Sunday, January 29, 2017

How We Got Trolled Yesterday: The Story You DIDN'T Hear

Per my posting earlier today about how we're being trolled, here's an example: The executive order yesterday on immigration restrictions was not a huge big deal.

I'll wait patiently while you bellow and rage. The pique level is, as I've said, stuck at "11", and people are prepared to Hitlerize just about anyone or anything. Unless I hastily reaffirm my virtuousness to you via high-minded pro-immmigrant language, you very likely might stop reading and never come back. In fact, some of you stopped reading three sentences ago. That's the moment we're in. That's the problem.

Let's proceed.

The executive order yesterday on immigration restrictions was not a huge big deal. What was a huge big deal was that the sane generals (like Matthis) were removed from the National Security Council, which will be run entirely by Banon and Flynn (Flynn is The Worst Possible Thing, excused only by reason of insanity), putting them in exclusive, unchecked control of the entire national security apparatus, without so much as frickin' input from (sane) career military or intelligence people - none of them will even be at the table. The crazy kids have the keys, unchecked. This is the single most terrifying thing I've seen the US Gov do in my lifetime.

But you probably don't know (or at least don't understand how catastrophic it is) because you, like half the country, were freaking out over the executive order. President Bannon trolled you (via a limited, temporary, executive order subject to judicial counterbalancing - slipping in measures against green card holders just to spark extra sputtering pique), and the media whipped you into a frenzy and then spent the rest of the day covering your frenzy - which wound you up even more. And with that circus going on, two conspiracy-minded whack jobs unapproved by Congress and unfettered by rationality staged a coup. Barely reported, hardly noticed, 'cuz, hey, we're chanting slogans here!

From the perspective of mainstream rust belters, the arty farty liberals were freaking out yet again on TV, this time to defend terrorists. So they didn't even hear the important story. And if they had, it would have concerned them.

We need to stop being trolled; set off by small stuff custom-engineered to trigger us into serving as The Diversion. Breathe! Pay attention! Think! Cease responding in hyperbolic ways that 1. make everyone miss the real story, and 2. make half the country think you're as whacky and over-dramatic as Trump told them you were. The more we freak out about every little thing, the less ammo we have to to make the rest of the country pay attention when seriously bad shit like this happens.

Again, read John Schindler's Twitter feed, an alternative perspective way closer to the truth than what you're seeing in media or in social media (and put up with his anti-Obama, anti-Hillary, anti-PC stance, which is shared by half the country, including lots of nice, sincere, smart people who have a different perspective, and some of whom will help us bring down Trump). To understand his feed, you'll need to learn some new acronyms: IC = intelligence community; NATSEC = national security; EO = executive order; MSM = mainstream media; OIF = Operation Iraqi Freedom; NSC = national security council; FSB = Russian intelligence; DOD = department of defense; USG = US government; WH = White House).

We need to stop being whipped into a frenzy by media and social media. We need to stop triggering at every minor action, statement, and tweet. We need to suck it up when he does the normal right wing stuff he earned the right to do November 8th. We need to stop going to "11" on every distasteful bit of this or that, so we can keep our eye on how he's actually wrecking the country, and so we have some ammo left when little backstage tiptoe moves like this happen, and we need people to hear about it and understand it and pay attention. If YOU dind't hear about it or understand it, then you were trolled.

2 comments:

  1. Too bad the Dems aren't likely to hold ground on SCUS while Trump's inner circle controls the AG, NSC, etc and the GOPers in congress fear a "populist backlash" for going against the administration. Vancouver looking better.

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  2. Re: Vancouver, resist the urge to cede to the idiots. The idiots never cede, so this compulsion amounts to a ratchet leading to unchallenged idiocy.

    As I wrote here (http://jimleff.blogspot.com/2010/02/ceding-to-idiots.html):

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    When the pineapple, perturbed by an over-abundance of coconut, opts out of the piña colada, it leaves behind a completely coconutty piña colada!
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