Thread by @EmporersNewC

Well it looks like it’s on then, and we are going to need to have a serious think about this.

theguardian.com/us-news/2018/j…

It’s what we’re going to need to push back on those that want to sow division amongst us by appealing to the worst of our human nature.

Having said that, their formula of getting support by appealing to the worst in people is getting a bit thin and obvious, don’t you think?

It’s true their media fib and fear factories can still pump it out at a fair rate, but to what end?

Do we really have so little faith in people that we believe they won’t see the Goebbels’ amateur hour for what it is?

And that’s not saying we shouldn’t take this cancer seriously, in fact, quite the opposite. We’re going to have to cut it out before it spreads any further. It has already spread to the point where they are beginning to set the narrative.

It's because of this we need to take a good look at how we are meeting this challenge so that we can regain our voice and start setting the pace again.

We need to be absolute confident with our arguments, and our arguments must be based on facts and logic rather than those of myth and fallacies.

"Facts don’t work", you say? Bullshit!

They may not work for the wilfully ignorant, but they work for any respectful and rational person who cares about themselves, or the future of their family.

The problem isn’t facts don’t work. The problem is we’ve been so distracted dismissing their subterfuge that we have forgotten to counter the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow they are promising.

While we’re busy attacking, people are looking for something in the future, and it is time we started talking about that as a whole, and presenting it in real and grounded terms.

We should be putting that to the people so they can see the difference between our positive fact-based future and the Mr Fruitloops fantasy land fable being dished out daily.

We also need to be assertive where we have allowed ourselves to be cowed. If we can’t talk down to people, how are those people going to know just how low they have sunk?

We shouldn’t be afraid to talk down to someone in the gutter, as long as we’re prepared to drag them up, dust them off, and give them real purpose to replace the false promises they are clinging on to.

We should not be intolerant or lack compassion, but equally we should not tolerate the breakdown of our values, nor shirk the responsibility of showing an aggressor short shrift.

If someone is being a racist, then we should be prepared to call them out as racist. The correlation between prejudice and ignorance means we were probably not going to win them round anyway, and maybe one day they will realise it is actually behaviour to be ashamed of.

And since they thrive on division, above all we should be prioritising unity.

This is important enough now that our future is now at risk, and who did what, when, to who, doesn’t solve the problem at hand. Too much energy is spent on futile debates of the past when it should be focused on building better cohesion.

It’s really not a difficult formula. If we can stand on our facts, be prepared to leave, set a realistic vision for a better future, work together, and stand up for our ideals, then I think we can send this rancid movement back into the cave it emerged from for another 75 years.

That said, it may be a simple formula, but it's much more difficult to actually do.

But whatever people’s political persuasion it should be seen as right to oppose a movement that puts so much capital in creating division, hate, suspicion, intolerance, and resentment.

And if people are prepared to stand up for what is right, and realise that we need to oppose this together, then we have nothing to fear.

/End