Even in the realm of science, there is no such thing as absolute truth, at least not in any capacity humans can ever understand. We have theories based on empirical evidence which we accept as “truth” because that is as good as we can get, some things have more truth than others, which closes the gap on things we have to take as self-evident and better align with understanding and reality.
Refer to Agrippa’s trilemma: it is theoretically impossible to prove any truth.
Ahh gotcha, well I recommend reading some Baudrillard, you’re angry over something that doesn’t exist anymore (if it ever did). Truth is all just relative now, shifting like sand in the desert.
Whether he is or isn’t is irrelevant, it’s the image of him portrayed by media that counts. The medium is the message. You should really look into Vladislav Surkov, the architect of Russia’s post-truth society, which the Trump admin imported to the states and is now common practice. The guy is clearly an idiot, maybe he means well but again that is irrelevant. This has Republican hit job written all over it from the get-go, I wouldn’t be surprised if Collins team found out about the tattoo (before he even decided to run) and directed “political technicians” to infiltrate his social circle and subtly nudge this guy to run, consequently becoming an unwitting accomplice to sabotage a genuine left-wing movement.
I may be reading too much into it, but consider “His former political director said he “knows damn well” what the tattoo signifies.”.
I understand you’ve invested a lot of emotional energy into this guy. It’s best to disconnect those feelings from things you can’t change, if he wins he wins, if not that’s ok, learn and grow from the experience.
When the media stated we live in a “post-truth” society, they meant it. Trump admin imported the Russian propaganda tactics of Surkov. This is our reality now, nothing is true or false, it’s all just information.
His former political director said he “knows damn well” what the tattoo signifies.
It’s not because they are Trump supporters that make them anti-vaxxers. The stronger correlation is magical thinking.
Still some small effects of ideology, but they pale in comparison to effects of magical thinking. If you run all of this in a regression equation with the standard demographic controls, the effects of ideology basically disappear once you take magical thinking into account.
https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/02/03/anti-vax-attitudes-and-political-ideology/
As for the why would a far right government cull their own supporters? Look at it more of a top-down dominance hierarchy, where the ones at top are accelerationists with malthusian tendencies. They have a utopian vision of the future where they run little technofiefdoms. The people within their borders, their “subjects” are slaves, property to be used and discarded as they please. Those deemed useless ground into biofuel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Enlightenment
Civilization, as a process, is indistinguishable from diminishing time-preference (or declining concern for the present in comparison to the future). Democracy, which both in theory and evident historical fact accentuates time-preference to the point of convulsive feeding-frenzy, is thus as close to a precise negation of civilization as anything could be, short of instantaneous social collapse into murderous barbarism or zombie apocalypse (which it eventually leads to). As the democratic virus burns through society, painstakingly accumulated habits and attitudes of forward-thinking, prudential, human and industrial investment, are replaced by a sterile, orgiastic consumerism, financial incontinence, and a ‘reality television’ political circus. Tomorrow might belong to the other team, so it’s best to eat it all now.
https://www.thedarkenlightenment.com/the-dark-enlightenment-by-nick-land/
Anti-vaxxers could be viewed more as a means to achieving apocalyptic goals. The power behind Trump doesn’t care what the anti-vaxxers support, only care about their use-value. The same with Trump, he’s a means to an end, as useful idiot, to dismantle democracy and serve as scapegoat.
If you’re interested, this reddit thread has an interesting take on the reasoning behind their trolling strategy.
https://www.reddit.com/r/sorceryofthespectacle/comments/1o5dq1p/i_found_magas_playbook/
It’s the aesthetization of politics, it serves as a recruitment tool for fascist ideology. They present art and symbols (memes) designed to evoke appealing emotions or ideas. Through repetition, the emotions and ideas associated with these symbols become fused with the individual’s identity. The fascist ideology, introduced and linked to these symbols, is more readily accepted because the individual already holds a positive association with the original symbols. It’s basically classic conditioning to transform people into fascists.
They competed for the support of the same type of mind and reserved for each other the hatred of the heretic. But their practice showed how closely they are related. To both, the real enemy, the man with whom they had nothing in common and whom they could not hope to convince, is the liberal of the old type. While to the Nazi the communist, and to the communist the Nazi, and to both the socialist, are potential recruits who are made of the right timber, although they have listened to false prophets, they both know that there can be no compromise between them and those who really believe in individual freedom.
The Road to Serfdom, Hayek.
Regardless of the pervasive reach of interpersonal social media and of the Internet in general (unless blocked by effective firewalls), control over the mass media emanating from the political center will still be our most important weapon in establishing our authority after the coup.
– E. Luttwak, Coup D’État: A Practical Handbook. pp. 131.
Climate change and extreme wealth inequality are the primary drivers of civilization collapse. From that understanding, the actions of this administration makes perfect sense.
It’s called the Dark Enlightenment, they essentially want to accelerate civilization collapse so their utopian vision is realized. The financial backers behind Trump adopted this philosophy, and have articulated their plan: dismantle democracy, Balkanize America and establish a patchwork of technomonarchy city-states. People really need to be talking with their community about localization of production of basic necessities, otherwise it will be chaos, famine and death when the system fails.
Civilization collapse will hit hardest on communities who haven’t localized their production of basic necessities like food. The financial backers behind Trump adhere to the Dark Enlightenment philosophy, with the goals of dismantling democracy, balkanizing America and establishing a patchwork of technomonarchy city-states from the ashes of destruction. The dismantlement phase is complete, now begins another phase of their philosophy, the scapegoating of Trump and replacing him with their Chosen One.
Here is a quote from the dark enlightenment to get people an idea of what these people have planned:
Civilization, as a process, is indistinguishable from diminishing time-preference (or declining concern for the present in comparison to the future). Democracy, which both in theory and evident historical fact accentuates time-preference to the point of convulsive feeding-frenzy, is thus as close to a precise negation of civilization as anything could be, short of instantaneous social collapse into murderous barbarism or zombie apocalypse (which it eventually leads to). As the democratic virus burns through society, painstakingly accumulated habits and attitudes of forward-thinking, prudential, human and industrial investment, are replaced by a sterile, orgiastic consumerism, financial incontinence, and a ‘reality television’ political circus. Tomorrow might belong to the other team, so it’s best to eat it all now.
The Dark Enlightenment, Nick Land
His reluctance to devolve power, his lack of loyalty towards his most zealous followers, his readiness to chop and change policies, his preference for mediocrities and sycophants over men of natural ability, and, most of all, his increasing tendency to believe his own rhetoric about the state of the nation ensured that the new state was never going to be a meritocracy
Nature of Fascism, R Griffin
This is in reference to Mussolini, but it’s a valid description of Trump as well.
It’s over the top and stupid because he’s using crowd psychology, it’s language tailored to elicit an emotional response based on irrational fear and anger. The “truth” is delegated from above, it’s true because the “authority” says it’s true. The intent of this type of rhetoric is to mobilize supporters to commit violence.
Since fascism’s mythic power is automatically sapped by the renewed ascendancy of the private over the public sphere of life which ensues once political stability and relative social harmony are restored, it can only maintain its momentum and cohesion by continually precipitating events which seemed to fulfil the promise of permanent revolution, of continuing palingenesis.
Though it may seek through agitation and propaganda to develop into an ‘irresistible’ mass movement, fascism must always in the last analysis be imposed by an elite in the name of a national community yet to be realized, and whose realization, even once the movement is installed in power, will initially (and in practice indefinitely) involve reeducation, propaganda and social control on a massive scale.
Since only a minority of the population can be temperamentally susceptible to converting spontaneously to fascism or becoming the new breed of homo fascistus, and since even at the height of its popularity, no modern regime can enjoy total support, the thorough-going ideological coordination of the national community could never come about ‘naturally’. A grotesque parody of it has to be enacted through the extensive use of propaganda and terror.
Nature of Fascism, R Griffin.
The means of action of the leaders. Affirmation, repetition, contagion
When, however, it is proposed to imbue the mind of a crowd with ideas and beliefs—with modern social theories, for instance—the leaders have recourse to different expedients. The principal of them are three in number and clearly defined — affirmation, repetition, and contagion. Their action is somewhat slow, but its effects, once produced, are very lasting.
Affirmation pure and simple, kept free of all reasoning and all proof, is one of the surest means of making an idea enter the mind of crowds.
Affirmation, however, has no real influence unless it be constantly repeated, and so far as possible in the same terms.
When an affirmation has been sufficiently repeated and there is unanimity in this repetition … what is called a current of opinion is formed and the powerful mechanism of contagion intervenes. Ideas, sentiments, emotions, and beliefs possess in crowds a contagious power as intense as that of microbes.
The Crowd, Gustave Le Bon
“Influencer” is just the propaganda term for propagandist.
Nice reference.
Although I’m not demanding absolute truth, I mean in the context of society truth is relative and convincing everyone of truth (not absolute, but the best objective truth we have) is virtually impossible, if you want to convince people it has to be simple and seductive, a caricature of the truth, a lie. Half the country subscribes to magical thinking, and most place more value in image over substance.