Less than ten years ago, when Obergefell v. Hodges went before the Supreme Court, and the issue of gay marriage was a hotly debated subject, the slippery-slope concerns of gay marriage opponents were often dismissed with a laugh as delusions of tin-foil hatters and paranoids. Anyone who had suggested in 2015, for example, that major retailers would soon be marketing transgender-friendly merchandise to young children would have been mercilessly mocked. It is truly shocking how quickly the "nut jobs" have been proven right. And thinking back, I don't believe even the most alarmist opponents of the LGBTQ agenda predicted that the aggressive trend it would include the mainstreaming of unabashed satanism. Target was one of the companies at the tip of the spear with regards to promoting transgender acceptance. In 2016, their trans-friendly changing room and bathroom policy made headlines and prompted a boycott. It should not, then, be too surprising to learn that Target made headlines again for its Pride-themed line of products including many items made for children. Though there is little left that is taboo in this day and age, some may consider it beyond the pale that the designer with whom they partnered is a satan-worshipper, who was born a woman but identifies as a man. It is really hard to overstate how depraved this company's designs are: some feature slogans like "trans witches for abortion," "satan respects pronouns," graphics with a skeleton inviting "join my gay cult," and a guillotine with the caption, "homophobe headrest." Says the designer, “Being called a demon is something I can cope with, and the idea of a trans demon is pretty damn cool.” Social media quickly lit up with videos posted by horrified parents exploring the new products. News headlines called the angry consumers terrorists, and the media trotted out celebrities to express their disappointment at the public's bigotry and intolerance. In order to mitigate backlash, Target de-emphasized the product line, moving the displays to less prominent parts of the store.
The company lost billions of dollars in a matter of weeks, and to some this seems like a win. But does it really matter? Boycotts may give consumers a short-term, visceral satisfaction, but as D. H. Corax explained, the people pushing the progressive agenda don't "go broke." They not only have the power to offend without fear, but even to terraform international culture. (You may be interested to learn that there is a connection between Target and the Rockerfellers.) How does one do battle with entities who can lose billions of dollars in a week without flinching? Well, you and I cannot, at least not on our own. We read in Ephesians 6:12, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." It must be clear to anyone with spiritual eyes that the enemies of God are using their earthly power to push an agenda that works against health, life, and God's natural order. While it is distressing to see it progress, we must remember that Christ forewarned us of things like this: "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." Matthew 24:12-13. Take heart, and remember, our Saviour is already victorious!
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"White people - and only White people - are taught that racial identity is evil and absurd. This results in White people adopting brand loyalty as a stand-in for who we are. Jack Daniels is the only man who should have ever built his identity around Jack Daniels.... Don't get me wrong - I love the righteous anger... But directing it all at something meaningless is... meaningless." - Daniel Concannon @KeepNHGranite on Gab, commenting on a viral video of a man destroying his collection of Jack Daniels liquor and brand merchandise in response to the company's ad campaign featuring drag queens. What images and qualities are embodied in the brand image of Jack Daniels (until recently, at least?) Former slogans include:
These slogans evoke early America. An independent, pioneering spirit. Entrepreneurialism. A dedication to excellence, and the patience and craftmanship required to produce a product of consistent quality. Continuity across generations. Masculinity and rugged refinement. Now, what does this evoke? Exactly. It is a vicious mockery of all the qualities mentioned above. This isn't an ad for liquor - it's a demoralization campaign. "Get Woke, Go Broke" is a phrase commonly used when a company publicly declares its support for extreme left-wing ideology that offends its customer base. The quip is satisfying and seems to be logical on its face, but is it really true? An almost innumerable list of companies have spent a news cycle or two as the subject of controversy when their "woke" ads or public statements cause outrage. Customers destroy purchases, make angry videos, and pledge to never buy the offending product again. Sometimes the outrage has a temporary effect on the company's bottom line, but has any multinational corporation really "gone broke" due to pushing leftist causes? Not that I know of. Maybe the corporate leaders are living in a bubble, oblivious to how their trendy views will play in Flyover Country. But I suspect they do know, and are willing and able to absorb a temporary financial setback in order to promote their values. Either way, as more and more aspects of our world are converged into left-wing wokism, cognitive dissonance is created in the minds of Middle Americans who have tied aspects of their identity to brands, teams, or celebrities. The tendency is understandable. Americans, especially Southerners, have had every aspect of their being villainized through media and our educational system. Our history has been rewritten with our heroes cast as villains, our culture mocked, our achievements either belittled or reinterpreted as crimes. What are we allowed to celebrate? Of what are we allowed to be proud? In what way can we enjoy camaraderie with our own tribe? Some Americans boast of their allegiance to Ford versus Chevy trucks, or wear John Deere green caps. This can be understood as a proxy for the celebration of a traditional rural lifestyle and a willingness to engage in the difficult manual labor required to build and maintain a functioning society. For the sake of full disclosure I will admit that I have never been a fan of sports, but I have long believed that Southerners' outsized enthusiasm for college football is a sublimation of the urge to express regional patriotism, and also to celebrate masculinity in a manner that is not threatening to our ruling class. We can enjoy the company of mostly traditional, White Americans at a "country" music concert, but the big stars are required to comply with, or at least not seriously oppose, the ruling class' agenda (with regards to gun rights or the Battle Flag, for example) in order to maintain their celebrity status. For a long time, traditional Southerners' nationalistic urges have been channeled successfully into harmless outlets. Now the elites, who have a near-monopoly on the culture, have begun to boldly inject their ideology into all these areas. By forcing their players to wear rainbow-flag emblazoned uniforms, bastions of masculinity like the NFL and NHL have been feminized. Owners of the Black Rifle Coffee company, promoted as a veteran-owned and pro-Second Amendment alternative to Starbucks, counter-signaled Kyle Rittenhouse. Brad Paisley crooned a racism apology for President Obama. Most recently, Bud Light and Jack Daniels have used transgender personalities to promote their products. While "woke" advertising may be distressing to conservative fans and consumers, being snubbed by corporations can be a positive wake-up call. As Southerners and other traditional Americans are forced away from our "proxy" identifiers, we will be forced to either convert, or to explicitly embrace our real identity - found in familial and societal connections, our deeply held moral convictions and cultural traditions, and our connection to nature and our Creator. This forced alienation provides an opportunity for nationalists to direct people towards connection with something more meaningful. Let's make the most of it. Back in the heyday of the "Alt-Right" in 2016, online influencer Ricky Vaugh, whose name and avatar was based on the Charlie Sheen character in the movie Major League, was a nationally recognized online influencer. Vaughn, whose real name is Douglass Mackey, was by some measures more influential than major network news channels like NBC and CNN. He was credited with helping turn public sentiment towards Trump during the contentious Presidential campaign against Hillary Clinton. Mackey is currently being prosecuted by the Biden regime, and facing up to ten years in prison for "election interference." His alleged crime is posting a meme in 2016, featuring a Black woman and using an aesthetic similar to that of the ads produced by the Clinton campaign, which indicated people could vote by text. I was a follower of the "meme wars" in real time, and when I saw the post in question, I personally thought that it was clearly a joke. Certainly, only a negligible amount of people would be so lacking in critical thinking skills as to take voting instructions from a random internet post seriously. I was shocked and slightly amused when I saw the meme blown up to poster size, resting on an easel in a legislative hearing, while people in suits talked in serious tones about how dangerous the unrestricted internet was to fair elections.
Like the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally, Mackey's moment of fame and influence occurred during the heady, hopeful years of Donald Trump's ascendency. Just like the UTR attendees, Mackey and others who were part of the "Alt-Right" movement had not yet realized that the First Amendment to the Constitution was no longer sacrosanct. During the "meme wars" of 2016 when the offending image was posted, a bevy of internet-savvy influencers, citizen reporters, and a massive virtual army of "anons" sought to upset the political process by using the internet to empower ordinary citizens, whose concerns and opinions had, in a previous era, been rendered ineffectual by gatekeepers of politics and the media. The campaign of Donald Trump, successful in large part because of the levelled informational playing field afforded by the relatively unrestricted internet, set the ruling class back on its heels. A bunch of clever, determined nobodies had upset their plans. This would not be allowed happen again. When Mackey was doxed (that is, outed by his real name) in 2018, he retired from his "influencer" role and fell off the radar of politics for a while. Then, almost immediately after Biden took office, it was announced that Mackey would be prosecuted. Few of the young and hopeful Alt-Righters had expected, during the exhilaration of the populist uprising, that the communist takeover of the nation would soon be back on track, and that select participants would be punished to deter anyone else who might be tempted to get uppity towards their rulers. A pall fell upon the right-wing webosphere. How many more influencers and anons had made posts, with the assumption that political opinion and satire were First Amendment protected speech, that might retroactively be declared criminal? The case features an important witness who has been identified as "an FBI informant who may still be operating anonymous right-wing Twitter accounts," described as someone who ran an account similar to Mackey's and who worked with him under a pseudonym. Mackey's lawyer is aware of the person's identity but not allowed to disclose it, even to Mackey. And in case anyone needed further confirmation that journalism is a form of progressive activism, one expected witness for the defense withdrew after an SPLC "extremism researcher," Luke Obrien threatened to write a hit piece including private emails from University of Alabama political science professor George Hawley, the planned expert witness. Whatever the outcome of the trial, this prosecution will have a chilling effect on free speech in the United States going forward. Of course, that is the intention. As expected, former SC Governor Nikki Haley has declared her candidacy for President of the United States. Her video announcement is an effective mix of homey and professional, caring and tough. In the three-minute promotion, she relates how her experience growing up in Bamberg as neither Black nor White taught her to look for commonalities with other people. She touts her economic record in South Carolina, and expresses a love for America and the need for a renewal of the Republican party. The video ends with Haley declaring: "You should know this about me. I don't put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you're wearing heels." Though the deft launch announcement nails the landing, it remains to be seen how far the well-calculated presentation will carry her. Often dismissed for good reason as a party hack, Haley is hated by many in her home state for her role in removing the Confederate battle flag from the State House grounds. Though video makes reference to her leadership during the Dylann Roof murder of churchgoers, it sidesteps the flag issue. Haley comments that after the Roof incident, "We turned away from fear, towards God...We must turn in that direction again." The campaign launch did not go unnoticed by Donald Trump, who posted on his social media site Truth, "Nikki Haley had a hard time making the decision to run for President because she very publicly stated that she 'would never run against the President. He did a GREAT JOB, and was the best President in my lifetime.' I told Nikki to follow her heart, not her ambition or belief. Who knows, stranger things have happened. She’s polling at 1%, not a bad start!!" Trump also remarked that, "The greatest thing Nikki Haley did for our Country, and the Great State of South Carolina, was accepting the position of United Nations Ambassador so that the incredible then Lieutenant Governor, Henry McMaster, could be Governor of South Carolina, where he has done an absolutely fantastic job... That was a big reason why I appointed Nikki to the position—It was a favor to the people I love in South Carolina!" This claim rings true. When Trump first launched his campaign in 2016, he got an early boost in the form of a hearty endorsement from McMaster ahead of SC's first-in-the-South Republican primary. Within weeks after taking office he appointed Haley as UN ambassador, which allowed McMaster to replace her as Governor of SC. Speaking of SC neocons, We can now add Congresswoman Nancy Mace to the list of people who claim to suffer from adverse health affects from the COVID vaccine. Though she dutifully promoted vaccinations in a spot for the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control in 2021, she now states that she regrets her own vaccination. "I now developed asthma that has never gone away since I got the second shot. I have tremors in my left hand, and I have the occasional heart pain that no doctor can explain, and I've had a battery of tests," she stated during a Congressional Oversight Committee hearing on February 8th. Though the hearing was primarily focused on Twitter's censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop story, Mace took the opportunity to grill former Twitter executive, Vijaya Gadde, about the platform's censorship of medical information that did not support the government's vaccination policy. "I find it extremely alarming that Twitter's unfettered censorship spread into medical fields and affected millions of Americans by suppressing expert opinions from doctors and censoring those who disagree with the CDC. I have great regrets about getting the shot because of the health issues that I now have that I don't think are ever going to go away, and I know that I'm not the only American who has those kinds of concerns." Mace's misgivings about the vaccine are too little, too late to be of practical help to those who were compelled to be vaccinated against their will. Hopefully they will provide some belated validation to the "vaccine hesitant." There is increasing chatter about potential candidates for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. The top polling candidates are currently Donald Trump - who disappointed in virtually every conceivable way when he previously held the highest office in the land - and Ron DeSantis, the popular Florida governor and an apparent maverick who has pushed against the federal government on issues like COVID restrictions and the LGBT agenda. However, it appears another familiar face may soon darken the door of the Southern electorate. Last week former SC Governor Nikki Haley did an interview which suggested that she is exploring the possibility of becoming a candidate. Haley is one of the most despised contemporary politicians by Southern heritage supporters. Among this group, she is primarily remembered for taking the opportunity of the mass murder enacted by Dylann Roof to remove the long-contested Confederate flag off the grounds of the SC State Capital. She successfully parlayed her reaction to the tragedy into an entrée into national politics. Ever since, she has been adequately but unremarkably fulfilling her role as a minion of globalist operatives, performing duties such as cheerleading for war while acting as Ambassador to the United Nations. Those of us who are familiar with her shifty behaviour will not be surprised to learn that if Haley were to run, she would be reneging on prior public declarations that she would not run against President Trump. Haley is currently polling in the single-digits as a 2024 contender by most measures, however, she is still on the short list. One wonders if she is hoping to be offered a running-mate position for which she would offer gender, race, age, and regional balance to a Trump candidacy. I would like to think that the political aspirations of the duplicitous neocon would be a non-starter, but it would be premature to predict that. One local SC reporter who has been following Haley since she was a state representative remarks, “I have taken a dim view of Haley over the years, but I have never – and would never – write her off." Perhaps she does have the skills and appeal to fully realize her highest ambitions. Still, we may be consoled by the fact that she is running for Captain of the Titanic - as empty a victory as ever could be. In the five years since the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville made international headlines, much has been written and said about it. Unfortunately, most of the analyses available are worthless. The majority of historically illiterate writers can see only through the skewed lens of the social justice paradigm, and are unable to perceive right-wing thought and activism as anything other than "hate" which threatens progress towards egalitarianism. Thankfully, this week a new book about Unite the Right has been released: A Walk in the Park: My Charlottesville Story, by Padraig Martin. Martin, a frequent writer for Identity Dixie who personally attended the UTR, examines the notable event from his personal perspective while also giving insight to its significance in a larger social and historical context. Martin walks the reader through the events of the years immediately before and after Unite the Right, accompanied by insights drawn his extensive military and business experience and advanced specialized studies. He explains how societal changes during the Obama and Trump eras, as well as his personal experience at Unite the Right, shaped his transformation from a mainstream conservative to dissident political thinker. Martin's detailed description of his experience on August 12, 2017 affirms that of others who were in attendance that day. His noteworthy testimony includes his witness of pre-rally conversations with law enforcement officers, and his arrest and subsequent chance encounter with James Fields, the young man who was arrested for driving his car into a crowd of rally protesters. His story also conveys to the reader the real costs associated with anti-establishment activism, since publicity about Martin's arrest (for carrying a weapon without a proper permit) led to serious consequences in his personal and professional life.
Though not a close follower of the COVID vaccination controversy of the past few years, I am aware that many people have had health concerns related to the vaccine. It can be difficult for a layperson such as myself to distinguish "conspiracy theories" from legitimate issues, especially about a topic that is so fraught with controversy. Therefore, I am glad I found time to watch the newly released documentary, "Died Suddenly," produced by internet show host Stew Peters and former congressional candidate Lauren Witzke. Only an hour long, it is packed with compelling information and well worth your time. The video first presents a series of interviews with members of a profession to which most of us give little thought: embalmers. Their testimonies convincingly demonstrate that in the year after COVID vaccinations were rolled out, a never-before seen phenomenon occurred: long, rubbery clots appeared in the veins of many young and middle-aged people who had died unexpectedly. Ample, gruesome footage of the clots accompanies the testimonies. Testimonies of other knowledgeable professionals are featured, including a former physician for the US military-turned-whistleblower, a renowned high-risk pregnancy physician, an obstetric nurse, and a formerly pro-vaccine investigative journalist. These witnesses attest to a drastic increase in deaths, miscarriages, and a variety of other health problems over the past two years. These shocking increases are also powerfully conveyed with animated graphs. Though most of the focus of the documentary is on "what" has been happening, the question of "why?" is touched on as well. It features statements about global sustainability and the need for depopulation from Bill Gates and members of the World Economics Forum, among others. Several of the whistleblowers look even deeper to the reason the seemingly dangerous jabs were promoted, musing about the powers of darkness that the Bible warned were enemies of God's creation. The alarming and morbid information presented is juxtaposed with montages of cheerful pro-vaccine messaging and celebrity mockery of anti-vaxxers, to eerie effect. The mainstream media is busy denouncing the documentary, but you can still view it on Stew Peter's site, Rumble, Gab, and other platforms. The communist purge of dissident thinkers marches on, and as our Puppet-in-Chief has declared, "White supremacy" is the preeminent threat faced by the nation. Today January 6th participants languish in prison, and pro-life activists have their homes raided by the FBI while getting ready to take their children to school. The claws of the empirical thought police even reach into the past. The Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, upon which I have reported extensively, is a faint memory to many. But the ill-fated Virginia rally, which in another timeline might have been a seminal event in a nativist uprising, is still alive in the minds of so-called anti-fascists who center their identity upon stalking “Nazi, White supremacist” boogeymen wherever they may be found or invented. Even today, anti-fascist researchers meticulously scan photos of the Unite the Right crowd, seeking to identify thus-far anonymous attendees. Last week, one of the Unite the Right attendees was identified as Dr. Chris Healy, a computer science professor at Furman University. He is currently on suspension while the university investigates him for possible connection to White supremacist groups. To be clear, Healy is not suspected or accused of doing anything other than simply attending the event. Furman President Elizabeth Davis released a statement saying, in part, “The views of the organizers of the Unite the Right rally do not reflect the values that I hold, and they are not the values that we have committed to in our vision, mission and values statements. They are harmful to members of our community, diminish a sense of belonging, and inhibit each individual’s opportunity to thrive.” The statement provided numbers for half a dozen counseling resources for those who are traumatized to learn that they may have been unwittingly in the presence of a faculty member who was not a left-wing ideologue. Campus freedom advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has taken up the cause of Healy, writing, “not only is Furman violating its binding contractual obligations, it is also defying a South Carolina law that prohibits employers from dismissing employees like Healy for their protected political activity.” The group has demanded that Healy be returned to the classroom immediately. Predictably, many others are clamoring for his immediate removal. Meanwhile, “fash researchers” are doing high-fives on Twitter, celebrating their collection of another scalp for their cause. One anonymous tweeter responded to the account that doxxed the professor with the statement, “For all the people celebrating this, you're all jumping to conclusions that are false. I know Chris Healy personally. He's a very good, moral man and would never wish harm or discrimination on another person. It's like you're attacking Mr. Rogers. I'd stake my life on this.” Is this anonymous claim true? I don’t know, and neither do those cheering for his ruin. But to the bloodthirsty crowd, tragically, it doesn’t matter. In the eyes of most Americans, the incidents of August 11th and 12th in Charlottesville, Virginia were an anomalous part of recent American history. They believe that White supremacists descended upon an historic Southern city, bringing hatred, havoc, and death. Most have likely given it little thought over the past four and a half years. However, those of us with more than a passing knowledge about Unite the Right know that the mainstream "common knowledge" about the event is far from the truth, and we know that its true significance amounts to far more than a distant blip on the news about an ill-fated summer weekend in Virginia. The truth of the matter, supported by voluminous documentation and eyewitness testimony, is a tale of government treachery and anarcho-tyranny. The attendees of legally permitted rally were intentionally surrounded by a hostile, armed mob of their enemies and left to literally fight for their lives while local, state, and federal "law enforcement" authorities stood idle. After the event went awry, attendees were maligned with propaganda emanating from across the nation - including supposedly right-wing-friendly news outlets and public figures - who attributed intentions to them without regard for accuracy, and portrayed them as the perpetrators of the mayhem. Just as they were being subjected to a coast-to-coast chorus of vile accusations, an unprecedented wave of censorship drove rally organizers and attendees from virtually every public platform where they might refute those accusations. The "insurrection" that took place at the Stop the Steal rally in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, has evoked comparisons to Unite the Right. Though the rally contesting the 2020 election results was different in many ways from the Charlottesville one protesting the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue, there are still important similarities; in fact, one might even say that the "J6" events were a repeat of the same template, writ large. In Charlottesville, law enforcement inaction (or possibly malfeasance) created the pretense of a dangerous uprising, which was followed by successful vilification and persecution of the Alt-Right in 2017. The same thing happened to supporters of President Trump in 2021, when elites seized upon the “insurrection” as an opportunity to declare mainstream right-wingers to be White supremacists and terrorists. Similar to Charlottesville, the criminal courts have been used as a tool for punishing J6 political dissidents. In each case, attendees accused of crimes faced repercussions far beyond what would be typical based on their deeds alone. Numerous reports have emerged of J6 defendants being denied due process, mistreated, or even subjected to torture. Were we to hear of such treatment of political dissidents taking place in another part of the world, we would not hesitate to condemn it as a violation of human rights. Abuse of civil litigation was also weaponized against Charlottesville participants. During October and November of 2021, a long-awaited trial against a group of Unite the Right organizers and notable attendees took place. The Sines v Kessler suit was brought by a group of nationally renowned lawyers and funded by Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and regular citizens who donated to help an elite team of Washington and Wall Street-connected lawyers #SueANazi. The lawsuit is the sort that some have termed a "SLAPP," that is, a strategic lawsuit against public participation. While supposedly brought on behalf of "victims" of the rally, the lead attorney bragged that the aim was to create a deterrent effect against "White supremacists" organizing, and she pledged to "chase them around for the rest of their lives." The plaintiffs included some people who, while seriously injured in the car crash, dubiously attributed their injuries to rally planners and headliners in addition to the driver of the car that struck them. Other plaintiffs, most clearly left-wing activists, were physically unharmed but claimed to suffer residual trauma from their proximity to the rally. The case concluded with a $25 million judgement against the rally organizers, which was touted in the headlines and by the plaintiffs’ attorneys as a decisive victory against "hate." In reality, it was a mixed result. About half of the award amount was against the driver in the fatal car crash, James Fields, a mentally ill indigent who has already been sentenced to hundreds of years in prison and who is unlikely to produce a penny of the money. The rest of the amount, which was divided among various people and organizations, is far less than the $10 million per plaintiff that was sought, and is likely to be reduced further post-trial. Interestingly, the compensatory damages awarded to plaintiffs were either $0 or $1, suggesting that the jury found the plaintiffs disingenuous and not much more likable than the defendants. Though the Sines v Kessler lawsuit, four years in the making, cost the plaintiffs about $25 million (the same as the final judgement), the plaintiffs’ backers have the deep pockets to absorb the cost. By contrast, six or seven-figure judgements are enough to be crippling for the mostly working class and indigent defendants, and the process of the trial itself was financially and personally burdensome. The tactic of pursuing civil litigation to bankrupt ideological opponents of the regime is now being used against groups who participated in J6 as well. So where do things stand now? Some Unite the Right participants have persevered in fighting for their causes, despite being besieged by financial and legal challenges. Some of the biggest names associated with Unite the Right have stepped into relative obscurity, either working in a more subdued manner on their activism or retired altogether. At least one has declared bankruptcy and another is on the lam. One Unite the Right headliner, podcast host Christopher Cantwell, was convicted subsequently for online threats made against a rival. Though his record is spotted with a series of relatively minor crimes, he is now being housed in a communications-restricted unit within the Federal prison system informally known as “Little Guantanamo” alongside “low-level terrorist” Muslim extremists. That this is the fate of a man mostly guilty of word crimes should concern everyone who cares about human rights, not just political dissidents. This is especially true in light of the fact that our ruling regime has determined that “white supremacist terrorism” is now the nation’s preeminent threat. Most of the legal issues emanating from Unite the Right have been resolved, though a lawsuit by the main rally organizer against the city of Charlottesville for violating his First Amendment rights is still winding its way through the court system. It could conceivably end up before the Supreme Court, assuming the vestiges of the United States last longer than the trial process. Over the past four years, the elitist-approved version of Unite the Right became cemented in the minds of most the American public. One may hope that the progression of the communist revolution will eventually lead to greater retrospection and a more accurate understanding of the events of Charlottesville, VA, in August of 2017: The truth that it was a harbinger for the fate of historic America. As I walked along the seashore, this young boy greeted me. He was tossing stranded starfish back to the deep blue sea. I said, “Tell me why you bother, why you waste your time this way. There’s a million stranded starfish, does it matter anyway?” And he said, “It matters to this one. It deserves a chance to grow. It matters to this one, I can’t save them all I know. But it matters to this one, I’ll return it to the sea. It matters to this one, and it matters to me.” In a lot of ways, things look bleak. Tyranny, degeneracy, and injustice are now the norm in our nation, and everything seems to be tracking in the wrong direction. There is faint hope of recapturing our deteriorating institutions. But what can any of us do about it? Some hold signs of protest in front of government buildings. Others complain about hypocrisy and unfairness on social media. Though there is no obvious resistance leader in sight, some people consume "hopium," waiting for the return of Donald Trump or some other savior to put the nation back to right. Others crave revolution, but that is dangerous, uncertain and does not seem to be imminent. So is there anything ordinary people can do about our dismal state of affairs, other than wait for doom or pray for rescue? You can't turn around the Titanic and save the whole nation, that is true. But there are things you can do - realistic, simple, and practical things, that will make a difference within your sphere of influence. Here are a few ideas (and thank you to the Gab community for contributing to this list). Many of these suggestions are low effort and have secondary benefits of improving your health and well-being or saving you money. 1 - Spend your money wisely. Here's a no-brainer: Stop supporting people who hate you and aggressively propagandize against everything you care about. Resolve to stop supporting Hollywood. Cut off your cable. It may take some adjustment, but there are an infinite number of better ways to spend your time than passively absorbing toxic forms of entertainment. Support locally owned businesses that share your values. If you know of a worthwhile business or service, make a point to tell others about it in person and online. Small shops cannot compete with the advertising budget of big corporations and they rely on word of mouth to grow their business. Ask your neighbors for more ideas. Conversely, tell businesses that support degeneracy and tyranny why you won't be patronizing them any more. Buy second-hand goods from thrift stores. This has multiple benefits. You are denying profits to chain stores that sell foreign goods and push a godless agenda. Reusing old items is an exercise of good stewardship that cuts out waste. It will also likely save you money. (In fact, you might even be able to make money. I have an acquaintance who supplements her income by cleaning up thrift-store goods and reselling them on Ebay.) Stop using credit cards and big banks. Make a plan to eliminate debt and move your money to a credit union. As cash depreciates, think about buying goods that will retain value or spending now to build a store of supplies that may increase in cost, such as housewares, dry goods, clothing, medical and emergency supplies. 2 - Think local. Washington DC is an atrocity beyond repair, but, depending on your locality, you may be able to make noticeable a difference in your own back yard. Attend city and county council meetings. Pay attention to what is going on and speak your mind when appropriate. Get to know your local representatives and government leaders. If your kids are in public school, get involved there. Go to school board meetings, and get to know your principals, teachers, and the school curriculum. Ally with other parents. No kids in school? Maybe you can offer something for local school kids anyways. Think of starting or assisting with something like a School Time Bible ministry or voluntary after-school program - it could be for academics, sports, or some kind of special interest. Obviously possibilities will differ depending on where you live. Get to know your sheriff and local law enforcement officers. As things get more precarious at a national level, their role will be more important than ever. If they are worthy of your support, get involved with their charitable or community outreach efforts. Figure out which of your local charities are doing good work, particularly for groups (like Whites, for example) that may be last on the list or even excluded from government or corporate charities. Ask how you can help. They may require simple tasks or materials which can be fulfilled with minimal time and effort. 3 - Watch what you eat. This goes beyond superficial concerns about appearance. Being as mentally and physically healthy as possible makes you better able to serve your family and community. Stop eating fast food and processed food. Buy locally produced foods. Grow a vegetable garden and involve your children. Make and use a composter. Consider joining a vegetable co-op or starting a community garden. 4 - Grow your community. Many of us do not know our neighbors beyond the occasional perfunctory wave "hello" when checking mail. Change that! Organize a block party or beautification project for your street. Check on the elderly folks and let them know you are available if they need help with anything. Attend neighborhood watch meetings. It can be awkward to re-introduce yourself to people whose names you may have forgotten, but building bridges is a worthwhile effort. Join groups where you can network with like-minded people and work to support one another. Having friendly, supportive relationships is both personally rewarding and a smart way to develop alliances for when times get hard. Conversely, re-examine your current associations. Are you spending time, money, and energy on groups and people who do not support you in return, or who are not in line with your goals and beliefs? In some ways these familiar associations are comfortable, but they may not be what is best for you. Consider whether you should focus your time and resources elsewhere. Pay special attention to young people. Remember, they have never known what those of Generation X and older knew as traditional America, and have been led to believe it was always hellscape of evil and oppression for everyone except White men. They have spent their entire lives essentially being gaslit from all sides - entertainment, education, government, and in many cases their parents. The "mindset list" is issued each year to give educators an idea of the perspective of the rising college freshmen they are teaching. The 2022 mindset list states, "When filling out forms, they are not surprised to find more than two gender categories to choose from." It is hard to overstate the degree to which young people today are marinating in a barbaric and toxic Alice-in-Wonderland world. I recently learned that a young man at my church was beaten so badly as to require hospitalization by some classmates who were under the mistaken impression that he had used a racial slur. Another young woman watched a friend get pushed down a flight of stairs after she unwittingly "misgendered" a fellow student. In both cases, school administrators did nothing to oppose the perpetrators - and these incidents took place in a suburban area of a red state. I will say it again: Many, many young people are in desperate need of love, support, and sensible guidance. Think of how you might help them. Luckily the young people I mentioned have good families, but so many do not. Those growing up in this environment may have an unspoken suspicion that things are not as they should be, but be unable to fully understand and articulate what is wrong. If their parents are absent or have succumbed to communist propaganda, there may be no one in their world providing an oppositional perspective. One need not reach out to them with an aggressive counter-propaganda campaign. Even a simple statement like, "You kids have it rough. It wasn't like this when I was in high school," will convey that you care, and give credence to their inner sense that it's the world that's out of whack, not them. 5 - Be a flamekeeper. It will take effort to preserve traditions, knowledge and skills in this age of internet searches and disposable conveniences. What can you do? Set a goal to learn a skill. Learn to play an instrument. Learn a new language. Master a traditional handcraft like woodworking or quilting. Think of skills that might be of use in case of a medical emergency or loss of infrastructure. Consider what your great-great-grandparents did for themselves: Build furniture, make clothing, preserve food for winter, purify water. Learn how to do some of those things. Challenge your kids to develop skills that don't involve electronics. Teach them simple skills that would be needed if the internet went away, like how to read a paper map or use reference books. Speaking of books, start collecting them. Make an effort to establish a personal hard-copy library of reference books, classic literature, accurate history books, and anything else that the ruling elites might want to edit or purge. Collect traditional board games or hobby items. People once entertained themselves without TV and the internet, and they may one day need to do so again. 6 - Watch what you say.
This is one of the most simple suggestions, but also may require the most bravery. One leftist strength is their normalization of language that promotes their ideas in thought and discourse. Even conservative speakers are often quick to adopt words and phrases that implicitly accept leftist framing of issues, like "undocumented immigrants," "homosexual marriage," "transgender," and so forth. Make a conscious effort to stop doing that, and to instead use language that creates a different framing. For example, there is a burgeoning awareness among the general public of the elites' opposition to the interests of White people. A simple but powerful thing you can do to help change the way people think is to change the way you speak. The phrase "anti-White" has moved from the pages of dissident right websites into the edges of the public sphere where it is occasionally uttered by the likes of Tucker Carlson and Ron DeSantis. Keep using it whenever possible. In fact, using phrases like "White people," or "White community," even in an innocuous way, may help deracinated people to start thinking of themselves as part of a group, and awareness is the first step towards creating a meaningful movement against those who oppose us. "Anti-Christian" is another term we could be using more often to bring focus to the purpose of the progressive agenda. And try substituting "communist race ideology" for Critical Race Theory. That is, in fact, a more precise description of what it is. There are endless possibilities. Take notice of any PC conditioning you might have absorbed into your vocabulary, and make a conscious effort to change it. I hope at least some of these suggestions are useful. If you have more ideas, please share them in the comments. |
AuthorThe Carolina Contrarian, Anne Wilson Smith, is the author of Charlottesville Untold: Inside Unite the Right and Robert E. Lee: A History Book for Kids. She is the creator of Reckonin' and has contributed to the Abbeville Institute website and Vdare. She is a soft-spoken Southern belle by day, opinionated writer by night. She loves Jesus, her family, and her hometown. She enjoys floral dresses and acoustic guitar music. You may contact Carolina Contrarian at CarolinaContrarian@protonmail.com. Archives
May 2023
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