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John Haupt's avatar

And our educational system actively plants the seeds in our youth that create the terrorists and their enablers.

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James Schultz's avatar

I should know. I went out with a teacher to The Captain's Tavern. Without ratting anyone out, the topics discussed were of the following:

*Social media

*Charlie Kirk

*Trump shutting down an atrophying Department Of Education

I kid you not.

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Marlene Barbera's avatar

By design

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Erik Nordheim's avatar

Do you have any example of one of these seeds?

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Brigid LaSage's avatar

Here's an example: Teaching about gender identity is part of the required curriculum in grades preK and up in many states' public schools. For example it's part of the Massachusetts health standards to teach very young children that gender identity may not match physical characteristics. It's mind warping for children to be taught that their body may not match the made up concept activists call "gender" and that biological sex is a meaningless concept. It's transgender propaganda on a massive scale.

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Frans Susan Phillips Duncan's avatar

Number 1 is allowing incompetent, low-IQ DEI hires in the classroom! That worthless criminal turd, Ian Roberts in Iowa is a perfect example of a "seed" being planted in the education system. There are millions of DEI hires throughout the education system that are destroying it. Not only are they incompetent and stupid, they're filling young minds with CRT shite!

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me's avatar

My sister who was a teacher for a while, then a librarian in K-12 schools for many years always said, "There are two kinds of teachers; those who want to teach, and those who are too stupid to be able to find a job that pays better. And the vast majority of them are the second variety."

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Michelle Dostie's avatar

My understanding after studying a Dr. Malone post weeks ago was that there are ties between Antifa and its offshoots Trantifa and Transtifa. There is not close association between tiers to keep the leaders private. They communicate via chats on Discord, and indeed did prior to Charlie’s assassination. Interestingly the ICE shooter had similar insignia on bullet casings. I am paying attention to the connections because it could signify more dangerous connections developing underfoot.

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me's avatar

Check out The 1619 Project

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Donald Kosloff's avatar

Teaching that “Communism is just another economy system”.

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robert agajeenian's avatar

It is also very important to go after the money source. All the Gates, and Soros, the thousands of NGO's, all that ilk needs to be brought down to size - public exposure and humiliation. And quickly.

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Marlene Barbera's avatar

Following the money will lead to Pritzker, Rothblatt, Stryker and Arcus.

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paula yokoyama's avatar

Follow the money

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Erik Nordheim's avatar

I know Soros opposed the Iraq War and supported Kerry in ‘04 with Moveon.org. What did Gates do?

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Alex Cranberg's avatar

Excellent piece.

It’s gets to the heart of something I’ve been thinking a lot about: popularity and the role of culture (instead of government force) in penalizing harmful speech and in rewarding helpful speech. When considering the possibility that “cancel culture” may be healthy thing though, we are also defining what should be tolerable and legal as opposed to intolerable and legal. And obviously these definitions can move far too quickly with social media to be usually reasonable.

I think the biggest lesson for conservatives is that it is essential to be “in the game” and not to leave the cancel culture space (or more accurately the social acceptability space) to the Left.

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Christopher F. Rufo's avatar

🙏

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James M's avatar

Great insight on the decentralized aspect to this.

Also, keep in mind the truth of Ephesians 6:12.

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Steve Stewart's avatar

Good comment! As I see it, behind these frighteningly effective political strategies is a singular antiGod (anti-Christ) design. Their desperate design is dismantled, as you reminded us, through the effective prayers of God’s children.

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Torrance Stephens's avatar

Great summary. I would add, just grab an American flag and a MAGA hat and go walk by the ICE center in Portland. Pretty sure folks will figure out what Antifa is real fast.

https://torrancestephensphd.substack.com/p/when-you-dont-know-what-antifa-or

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RAM's avatar

How money and logistical support get distributed to assassin types should be part of the investigation.

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Lydia Lozano's avatar

Yes. The Ryan Routh trial has come and gone and we STILL don't know where he was getting his money or where his arms and other equipment came from.

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James Schultz's avatar

Agreed.

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Mark In Houston's avatar

This analysis is excellent and greatly informs the process by which such political violence is germinated and promoted. It is not yet well understood by the Trump Administration and the conservative political structure against whom it is primarily aimed. Chris, your analysis is also aligned with that of Karlyn Borysenko who has gone to great personal efforts to drill down into understanding the highly decentralized mechanisms of the left in promoting anarchistic revolutionary activities (www.decodetheleft.com). Your and her analyses need to be understood and acted upon by the current administration.

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Melissa Fountain's avatar

Thank-you again. Torrance Stephens has it right "...just grab an American flag and a MAGA hat and go walk by the ICE center in Portland. Pretty sure folks will figure out what Antifa is real fast." EXCELLENT.

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Ralph Joly,  Ph. D.'s avatar

Insightful as always, delivered in a dazzling prose.

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George Shay's avatar

Brilliant. Must read for right-minded policy makers and voters.

My favorite line: “Nelson, a microbiologist specializing in human excrement, is full of it.”

I wholeheartedly agree with your proposed action steps, but I have come to conclude, as I think Charlie did, that this is a problem that calls for a spiritual solution. All the problems you mention amount to sin. Such souls will be healed only by faith.

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Thomas F Davis's avatar

But restraint will need to come before healing.

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Brian Villanueva's avatar

You're missing an important element: civil consequences for inspiring violence.

I understand why you resist this. You're mostly a libertarian, Chris. But there's no solution to Left-wing political violence that doesn't include interrupting the meme process itself. "Social consequences" aren't enough. On the plus side, civil penalties would be easy to implement. On the minus, they will likely be used against us in the future. But it's necessary.

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Christopher F. Rufo's avatar

What do you mean specifically by “civil consequences”?

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Brian Villanueva's avatar

In Europe, it would be fines. In America, it means lawsuits, Chris.

Simple (FICTIONAL!) example: Matt Yglesias calls Trump Hitler repeatedly and names Charlie Kirk as a leading fascist. Jennifer Rubin picks up the ball and echoes the same in WaPo, specifically equating Charlie Kirk to Eichmann. Charlie Kirk is assassinated 2 months later. (AGAIN, FICTIONAL, PEOPLE!)

In my world, both Matt and Jennifer are guilty of incitement. No need to show that Tyler Robinson read Jennifer's column or subscribed to Matt's substack. They both contributed significantly to the "Trump is a fascist dictator who wants to destroy America" meme and should pay a price when that meme results is major political violence.

I think Brandenburg is outdated, intended for a time of soapboxes. But even under Brandenburg, lawsuits might fly. Certainly after Charlie Kirk, screaming "Trump is Hitler and you must fight him by any means necessary" repeatedly may pass the test of speech "intended and likely to produce imminent lawless action". The only hard part is the "imminent" clause. Today's SCOTUS might be willing to modify Brandenburg; I believe they should. Closer to Schenck.

Major actors (media figures, influences, celebrities, business leaders, politicians, etc...) whose words contribute to violence (even via meme) must be held accountable somehow. Civil penalties strike me as the easiest way to do that. (And yes, I have a bright red line at imprisonment.)

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Ed Unneland's avatar

The causation is too attenuated to support civil penalties.

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Thomas F Davis's avatar

Wrong. The legal standard for incitement includes imminence. The internet is ALWAYS imminent. Therefore the application of the standard must change to reflect this new reality, and the sooner the better.

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Brian Villanueva's avatar

That's an interesting theory, Thomas. Because anything posted on the Internet is forever, in some sense you're correct, the Internet is imminent to any time.

Not a lawyer, but I really like that strategy.

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Thomas F Davis's avatar

And it should be reactive, i.e., as long as people accused of being communists aren’t being killed it should not be an incitement to make the accusation.

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Torrance Stephens's avatar

Let me take it from here.... totalitarian control. Never forget Stalin started out as a teacher. Full speed ahead mane, I mean Chris.

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Juju's avatar
Oct 1Edited

I’m tired of the fear mongering tactic “but they will use that against us next time they are in power” because they already have! During the Biden years, and they were prepping for modifying the first amendment, claiming it wasn’t pertinent to the modern era, broadcasting that online speech must be regulated. The minute they lost power they flipped and began to abuse the very thing they sought to control. I have a suspicion the dire warnings of their ability to use it against us next time was their own narrative plant, knowing we would soak that right up.

I think gloves need to come off. It has crossed a line and we are fighting the true fascists of our era and we need to quickly squash them.

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Brian Villanueva's avatar

Please be wary of this. I understand the sentiment, but "the gloves need to come off" is the language of war not politics. (And yes, I know Clausewitz's quote.)

Even if you think the other side has evil ideas (and I do), once you cross the line to "they ARE evil", anything becomes permissible. The Left has crossed that line -- that's what "by any means necessary" means. The Democratic Party effectively has a militant wing. If the Right crosses it as well, we've taken a big step toward a low-grade civil war. I don't want that. No one should want that. If you think you do, go read up on Ireland or Lebanon or Serbia.

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Juju's avatar

What’s the alternative when the other side has crossed a line and cannot be reasoned with in any way?? They are glossy-eyed and brainwashed. There is no way of reasoning with a crazed lunatic like that who only becomes more dangerous with every attempt to “talk it through”. Maybe a civil war is the only thing that will cleanse us of this dilemma. The alternative is they keep growing and keep killing. Current legislation does nothing to curb them. Any attempt to enforce the laws on the books only fuels their hate and rhetoric as they point fingers to those attempts as tyrannical.

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Brian Villanueva's avatar

It comes down to motivation. Are you trying to protect the republic or seek revenge?

If you're protecting the republic, there are ways to do that within the existing structure. (See my reply to Chris above.) Fairly minor tweaks can have large consequences.

If you're seeking revenge, you've crossed a threshold that's really hard to walk back.

I'm not saying you fall into the latter camp. I suspect you don't. But you need to be wary of it. (As do I and all of us.)

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Juju's avatar

I don’t think very many of us “seek revenge”. We don’t have the hearts that are required to feel that way. We seek justice. Period. There’s enough justice to be sought over serious violation of laws, ethics, our rights, and weaponization of our institutions to satisfy us. The problem is when we actually try to simply hold people accountable and get justice for a severe wrong done to a single person or people, the other side and their “conservative plants” immediately conflate it with seeking revenge.

No. Presently what you have outlined won’t work or be allowed so long as that conflation reigns.

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Gary Edwards's avatar

I'd say your only hope is a string of presidemts with similar beliefs. This will take time like it did after the 60s and 70s.

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paula yokoyama's avatar

Solve it thru the ballot box

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Juju's avatar

Only possible if you can remove the ballot fraud, otherwise it doesn’t work even when we show up to vote.

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Marlene Barbera's avatar

We did. We elected Trump again, and that was accomplished woth many legions of disillusioned Democrats like me.

They still shot up Annunciation, murdering Catholic children at prayer- they still murdered Iryna and still assassinated Charlie Kirk. Electoral consequences have not quelled the violence seeded and now being harvested by the Left.

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Gary Edwards's avatar

It will take time and more wins at the ballot box.

This.will.take.time.

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Gary Edwards's avatar

So you're saying, like zombies, there must be a cleansing.

But they are living humans....

Dehumanization on both sides IS the problem.

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Juju's avatar

Which is why I don’t call every person who disagrees with me Hitler or a Hitler lover, or a racist, or a pedo or a pedo protector, or a fascist or a fascist lover. These terms, which have predominately been thrown at all of MAGA every single day of the week 24/7, even here in Substack comments, serve to paint a target on our backs. That’s the dehumanization. The only dehumanization going on is coming from the left. The assassinations alone support this but their rhetoric does too.

But you don’t get to accuse us of the same thing because we are NOT the same when we expose what they are doing and hold a mirror up or shine a spotlight on them. We aren’t making unsubstantiated accusations, we are accurately calling out their actual words and actions. That’s the problem with standing up to bullies, as soon as you do they point fingers that you’re doing the same thing to confuse everyone.

It is NOT the same.

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Brian Villanueva's avatar

There are violent kooks on both sides, but only 1 side's kooks are celebrated by that side's major figures.

Show me a right-wing kook that has engaged in attempted murder or murder and has been celebrated or at least excused by most major Republican elected officials and media figures.

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Marlene Barbera's avatar

Quality comment, Juju.

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Thomas F Davis's avatar

Or Northern Ireland.

I want the gloves off Brian, but I much prefer your way. I do think, though, that transgenderism needs to be declared a mental deficiency for gun ownership.

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Brian Villanueva's avatar

Agreed on that last one. But, it has to be redeclared a mental condition period (instead of a lifestyle choice) before that can happen. Know anyone high up in the APA?

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Thomas F Davis's avatar

Reportedly Bondi’s people are considering this right now.

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Peter Cohee's avatar

These phenomena are soon to become a severe test of the 1st Amendment. At what point does verbal incitement to violence begin? Is Maxine Waters guilty, for example? Since the right thing to do in 1933 was to assassinate Hitler, is calling someone Hitler or a Nazi now an encouragement to assassination?

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James Schultz's avatar

If Hitler is referring to Trump, yes, they're basically asking to murder Trump for not toe-ing their lines ideologically. It might be easier to bring handcuffs instead of a gun.

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Brian Giesbrecht's avatar

The Democrats made effective use of left wing violence after the death of George Floyd to get rid of Trump. It worked. When he resurrected himself they doubled down and ramped up their rhetoric. Biden’s “Dark Maga” speech essentially called every Trump supporter an enemy of the people. That’s half the country. The Party’s left wing will not let go of violence, even if moderates realize that it is a death spiral. It is here to stay. The only ones to benefit are security firms

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ContentCatz's avatar

There is only one sustainable way to end a memeplex like this, its not repeating the mistakes that were done in Europe post 1945 and repeated post 1990;

Believers and opportunists need to be physically removed from existence. Jail, Therapy, re-integration.... dont work on those infected with memetic viruses. The Nazis after 1945 that survived went on to form the FDP from which the Green party rose, adapting their socialist belief system to the new power structure. Some went to eastern Germany and integrated into the SED. After the GDR fell the SED was integrated by Kohl back into the FRG - looking at Germany today all problems arise from those three parties and their opportunists. You don't show mercy to teleological materialistic universalistic collectivist cults as a pluralistic democracy, else they will reform and attempt to reach their ideological memetic goals again. This might sound barbaric and brutal, but unless you want to have perpetual attempts at subversion of institutions, that last act of barbary is necessary

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Winston Smith's avatar

I'm grateful to hear you say it out loud, because I still sometimes have trouble convincing friends that the MAGA Right is motivated by fantasies of sadism and murder. Would you say, perhaps, this is the "final" solution?

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Brett Hyland's avatar

I would say, “removed from public existence”, but am otherwise inclined to agree.

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James Schultz's avatar

What about the lethal injection?

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Mary Grande's avatar

Fantastic and very insightful commentary about the progressive left's decay into the abyss.

Charlie Kirk wrote a letter to Netanyahu earlier this year outlining the negativity and communication problems Israel faces today and how to combat those perceptions among the majority younger people in the social media platforms. It was valuable guidance that could and should be used by leaders and influencers to fight the scourge that the left has become in the west especially.

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David Robinson's avatar

This is the only way the left can take down the America we all know and love - bit by bit, planting seeds of revolution.

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