If you’ve been shrieking about tyranny over masks and lockdowns but you’re fine with masked anonymous feds invading Portland and kidnapping protesters into unmarked vans, you have replaced your brain with a political party.
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Hi I’m Maga McBootlick. I oppose big government, except when it’s used to override local governments which refuse to violently quash protesters whose ideology I don’t like.
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Imagine being such a brainwashed, bootlicking cuck that you think “Antifa” poses a greater threat than masked feds invading a city and abducting people.
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If graffiti counts as violence they should have no objection to replacing all police guns, tasers and batons with spray cans.
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You know what’s a much better way of stopping disruptive protests against police brutality than sending an army of masked feds in camo to invade Portland and abduct people into undisclosed locations via unmarked vans? Ending police brutality.
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Don’t side with the powerful. How fucking hard is that?
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Capitalism will always necessarily lead to authoritarianism, because cutthroat dominators will always be the ones to rise to the top of any capitalist system.
There’s this notion that those who rise to the top of capitalism are not only as good as normal people, but actually better. And of course the exact opposite is true: those who rise to the top of capitalist systems are those who are sociopathic enough to do anything to get ahead.
Billionaires are not good stewards of society. They are not kind. They are not wise. They aren’t even really smart. They just figured out how to diddle narratives and numbers in a way that funnels them money and power. They are empty parasitic middle-men, and they are conmen.
I mean, look who’s president right now. Look who rose to the top of a capitalist system in the most powerful nation on earth. This is what you get. Imagine thinking that a system which elevates such a creature to the very top of the most powerful society can ever be of service to human health and harmony.
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It is deceitful and manipulative to discuss allegations against the Chinese government without making it very clear that these discussions are all being initiated, amplified, spun and influenced by the planet-dominating US power alliance. These discussions are literally never happening outside this context, yet people constantly pretend they are. Talking about Hong Kong or Xinjiang without talking about the US-centralized empire’s known interference and narrative management in those regions is manipulative.
In order to be honest and straightforward, any discussion of alleged Chinese government malfeasance must also necessarily be a discussion of US imperialist agendas. Trying to talk about the former without the latter is just being a dishonest manipulator. They are inseparable.
Treating unproven allegations against China’s government like established facts is the same as believing on blind faith the allegations of a known compulsive liar about someone he hates. The known compulsive liar must be part of the equation for that discussion to be honest.
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Nobody who is being successfully manipulated is free, and our world is dominated by mass-scale manipulation. It doesn’t matter how many “rights” you have on paper, if you’ve been manipulated into supporting or consenting to the agendas of power you might as well be in a cage.
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Expel abuse like a body expelling a toxic substance. Stop talking to your abusive family member. Leave your abusive relationship. Quit your abusive job. Destroy your abusive media. Topple your abusive government. End abusive global power dynamics. Embody the end of abuse.
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People are always telling me I don’t write the way a journalist is supposed to write, the way a leftist is supposed to write, the way a conspiracy analyst is supposed to write. How is it still not obvious that I have zero interest in showing up how people think I should show up?
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In a mad world, conforming to expectations is an act of madness.
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Your beliefs are not set. You can change them at will. It’s this awesome superpower humans have that hardly any of us fully explore or put to use. Everyone carries way more beliefs than they realize. You almost certainly have a bunch of beliefs about yourself which you’d benefit from dropping or changing.
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Seeing through propaganda narratives is just one layer you can peel back on a very, very big onion. You can keep peeling and see through narratives about society, culture, religion, your family, who you are as a person, what the world is, and what you really fundamentally are.
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91 responses to “Portland, Capitalism, And Other Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix”
I would like to know if any Portlanders are missing people: Are families missing family members? Are spouses missing their partners? I have wondered if any of the people being snatched by the federal Gestapo were actually paid provocateurs being hauled away by their handlers. This is what a genuine reporter on scene would be doing, investigating whether people are missing and where they are.
I have posted this already, but I think it is especially relevant to
this contribution from Caitlin.
I think that maybe our biggest problem lies with a human
quirk of psychology which may destroy us all. That is that
some people are psychopaths and many are authoritarians.
The combination of amoral self-seeking psychopaths and
willing followers of these dangerous charlatans is a
great danger to us all.
There is science behind my assertion. Bob Altemeyer has
studied authoritarianism and psychopathy for many years
and has released his findings in a free book available on
his website theauthoritarians.org. Authoritarian psychopaths
rely on posing as normal, and even charming, people to get
themselves into positions of power where they can feed their
ego by controlling others. Since they have no conscience,
they are very dangerous and will even launch nuclear war
if they think they are losing their power. Bob has developed
tests which can be used to discover these people. I think
that unless we develop techniques to find psychopaths
and keep them from power, we may be doomed. We have the
tools to find them, thanks to Bob’s research, but can we
find the will and social constructs to not only find them
but to keep them from power? This will be especially
difficult because their main aim in life is to acquire
social power and they would want to be part of the
attempt to keep people like them from power, thereby
undermining the effort.
Read the book and think about what we may do to save
ourselves from these “all too human” monsters among us.
Wow – clearly written by someone who has not visited Portland in the last few months. I love your work Caitlin and share it often, and I am truly inspired by your words even though there is a lot I don’t agree with or would like to know more about (like, why all the support for Socialism? Seems to me it’s just another bureaucracy subject to corruption and leading to oppression – but I am intrigued by your views and would like to hear more from you on the details of why this is attractive to you and how it would work).
But, I live in Portland and it’s really sad to see the genuine peaceful grassroots protests co-opted and totally overshadowed by the violence and destruction by a small group of white kids. Who told you there was no violence downtown except graffiti? They are terrorizing the city. They have destroyed the small businesses (many minority owned) that make up our diverse community, by blocking streets and frightening people away, and the city has been abandoned. The small businesses are shuttered leaving only corporate big boxes – thanks a lot Antifa! Makes me wonder who’s supporting you?? The historic buildings are covered in plywood and spray paint and most are probably not reopening. It’s full of trash, tents, graffiti, broken statues, and our thriving community has been destroyed. This makes people want more police at a time when we need less police – it feels like a psyop to sink any real potential for change and keep people divided. The United States police are absolutely abusive and militarized and terrifying to all races (I’m a white girl and have personally experienced abusive police behavior in all 6 US states where I’ve lived. I’m more afraid of the police than any murderous criminal – they kidnap you, grope you, take your property and destroy your life at will with no recourse). But this small group of violent people has effectively destroyed the momentum of change and have terrified Portlanders so much that now they beg for more police for protection. It’s heartbreaking to see a genuine movement for change taken down by the violent few. Portlanders of all races have been held hostage by these violent agitators, who have once again squashed any real potential for change by distracting and dividing. Peaceful protesters should never be arrested – especially while on state and federal property which We The People are supposed to own anyway. I don’t even think we should have a police force at all. But there’s a lot more to the story. What we should be focusing on is why are the peaceful protesters always being overshadowed by organized violence making people beg for more police? Who is this small violent few and who’s paying them? Feels to me like just another psyop to keep people divided. If you’d like to know more about what’s happening right now in Portland, I’d love to chat. Sending you so much gratitude for you work, your message, and your ferocity.
“This makes people want more police at a time when we need less police…Peaceful protesters should never be arrested.”
You hit the nail on the head. The problem is that the police aren’t doing what common sense tells us…protecting the downtown from property crimes. The focus is elsewhere. Why? Perhaps it is “just another psyop to keep people divided.”
It is more than just property protection. Downtown Portland in particular is (or was) the cultural, arts, commercial, governmental, and overall communal center of the city and surrounding towns. From what I can see from videos and accounts, close to the entire downtown area has been vandalized and looted. I think roving gangs dominate the streets after the confrontations at the Justice Center peter out. What is left is people isolated and powerless in their homes.
At this point I have no idea what the BLM protests are about as the main driving force of both peaceful marches and the riots are young white people who don’t have much an ideology beyond slogans. Like why try to burn down a statue of an elk? I think there is something important happening, but have no clue as to whether it leads to the rise of mini-Trumps or reforms which make life better for both African Americans and other citizens.
You might check out the essay on Black Agenda Report referring to white participation in the protests as “mass group therapy.” I wish the protesting went along with some serious analysis and organizing, but I fear it is not so for the overwhelming majority of those playing at being socially aware.
For those who truthful with for peace and harmony .
First they must abandon the practice of Statism … ..
They must stop using their egos ..Stop voting to impose their fears , sense of entitlements , wanting to control the actions of others . Stop participating in the practice of statism .. As long as it continues to have the foundation that uses coercion fear and force it will produce the worst of humanity not the best ..
The foundation must be of pure ..Not polluted by what we all know to be wrong ….
The energy of force can never produce a society free of racism, hate and wars .. Love and peace cannot grow to be healthy with such energy behind it ..A society based on the energy of love , Non force and consent.. Our history is halve lies at best … .Voluntaryism the evolution of consciousnesses and reason because humanity was meant to be free to evolve past statism …
The problem of Billionaires is they’ve been minding everyone elses business for so long, they’ve forgotten how to mind their own.
There are only 2 freedoms enjoyed by the populations of the western coilition. They have the right to work; and They have the right to shop.
And they have the corresponding duty, when each “human resource” has been milked, to dry up quickly and die quietly.
I don’t like government authoritarianism at all. I don’t like militarized police, Patriot Act, NDAA, TSA, surveillance, or any of the other post 911 developments.
But I have so say that I have zero sympathy for vandals. As far as I’m concerned, they can be picked off like vermin by sharp shooters.
I’m all for civilians having power over their own lives. I liked the Black Panthers because they did really good things for their communities and were armed for defense, not for offense. They were disciplined and didn’t destroy things.
But these adrenaline-fueled, half educated kids who think they are rising up against oppression seem like feral children running amok. It’s even unclear who they are – BLM, Antifa, Marxists, agent provocateurs? In any case, it seems like all they are doing is creating chaos. I highly suspect that they are being played for the benefit of those who want to create divisiveness, destroy society, and eliminate constitutional protections. It seems like the only ones who benefit are wealthy elites and authoritarians.
Are these new “rebels” and their idiotic “liberal” supporters part of a nefarious Democratic party plan to blame Trump for however he reacts? Is this all about votes? Or are super powerful forces like the Rothschilds, Rockefellers and Bilderbergers pulling the strings?
All I can say is, I don’t support them and I’m a leftist. I don’t want to live in either an authoritarian police state or a chaotic Wild West land ruled by gang violence.
I don’t agree with destroying statues. If you don’t like confederate statues build more statues of anti-confederates.
However, It’s called fighting fire with fire.
Someone has to have the balls to stand up to the gang in blue’s violence.
I also don’t agree with destroying staues. If you correctly understand confederate statues are encouragement to racism. use various nonviolent and grassroots forms of activism to convince duly elected officials to remove the statue. Please note that Gen Robert E Lee was opposed to constructing confederate statues so that there could be healing in the society.
Where I live in North Carolina, the overtime cost of law enforcement when nonviolent vigils are present at a statue are likely to be the reason the county removes the statue. The bipartisan advisory group which included conservative ministers already gave the county council a call for removal they can hang their hat on.
We will know if the BLM marches and ensuing riots are a result of a democratic party operation to make Trump look bad if Biden is elected and he orders a crack down of the movement. Much like what Obama did to OWS when it could not be co-opted in the party.
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https://risingtidefoundation.net/2020/06/16/how-to-take-back-control-of-your-mind/
Interesting article. Thanks for linking it.
Caitlin Johnstone writes like a journalist should write ; her reasoning is simple to follow so she’s good at exposing conspiracies, anD she empathises with mankind . . . unlike self-pitying rightWingLiars.
This is why i put up with her exasperated indignation at the Swamp of Stupidity in which we are marooned.
Pity she’s not willing to take seriously the reportage of mudShadow influence on mankind, a layer of control and antiEvolution that absolutely nobody dares to investigate – except this nativAmerican traditionalist.
Just read that Barr plans to send his Portland type gestapo nationwide.
That ought to go over well…
Indictment against the State of Israel on Charges of War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, Genocide.
“As a tribunal of conscience, the Tribunal is fully aware that its verdict is merely declaratory in nature. We have no power of enforcement. What we can do, under Article 34 of Chapter VIII of Part 2 of the Charter is to recommend to the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission, WHICH WE HEREBY DO, to submit this finding of conviction by the Tribunal, together with a record of these proceedings, to the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, as well as the United Nations and the Security Council.”
https://www.globalresearch.ca/indictment-against-the-state-of-israel-on-charges-of-war-crimes-crimes-against-humanity-genocide/5718394
So many, including you Caitlin, confuse fascism with capitalism. Capital is the root word. Capital is savings or borrowed money used to venture enterprise. Thus capitalism.
Fascism is the combination of business and government in order to effect a particular, usual monopolistic, outcome. The moment a capitalist enlists the aid of government force, that person become a fascist.
I am a capitalist. I do not engage the aid of government to control prices or regulate competition out of business. I compete for customer satisfaction. Capitalism is the goal.
What you say is true but now day is night and black is now white. Definitions are changed. A sign of ignorance. True Capitalism began dying in America 100 years ago.
Ain’t that the truth sister!
It did, with invention of the Fed… Rothschildren control the plant with there goyim sycophant sociopaths holding on the the coattails of the fascist globalist cabal of then and now. As well, the magic of the Zohars voodoo doll, called the Golem, fashioned from clay that hexed the image of whom ever they wanted chastised… (Often in Ashkenazi Hasidic lore, the golem would come to life and serve his creators by doing tasks assigned to him)…Referenced from: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-golem
The Capitalist are the same that were hypothetically thrown from the temple in the mythological story of Jesus’s anger of them selling from the house of god… Wall Street worships the Bull as it is a statue in the business area… New York is the center of all unholy and reprobate mental illness propagated by the usurers of financial magic and slavery to the image of Baal and it Babylonian roots of self worship!… But one would have to read the info to see how we are all stigmatized by our total conditioned state form the foundations of the Rockefeller-Rothschild educational system. Send your children to state schools and see how indoctrination completely destroys critical thought! I regress… Peace is not here on earth or ion their heaven of demented illusion.
Gnosis has put together a nice chunk of forbidden insight, which is particularly difficult work, and valuable to those with more pedestrian minds.
Another big chunk comes from thinking through the ramifications of the mudShadows as secret saboteurs of civilised values.
The people Jesus kicked out of the Temple were tax collectors.
As Orwell and others have remarked, fascism is difficult to define within a precise framework because fascistic regimes have differed widely in some aspects. Fascism will take on different forms according to individual characteristics of nations in which it arises.
The merger of state and corporate interests is one aspect of fascism that has undeniably gained momentum in the U.S. this past century—evidence suggests that merger is near complete. One-Party rule is another aspect in evidence here in the good ole USA whereby a monolithic slab of subhumans I will refer to as our “political class” is bought-and-paid-for by oligarchic corporatists who demand and command from that political class strict control of many basic aspects of our lives including cost and delivery of health care and education, tax and regulatory policies, lucrative military budgets, war-profiteering, and media conglomeration. D & R is a false charade.
Fascism is reflected here in the U.S. also by an all-too-common “reverence” for the idea that Americans are “exceptional” and our overseas and often jingoistic “adventures” (being polite here) are well-intentioned forces for good against evil.
The U.S. is also reflective of fascism in regards to our militarized and burgeoning police state, mass incarceration, marked decreases in civil liberty, persecution of journalists and good-faith whistleblowing, a National Security and surveillance apparatus run amok, and so on.
I’ll conclude by remarking that Caitlin has never confused capitalism with fascism, but has merely made the observation, supported by many scholars of the subject, that capitalism (particularly as it turns into crony capitalism) holds within it very real dangers of mutating into fascism, as is evidenced by what I’ve just outlined.
Capitalism by itself does not use force and therefore is voluntary and moral. Here’s a great read on capitalism:. Honorable Business by Dr. James Otteson
The history of capitalism as an economic model shows clearly that capitalists require strong regulation, without which it is shown that they will stoop to the lowest levels of immorality in their exploitation of labor, including child labor and heinous working conditions. After many hard-fought gains against capitalist exploitation of labor and the environment, there was a brief period in our country when minimal bits of fairness and responsibility towards the common good was enforced. But that time is long gone. The steroidal concentration of wealth in the hands of the few over the past several decades mixed with the repeal of Glass-Steagal, Citizens United, other lacks of oversight, and the complete corruption of our “political class” has resulted in everything I outlined above.
Any potential “virtues” of capitalism, in light of how it is practiced today, are certainly moot points.
Marty there are people lke you and me all over the world. I ran a small business with one employee. But isn’t it true that the middle class to which we belong and which allows us to practice capitalism on a small scale and hire people and relate to them as human beings is gradually being nibbled away by Big Capital, whose advantage is precisely that it does not treat people as human beings? The bigger the corporation, the more money they’ll spend (money that should be going to provide basic human services such as medical care) telling you on fancy Web sites how much they cherish their employees and foster their personal development. That’s a sure sign that they’re aware of the fact that the opposite is true. And of course they’ll spend even more money, which they write off taxes, telling you how they respect and protect the environment. Ditto. But the biggest myth of all is that Big Capital doesn’t enlist the aid of government, as you put it so well. Why do you think the US spends a trillion a year on the military? So that military personnel can provide health care, and care for the elderly, and so many more things real people need? No. To advance the interests of Big Capital *of which the military is a part.*
I’ve had m’ say, as the old codger used to say on _The Real McCoys_.
THIS IS AN URGENT MESSAGE TO ALL READERS!
Evidence has surfaced that Bill Gates and Johns Hopkins University did a test run of a pandemic at the end of last year. BEFORE THE VIRUS RELEASE! It also contains important information on Australia’s position.
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2020/07/17/36-steps-medical-authorities-have-taken-to-guarantee-maximum-death-disruption-from-coronavirus/
The editor is highly credited.
The link has been deaded. Please provide further references.
If correct, the ramifications are strong evidence that the mud shadows are discarding their concealment from scrutiny.
Not Urgent : Sad Stephen does not back up his outrageous claim.
The link is active, and the website is one that I have followed for years. I find Craig Paul Roberts to be an extremely reputable, thoughtful, insightful and reality-based writer, and the link is worth reading if only to expose yourself to other pieces of information, and other ways of thinking. The evidence that Bill Gates and Johns Hopkins University did a test run of a pandemic at the end of last year is fairly old news, but remains relevant.
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A person who blithely writes about mud shadows is in no position to question the strength of other people’s arguments. (BTW, I personally accept that mud shadows are a plausible reality, but you must admit that the scientific evidence is a little slim. Also, the mud shadows do seem to be less concerned about scrutiny. Perhaps they are feeling desperate? Or is it hubris? Maybe they are just over-enthusiastic.)
Thanks for the clarification about Craig Paul Roberts. I checked out his website, but firefox reported unable to contact. You have changed your allegation and its significance fundamentally by withdrawing the assertion that the pandemic work was on Covid-19. This raises questions about the integrity of the post to which i responded.
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Glen, you are the first to challenge me about the mudShadows in years, and although you casually mistook me for blithe and uniformed, i’m favourably impressed by your relatively restrained animosity.
As to the scarcity of scientific evidence, you are correct only because nobody but me is taking it seriously. I take it seriously because i had a confrontation with 4 of them as a culmination of 12 years of investigation, so i was already looking for the coordinating influence for aberrations i found while working as a healer.
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We tend not to notice whatever we believe does not exist, and since the initial impact is frightfully unpleasant, there is a double incentive for their influence to remain unnoticed or denied.
I agree that there is an air of desperation to the mudShadows in USA’s openly hate-driven breakdown in social discipline ; but i think the desperation originates in their dependence on stealing energy.
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Having investigated since 1999, these creatures appear to have only one useful purpose : to cull morally defective offspring of theCreator. I have learned much from countering and understanding their methods of degrading awareness and stealing sovereignty. Enthusiasm is not among their characteristic attributes.
would it be better for us if good ol’ Portland had a real police force honest and true that came over and stepped all over those camol jockey phlaging bad boys and started a bad boy gun fight or they just disappeared and let mr. Dump do whatever he wanted to do?
in my childhood i really thot da cops were to serve and protect.
so to conclude abruptly, what up wit dat?
Portland would secede if Frisco does…and so would Oakland and San Jose…we could use Melbourne.
what say? Hawaii…maybe Seattle…they used camels or just smoked ’em?
i’m not gonna take it anymore!
Yes, anyone but a fascist would have to step back and reflect, after considering that anti-fascism is worse and more dangerous than fascism!
What I really wonder now, is where the hell are all of the loud, prolific libertarians I follow who claim they want a “left-right alliance” on common grievances like war and militarism? You claim to be against fascism and tyranny, where the hell are you now?
Then again, libertarians don’t seem to have anything productive for dealing with disease pandemics either! Which require COLLECTIVE, NOT individual action!
They only call themselves libertarians so they can do anything they want without accountability, including lying about their wisdom and generosity.
As bad as pacifists, who believe they are not responsible for public safety so somebodyElse is left with the dirty dangerous business of maintaining social hygiene.
Death for the First Proven Lie is an effective countermeasure to this kind of moral disease.
You’re talking about right-Libertarianims (the only kind exemplified in U.S. politics). But research left-Libertarianism (i.e. Libertarian socialism). Many leftists fall into that category but don’t even realize it because they never heard of it.
“Our boat is sinking ” it is only a matter of time before ” the expendables ” are all thrown overboard for the sake of the ship. Us ” old people on social security ” will likely be the last to be thrown overboard be we will be thrown overboard eventually. An awful lot of financial pain and suffering is coming to the U.S.A.; you had best prepare yourselves.
When I speak of this to family and friends they nod and look at me like I have grown a second head with no comment. People think just because it has always been one way it cannot change. Food riots are a terrible thing to unfold. Politicians are hunted down and killed. The French Revolution was about hungry people taking out their anger on the elite. It can happen again. Running street battles between those with and those without. Think of that couple of lawyers in St. Louis stsnding on their lawn with gund but in open warfare street by street in affluent areas. A civil war against thise with and those without.
“If you’ve been shrieking about tyranny over masks and lockdowns but you’re fine with masked anonymous feds invading Portland and kidnapping protesters into unmarked vans, you have replaced your brain with a political party.”
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Whether one agrees with this or not, masks are indeed a basic violation of simple human freedom. They are an imposition of outside force upon a person’s body and human space. But they do have a good side. They do help lots of people with nothing useful to say to keep their mouths shut.
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“Don’t side with the powerful. How fucking hard is that?”
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Pretty hard, from the evidence. “Obey your Parents! Obey your Teachers! Obey your Government! Obey your Pastors and Priests! Obey your Local Heroes Who Serve and Protect! Obey, obey, obey! The young and innocent mind quickly learns to bow down to all the many powers that surround them. It becomes a very hard habit to break.
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“Nobody who is being successfully manipulated is free, and our world is dominated by mass-scale manipulation.”
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It could be said that nobody is free. If one says he or she is free, they still don’t have a clue how un-free they still are.
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“In a mad world, conforming to expectations is an act of madness.”
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Since the world we live in IS mad, then living a sane and reasonable and evolved life in such a world is an act of alternative-madness. If everyone is crazy, then being crazy is normal. And since few people like to stand out or think for themselves, if you’re not acting crazy you are not really trying.But hey, this is the New Normal and We’re All In This Together! Masks Up!
I find it unsettling that Caitlin continues to describe psychopaths as sociopaths (they’re not the same) and fascism as capitalism, although it could be argued that the latter is the former.
Well, I don’t notice you posting any definitions of either mental disorder!
Last I read on the subject, ‘psychopathy’ is the term used to define a disordered brain where the subject’s higher conscious cortex level brain regions are unable to receive or process neurochemical signals from the lower ‘amygdala’ section near the brainstem. While the sociopath may have lowered emotional response due to shutting out or ignoring emotional signals due to high stress levels or experiencing traumas.
Well, that’s my non-scientific def., what’s yours and how does that deny a connection between fascism and capitalism?
I laud your defense of CJ against what seems almost surely to be a bad-faith attempt at critique.
Lou is very easily unsettled, a pedant’s pedant. Got anything useful to say ? Lou.
This is a one hour, twenty minute lecture read from a written script. In other words, it’s not that entertaining. On the other hand, it offers an unusually full and clear explanation of how and why we’re killing ourselves and our planet AND a far-reaching proposal for fixing what’s gone so terribly wrong. You be the judge of whether it’s worth your time.
While I typically forgive and ignore minor discrepancy in political discussion, this has got to be one of the most politically ignorant posts you’ve ever put up. In the first place, I will once again attempt to educate you regarding “capitalism”. All economies are capitalist. The differences lie in who controls the capital. To imagine that there is such a thing, or that such is possible, as a benign government that will ethically control that capital is delusional. While there are indeed a plethora of bad actors controlling capital in a free market, there are likewise good actors aplenty. If that control were handed to a “benign” government, it would be controlled by nothing BUT bad actors, since that capital would first have to be stolen from those who created it, at gunpoint, and therefore controlled by armed thieves. The human condition is by and large messy, messy as hell. It appears you often suffer a delusion that its not, or that we could change it. That we could all be “enlightened”, per your preference of course, and thereafter everything would be unicorns and rainbows. Not happening. Sorry.
Did you ever hear the story of capitalist Cuba under Batista and communist Cuba under Castro? The former was a living hell for all but a handful of fat cats and gangsters. The latter now has one of the highest literacy rates, one of most universal and effective health care systems, and one of the lowest crime rates in the entire world, all built in the face of the intense hatred and relentless opposition of the most powerful nation in human history, a mere ninety miles north of its border.
Then why do boats of people flee Cuba and those who escaped in south Florida hate Castro. Would love to hear your reasoning since I am pretty sure you have never lived in Cuba.
I have a close friend who lives and works there for several months each year and travels all around the island. She is amazed at the level of literacy and healthcare, and has told me that she (a young women) can walk down the streets of Havana in the middle of the night with absolutely no fear of being molested. When Castro’s revolution succeeded, some in the middle and upper classes who had kissed up to Batista took off for the States, often with Castro’s blessing. He has also allowed others to leave Cuba for the States, primarily those who long for the material goods that, due to our continual embargoes and sanctions, are sometimes in short supply. Some of the Cubans in Miami have long been involved with the CIA and are suspected of having played a key part in the murder of JFK, who refused to order American air support in the Bay of Pigs fiasco.
ideology as a form of mental illness
is why individuals find egalitarian societies disconcerting to their self-pity.
Are you dense? Are you simply unable to comprehend that ALL economies are capitalist? Can you not understand that there are a variety of different economic forms, and that all other than socialist are not free markets? Did you ever hear the story of 20,000’000 Kulaks being murdered by their socialist government? Of 40,000,000 being murdered by Mao’s socialist government? Like nearly all others, you fail to notice the common factor of all evil government. Government itself. I have no idea what living conditions are like in Cuba, and unless you live there, neither do you.
Generally weak logic. One does not need to live in Cuba to form an idea of living conditions there anymore than one needs to have been present at the massacres you mentioned to spew about them … or … maybe not?
Maybe that is why no one has ever seen a unicorn.
The only problem with your argument is the assumption that capital creates capital. Uh-uh. Workers create capital.
And please, stop with the “human nature” argument. Humans are primates, and primates are hard-coded for solidarlty. The messy – some might say homicidal – nature you’re talking about is the the nature of capital, not human nature. Our species is evolving towards greater solidarity, planetary solidarity, and your tired arguments are holding us back. You should do something better with your time.
Well said, Gene.
And who controls the capital after its produced? Those who produce it, or those who stole it? In a free market, those who produce it. In socialism, those who stole it. I hate to break it to you, but our closest relatives among primates, chimpanzees, are just as murderous and warlike as we are. Even cannibalistic in some cases. The “solidarity” you speak of is not even possible given the wide variety of values expressed in the human population, much less inevitable. Perhaps you would be better served by spending less time in your fantasies.
Yeah! Think of all the capital that was produced by dispossessing Native Americans of their continent or chattel slavery. Who should control that capital, huh? The ones who stole it right, Jay?
Actually, bonobos are closest to us amongst primates. They are peace-loving and co-operative. Reference Dr Susan Block if you want to hear from a champion of “The Bonobo Way”.
Yes !!, I’m a recovering alcoholic who abuses opioids, but I could really use what you have been taking.
LOL. Now that is funny.
Ah, the Buddha Ms Caitlin again wisely speaks the truth!
As an ” old man ” familiar with the evil ways of my government and its ” false flag operations ” the first thing to ” ponder ” is just who is benefiting from this insanity? None of what is transpiring in the streets is of any benefit to anyone that is out there. The owners and the masters are pulling the strings in this show and it is all for their benefit. At the end of ” the show ” the United States of American sheeple will find themselves face to face with martial law.
Ron asks the right question, then answers it with the Jesus endGame . . . mankind as prisoners of obedience to unAccountable power.
A shoddy piece of thinking to paper over a gaping wound to our self-respect.
The proper answer is in the realm of knowledge forbidden by Jehovah in Genesis : discernment between Evil and Good is a threat only to deceivers like Jesus, spokesman for the mudShadows.
All allegations against Trump are considered true by main stream media. Antifa is ruining Portland but they elect idiots so let it burn along with other shit hole cities
“Capitalism will always necessarily lead to authoritarianism, because cutthroat dominators will always be the ones to rise to the top of any capitalist system. There’s this notion that those who rise to the top of capitalism are not only as good as normal people, but actually better. And of course the exact opposite is true: those who rise to the top of capitalist systems are those who are sociopathic enough to do anything to get ahead.”
Substitute socialism or communism for capitalism in the above sentences and they would still be accurate.
A good post. Lots of stuff to think about.
“Don’t side with the powerful. How fucking hard is that?” Too hard, I’m afraid, for many who nevertheless keep commenting here. See below.
Newton, the question was about you, not them.
Defelecting the question is not a good sign.
The Third Reich , NAZI heaven , was using todays definition ” progressive ” and did provide universal health care to its citizens ? You demonstrate a lack of insight and basic historical knowledge.
Insight which Jim implicitly does not lack.
Later Jim realised that this sets an impossible standard, and has done what he can to repair the insult. This is admirable.
The next possibility is to consider how such an impulse entered his mind and swayed Jim to put it into writing before thinking it through.
This is a dynamic i attribute to the mud shadows, a parasite which takes care to have everyone believe that it cannot even exist.
Hence the religion of Materialism dominates and cripples institutionalised Science.
A wonderful rant thanks for it .
Wrong comparison. Many of these protesters are rioting infantile anarchists, not mature revolutionaries. See Michael Tracey’s article “Stop pretending the BLM protests were peaceful: Are journalists deliberately ignoring the effects of these devastating riots?”, https://unherd.com/2020/07/the-ugly-truth-about-the-blm-protests/?tl_inbound=1&tl_groups%5B0%5D=18743&tl_period_type=3
That being said, two wrongs don’t make a right. The way LEO’s are dealing with rioters isn’t right either.
RE the tyranny of locking millions out of their livelihoods and the tyranny of state regulation and corporate edict regarding the wearing of face masks and social distancing and contact tracing and forced injections: that’s targeting billions of common people, not rioting protesters.
You think that BLM is a peaceful protest filled with nonviolent civil disobedience agitators? Think again. Go to BLM’s website and click on “Donate”. All donations go to ActBlue. Some have suggested that BLM is being used to launder foreign donations to the DNC.
https://blacklivesmatter.com
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019
Full disclosure: I no longer reside in the USA and I refuse to support either the Democratic party or the GOP. I believe that BLM is a movement which has been co-opted for funneling support to Democrats.
Your opinion is also infantile or at least naive at this point in the ongoing global class war . Violence is inevitable , and any real change in human behavior unlikely.
Then why bother with the violence? Why not just enjoy as best you can the end of the oppressive, ecocidal ride?
People always attack the person when they don’t have a winning argument
You’re projecting. You’re also utilizing the self-serving cognitive bias of illusory superiority. My knowledge of the global class war isn’t inferior to yours, Jim.
Dear Gary, if i were you i would be worried about my health.
Thinking like the above is cynical and alienated.
Yes, there is plenty of reasons to doubt both wings of USA exceptionalism,
and i too abhor the moral bankruptcy that unfettered untruthfulness has cultivated,
and will not set foot in the land of my ancestors while the mudShadow interference prevails.
This is a matter of knowing what the real enemy is.
No difference between nazism and progressivism?
Ummm, lets see?
One demonizes one race, and does everything in its power to exterminate them with extreme violence while simultaneously launches an all out war against all of its neighbours.
The other wants to make sure that everyone has health care.
Consider changing your mind because that would be wise.
Progressives burning cities attacking residents is almost worse than Nazis if there were any really around outside of leftist delusional thinking
LOL. You also are highly lacking in knowledge of what actually happened and why, and quite frankly some of the petitions that come my way via email clothed in progressive language is outright Fascism.
1. I am not endorsing it but if I was a powerful government I would infiiltrate a group if I thought it represented a threat. I would go after leaders and randomly grab and lock up or disappear members for intimidation. Basically what you are saying is happening.
2. Graffitti is a form of violence just like toppling statues. Defacing property is violence against society. I dont know how you cannot see that. So your dog craps on my yard and I spray paint your house with a keep your dog out of my yard. That is intimidation and violence.
3. Media propaganda is just a form of control. When it fails to work direct force will be applied.
4. Seek a relationship with God. It will help reorient your view to allow you to cope with life in this physical world.
keep god out of this. she’s staying with me.
Caitlin, I really appreciate your writing!
I agree with your thoughts on capitalism. My question is, “What is your suggested replacement?” I always interested in an alternative view
By far, the most vivid, detailed, and comprehensive alternative to capitalism can be found, of all places, in two largely-forgotten American novels from the first Gilded Age. If you’re interested, here’s a two-part introductory essay. Both books, by the way, are free to read on the net.
https://newtonfinn.com/2018/07/12/on-earth-as-in-heaven-part-i/
https://newtonfinn.com/2018/07/12/on-earth-as-in-heaven-part-ii/
There is NO difference between communism, fascism, marxism, nazism, progressivism or socialism….they are all rebranded feudalism. The same with vulture capitalism. There are only two systems of social organization, either you have Free Speech, Private Property and rule by informed consent….or you DO NOT We have yet to design a just system for humanity.
Fully agree.
No difference between nazism and progressivism?
Ummm, lets see?
One demonizes one race, and does everything in its power to exterminate them with extreme violence while simultaneously launches an all out war against all of its neighbours.
The other wants to make sure that everyone has health care.
Consider changing your mind because that would be wise.
Good advice/counsel.
Step back. They are both systems of government control. People either want to be controlled, control others or desire freedom. Are you saying you want to be controlled by progressive elites. We do not need the government to control our lives. Government is not the answer, it is the problem be it Nazi, Fascist or Progressive.
” Government is not the answer, it is the problem ”
So you built the street your house is on yourself? Wow!
Yes