CJ Hopkins writes a polemic about one of the themes that crops up in leftist literature. The elite, who are our real enemies (of the common people) will employ just about any set of tactics to keep the populace engaged in harmless activity. Bread and circuses if you will.
The marriage of politics and power is nothing new. Yet we get hyperbolic essays like the one Hopkins’ penned for Counterpunch.
“See, up to now, the dilemma we’ve been facing (or some of us have been facing, anyway) is how to respond to the ruling establishment’s concerted campaign to “regime-change” Trump. On the one hand, Trump is a living embodiment of everything the Left opposes. On the other hand, going after Trump has meant carrying water for the fake Resistance, i.e., that global corporatocracy (which, by the way, does not mean “the Jews.” I always like to slip that in to piss off my anti-Semitic readers.) This has been a bit awkward for some of us, restraining our impulse to stick it to Trump (at least on whatever talking points the Resistance is currently putting out) because in doing so we would align ourselves with the ruling establishment’s attempt to demonize, and eventually depose an American president who isn’t playing ball with them properly. If we oppose regime change in other countries, shouldn’t we also oppose it at home? Or do the ruling classes get a pass this time because Trump is such an exceptional monster? But wait … wasn’t Saddam a monster? And Gaddafi? And all the other “Hitlers” that wouldn’t play ball with the corporatocracy? And Assad? Isn’t he a monster?
You can see how confusing all this gets … when you’re trying to figure out how to oppose both the supranational corporatocracy that is superseding sovereign nations as the hegemonic power in the world and the neo-nationalist reaction against it, which is essentially fascist in nature, and which the corporatocracy also opposes … and desperately wants you to help them oppose by buying their manufactured hysteria about Russians, or Nazis, or whatever scary monster they wave in front of your face. After a while, your brain starts to hurt, and you just want someone to make things simple.
Charlottesville Nazis to the rescue! How much simpler could it possibly get? Corporatocracy? What corporatocracy? We got goddamned Nazis coming out of the woodwork! Racist Nazis! Confederate Nazis! Nazi apologists! Nazi sympathizers! This is no time to worry about who’s actually wielding political power, or how they’re manufacturing hysteria and otherwise manipulating people (not you, of course … other people). No, what we need to do now is censor the Internet, and other venues for Nazi hate speech, and round up all these racist Nazis and subject them to anti-Nazi therapy, or anti-racist empathy programs, or just gang up on them and beat them senseless.
OK, sure, that might sound extreme, or authoritarian, or just plain old creepy, but keep in mind that This Is Not Normal! And racism and Naziism is very, very bad. And Love Trumps Hate! And Scope Kills Germs! And we never literally meant that Trump was an actual Russian agent or anything. Forget about all that Russia stuff now. Trump is Hitler. Trump has always been Hitler. America has always been at war with Hitler. America will always be at war with Hitler.”
So what if the shadow elites are orchestrating the rise of token fascist groups in the US? This evasion is still elevating the consciousness of people who were otherwise indisposed to think about, much less act on a political impulse.
If these are the machinations of the supranational corporatocracy it would seem that their plan has more than a few flaws because galvanizing people into action, even the against token enemies of the state, is still awakening people from their political slumber.
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
6 comments
September 5, 2017 at 8:11 am
Ididnt Saythat
Yes I think you are, hope you are, correct. Which, with a small leap, takes me to Chris Hedges’ recent often misconstrued piece on similarities AND differences in altright and antifa. If only something or someone can bring solidarity maybe we can affect progressive change. Things should homogenize toward the higher moral ground with the altright’s misplaced hate dissipating( bob said hopefully). Any violence from the Antifa will be welcomed and used by the police state/ corporate media to diminish their complaints/ issues.
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 5, 2017 at 8:39 am
lovetruthcourage
That essay is a bunch of unintelligible word barf, embellished with high school test prep words. How old is the young man who wrote it? Is he even 18?
No, the Russia probe is far from irrelevant, as is racism.
We don’t remove Presidents for the sake of “regime change” in the USA, but rather we impeach them for failing to abide by our Constitution, the rule of law. Trump has done many things for which he can be legitimately impeached for cause. Yes, another rich man is likely waiting in the wings, and that is problematic. However, no man is above the law including the current President. Obviously, the writer isn’t American, or he would understand that Americans have a Constitution, and impeaching a President for cause is legitimate, and not akin to banana republic type “regime change.”
Stay in school, kid.
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 6, 2017 at 11:06 am
severeves
“We don’t remove Presidents for the sake of regime change in the USA, but rather we impeach them for failing to abide by our Constitution, the rule of law.”
Spoken like an actual fascist, lovetruthcourage.
The Constitution is an asswipe written by white nationalist slave owners for the benefit of white nationalist oligarchs.
As for the “resistance”, I wish I could tell these young people, most of which are grossly overprivileged, that if they’re really serious about social justice, they should go home and shoot their parents.
I’m not really concerned about deluded white rural lumpenproletarian trash, in all honesty. Do these people have a right to be agitated and lash out? You goddamn right they do.
The problem is Trump is an opportunistic who swindled them, which is why the GOP originally opposed Trump – because they are the ones that usually get to brainwash the white masses into bending over and dropping their pants, and Trump moved in on their prey.
And what do we have when it comes to the liberals? The Meryl Streeps of the world who go national television and virtue signal all over the place from a position of sickening disconnection and gross overprivilege? Limousine leftists who support and ID politics ridden, neo-corporatist democratic party, backed by an entrenched bureaucracy with technocratic enforcers and media cronies.
GO HOME AND KILL YOUR PARENTS, you snobby, self-righteous little white bread fucks who virtue signal from America’s elite universities. If you’re at all serious about what you say you believe in, then surely you take no exception when I say that when ACTUAL leftists assume control of the popular dialectic, we will be coming for your parents.
Shoot your local heroin dealer? I say shoot your local journalist.
If Bernie Sander’s demonstrated anything, aside from his ability to sell out and kiss corporate ass, was that an economic message steeped in sound socialist and class principles has the ability to penetrate social barriers and appeal to a diverse audience. The diversity and enthusiasm generated by his campaign must have scared the bejeesus out of the establishment. Good thing they had their Trump contingency in place to inject a little divisiveness into the national conversation, further poisoning folks against one another.
LikeLike
September 6, 2017 at 11:55 am
lovetruthcourage
No, a person who expects accountability and the rule of law to be followed is anything but a fascist. The slaves originally were brought over by European colonial powers 100 yrs before the USA became a country. Yes, slavery remained in place in the South for another 75 yrs. Beyond that, I didn’t bother with reading your reply. Stay in Canada, the country that supported brutal British oppression of American colonists of every color. The Brits profited handsomely from the slave trade, btw and they were enabled by your Canadian ancestors. When you point the finger at others, their are 3 additional fingers and a prehensile thumb pointing right back at you. Just to head you off, my ancestors didn’t come over on the Mayflower, but immigrated long after the abolition of slavery.
LikeLike
September 7, 2017 at 11:50 am
The Arbourist
@LTC
There have been more concise words put to thought on this topic, most certainly.
Parts of this article point to the division between the perception of the rule of law, and how, often, that people in societies receive far less than equal treatment under the law.
When the sexual assault and obstruction of justice charges are actually prosecuted, I will revisit this statement. As for now, I’m not sure I share your certainty.
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 10, 2017 at 4:57 pm
lovetruthcourage
I think you are misinterpreting. I don’t think the system is perfect and if we sit around waiting for that, nothing will be accomplished. However, nothing you or that idiot communist sympathizer have said disproves the fact that impeachment is a legitimate action for Americans to take against a President who doesn’t submit to the rule of law. It wouldn’t be the 1st time… The President is employed by the citizens and serves at our pleasure. Not getting much pleasure from this Trump idiot. Did you know the majority of Americans didn’t even vote for him, out of the ones who actually voted? Canada isn’t perfect either, but you still enforce your laws. Canada was founded by genocidal maniacs who weren’t inclusive. You still have laws.
LikeLike