by Ender
Using my abstract strategic thinking abilities to wargame against the wargamer Steve K. Bannon (don’t forget that K!), makes me feel empowered. So, here goes.
Bannon’s wargame is this — he and his MAGA New Right acolytates are working largely in broad daylight (podcasts, etc) because they can. Yes, I’m sure they’re plotting in the dark somewhere, but, in general, they’re making it very clear what they’re up to and, fuck you, lib.
How do we strike back?
First, I would say take what human tumor Bannon is up to seriously. If he wants to play Lenin, then I will play Trotsky. I’m well aware how bad a historical analogy that is — Trotsky became so close to Lenin that he was named his successor in his will before Stalin did a number on that — but I’ve always felt an affinity to Trotsky.
Or, put another way, if I was force Quantum Leap style to jump into the body of a Russian Revolutionary, it would be Trotsky. I have an affinity for how, as I understand it, Trotsky had a number of opportunities to beat Stalin but kept choking at critical historical moments. Which sounds like something I would do.
Anyway, how do we take Steve “Lenin” Bannon seriously? Well, I would say, first we listen to him. We study him. We listen to his very badly hosted podcast and take him both seriously and literally. One thing I share with Bannon is I often get worked up about about abstract speculation that never turns out to be true.
With Bannon, it’s from a combination of wishful thinking and hitching his horse to malignant Chauncey Gardner, Donald Trump. With me, I create a narrative for this or that thing that just, ultimately, doesn’t exist. So, in a sense, that’s a shared known known weakness of the two of us.
Once we pay attention to Bannon and his fellow reactionary radical revolutionaries, we start to think existential. There will be no voting reform. It’s unlikely the filibuster will be eliminated or reformed, either. Looking forward, because Bannon is a sly and evil, we have to do triage. Trump is above the law. Even if we did somehow manage to neutralize him as an autocratic force, there are a dozen other would-be autocrats in the wings, waiting to do exactly what Bannon is trying to do with Trump — turn the United States into an autocratic white Christian ethno state of “blood and soil.”
Bannon’s goal is to pull this off peacefully. If he can just corrupt the election process institution itself enough, then everything the MAGA New Right will be seen as what happened in 2000 only, a quantum leap beyond. In other words, the very “media narrative” that earnest goomba talk about on Joe Rogan’s podcast will be used to their advantage.
The entire election process will be so corrupt that your CNN and MSNBC talking heads will just shrug and tell everyone to calm down — the “system worked” and things aren’t so bad, now are they? That will be their “media narrative,” of course, until the media itself is purged and, lulz, sucks to be you lib.
Another thing I would do, on an individual basis, is think existential. What are you good at? If there was a prolonged crisis — be it autocracy or civil war — what organic talents do you have that you could use to help support the cause of liberty? But for you to do that, there’s something else you would have to do first — decide what’s important to you in the real world.
What makes Bannon so dangerous is the so-called “Resistance” is so busy having a circle jerk on Twitter with its “booms” and “devastating” retorts that he’s busying effecting change in the real world, where it actually matters. He’s thinking existential in the real world, while at the moment, everyone who might oppose him there is too busy drinking wine while watching Maddow and growing their essential oils business.
Ugh.
The only way to fight back against Bannon at this point on an individual basis is to pull back and wait. Think existential and study him closely — listen to his podcast — and take him both seriously and literally. When he’s not ranting about how people like me are a joke, he and others like him and suggesting that I’m “forcing” him to radicalize and embrace political violence. Talk about snowflakes.
I know that sounds rather abstract. What you want is a VOX practical explainer that is simply, cogent and explains small things you can do between now and January 2025 that will ensure you and your loved ones are safe.
Sorry. I have no idea what to tell you in concrete terms. There still too many unknown unknowns for me to be able to do that. All I know is don’t rely upon “hope” at this point to fix anything.
The era of hope is over. The era of preparation has begun.
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