Many years ago, a colleague of mind at the times, was a fascinating individual and the most inspiring Physics instructor I’ve ever encountered in forty plus years of teaching and education.
I can recall quite vividly one day he was visiting my office about some student concerns and we veered into the areas of philosophy, psychology and how it all connected to Physics. There was chatter about theories of social contagion and he introduced the idea of inertia and a typical slide at any playground.
You can push yourself off the starting point, and can actually halt the forward momentum if you correct
quickly and soon enough. Otherwise, once your mass starts moving the forward momentum cannot be halted and you’re headed to the “ bottom” of the equipment.
I’ve often thought about and have considered the timelessness of the illustration, and as much as I choose to remain optimistic and strength based, I also hold in my thoughts that “we” are on this trajectory and
there is little to correct and stop it, short of a massive force acting on it, either internally or externally.
As always, thanks for the fascinating history that introduces the main article, always appreciate these little known stories that have profound significance.
There is a good book that talks to that valuable point about using hatred to obtain power; it is called "Hope For Cynics". I will be reviewing it next Monday. In the meantime, I collected some memes that reflect the reaction to the debate...
The larger problem has been written about for some time, but has been regarded as a counter-culture, very-left-wing topic. Neil Postman, Noam Chomsky, John Ralston Saul, using various terms like "false consciousness". Vietnam built on false casus belli and lies, then Iraq.
My bottom line: Trump lies, and every politician, Poilievre say, is trying out blatant, easily-debunked lying these days, because Bush lied, pretty openly, and it worked.
I mean, it *really* worked. By fall 2004, the WMD lies had been exposed and the New York Times had printed an official apology. (And Black Sites and Torture were in the news.)
He was not only re-elected, but did far better than his first election. Lying had worked.
This is a great job you're tackling here. But your thesis that people can be educated to be proof against it always had a hole in it: the only-slightly-less preposterous lies of Bush were accepted and propagated by all the Ivy League graduates that ran the big dailies.
Having commented that there are connections between the nutty lies of activists and the cynical, prepared lies of administrations, I should post this Atlantic link, where the depth to which Trump is now marinating in Internet activist lies got not just into his rally rambles, but his debate claims in front of 60 million:
Maybe this will out me as being the nutty institutionalist that I am, but: Vietnam and the great WMD lie were failures of our system. You and I both know the litany of things that captured our politics and media and made it possible. I am not convinced that we ever fully rectified those problems, nor held the right people accountable, but ok.
What we're dealing with now, though, is a siege on our systems, and attempt to take them over. My real fear is that, if that happens, our system won't just occasionally err, it will be weaponized to destroy on purpose.
I know people may look at those two things and say "they're the same picture," but I think we need to be put our minds into a much, much pessimistic place when dealing with the latter.
(Wave at JR Saul, by the way, as I know he reads this newsletter.)
The governmental institutions *were* behaving normally, for them, with the WMD sales campaign - I think so more than ever after a fiction novel mentioned "Operation Northwoods" and I was reading the wikipedia article on it a minute later with my jaw in my lap. Never had heard of it.
Journalistic institutions have never caught the false casus belli, I think - not for the Spanish-American, Korean, Vietnamese, or either Iraq War. (The first one had a legit cause, but they threw in some fake dead babies-in-incubators to ensure popularity.)
I admire your faith in an institution with a 0% success record, across 120 years, at that particular journalistic job.
The distinction I can sign on with is that those liars, I think, genuinely believed they were lying the public into doing the Right Thing, and saving the world. Both the pols and the journos may have been exchanging winks.
The new lies, I concede, do not get the other party to sign on with them (as with all the war votes). The new lies also have no possible benign intent, just grift and kleptocracy.
If you liked Operation Northwoods for pie in the sky thinking than Operation Mongoose will knock your socks off. I think both were just products of their times and part of the proposal process of "throw everything at the board and see what will stick"
I'm not a huge fan of ChatGPT, but it does tend to do summarizing very well! (The only thing it misses here is that I trace the origin of the cat-eating lie to 4chan.)
--
The text describes two episodes of mass hysteria fueled by misinformation and xenophobia: the "Irish Fright" of 1688 and the recent "Haitian Fright" in Springfield, Ohio.
Irish Fright (1688):
Context: Amid anti-Irish sentiment, rumors spread that Irish soldiers were revolting and threatening London. Although the Irish soldiers posed no actual threat, panic ensued.
Outcome: Englishmen formed militias, and mass hysteria led to false reports of violence. Historians later attributed the panic to either a miscommunication or deliberate disinformation by political actors.
Haitian Fright (Present Day):
Context: In Springfield, Ohio, a large influx of Haitian immigrants led to tension in the community. Following a tragic car accident involving a Haitian driver, far-right figures began spreading unfounded rumors about Haitians committing crimes, including eating pets.
Outcome: These claims, amplified by social media and political figures like JD Vance and Donald Trump, caused widespread panic and further inflamed anti-immigrant sentiment. Despite efforts to debunk the rumors, the hysteria continued to spread.
Analysis:
Both incidents highlight how misinformation and fear can be weaponized by those seeking power, leading to widespread panic and harm.
The author suggests that while debunking such lies is important, the persistent spread of misinformation might eventually lead to the downfall of those who propagate it, as their own paranoia and rage consume them.
Hi Justin - as promised, here is the Preview of the article on Cynics (and how to remove them). You can see where Republicans get their strength. If you are interested, I can send you the full review of Zaki's book...
Many years ago, a colleague of mind at the times, was a fascinating individual and the most inspiring Physics instructor I’ve ever encountered in forty plus years of teaching and education.
I can recall quite vividly one day he was visiting my office about some student concerns and we veered into the areas of philosophy, psychology and how it all connected to Physics. There was chatter about theories of social contagion and he introduced the idea of inertia and a typical slide at any playground.
You can push yourself off the starting point, and can actually halt the forward momentum if you correct
quickly and soon enough. Otherwise, once your mass starts moving the forward momentum cannot be halted and you’re headed to the “ bottom” of the equipment.
I’ve often thought about and have considered the timelessness of the illustration, and as much as I choose to remain optimistic and strength based, I also hold in my thoughts that “we” are on this trajectory and
there is little to correct and stop it, short of a massive force acting on it, either internally or externally.
As always, thanks for the fascinating history that introduces the main article, always appreciate these little known stories that have profound significance.
There is a good book that talks to that valuable point about using hatred to obtain power; it is called "Hope For Cynics". I will be reviewing it next Monday. In the meantime, I collected some memes that reflect the reaction to the debate...
https://barrygander.substack.com/p/a-sweet-echo-a-chorus-of-rejoicing
I love subscriber book recos. Someday I'll even get to read them all. (I'll keep my eyes peeled for your review.)
Thank you! I will remember to send it to you - and many thanks for all your columns!
The larger problem has been written about for some time, but has been regarded as a counter-culture, very-left-wing topic. Neil Postman, Noam Chomsky, John Ralston Saul, using various terms like "false consciousness". Vietnam built on false casus belli and lies, then Iraq.
My bottom line: Trump lies, and every politician, Poilievre say, is trying out blatant, easily-debunked lying these days, because Bush lied, pretty openly, and it worked.
I mean, it *really* worked. By fall 2004, the WMD lies had been exposed and the New York Times had printed an official apology. (And Black Sites and Torture were in the news.)
He was not only re-elected, but did far better than his first election. Lying had worked.
This is a great job you're tackling here. But your thesis that people can be educated to be proof against it always had a hole in it: the only-slightly-less preposterous lies of Bush were accepted and propagated by all the Ivy League graduates that ran the big dailies.
Cheer up: you've got job security.
Having commented that there are connections between the nutty lies of activists and the cynical, prepared lies of administrations, I should post this Atlantic link, where the depth to which Trump is now marinating in Internet activist lies got not just into his rally rambles, but his debate claims in front of 60 million:
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/09/donald-trump-debate-terminally-online/679800/
Maybe this will out me as being the nutty institutionalist that I am, but: Vietnam and the great WMD lie were failures of our system. You and I both know the litany of things that captured our politics and media and made it possible. I am not convinced that we ever fully rectified those problems, nor held the right people accountable, but ok.
What we're dealing with now, though, is a siege on our systems, and attempt to take them over. My real fear is that, if that happens, our system won't just occasionally err, it will be weaponized to destroy on purpose.
I know people may look at those two things and say "they're the same picture," but I think we need to be put our minds into a much, much pessimistic place when dealing with the latter.
(Wave at JR Saul, by the way, as I know he reads this newsletter.)
The governmental institutions *were* behaving normally, for them, with the WMD sales campaign - I think so more than ever after a fiction novel mentioned "Operation Northwoods" and I was reading the wikipedia article on it a minute later with my jaw in my lap. Never had heard of it.
Journalistic institutions have never caught the false casus belli, I think - not for the Spanish-American, Korean, Vietnamese, or either Iraq War. (The first one had a legit cause, but they threw in some fake dead babies-in-incubators to ensure popularity.)
I admire your faith in an institution with a 0% success record, across 120 years, at that particular journalistic job.
The distinction I can sign on with is that those liars, I think, genuinely believed they were lying the public into doing the Right Thing, and saving the world. Both the pols and the journos may have been exchanging winks.
The new lies, I concede, do not get the other party to sign on with them (as with all the war votes). The new lies also have no possible benign intent, just grift and kleptocracy.
Point taken.
If you liked Operation Northwoods for pie in the sky thinking than Operation Mongoose will knock your socks off. I think both were just products of their times and part of the proposal process of "throw everything at the board and see what will stick"
Can you make a shorter summary of this so people with short attention spans might read it and learn something?
I'm not a huge fan of ChatGPT, but it does tend to do summarizing very well! (The only thing it misses here is that I trace the origin of the cat-eating lie to 4chan.)
--
The text describes two episodes of mass hysteria fueled by misinformation and xenophobia: the "Irish Fright" of 1688 and the recent "Haitian Fright" in Springfield, Ohio.
Irish Fright (1688):
Context: Amid anti-Irish sentiment, rumors spread that Irish soldiers were revolting and threatening London. Although the Irish soldiers posed no actual threat, panic ensued.
Outcome: Englishmen formed militias, and mass hysteria led to false reports of violence. Historians later attributed the panic to either a miscommunication or deliberate disinformation by political actors.
Haitian Fright (Present Day):
Context: In Springfield, Ohio, a large influx of Haitian immigrants led to tension in the community. Following a tragic car accident involving a Haitian driver, far-right figures began spreading unfounded rumors about Haitians committing crimes, including eating pets.
Outcome: These claims, amplified by social media and political figures like JD Vance and Donald Trump, caused widespread panic and further inflamed anti-immigrant sentiment. Despite efforts to debunk the rumors, the hysteria continued to spread.
Analysis:
Both incidents highlight how misinformation and fear can be weaponized by those seeking power, leading to widespread panic and harm.
The author suggests that while debunking such lies is important, the persistent spread of misinformation might eventually lead to the downfall of those who propagate it, as their own paranoia and rage consume them.
Hi Justin - as promised, here is the Preview of the article on Cynics (and how to remove them). You can see where Republicans get their strength. If you are interested, I can send you the full review of Zaki's book...
https://barrygander.substack.com/p/preview-hope-for-cynics-which-applies