Goldtent TA Paradise

Beware False Flag Events and Agitators

1. Karl says:

   January 17, 2021 - 5:27 am at 5:27 am

   Of course I believe that people should avoid going along with this sort of thing. A good rule of thumb is to think, “What good does it do? Whom or what does it help? What does it accomplish?”

   From my view of the “left” at around the end of the late 60s and early 70s I would have to say that one of the things that helped destroy it was “militant” activity in the sense of violence, provocation to violence. Among the many deleterious results were that people who wanted to be involved in things like peace demonstrations or making politics fairer or more democratic became turned off to politics or effecting any social change, becoming cynical. I personally had the strong sense, as do others, that much of the push towards violence at demonstrations and the like was perhaps about as ubiquitous and well-controlled as some of the “trolling” that occurs at some websites. It felt extremely dangerous and not by any means primarily from any uniformed police but from all the nuts popping up who often seemed as if they might have been planted to agree with each other and egg people on.

   At the risk of becoming way too repetitive, I suggest that a problem with this piece is referring to “the left”. First, the division of “left” vs “right” is of ever-diminishing positive value for meaningful discourse (those in power vs those not is however useful). Second, it has meaning only if by “left” one means “secretive State forces or quasi-State or Corporate associated forces”. The traditional left would see the ones that might create invitations to trouble described in the piece here as far-right or as a center turned fascist. But the traditional left to the extent it exists is nearly destroyed, fragmented, in disarray.

   • Karl says:

     January 17, 2021 - 5:55 am at 5:55 am

     Thus–in broad agreement with the article’s spirit–I long ago came to believe–

     > Be scared of professional “activists” of any sort, but especially those with a whiff of “militancy” or violence; be scared of calls to violence.

     > In general be wary of manipulation. Dialogue is good. Divide-and-rule is bad. Dialogue with those you are supposed to be against, who are also with little power, who have a different label, may be especially good. Encourage them to step out of their ideological or ethnic ghettos.

     > Be wary of believing anything you see in the press. You should know that reported crowd size may be off by 2 orders of magnitude. You should also consider that a given event might have not occurred as reported or might have been perpetrated by a person of a different ethnicity than described or by person or persons playing not just one role but onion layers of roles — let’s say a “rogue” governmental organization pretending to be “leftist” pretending to be “rightist”. On top of it the reporter may be dumb or pressed for time and just copying down rumors or cribbing from someone else’s questionable reports. These “reporters” may not be the swiftest and even if they are they can’t easily find out what’s going on behind the smoke and mirrors before the deadline and fight with the editors to avoid censorship. Don’t trust and assume you can’t verify.

2. Fullgoldcrown says:

   January 17, 2021 - 9:00 am at 9:00 am

   Thanks YYZ….very important message to get out there