Some Things Are So Simple

September 30, 2019

Sep 30, 2019

It’s time for another one of these things, sh!tpost listeners and subscribers. I’m your scribe, Jared, and I am not going to write about impeachment here. Instead, I’m putting out a special episode of the podcast that I promise is not going to be another one of those stupid “breakdown” things that every other podcast is doing. Instead, we’re going to have a very special guest joining us.

Announcements: I will be traveling for work throughout October and the episode release schedule may be affected. I will announce any delays or cancellations in advance. Also, you’re getting bonus audio content this week! Subscribe at a paid level to get exclusive access and to help support the show.

We’re going to do a voice chat in the Discord room this week. I’m looking at Wednesday evening, currently.

You See, You Just Have to Believe Two Contradictory Things

Some things are so simple
They're impossible to explain

If you want to be a modern right-wing pundit you have to believe contradictory things to function.

American companies need to be sheltered and encouraged, but we should also impose tariffs on the raw materials they need to produce their goods. We should hate elites, but give Republican leaders supreme rule so they can do more. We should deregulate industry and hand out tax cuts to the wealthy, but we should also institute state influence on social media companies. It’s America First, unless it’s a trusted ally or a country we hate. We hate military intervention, but boost military spending at all costs. We despise “cancel culture” but must punish those who we view in opposition who have dumb tweets from their teen years . The far-left is a horrible force that will kill us all, but also they are weak soy boys.

You have to believe that Democrats are systemically gaming conservatives out of the vote, and also believe that vast swaths of the electorate should be deemed ineligible to participate in Democracy.

The cognitive dissonance is, frankly, astounding at times. It’s jarring, and it’s the baseline.

I don’t think there’s much to do about it; presumably, half the country thinks like this, and there are aspects of the political left that behave similarly. But it’s something worth remembering when considering engaging with the charlatans of the right, and when questioning those who we decide to oppose directly.

A Selfie Can Be Worth 1,000 Words

A cluster of pro-Trump social media grifters descended on Miami, Florida, last weekend for an event promising a debate on a boat between infamous right-wing activist Jacob Wohl and an anti-Semitic, white nationalist podcaster named Nicholas Fuentes. On Saturday night, a gaggle of the assembled social media pundits shared photos of the group. In the photo, we have, left-to-right:

Ali “Alexander” Akbar, a longtime right-wing activist who has met with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and has open affiliations with far-right figures;
Steve Franssen, a far-right pundit I haven’t paid much attention to, but who strikes me as a discount Stefan Molyneux on first inspection;
Nicholas Fuentes, a white nationalist and anti-Semite who is affiliated with Identity Evropa and who has spoken at white nationalist conferences;
Jacob Wohl, a sloppy political activist and pundit who is beyond parody;
Kathy Zhu, the winner of Miss Michigan before she was stripped of her crown for racist tweets;
Tim Gionet, a.k.a “Baked Alaska,” a social media personality banned from numerous platforms because of his embrace of overt neo-Nazism;
and Ashley StClair, a Turning Point USA contributor.

What is striking here is not that these people work together; what took me for surprise was the shamelessness in which they do. It’s not surprising to learn that someone affiliated with Turning Point USA, the modern crown jewel of right-wing youth organizing, would be connected to people with extreme-right racist views. Rather, it’s surprising that they would be so brazen about it.

The selfies were passed around the internet over the weekend in recoil and the group has responded with boilerplate remarks about bringing people with opposing views together in the spirit of humanity. Devoid of context, that’s a noble cause.

But racism is not, you know, just a political disagreement.