Are we becoming the monsters that we are fighting?
Discover more from Speaking Wrong At The Right Time
Are we becoming the monsters that we are fighting?
How the anti-woke & conservative movements are radicalizing itself
Are we becoming the monsters that we are fighting?
In our pursuit to fight "the woke", are we simply radicalizing ourselves to the point of behaving just like our nemeses?
The media likes to talk about how social media radicalizes people to a completely different side but I see more of a danger these days with people radicalizing themselves further in their already held political philosophy but accepting the strategies of their opposition.
The easiest people to propagandize are the people who believe they're incapable of being propagandized and I'm not hubristic enough to state that I can't be. In fact, I used to be heavily propagandized & it was this realization that has made me sensitive to manipulation & radicalization.
Realizing that you're being manipulated makes you challenge everything you once believed. I questioned every narrative I heard and started seeking information from all spectrums. I spent months listening to progressive, conservative, and libertarian media. Most don't do this.
I did this to find a balanced opinion on the world around me and to not fall for the trap of being stuck in a bubble that will further radicalize me. It’s why I try not to react to sensational content because in many situations it's not what you thought or it's completely missing context.
The problem with living in the anti-woke/conservative bubble is that they are approaching this battle over the culture from a losing position and this makes nihilism attractive. The bubble only reaffirms their actions instead of challenging if it's rational or principled.
They inundate themselves with trash clickbait garbage on a daily basis to convince themselves that it's more abundant than it actually might be. They take on the role of the victim, which was the very thing they criticized the woke for cultivating in our society.
When someone says something they don't like who is supposed to be on their side, they mob together to ridicule them, boycott them, and effectively "cancel" them from relevancy. But wasn't this behavior what we were fighting against in the first place?
Woke progressives would question people's allegiance by asking them "whose side are you on?" and applying purity tests to make sure they qualify. However, I'm seeing this same behavior from some people on the right who apply purity tests to conservatives.
Leftists want Americans to see life primarily through the lens of race and apply collective guilt when necessary. And now I'm watching select conservatives, people who used to preach individualism, now think black people should feel collective guilt for the outlier criminal.
They'll tell everyone how they want a colorblind society and reject the woke's superficiality of race being applied everywhere but will say "see the pattern" or "fascinating behavior" when there is a wild video of a black criminal.
Goodbye individualism, hello collectivism.
One Rasmussen poll featuring 130 black respondents is enough for them to validate their new white victim complex. Every altercation that features a black assailant must be due to racial hatred.
Who does this sound like? Exactly like the woke.
These are the same people who would dispute the narrative about the supposed racist motivations of a random white police officer who was involved in the death of a black person simply because they happened to be of different races. They’re unable to see the similarities.
And more alarmingly, we're hearing people espouse how they should fight against authoritarianism by getting into power so they become authoritarians themselves; these people have learned nothing apparently.
We all, including myself, need to constantly ask ourselves if we are becoming the monsters that we claim to be fighting against. Are we just advocating for things because we're in the loser's seat or do we principally want these things?
“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”
― Friedrich W. Nietzsche
Are we becoming the monsters that we are fighting?
Couple of comments :
1. Be very careful in use of the term “radicalized”. It implies an urge to violence, since one who is radicalized has lost all sense of proportion and has a mind overtaken with zealotry. There are a great many people opposed to the woke mind virus, and the number who would ever consider violence approaches zero. And Mr. Biden has made a big deal of pointing out the “threat” of right wing violence which he attributes to pretty much anyone who isn’t 100% in line with his singular political ideology. There are institutions that are absolutely lusting for an opportunity to use the raw power of the state to eliminate wrongthink.
2. I would propose that risk of dissidents falling into apathy is a greater risk than becoming overzealous.
3. In the face of powerful forces in society that are relentlessly trying to herd us into their woke worldview, one can become emotionally distraught. It’s important to maintain a healthy mindset and not let the magnitude of the problem interfere with one’s happiness, thriving, and joy for life. Hug your loved ones. Be kind to a stranger or a person who needs help. Hold open doors for people. Engage in your personal methods of mental, physical, and spiritual renewal.
4. Don’t give up. We will win.
I keep my focus on one fight: Authoritarianism v. Freedom. Any other focus falls into a trap.