One concept that is relevant to today’s political climate is ‘Stochastic Terrorism.’
Stochastic terrorism is the use of mass communication (social media) to incite violence in random actors. It requires the public demonization of an individual or a group.
It is one of Putin’s more powerful tools, secondary to propagating false conspiracy theories (Obama, Clinton, Soros.)
Random violent crimes make some people more fearful (and more easily influenced.)
Those insane, raging tweets you see are calculated.
Trump, GOP, NRA, extreme right-wing media are all using it. Effectively. And unfortunately it’s ramping up in recent weeks, no doubt in response to November elections.
Sen. Collins: saying that dark money has been spent to oppose Kavanaugh. She reviewed his 12 year record. She spoke with Kavanaugh twice to address concerns.
She is addressing all arguments against Kavanaugh, defending him. ‘Kavanaugh has stated that no president is above the law.’
She addresses Roe v Wade. Kavanaugh believes precedent is a constitutional tenant, that has to be followed. Argues that in rare times, precedent will be over turned. She feels he will follow precedent.
Watching the Kavanaugh hearing (especially his interaction with Sen. Klobuchar) it’s important to know what DARVO is.
‘DARVO refers to a reaction perpetrators of wrong doing, particularly sexual offenders, may display in response to being held accountable for their behavior.’
‘DARVO stands for "Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender." The perpetrator or offender may Deny the behavior, Attack the individual doing the confronting, and Reverse the roles of Victim and Offender...’
‘such that the perpetrator assumes the victim role and turns the true victim -- or the whistle blower -- into an alleged offender. This occurs, for instance, when an actually guilty perpetrator assumes the role of "falsely accused" and attacks the accuser's credibility...’
Some really strange moments from the Kavanaugh hearing:
When asked about his yearbook: ‘Many of us went along in the yearbook, to the point of absurdity. This past week, my friends and I read about it and cringed.’ He starts crying at this point.
The yearbook made 14 references to Renate, most are mocking, sexually demeaning and insinuating she is available for casual sex.
Kavanaugh then alleges the yearbook references to Renate were ‘related to AFFECTION, not sex.’
He was asked by Sen Whitehouse what ‘Boof’ meant. He said he and Judge were referring to farting. Boof means to take in beer (or drugs) anally, possibly with a funnel
He is asked what the reference to Devil’s triangle meant. He says ‘a drinking game.’
@realDonaldTrump I have been studying your followers for quite some time. There seems to be a common theme: uncontrolled ANGER. It seems you let them justify their rage. They tweet hate in a steady stream. It’s exhausting AND childish. Adults take control of their emotions and rein them in.
@realDonaldTrump Emotions are supposed to make us wiser. Added quick information about the environment to help us make quick decisions (and enjoy life.) Staying in a perpetual state of anger is harmful and pointless. It prevents you from taking in new information.
@realDonaldTrump Your followers demonstrate over and over that they are incapable of taking in new information. You have innoculated them well. Single issue voters seem to be the most vulnerable and like Putin, you dangle those issues, blinding people to the disasters unfolding around them.
A little explanation about the tug-of war we see going on with the timing of Ford’s testimony vs Kavanaugh. Timing is key. McConnell is trying to get Kavanaugh confirmed by Wed., Oct. 1, so that he can sit on the Fall session of the Supreme Court. If not, there are 8 Justices.
I pulled up the two Supreme Court calenders to see what might be imperative to have Kavanaugh vote on.
Even a cursory glance showed one case that is concerning.