Like, yeah, they can ‘get away with’ ending soft power. They can ‘get away with’ extrajudicial killings. They’re operating off of pure machismo right now. They’re getting drunk on their vices. They’re stripping masks where masks wouldn’t be advised to be stripped. I feel like I understand now that Fascism is, in part, an expression of weakness. They wouldn’t be doing this unless they were scared. It’s too volatile. It feels both too late on a power-level and too early on a popular-level. Never mind the ticking time bomb that is AI data centers. It feels like, and I’m sure this is cope, there is a timer on their ability to run the circus much longer.
My first instinct here is to doubt myself, intellectual pessimism and all. In that vein, maybe this is just revolutionary optimism, but we’re at the point where it feels like there is a palpable anger brewing in the basement. I don’t know. Maybe Palantir works as an anti-communist panopticon and we just death spiral forever. I don’t want to lose hope.
The days after October 7th, Israel announced its genocidal intent. From Herzog, Netanyahu, to the cabinet of ministers, the Knesset, Israeli media and Israeli luminaries/society.
Israel taught the US and the world that it could just rule through fraud and act with impunity. The masses mobilize to protest but do not stay on the ground in such a degree to actually force a rescindment of support or policy change. They don’t do much economic resistance or sabotage; taking to the streets is now ignored and managed and liberal democracies can delay and obfuscate responsibility indefinitely.
Genocide, brazen, transparent and open in deed and intent was not enough to evoke significant reaction or organize the masses to pressure governments to change course.
The ruling class believes that it can rule as it wishes, through fraud, violence, and decree, and it is because political activists, organizers, socialists & communists, don’t really confront power as it did ages ago.