find critics↗ observing an infantilization of white supremacism intended on behalf of the supremacists, we need to remember it's not just the white supremacists↗. The celebrity MRA attorney↗ who died by suicide after shooting a rival on one coast, and a judge's family on the other, got his moment on television to show off his dance skills; the infamous MRA turned American Nazi↗ got his moment on the show because he harassed women. In addition to those two, there is also a tragic story involving antifeminism and video games↗.

    Thus, of blithe advice to have a good laugh, or at least not take certain behavior seriously, history offers a tragic bounty reminding how that works out.

    Between the traditionalist supremacism and concomitant conspiracism, a horde of crackpots, encouraged by a sitting President of the United States to violate their rally permit, marched to and attacked the U.S. Capitol in order to disrupt the Republic itself. It was the height of irony to see an insurgent on the Senate floor with a sign recalling the quote about having a Republic if we could keep it; they were there to overthrow the Republic.

    †​

    Imagine, for instance, ignoring or having a laugh at anti-Catholic End Times crackpottery↗, but of course it was there on the Sixth of January. Along the way to that last paragraph, I looked through my history and found four mentions of a related anti-Catholic conspiracy theory, and the last time I considered the book was during the time of Trump↗, and the transition from Pizzagate to QAnon, and what stands out is a context of concern, compared to prior mentions of the book as just a piece of internecine Christianist tinfoil. Well, okay, I suppose I also happened to ask: At what point―and why―would this rhetoric escalate from the feverish nightmares we are to politely ignore to the feverish nightmare we should elect? That is to say:

    When history pens the tale of how we went from the Party of Reagan↱ to the Party of Trump↱―nor is it easy, right now, to demarcate, except for the declaration that Republicans no longer belong to the Party of Reagan―one of the vital subplot arcs will follow what Michael Lind↱ described, over twenty years ago, as the "collapse of intellectual conservatism". And it will have something to do with the Reagan Awakening of the evangelical vote, because Republicans and the nation alike have been paying for that unfortunate bargain with less than reputable players ever since. A conspiracy theory coming through your ranting uncle is a conspiracy theory. A conspiracy theory coming through the pastor and his conventional quasi-divine authority is more legitimized. And let's face it, the paranoid sectors of Christian faith solely concerned with their own salvation are a fine place to breed all manner of antisocial conspiracy theory. Anti-Catholic, anti-UN, anti-science ... there is even one―I shite thee not―accusing Catholics, Marxists, and Witches of conspiring to bring about George H.W. Bush's New World Order. (It's widely known in Seventh Day-Adventist, i.e., Ben Carson's, circles; cf., Malachi Martin, The Keys of This Blood, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.) But, yeah, if I had told you the Pope is the Devil because I was a politically passionate teenager who disdained conservative speech codes, conservative conduct codes, and conservative supremacism, all of which we get from the Vatican from time to time, that's beyond the pale. But if I'm a conservative Christian pastor denouncing the devilish Mary cult from my pulpit, well, that's the thing. At what point―and why―would this rhetoric escalate from the feverish nightmares we are to politely ignore to the feverish nightmare we should elect?

    The Wednesday Putsch offers us at least some answers.
     
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  5. sculptor Valued Senior Member

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    8,466
    Interesting how the various paths have diverged in this thread
    white privilege
    white power

    Maybe, the goddamned fence shoulda been white?
    Then
    maybe
    just maybe
    some local nutjobs would also dislike the fence?
     
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  7. Bells Staff Member

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    24,270
    You mean hateful, bigoted and threatening.

    Well.. How nice for you that you have that luxury.

    Not everyone has your white privilege..

    If only Berlinda Nibo had your privilege. You know.. to not be offended... If only she was a white man like you. Who has the privilege to not be offended. Instead, she was harassed, assaulted and called a "nigger" by your fellow Trump voters.

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    How nice it is to be you among your people, sculptor.

    Ms Nibo was harassed, assaulted, abused, and called a "nigger" by your fellow Trump voters when she tried to have a laugh at their expense.

    Not everyone has your privilege.

    But you do you.

    Keep ignoring bigotry, racism and hate. When you keep doing what you do, you get people like Ms Nibo abused and assaulted by a populace emboldened by silence in the face of their bigotry and hatred.
     
  8. Bells Staff Member

    Messages:
    24,270
    The irony is that the soldiers are there because of white privilege and white power - espoused by your fellow Trump supporters who tried to stage a coup with the intent of murdering elected officials and the then Vice President.. Egged on by the guy you voted for who told them he loved them as they were doing it.
     
  9. sculptor Valued Senior Member

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    8,466
    And, the fence?
     
  10. sculptor Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,466
    and now,
    a brief musical interlude:
     
  11. Bells Staff Member

    Messages:
    24,270
    Didn't you vote for 'the wall'?

    Oh wait.. You voted for the wall to keep the brown people out.

    Not so keen when you get a wall keeping white people like you from overthrowing the government and murdering elected officials, huh?
     
  12. billvon Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    21,634
    When a wall is used to keep brown criminals out it's just common sense! Keep foreign rapists, violent criminals and caravans out. Protect our people! Who could be opposed to that, other than American-hating liberals?

    When a wall is used to keep white criminals out it "seriously undermines the message" of democracy! The fence is a "desperate show of force by the ill informed displaying their ignorance and insecurities." The only reason to have them is to "supplement offensive invasions!" "The facade of democracy has officially been dissolved!" "The travesty there today speaks of alienation!" "The fences clash with the ambiance of DC!"
     
  13. sculptor Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,466
    No
    It was a bad idea when Clinton started it, and it ain't improved none over the years.

    I might vote for a wall to keep the politicians and lobbyist in, however.
    or............................................................................................................................................?

    I would not put a fence around my property
    (I do not see the value in it)
    I did, however, plant 1458 trees with conifers as windbreaks to the north and west.....(fencing out the wind?).......
    unfortunately, many of the conifers sacrificed themselves while doing their job during the derecho (we lost 40-50% in the outer 2 rings)
    that was one heckuva wind.
     
  14. sculptor Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,466
    with the voice of Ronald Reagan
    "Mr. Biden:
    Tear down this wall!"
     
  15. sculptor Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,466
    and, now
    a brief musical interlude:
     
  16. billvon Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    21,634
    If the Qanon types manage that this Thursday - a lot of people may die. I'd prefer that doesn't happen.
     
  17. sculptor Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,466
    Thursday?
    Thursday!
    gee darn
    On Thursdays, I watch Father Brown on pbs
    oh
    well
    Maybe you can post videos
    ("send a joker with a brownie")
    (from the mothers)
     
  18. Bells Staff Member

    Messages:
    24,270
    But you did vote for it by voting for Trump.

    Look, we know you're a fan. Remember when you tried to claim that Trump could be seen as the greatest wartime President against the smallest of enemies that is COVID?

    That didn't age well, did it?

    Unfortunately trees are not enough to stop your people from trying to over-throw the Government and murdering elected officials and police officers.
     
  19. iceaura Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    30,994
    Creating chaos to cover a seizure of power or destruction of democratically established law and order, as was clearly visible in the Jan 6 coup attempt, is a standard fascist tactic.

    Your inability to see ordinary and historically well-documented fascist movements acting in front of your nose is common among those who find Russian disinformation promulgators "informative" - the childlike gullibility involved in framing such events as involving "both sides" of some imaginary debate or ideological conflict no longer startles.

    btw: Your attempt to describe the Jan 6 assault on the election certification as a "riot" is propaganda framing of course, as is your elision of the identities and behaviors of those who undermined the Capitol Police and prevented their organization and reinforcement,

    but commonplace;

    the interesting little bit of misrepresentation you posted, and one that seems worth tracking for its implications, is your misrepresentation of the timeline.

    1) The Jan 6 assault on the election certification was organized over a period of weeks, including leadership meetings with Trump and other executive authorities as well as complicit Republican politicians during the week immediately prior, the collection and stockpiling of communication equipment and various other gear (including firearms, in nearby locations), etc;
    2) The assault was launched during the day, and was in full swing by 1PM. It did not happen "the night" of Jan 6.

    This is not the first issue (or even the first violent interference in an election) in which the purveyors of Republican framing have deceptively fucked up a timeline. It's become characteristic - far too frequent and ubiquitous to be accidental.
     
  20. Seattle Valued Senior Member

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    8,849
    Mr. Sunshine is back...
     
  21. iceaura Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    30,994
    During the war, the Confederacy and its military forces used a variety of flags, but the flag that became most associated with the Confederacy was the so-called "battle flag." Organizations such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans adopted the flag as a symbol of Southern heritage but the flag also served as a potent symbol of slavery and white supremacy, which has caused it to be very popular among white supremacists in the 20th and 21st centuries. This popularity extends to white supremacists beyond the borders of the United States

    Notice, first, that the suggested or implied timeline is backwards. That flag, the battle flag of the Army Of Northern Virginia, was created and first adopted during the Civil War, not after it. The bs about some vague "southern heritage" untainted by racial subjugation or division was invented years later, often in response to a political climate that included the spread of knowledge about the actual nature of chattel slavery and the southern American slave plantation, racial segregation and racially based governance, Jim Crow and identification by race (a nature which many Americans still deny, btw, supported in their willful obliviousness by these appeals to "heritage" and "way of life").

    The first people to adopt that flag were overtly and explicitly fighting for white supremacy over black people, including in particular and centrally (as the economically dominant factor) chattel plantation slavery. They were killing people to defend the heritage of white supremacy and black enslavement. That was the cause symbolized by that flag, according to the people who designed it and flew it and fought under it. Only later on - mostly after the War - were vague allusions to "heritage" and "way of life" composed and presented to the public. The only specific "heritage" ever clearly associated with that flag is the willingness and courage to make war and do murder in defense of an entire civilization and way of life built on racial white supremacy and the enslavement of black people.

    Under that flag the Army Of Northern Virginia diverted significant resources - in the middle of an undecided war that threatened to destroy their "way of life", and that they were in danger of losing - to capturing and enslaving black people, including children and other noncombatants.

    "Battle flag" indeed.

    To repeat: The flag at issue here was designed and adopted to be the battle flag of white supremacy. That's why it was created. That's why it was adopted, in the first place. That's why racial terrorists and lynching militias like the KKK adopted it, even within the living memory of the Civil War and within the lives of some of those soldiers who first fought under it. That's what it has symbolized, continually and in each new resurgence of popularity, from its creation until the present day.
     

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