Thread by @drvolts

This whole thread is a painful demonstration of how badly some people misunderstand the threat of reactionary backlash (in general, not just in the US). But this point in particular is important & worth dwelling on.

https://twitter.com/HotlineJosh/status/1479118863606288401

To view "they believed Trump" as exculpatory is to miss how this dynamic -- familiar in every reactionary backlash ever -- works. Of *course* they convinced one another of a lie that would justify their violence. That's the whole game! That's the two-step.

First you tell one another lies -- about the looming threat posed by the immigrants, the professors, the lib elites -- and then you commit violence based on those lies. Then, afterward, if called to account, you use your belief in the lies to justify your violence.

That they "really" believed the lies is immaterial. It is the nature of reactionaries that they live in a world full of fear, full of threats. They *want* to lash out, to reimpose some control over their own fear, & will accept virtually any lie that gives them permission.

They can convince themselves of anything. Most of them have convinced themselves that Jan. 6 was not a violent mob, *despite copious video showing the violence*. They will happily disbelieve their own eyes. apnews.com/article/capito…

This dynamic -- convince yourself your opponents are engaged in some devious conspiracy against you in order to justify preemptive violence against them -- replicates itself over & over again, in micro & macro ways. (It's also v. familiar in abusive relationships.)

I once wrote a whole (other) thread about this dynamic, which (unlike most of what I write on this garbage website) I encourage you to read:

https://twitter.com/drvolts/status/1395835619985616898

Anyway, they convince themselves Dems cheated in the election *in order to cheat in the election*. They convince themselves voter fraud is real *in order to pass voter suppression laws*. They convince themselves antifa is on the loose *in order to to commit street violence*.

They are not developing accurate beliefs & then taking action in response to them. They are developing whatever beliefs they need in order to justify acting on their tribal interests. That's the whole point of "beliefs" for a reactionary: a story to justify tribe.

So to say "hey, they weren't trying to destroy democracy, they believed Trump!" is to miss the whole f'ing point. They will convince themselves of *anything* necessary in order to do what they need to do to win. They are not thereby relieved of responsibility!

The Republicans who steal the 2024 presidential election for Trump will "really believe" that Dems cheated in that election too. They will want to win the election, so they will "really believe" whatever they need to believe. That's how the whole thing works.

One more thought on this: currently, the RW believes that a) 1/6 was a civic-minded protest by patriots, & b) 1/6 was a setup by the FBI & antifa to make the RW look bad.

"It was actually good" & "it was bad but it wasn't us." These quite obviously contradict one another ...

... but you can find them both in RW media, sometimes from the same RWer! They can shift back & forth between these contradictory beliefs b/c, as I said, *beliefs are for justifying tribe*. That's the criterion, not consistency or correspondence to reality. Whatever works.

Final final thought: Dems see this & think, "oh, Rs have developed concerns over the mechanisms of counting votes, etc." But that's wrong. What this means is, Rs are concerned that *elections won't go their way*. They no long have confidence they'll win.
morningconsult.com/2022/01/06/rep…