This is an attempt to use identity politics, perpetual grievance/victimhood, and the exploitation of neuropsychological fear responses to manipulate the majority demographic (and what will most likely be the party in power in 2022) to react/govern as a persecuted minority. 1/
The term "identity politics" is associated with minority groups because the dominant political group is usually also the dominant culture. This dynamic creates the impression that only minority groups embrace/promote their “identity” through politics,….2/
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….when in reality, the preservation of the dominant culture is also an exercise of identity politics.
Trump's, "Make American Great Again"?
Identity politics.
Michael Flynn's, “One nation, and one religion under God”?:
Identity politics. 4/
Not only has the Right been extremely effective at creating a minority persecution complex within the majority demographic to create an "othering", "identity politics" victimhood narrative that has not only been embraced by its base..... 5/
...but they've also been effective at creating a victimhood narrative that expands beyond traditional “conservative” constituents…to implicitly create an identity politics coalition around anti-vax.
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The anti-vax hysteria/paranoia narrative has allowed Republicans to create political alliances with constituencies that conservative policies have historically alienated/disenfranchised, or simply failed to attract, including: 7/
Government-distrusting minorities, previously apolitical/politically disengaged conspiracy theorists (9/11 “truthers”, etc.), left-leaning pre-covid anti-vaxers,....8/
...and politically-apathetic people who couldn’t be bothered with civic duty (voting) when it inconvenienced their self-absorbed lives….and who might otherwise lean Left when socially conservative policies/beliefs encroached upon their lifestyle/activities…..9/
...but who now align themselves with Republicans b/c masks/vaccines & closed gyms/bars/sporting events triggered their sense of narcissistic entitlement to recreation/entertainment & their “right"/"freedom” to be exempt from shared sacrifice/contributing to the greater good. 10/
This describes some of the Joe Rogan crowd, for whom politics was too boring to pay attention until the conflict resembled a highly entertaining pro-wrestling match that not only positively reinforced their narcissism (“freedom”)…but created meaning/purpose in their lives. 11/
This same conflict-driven purpose/meaning phenomenon can be seen in the “Gated-Community Revolutionaries”….
....who apparently have had it too good…for too long… and they’re not going to take it anymore. 12/
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/84fe30…
This thread's analysis goes into more detail on how the cognitive dissonance of “American Exceptionalism” factors into “The Gated Community Revolution”: 13/
I've previously analyzed how relentless manipulation of the neuropsychological fight-or-flight fear response creates PTSD-like, hyper-vigilance that causes people to see nearly everyone/everything as an enemy/threat, and to perceive minor threats through an existential lens: 14/
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In order to manipulate/exploit society's collective neuropsychology, the Right has to create the perception of relentless threat.
This is accomplished through the perception of perpetual victimhood….as explained in this thread/excerpt: 21/
As was recently observed in the Rittenhouse trial, in our society, there is a belief that victims have a right to take extreme measures to defend themselves, up to and including, deadly force. 22/
This perceived/observed right to “extreme measures” is why the Right has worked so hard to condition people to think in terms of victimhood, and to create the “othering” narrative around vaccine refusal: 23/
...To create a persecuted “minority”-status mindset among a demographic (white Americans) that is not only still in the demographic majority....
...but more importantly, that will most likely be in the political majority after 2022 (Republicans). 24/
In 2022, the GOP may take back Congress. Conditioning the party in power/majority to believe they are persecuted for a particular “identity” is a dangerous political tactic b/c it empowers the majority to act in *self-defense*…to act with “pre-emptive retaliation”. 25/
(cont.)
But unlike an actual minority faction that possesses limited power over the majority, the majority has the power to tyrannize the minority…..26/
Remember, society grants victims the right to take extreme measures to defend themselves when operating under the assumption that they are in a disadvantageous position from a numbers standpoint (“minority”, or outnumbered in a fight),….27/
…..(society grants victims the right) to defend themselves when they are in a disadvantageous position from a strength/power standpoint (attacked by a more powerful person/group), or because they are being attacked in a sacred place (home/”castle doctrine”). 28/
The current psychological manipulation employed by the Right is designed to create a victim mentality (smaller/weaker) through the use of “othering” narratives, to create justification for taking extreme measures. 29/
The difference (objective) is that they won’t be defensive measures taken by a minority/disadvantaged group….they will be taken by a majority group in power who believe they have a “moral authority” to take offensive measures: pre-emptive retaliation. 30/
When a majority group in power acts with a persecuted minority/victim mindset, there can be catastrophic outcomes.
Throughout the last half of the twentieth century, our greatest fear/threat was nuclear proliferation.
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Arguably, our greatest threat currently, is the proliferation of victimhood. It’s essentially an arms race that has not only paralyzed government’s ability to function….it literally led to an attack to prevent its peaceful transfer of power. 32/
Relevant thread:
Relevant thread:
Relevant thread:
The subject matter of this thread was recently discussed on "The Muckrake" podcast:
Relevant thread on the "Gated Community Mentality", and how being the lone superpower caused us to look inward for enemies:
Article version (no paywall) of this thread on the weaponization of majority identity politics and the proliferation of victimhood: patreon.com/posts/59002277
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