Continuing from part one, I take a look at the polarization caused by the Obama effect that’s been important in shifting focus away from him and onto Trump with regard to immigration. I try not to complain about an odious Jacobin article too much and who they represent instead moving on to who is really being represented in the faux pro-immigrant spectacle that is coalescing around Trump.
Tracks sampled include “East Laredo” by Bob Dylan and “I’ve Done This Before” by Violents.
Mass and spree shootings are now an accepted regular occurrence in the US. The news will be sure to tell us each time another is reported that we are in danger of reaching some tipping point that we are still not yet at despite all the handwringing done over “why are we okay with this? When will we say enough is enough? Why are we killing each other?” These meaningless questions are repeated over and over between the clips of “live coverage” given by spineless robots who ask what the witnesses or survivors (or actors) were feeling at the time of the assault. Drugged-out seeming family members are paraded before glaring studio lights and tell us they are ready to heal, to move on, to forgive, and that they feel nothing but love for “the community” coming together.
Departing from my research on eugenics, but only slightly in this first installment expanding on the reality nightmare theme I discussed last time, I am doing a series on the anti-Trump production that has been gaining momentum. Please do not take this to mean I don’t find antifascist action important — what I find sorely lacking in this developing broad-based “fight” that includes opportunist DNC and GOP groups with lots of money and lots to gain is the realization of the context of the fascist state we actually do live under, and because of that the definitions of antifascism and dissent are quickly being eroded by the spectacle. I find myself disgusted with the “hot takes” telling us to chill, relax — fascism is actually bandied about too much! Americans are heavily indoctrinated to view the state they live under as a flawed liberal democracy that can be fixed. So here I give a brief history of the evolution of the fascist state and the incremental development of white nationalism on a broader economic scale since the Great Depression.
In hopes of avoiding any copyright violations, the excellent track I sampled is, maybe quite appropriately, by Nightmares on Wax entitled “The Sweetest”.
Trigger warning: Suicide. Brief discussion of method and possible reasoning.
Recent suggestions from friends, reading, and viewing brought this discussion together on Gordon Ramsay and Yanis Varoufakis, as different as they might first appear, and the production behind these appointed reality stars that represent anything but that. The discussion on Kitchen Nightmares goes into the conditioning involved of an audience that includes tens of millions of people in the US formerly or currently in the services industry. I include other manufactured political products ready for us to consume and the larger operations behind those as well. You will find everything sourced below — some of the connections are very interesting, and I didn’t even dig into each one!
kariflack 