¡No Pasarán, Mate!May 26, 2023

Being online almost anywhere today feels like swimming through an endless ocean of angler fish. They dangle their 💩-takes waiting to devour anyone who dares take the bait.

And it’s difficult to leave their 💩 dangling on the line in case a normie comes along and bites.

Or worse they might be convinced that dangling their own 💩-take is a good idea, and set up right next to the first.
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Show thread¡No Pasarán, Mate!May 26, 2023
It may be that I’m getting older, but there’s a sense of urgency in this ocean that things have radicalised. The #consequences of sitting back and doing nothing seem dire.
Show thread¡No Pasarán, Mate!May 26, 2023

How can we afford to #underfund our #PublicHealth system even further?

How can we let our #PublicSchools get bullied to prepare for another go at charter schools?

How can we #survive if our #water gets siphoned off into plastic bottles to be sold back to us?

How can we watch our friends fall into poverty when the economy demands they be unemployed to to reduce inflation?

Show thread¡No Pasarán, Mate!May 26, 2023

How can we ignore our #neighbours #homelessness when #AffordableHousing is being demonised as ghettos?

How can we pretend it’s righteous to demand that #disabled people either #work an impossible job or lose their support #benefits?

How can we carry on when #indigenous people are still being denied the #wealth of their own lands?

Show thread¡No Pasarán, Mate!May 26, 2023

#Precarity is not something I can afford. Were #Aotearoa to head in a direction that punishes #progressives, the consequences for my whanau are too dear.

And that is why I do engage.

I make it clear that the #intolerant will not be tolerated.

That #injustice will not be accepted.

And that #cruelty is a choice, not a necessity.

I do this firmly, and I do it anonymously.

Show thread¡No Pasarán, Mate!May 26, 2023

My methods change from moment to moment. And I can’t point to strategies that always work . But I can point to some insights that have been valuable.

The #AltRight Playbook by Innuendo Studios is an excellent series breaking down how reactionaries are communicating.

I’ll break the first video down into its main points.

Show thread¡No Pasarán, Mate!May 26, 2023

#ControlTheConversation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaPgDQkmqqM&list=PLJA_jUddXvY7v0VkYRbANnTnzkA_HMFtQ&index=2

Using Trump’s “Grab ‘em by the 🐈‍⬛” scandal as an example, the video first video in the series covers the strategy of controlling the conversation, especially when debates start from a #controversial or #problematic main topic.

This usually works by deliberately making #BadArguments (“He doesn’t speak like that anymore”) that bait you into talking about something other than the main topic.

The Alt-Right Playbook: Control the Conversation

YouTube
Show thread¡No Pasarán, Mate!

The reason for this is two-fold:

1. It’s tempting to dunk on a #BadArgument.

2. Moving on from the main topic ("Trump assaulted women") implies that you agree to an unstated argument against the main topic ("It was #LockerRoomTalk").
This is called #PresupposingAFrame.

May 26, 2023 at 12:06pmWeb
Show thread¡No Pasarán, Mate!May 26, 2023

You likely have a different view on a debate than they do:

YOU believe factual arguments arrives at the #truth | THEY believe that facts don’t matter.

YOU believe that finding a compromise is progress | THEY believe that compromise is losing.

YOU believe that you’re trying to convince THEM | THEY believe that they trying to convince YOUR AUDIENCE.

Show thread¡No Pasarán, Mate!May 26, 2023

So you adjust your argument to what they say, trying to make them admit they’re wrong.

They keep framing the conversation in their terms, with no intention of ever agreeing with you.

If you keep knocking down every #BadArgument that they make, you keep moving further away from what really matters - the main topic.

Show thread¡No Pasarán, Mate!May 26, 2023

• Disagree with their unstated argument.

• Refuse to get sidetracked.

• Restate the main topic.