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Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
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20 Dec, 10 tweets, 3 min read
Americans keep expecting a system that's not built to serve their interests to serve their interests.
- Progressives look to congress for economic justice.
- Trumpers think the judicial system will overturn the election.
- Libs thought Mueller would arrest the entire Trump camp.
What these all have in common is a belief that the system can be used to radically change the system, and it just can't. The system is built by the powerful to maintain power structures which serve the powerful. That's it. It's not going to suddenly start serving your interests.
This is why the main US factions keep being proven wrong about their predictions of apocalyptic revelations which will take out the other party: they're taking it as a given that there's some part of the system which works in opposition to the other parts on behalf of justice.
Trump is obviously corrupt, so libs assumed an investigation would turn up corruption and he'd be punished for it, erroneously taking it as a given that the judicial system might turn against the president. Same with the Trumpers who think the election results will be overturned.
And that's just not what the system is for. Even relatively awake people often cling to the delusion that there exists some part of their federal governmental structure which is there to serve them, when really its primary function is to protect the powerful from them.
Exactly. That was never going to happen. The "Iraq has WMDs" guy was never going to topple the executive branch of the US government. The Mueller investigation was never separate from the power structure that Trump serves.
You cannot use the swamp to drain the swamp, and it's all swamp. QAnoners (largely white boomers who have lived lives which led them to expect the system to work for them) thought there were parts of the system which could be used against other parts.
Yes to all of this.
The advantage to loudly demanding the system work the way it's supposed to is exposing the fact that it doesn't to a wider and wider audience. This can help lead to a critical mass of people taking direct action outside the system, which is the solution.
Ever since 2016 it's been endless predictions from Democrats and Republicans that some huge revelation is going to drop which wipes out the other party. It never happens: the imperial machine just keeps chugging along with all its parts working in well-oiled harmony. This is why.

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More from @caitoz

Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
21 Dec
People who wrongly saw Russiagate as the deep state attacking Trump won't recognize the similarities to the Chinagate op.
Those who know Russiagate was the US intelligence cartel manufacturing a case for aggressions against Russia will see the same thing happening with Chinagate.
Russiagate was not the deep state attacking Trump because they don't like him; it was barely about Trump at all. It was about reigniting cold war hysteria and manufacturing support for a new cold war. All the China/Biden stuff will be used in the same way.
"But Caitlin, Russiagate was fake and Chinagate is REAL!"

No you dupe. You only believe that because you think Russiagate was about Trump. If you understood that it's just diddling narratives to force a confrontation before US hegemony is surpassed, you'd see them as the same.
Read 4 tweets
Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
21 Dec
Why It's Good To Push Politicians To Do The Right Thing (Even When They Probably Won't)

"You don't push politicians to do the right thing because you think they will, you do it to show everyone else that they won't."
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/why-its-good…
The debate rages on over whether House progressives should force a floor vote on Medicare for All, with one side arguing that AOC and the rest of "The Squad" were elected to advance progressive policies and the other side arguing that AOC is cool so shut up and leave her alone.
As we discussed yesterday, Americans will not be given Medicare for All despite overwhelming public support because so much power depends on keeping them poor so they don't interfere in the affairs of a nation which serves as the hub of a global empire.
Read 16 tweets
Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
21 Dec
Human behavior only changes when there's an expansion of consciousness, individually or collectively. Substance abuse doesn't end until you turn and face the inner demons compelling it. A society doesn't reject racism until it collectively becomes aware of how damaging it is.
For this reason, the ultimate fight is to spread awareness of what's really going on. It's not winning elections or getting what we want that will lead to lasting change, it's an expansion of understanding of what's really happening in ourselves, our society, and our world.
This is why so much of the battle is happening on the front of propaganda, censorship, and press freedoms. The more unconscious aspects of our world want to keep things secret, distorted, and hidden in the shadows, while those who want change are fighting to turn the lights on.
Read 4 tweets
Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
19 Dec
The US has institutionalized poverty because if wealth were more evenly distributed in the most powerful nation on earth there'd be no ruling class to ensure the domination of the globe-spanning empire. Plutocrats wouldn't be able to buy the system; the people would control it.
This is the real wall US progressives keep crashing into when fighting for economic justice. Not a lack of votes, not a lack of seats in congress, not "it's just not realistic right now", but a system that is deliberately rigged to keep the general public poor and powerless.
You can't work within the system to obtain economic justice because the system is explicitly designed to maintain economic injustice. You will keep crashing into that same exact wall, over and over and over again, no matter how hard you try.
Read 12 tweets
Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
19 Dec
The Washington Post Can't Stop Babbling About Russians 'Hacking Our Minds'

"The dawn of political insight comes when you realize that propaganda is not just something that is done by other nations to other people."
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/the-washingt…
The Washington Post has published another article warning its readers that the Russians are "hacking our minds", this one authored by CNN's Fareed Zakaria.
The article about "the Russian model" of propaganda where "people get convinced when they hear the same message many times from a variety of sources, no matter how biased."

Which is funny, since WaPo has been repeating this same ridiculous message:
Read 15 tweets
Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
18 Dec
Secret, Invisible Evidence Of Russian Hacking Is Not Actually Evidence

"We can't share the evidence with you because the evidence is classified. It's secret evidence. The evidence is invisible."
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/secret-invis…
The Communist Party of China has been covertly sending arms to extremist Antifa militants in the United States in preparation for the civil war which is expected to take place after Joe Biden declares himself President for Life and institutes a Marxist dictatorship.
Unfortunately I cannot provide evidence for this shocking revelation as doing so would compromise my sources and methods, but trust me it's definitely true and must be acted upon immediately. I recommend President Trump declare martial law without a moment's hesitation.
Read 23 tweets

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