Charles Manson never murdered anyone, he just convinced people that it would be a good thing to do. The mass media have convinced far more people that it would be a good idea to commit far more murders than the Manson cult ever committed, and should be reviled as such.
The fastest way to get yourself banned from social media is to say something that sounds like you're inciting violence. But mass media which do that constantly are never banned, because what's actually forbidden is inciting violence that isn't authorized by the powerful.
In fact the fastest way to advance your career in media is to incite violence on behalf of the powerful. This is true in news media, and it's even true in video games and Hollywood; make compelling games and screenplays glorifying military violence and your career will thrive.
We live in a society that is built on violence, sustained by violence, and driven by violence. Those who promote unauthorized violence are vilified while those who promote violence in service of the powerful can ride that wave to fame and fortune. This should disgust us all.
If you remove your propaganda-installed perceptual filters, you see a machine that is fuelled by the blood of the powerless being piloted by laughing skullface comedians and news men with human flesh in their teeth. Once you've seen the horror of the empire you can never unsee it

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More from @caitoz

26 Nov
Oligarchic Imperialism Is The New Dominant World Religion

"It is what shapes our culture. It is what holy wars are fought over and acts of terrorism committed for. It's what power is built around. It's what you're branded a heretic for rejecting."
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/oligarchic-i…
I was just watching a gaggle of blue-checkmarked narrative managers attack progressive commentators @kthalps and @briebriejoy for platforming antiwar journalist @RaniaKhalek on the grounds that Khalek is an "Assadist", which is imperialist for "heretic".
At no point do any of these narrative managers bother to address the actual things these women were discussing together or why anything Khalek was saying in their video conference was wrong.
Read 14 tweets
25 Nov
Oligarchic imperialism is the new dominant world religion. It's the scripture everyone reads. It's what forms our culture. It's what holy wars are fought over. It's what terrorism is committed for. It's what power is built around. It's what you're branded a heretic for rejecting.
Oligarchic imperialism is the new dominant world religion. Instead of reading the Bible adherents read The Guardian. Instead of going to church they see Hollywood movies. Instead of fighting a crusade they drop bombs. Instead of burning heretics they deplatform anti-imperialists.
Oligarchic imperialism is the new dominant world religion. It's just as fake as all other religions, just as power-serving as all other religions, and just as dependent on belief in insubstantial narrative constructs as all other religions. An old dynamic adapted for a new world.
Read 4 tweets
24 Nov
This Is Your Brain On Echo Chambers: Right Calls Biden A Xi Puppet As He Packs His Cabinet With China Hawks

"Whenever someone tells you that a US president is going to be 'soft' on a nation the US government has marked as an enemy, you are being played."
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/this-is-your…
This is your brain. This is your brain on echo chambers.
Prior to the US election I wrote a couple of articles saying that if Biden wins he will be attacked by the right as a Xi Jinping puppet even as he escalates dangerous cold war aggressions with China.
caityjohnstone.medium.com/if-biden-wins-…
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/biden-will-n…
Read 17 tweets
24 Nov
All you dipshits who called me a Trump apologist for saying there would be no "coup" can go ahead and apologize now.
The only people who thought Trump would put up any meaningful fight were those who think he's Literal Hitler and those who think he's Literal Jesus.
Oh so he's still doing a coup but he can't control his own Twitter account. That makes sense.
Read 4 tweets
23 Nov
Still getting dopey wingnuts in my mentions claiming Biden is going to bend the knee to China, even as he packs his administration full of virulent anti-China hawks. This is your brain on media echo chambers.
You shouldn't be worried about your government being too nice to China. You should be worried about your government ramping up a world-threatening multi-front cold war against two powerful nuclear-armed nations for the first time in human history.
Anyone who tells you a US president is going to be "soft" on a nation with which the US is actively in conflict, you are being played. Aways, always, always, always. It's just people manipulating you away from your natural, healthy inclination toward peace.
Read 9 tweets
23 Nov
Surprise! America Is Getting Another Psycho For Secretary Of State

"Blinken is a liberal interventionist who has supported all of the most disgusting acts of US mass military slaughter this millennium, including the Iraq invasion"
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/surprise-ame…
Did you know the US Department of Defense used to be called the Department of War? It would be a much more honest label today for a military which virtually never operates in any way that could be described as defensive. Even better would be the Department of Eternal War.
So in practice the US ended up with two war departments: the DoD and the State Department. Which is why Secretaries of State are so jingoistic and psychopathic now, to the point where some sort of antisocial personality disorder is almost a job requirement for the position.
Read 12 tweets

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