As 2024 begins, Clown World---the one part of the planet where the US is still the undisputed leader---seems to be revving up into high gear. Earlier this week, a suicide bomber attacked a concert in Rochester, New York; yesterday another Whacko in Iowa lost his marbles and shot up a school.
The local media on the East Coast was reporting this morning that one of our esteemed airlines suffered another 'emergency' after a Florida Jet Blue flight had to be diverted to Orlando on its way to Boston. Violence in public transportation is another New Normal here in the US, in some cities. violent attacks happen on public transit on a near daily basis. The self-appointed 'Elites' of course have chauffeured limousines and private jets, so it's not their problem. In the Jet Blue incident this morning, the Corporate Elites summed up their attitude by telling the passengers of the diverted flight that "This disruption is considered an uncontrollable disruption; meaning it's due to events outside of JetBlue's control (things like Air Traffic Control or weather disruptions) and, unfortunately, does not qualify for customer compensation or reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses." It's the passengers' own responsibility: they chose to fly on Jet Blue, and they should have prepared themselves in case someone on board thought himself the Devil and began attacking other passengers.
There was very much the same response to the Iowa shooting. One faction of the political class says that we need to ban guns, because that was the suspect's weapon of choice; the other faction says that we need to ban Tik-Tok because apparently the suspect posted some of his insane ravings there.
To understand why these random acts are occurring, we have to understand first and foremost that they are happening under a deliberate program, the Strategy of Tension, defined as "a political policy wherein violent struggle is encouraged rather than suppressed. The purpose is to create a general feeling of insecurity in the population and make people seek security in a strong government." The Strategy of Tension was experimented with in Europe during the 1980s and began being deployed in the US during the 1990s and since. The rise of the Security State, the wholesale nullification of Civil Liberties, the militarization of police agencies have all expanded since that time and are the result of this policy.
The other side of the Strategy of Tension paradoxically includes defunding police departments, ignoring things like flash-mobs and gang violence, and encouraging addiction and drug-related crimes. Cancel Culture is part of the same process. By ignoring---and even encouraging---crime on local levels in public view while simultaneously hyping so-called mass-casualty events like school shootings and terrorism, the result is to instill fear and paranoia and give the impression that crime is everywhere and that no one is safe unless a strong leader comes along to restore order. Justin Trudeau, Vladimir Zelensky, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Javier Milei are specimens of what kind of strong leaders the Corporate Oligarchs think that we deserve for that kind of purpose.
Protecting the children is one of the Strategy of Tension's major Media selling-points. In reality, of course, most American parents, educators, or social workers don't give two hoots about the welfare of our children: the condition of our youth, the state of our families, schools, and welfare system speaks for itself on that point. However, those responsible for children and minors at least have to pretend that they care, so taking action of any kind for the sake of taking action appeals to them because collective action absolves them of responsibility and allows them to virtue-signal at the same time.
Hypothetically, there are solutions to dealing with our crime problem in the US. We could suppress gangs and organize crime. We could invest in drug treatment and we could pursue economic policies that make honest work profitable again. We could rein in the sensationalist media, and our schools could teach critical thinking skills again to immunize people against that kind of propaganda. Parents could take responsibility again instead of living moral instruction of their offspring to blind chance.
However, since none of those things are likely to happen in the near future, the rest of us need to take a more pragmatic approach. Simply be aware that such events happen and that no one will have your back if they do; and so it is wise to take precautions. This doesn't mean one should live in a state of constant panic like most Americans do. It simply means taking sensible steps at self-defense and avoiding situations where things like these might occur. Reject what propagandists and demagogues say, above all---that's the best security policy one can follow these days.
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