NaxNov 23, 2022
Mike Riverso

I cannot stress strongly enough that genocides do not start with death camps. That’s where they end.

No, they start with dangerous rhetoric that whips up violence against marginalized groups.

People like Walsh, Pool, Shapiro, Carlson, Raichik, etc. absolutely know this. They are fomenting a genocide against trans and queer folks, and it is working.

Nov 23, 2022 at 12:13amWeb
Show threadMike RiversoNov 23, 2022

The fact that the violence isn’t organized yet doesn’t make it any less deadly. They are creating a culture of violence that operates on stochastic terror, random and unpredictable, designed to push queer and trans folks into hiding or risk death.

And from what we're seeing happening on Twitter, they are currently using the Club Q shooting as justification for further arming themselves and further attacks. If this goes unchallenged, then this gets worse from here, not better.

Show threadMike RiversoNov 23, 2022

And there's decent reason to believe that these folks have been further emboldened by a sense that they will no longer be banned from Twitter for spewing anti-trans hate.

The site has always had a poor reputation for allowing bigotry to stand, but just today Musk has re-instated some of the most vile people who've ever been banned from the platform.

If the site has become an overtly safe space for bigots, then it's guaranteed to stir up more hate and violence.

Show threadMike RiversoNov 23, 2022
Follow me if you’d like, folks, but please go follow actual experts on violent extremism. And follow queer and trans activists who are doing the real work.
Show threadPhilzilla℠Dec 16, 2022
@MikeRiverso don’t forget this guy https://www.thedailybeast.com/jordan-petersons-politics-make-life-harder-for-young-men?ref=home
Jordan Peterson’s Politics Make Life Harder for Young Men

The right-wing self-help guru wants to help disaffected males, but he advocates for policies (and politicians) that prevent them from getting married and having kids.

The Daily Beast
Show threadAmanda HugankissNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso There hasn’t been a published picture of the alleged doer in Club Q that I’ve seen as yet. Is this deliberate?
Show threadMike RiversoNov 23, 2022
@AnOldGuy I honestly wouldn't know. I am not an expert.
Show threadCJ the Awkward LeftyNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso @AnOldGuy Probably. Media attention can lead to copycats so some outlets intentionally don't use the names or photos of mass shooters in order to deny them (and by proxy, others) the infamy they often seek.
Show threadSharon Gibson MorganDec 4, 2022

@AnOldGuy @MikeRiverso

There are pictures of Anderson Aldrich from many news outlets, including TMZ. https://youtu.be/e3cLduE5aWI

No Names Were Changed at Ellis Island: Debunking a Persistent Myth

YouTube
Show threadNikkiNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso as much as I agree and we need to raise awareness, please content warn these type of posts 💜
Show threadErinNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso this stuff just adds to the fear for my loved ones. 🫤
Show threademNov 23, 2022

@MikeRiverso

My entire life they have done this. (I'm 64.) It's worse now because everyone is so very armed. And it was very bad before. (I used to track hate crimes.)

Show threadJulia TNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso
My god. It’s intolerable.
Show threadMy Halo Broke 🇺🇦💉💉💉💉Nov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso If it wasn't before, Twitter's a damn good place to leave now!
Show threadWalden PondNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso time to give the bird the bird
Show threadSaint Baal-MAŠNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso DeSantis, most of the Kansas state legislators, etc.
Show threadMike RiversoNov 23, 2022
@corvusbrimstone The list of names is long.
Show threadLanaNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso
Are you referring to Joe Walsh in that list? If you are, I believe he's changed his tune and has been trying to make amends.
Show threadMike RiversoNov 23, 2022
@Lana_social Matt Walsh, self-styled "christian fascist" and one of the largest anti-trans voices on the internet right now. He made a "documentary" called What is a Woman? that's been a big hit with bigots.
Show threadLanaNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso
Oh, thanks for the heads up, he sounds despicable. 😡
Show threadSunny MoraineNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso 100%, and as someone who has *done a doctoral dissertation literally on the design and construction and context of Nazi death camps* the inability or refusal of many people to understand this drives me bonkers
Show threadLedermandNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso Right out the Nazis Play book.
Show threadProtectiveHenNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso YES YES YES. If only most mainstream political reporters wouldn't serve these extremists' efforts to move the Overton Window!
Show threadSD Liz RoguestyleNov 23, 2022
ExxactLy ☹️ @MikeRiverso
Show thread333 Nov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso walsh doesn't even try to hide it. his tweetor bio literally starts with "theocratic fascist". at least shapiro pretends to be an intellectual with an ounce of respect.
Show threadUp North on SuperiorNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso The christian nationalist dehumanization of the LGBTQ+ community is appalling.
Show threadPalinNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso
Even higher than the ones that you just named.
This total lack of societal boundaries started and we're encouraged by THE LOSER!
Show threadAtomic BirdseedNov 23, 2022

@MikeRiverso it seems to me to be the American way, some politicians and commentators in Australia have adopted the same approach.

It’s not one side of politics or another (though I think we can agree there’s an imbalance here) it’s a formulated approach to populism: tap into people’s anger, centre yourself as arbiter, pander to and fan the flames of anger, rage and disgust.

And when it all blows up, slow down, say ‘what a pity’, and start the process again.

The skilful practitioners have several themes in the works concurrently, maintained at different levels of heating, to switch between as needed.

It’s deliberate, and deliberately sadistic. And enough people are victims to the strategy, particularly in countries of large populations, to ensure that fame and fortune follow the practitioners, while oppression and destruction follows their victims.

Show threadEXGNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso Sadly, it seems that it is the failure of democratic institutions that lays the groundwork for conflict and genocide. It is a failed democratic society that invites this evil. We must defend the institutions enshrined in documents like the US Constitution, the Universal Charter of Human Rights and in many governments established in the name of democratic principles because they are the only legitimate basis for governance.
Show threadSocialistStanNov 23, 2022
@Nicofarmer @MikeRiverso Why would a constitution written by slave owners in the 18th century be a legitimate basis for anything besides the many genocides that have been carried out under it?
Show threadEXGNov 23, 2022
@SocialistStan @MikeRiverso Because the history of democracy is deep and the history of the US is among the best proofs that it is an adaptive system, despite it's historical 'guilt". To judge history by today's standards is absurd. I believe in a system of government. You believe in indictment as politic? Socialism isn't inherently anti-democratic. In fact, it is essentially democratic in political power when done right.
Show threadSocialistStanNov 23, 2022
@Nicofarmer @MikeRiverso Socialism can only exist when the people control their own lives, which is not what the US is. The US is not, never was, and never will be a democracy.
Show threadSocialistStanNov 23, 2022
@Nicofarmer @MikeRiverso I don't believe in systems of government, I'm a libertarian socialist (anarchist).
Show threadSocialistStanNov 23, 2022
@Nicofarmer @MikeRiverso You say "To judge history by today's standards is absurd." If you really believe this then do you also believe right and wrong changes chronologically? We're just history to our descendants after all.
Show threadPithyPackyNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso It is stochastic terrorism. They whip up lies, and then let others do the dirty work for them.
Show threadJacqueline HomanNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso And Lauren Boebert. She has blood on her hands.
Show threadZaneNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso it would be nice if this thread had a content warning
Show threadPamNov 23, 2022

@MikeRiverso
Well it starts with flooding the streets with guns then giving them something to hate enough to point them at.

And the GOP has a firehouse of hateful propaganda that’s impossible to keep up with and correct.

CRT
Immigrants
Trans kids
Drag shows
Masks
Vaccines
Elections
And specific elected officials

Show threadMike RiversoNov 23, 2022
@pm_mcdaniel They pick something, anything, so their base has people to be angry at other than them.
Show threadReidoNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso Thank you for this. I just finished reading The Origins of Totalitarianism and they are following the fascist playbook to a T. Truly frightening.
Show threadLeRoy WesterlingNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso it’s not just gay and trans: they’re also targeting people of color, and liberals more generally.
Show threadMike RiversoNov 23, 2022
@LeRoyWesterling True, but the worst rhetoric is specifically against trans folks right now. That said, their targets can shift very quickly.
Show threadSocialistStanNov 23, 2022
@LeRoyWesterling @MikeRiverso That's a weakness of fascist regimes, they can't fight all of us at once. The Floyd uprising in 2020 saw 15-20 million people involved directly on the street.
Show threadAndrew LeaheyNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso We seem to understand it in other contexts, we don't wait for a mushroom cloud to get concerned about a rogue state enriching uranium.
Show threadSocialistStanNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso Exactly
Show threadCarm (she, her, hers, ella)Nov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso absolutely
Show threadTheNeonNomad🏳️‍⚧️Nov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso for us trans ppl it's nothing new, been happening for thousands of years.
Show threadKittenbusNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso and #Boebert
Show threadarchibebiNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso as someone who lived in Serbia in the 90s, I absolutely agree with this. Propaganda and dehumanization come first, genocide second.
Show threadMonsieur Valentine 🇺🇦Nov 23, 2022
@archibebi @MikeRiverso the same for russian TV. The Ukrainians are some banderites, vermin and cockroaches so should be wiped out. It is going on and on
Show threadarchibebiNov 23, 2022
@valeg @MikeRiverso no war could be fought without it! First you weaponise the people, then you fill your pockets. Works like a charm every single time and no one gets any smarter. 🥺
Show threadFoxgirlGoRawrNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso
I think the pool of candidates likely to commit violence is rising on account of several factors. Poor economic conditions certainly play a role, along with a severe lack of mental healthcare (among other things). It’s a perfect storm of conditions that make people susceptible to fear, conspiracy and hate. Then folks like Walsh & Co. step in to give these folks all the “answers.”
Show threadLydia Conwell Nov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso Many acts of genocide did not include death camps at all.
Show thread5klp471Nov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso Their message is always the same. Conform, or die. Conform, or be killed.
Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPENov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso Well, we've already had a "death" in a "camp" - how many does it take to make it a "death camp"?
Show threadJoeNov 23, 2022
@MikeRiverso wrong again