janggolanJun 11
"Almost all of the violence broke out Tuesday night in areas still overseen by one of the two main outlawed pro-British groups, the Ulster Defence Association and Ulster Volunteer Force."
https://www.politico.eu/article/anti-immigrant-terror-takes-northern-ireland-back-darkest-chapters/
"Overseas agitators can easily inspire and intensify this locally organized violence — but only because conflict lines here are already so deeply ingrained in a city of peculiar divisions and paramilitary traditions, particularly in the poorest Protestant areas." #demagoguery
Anti-immigrant terror takes Northern Ireland back to its ‘darkest chapters’

The violence is concentrated on the Protestant side of Belfast’s divide in working-class communities where the outlawed UDA and UVF hold sway.

POLITICO
WIST QuotationsJun 1

A quotation from Olivia Butler

I wanted to understand the lies that people have to tell themselves when they either quietly or joyfully watch their neighbors ruined, spirited away, killed. Different versions of this horror have happened again and again in history. They’re still happening in places like Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor, wherever one group of people permits its leaders to convince them that for their own protection, for the safety of their families and the security of their country, they must get their enemies, those alien others who until now were their neighbors.

Octavia Butler (1947-2006) American writer
Essay (2000-05), “A Few Rules for Predicting the Future,” Essence Magazine

More about this quote: wist.info/butler-octavia/83955…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #oliviabutler #aliens #demagoguery #enemies #ethniccleansing #genocide #ingroup #leaders #looktheotherway #lying #othering #outgroup #pogrom #propaganda #protection #safety #scapegoat #security #selfdeceit #selfdeception #usvsthem

Butler, Octavia - Essay (2000-05), "A Few Rules for Predicting the Future," Essence Magazine | WIST Quotations

I wanted to understand the lies that people have to tell themselves when they either quietly or joyfully watch their neighbors ruined, spirited away, killed. Different versions of this horror have happened again and again in history. They’re still happening in places like Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor, wherever…

WIST Quotations
WIST QuotationsMay 18

A quotation from Henry Commager

Who are those who are really disloyal? Those who inflame racial hatreds, who sow religious and class dissensions. Those who subvert the Constitution by violating the freedom of the ballot box. Those who make a mockery of majority rule by the use of the filibuster. Those who impair democracy by denying equal educational facilities. Those who frustrate justice by lynch law or by making a farce of jury trials. Those who deny freedom of speech and of the press and of assembly. Those who press for special favors against the interest of the commonwealth. Those who regard public office as a source of private gain. Those who would exalt the military over the civil. Those who for selfish and private purposes stir up national antagonisms and expose the world to the ruin of war.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1947-09), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 3, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168

More about this quote: wist.info/commager-henry-steel…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #henrycommager #America #civilliberties #civilrights #corruption #demagoguery #democracy #disloyalty #division #firstamendment #freepress #freespeech #freedomofreligion #freedomofspeech #freedomofthepress #injustice #jingoism #justice #loyalty #loyaltyoath #military #patriotism #publicoffice #religiousfreedom #unAmerican #usvsthem #votersuppression #votingrights #war #warmongering

Commager, Henry Steele - Essay (1947-09), "Who Is Loyal to America?" sec. 3, Harper's Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168 | WIST Quotations

Who are those who are really disloyal? Those who inflame racial hatreds, who sow religious and class dissensions. Those who subvert the Constitution by violating the freedom of the ballot box. Those who make a mockery of majority rule by the use of the filibuster. Those who impair democracy by…

WIST Quotations
WIST QuotationsMay 12

A quotation from Ambrose Bierce

DEMAGOGUE, n. A political opponent.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Demagogue,” “Devil’s Dictionary” column, San Francisco Wasp (1882-01-20)

More about this quote: wist.info/bierce-ambrose/83994…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #ambrosebierce #devilsdictionary #demagogue #demagoguery #opponent #opposition #politics #populist #rabblerousing #mobrule #emotionalism

Bierce, Ambrose - "Demagogue," "Devil's Dictionary" column, San Francisco Wasp (1882-01-20) | WIST Quotations

DEMAGOGUE, n. A political opponent. Not collected in later books.

WIST Quotations
Show threadStephen GutknechtMay 5

“Replacing one #demagoguery with another gets rid of Trump, but Trump was never the real problem, but the mindset.”
― Bandy X. Lee, The Psychology of Trump Contagion: An Existential Danger to American Democracy and All Humankind. September 2, 2024

#HaltTheCult #FWakeDemagoguery #TheMindset #FWakeMindset /\

WIST QuotationsApr 9

A quotation from Theodore Roosevelt

We […] hold the just balance and set ourselves as resolutely against improper corporate influence on the one hand as against demagogy and mob rule on the other. I understand perfectly that such an attitude of moderation is apt to be misunderstood when passions are greatly excited and when victory is apt to rest with the extremists on one side or the other; yet I think it is in the long run the only wise attitude.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Letter (1899, Spring) to Senator Thomas Platt (R-NY)

More about this quote: wist.info/roosevelt-theodore/4…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #theodoreroosevelt #teddyroosevelt #balance #bigbusiness #business #centrism #corporations #demagoguery #division #extremism #labor #mobrule #moderation

Roosevelt, Theodore - Letter (1899, Spring) to Senator Thomas Platt (R-NY) | WIST Quotations

We [...] hold the just balance and set ourselves as resolutely against improper corporate influence on the one hand as against demagogy and mob rule on the other. I understand perfectly that such an attitude of moderation is apt to be misunderstood when passions are greatly excited and when victory…

WIST Quotations
WIST QuotationsApr 7

A quotation from Eleanor Roosevelt

Man cannot live without hope. If it is not engendered by his own convictions and desires, it can easily be fired from without, and by the most meretricious and empty of promises.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Essay (1961-04), “What Has Happened to the American Dream?” Atlantic Monthly

More about this quote: wist.info/roosevelt-eleanor/28…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #eleanorroosevelt #demagoguery #desperation #hope #inspiration #promises #propaganda #revolution #seduction

Roosevelt, Eleanor - Essay (1961-04), "What Has Happened to the American Dream?" Atlantic Monthly | WIST Quotations

Man cannot live without hope. If it is not engendered by his own convictions and desires, it can easily be fired from without, and by the most meretricious and empty of promises. (Source (Alternate)). On the effectiveness of Soviet propaganda in the Third World.

WIST Quotations
Miguel Afonso CaetanoSep 22, 2025

"There’s nothing in how Charlie Kirk “debated” that aimed to get at nuances or understanding. They were entirely designed to seek to humiliate his opponent. They’re full of red herrings, lies, and attempts to deflect from any actual logic, as the video link above showed.

The point is not about getting to any level of understanding. It’s to try to quip and dunk in the manner most likely to go viral when shared on social media in 20-second snippets.

The format actively discourages the kind of thoughtful, nuanced discussion that might actually change minds—the kind actually designed for persuasion. Instead, it rewards the most inflammatory takes, the most emotionally manipulative tactics, and the most viral-ready soundbites. Anyone going into these situations with good faith gets steamrolled by participants who understand they’re playing a different game entirely.

When trolls demand debates, they’re not interested in having their minds changed or genuinely testing their ideas. They want one of two outcomes: either you decline and they get to claim victory by default, or you accept and they get to use your credibility to legitimize their nonsense while farming viral moments.

None of this means we should avoid authentically engaging with different viewpoints or challenging ideas. But there’s a crucial difference between good-faith intellectual engagement and feeding trolls who are just looking for their next viral moment."

https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/17/the-debate-me-bro-grift-how-trolls-weaponized-the-marketplace-of-ideas/

#Debate #OnlineTrolls #Demagoguery #Demagogue #CriticalThinking #MarketplaceOfIdeas

The “Debate Me Bro” Grift: How Trolls Weaponized The Marketplace Of Ideas

Among the attempts to create hagiographic eulogies of Charlie Kirk, I’ve seen more than a few people suggest that Kirk should be respected for being willing to talk to “those who disagree with him”…

Techdirt
WIST Quotations Has Moved!Aug 8, 2025

A quotation from Adlai Stevenson

You may seek comfort at the feet of false leaders, who like medicine doctors beat drums to ward off evil spirits. You may listen to false leaders who tell you that there is an easy way — that all you have to do is to elect them and thereafter relax in a tax-free paradise, the political equivalent of sending 10¢ to cover the cost of postage. You may, fearing to face the facts squarely, be distracted by phony issues that have no bearing upon the life-or-death controversy of our time. But deluded you run the risk of being beguiled to destruction, for there is no easy way.

Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-09-29), “Fireside Chat” (radio and television broadcast)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/stevenson-adlai-ewin…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #adlaistevenson #campaign #campaignpromises #demagoguery #easyanswers #election #leadership #platform #politics #promises #politicians

WIST Quotations Has Moved!Aug 1, 2025

A quotation from Adlai Stevenson

A campaign addressed not to men’s minds and to their best instincts, but to their passions, emotions and prejudices, is unworthy at best — now, with the fate of the nation at stake, it is unbearable.

Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-09-29), “Fireside Chat” (radio and television broadcast)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/stevenson-adlai-ewin…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #adlaistevenson #appealtoemotion #campaign #demagoguery #election #fearmongering #issues #politics #prejudice