Friendly reminder

originally published jan 15, 2021

 Friendly reminder that we must all actually hold contradictory truths that do not exclusively reinforce our ideal wish of a simple world.

It is true that trump supporters stormed the capitol. That’s not okay.

It is also true that Susan Rosenberg, member of the left wing M19 terrorist organization who bombed the capitol in 1983, arrested for transporting hundreds of pounds of explosives and weapons, was pardoned by Clinton in 2000 and has fundraising connections to Black Lives Matter.

So, when you hear some wing nut yell about BLM being founded by terrorists, and that leftists actually bombed the capitol first, know that there is actually something there. It might not be literally true, it might not be relevant if you go down the rabbit hole of researching it in its entirety

- But -

the bare accusation has about as much meat to it as the rhetoric I’m hearing from the left right now.

There is something to it, for sure, but with a dramatic lack of nuance. The point here is that we have to listen and look shit up and be ready to say, “yep, that’s true this time” or “nope, that’s not real and here’s how to keep from getting hoodwinked.”

Also, it looks true that at least one BLM activist has been arrested for storming the capitol. So, yep, technically true - does that take maga-land off the hook? Nope, but does it matter? It should, and we should keep looking. False flag is not a partisan tool, and history has shown it to be HIGHLY effective. So we should be watchful.

Also true: when it comes to specific language linked to physical attacks on federal property and physical altercations with police, there is a lot of overlap between rhetoric of the right and left.

Does it matter? It should when you are finding yourself in a feedback loop outrage machine where both sides are accusing the other of hypocrisy. Are BLM protests and police station burnings and annexing of neighborhoods different than what happened January 6? Yes, of course they are! Shouldn’t we be able to talk about them in a complicated way rather than just saying, “Everything the other side has done is evil and wrong, and what my side did is justified and righteous.”

Of course we should.

Holding complex realities might be uncomfortable, but it isn’t actually threatening. They aren’t attacking your principles, and yes, there are all sorts of specifics and what-have-yous, and there is always the possibility that you might discover that some people who believe a lot of the same things as you haven’t always been..unimpeachable.

That’s okay.

Practice: “Yes, what you’re saying might be true - practical political realities mean that there are literally millions of individual actors, none of whom represent the whole. And regardless of the actions of some, the core of my philosophical stance is this ________. “

Remember:

The long term goals of immensely powerful people are very hard to know and the means they use are often inscrutable or disguised.

It is very hard to know exactly what is going on, and we should be wary of those who make claims to know it absolutely.

As a rule, those who have millions of dollars and the power to either run giant businesses or countries do not have our best interests at heart. They are interested in perpetuating their power, and are willing to shift into incredibly disingenuous positions to manipulate you and me.

I am skeptical of their rallying cries and don’t believe in the simple reality they pretend to believe in.

Ok.

There.

We’re doing it.

Now get uncomfortable:

Listen or read newsmax, oan, epoch times, npr, cnn, nytimes, hannity, limbaugh, democracy now, fox, aljazeera, and definitely listen to the WAY they interview those whose ideology runs contrary to their editorial board.

Listen to the grandstanding and the incredibly specific ways they tell you exactly what to think and how you should feel.

If you think some of those sources are bogus, me too. Listen to them.

I promise, when you return to your safe harbor of a familiar source, you’ll eventually hear something disquietingly familiar. “Wait,” you’ll think, “that was a really combative interview,” or, “Huh, that was a softball interview, why didn’t they follow up about the important thing?” or “Weird, they didn’t report on a whole lot related to that story,” or, “Holy crap, they literally just told me how to feel. They actually said, ‘You should be angry’ on a news program.”

It’s a jungle out here, and the only way through is realizing that we are not each other’s enemy, we are all the target of thought programming, and we all have learning to do.

Here’s to dismantling our assumptions and growing back into a society that is more empathetic and resilient than we have known.

#theecologicalcollapsewontcarewhatcoloryourjerseyis