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The 4Chan Guide to Rhetoric

This is a very good summary of how to meme effectively takes into account everything from Aristotle to GamerGate.

THE ON MEMEWAR GUIDE TO WRITING BETTER PROPAGANDA

THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: CATCH PEOPLE’S ATTENTION AND HOLD IT BY BEING ENTERTAINING

KNOW YOUR TARGET:

Have a specific target in mind (either a person, or a well-developed stereotype). Know the narratives they use to make sense of the world.

Know what they are likely to find entertaining.

WRITE TO THE NARRATIVE:

Use a message that the target is likely to agree with.

If this is not possible, frame the message that they will disagree with in terms that they are likely to agree with. Ensure it fits enough so that it is not just recognizable, but is considered true without having to think about it. Use vague terms that are likely to have wide appeal, and can be applied to whatever the target has in mind.

BE ENTERTAINING:

Ensure that the propaganda is concise enough to be easily understood and digested.

Follow the setup/payoff model:

Setup: A familiar premise that sets expectations.

Payoff: An unexpected development that subverts the expectation.

The Payoff must be delivered quickly enough to trigger the ‘sudden realization’ that induces humor.

The setup and payoff can be Explicit (A guy walks into a bar) Contextual (your boss farts in a meeting) or Ironic (A towtruck stuck in a ditch)

Use forms and motifs from propaganda that is already successful. This ensures recognizability, which is eye-catching.

It also means there is a high likelihood that the person will find it entertaining.

EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION:

A strong emotion will overwhelm the target’s ability to rationally think through the implications of the message. Any emotion can achieve this. A very funny piece, an enraging piece, or a piece that causes dread or demoralization can be effective. AS LONG AS IT RESONATES WITH THE TARGET’S NARRATIVES.

HAVE A PURPOSE:

The propaganda should work to convey a narrative message. This can be a simple message about a person (or group of people).

IE, Joe Biden or all Democrats are stupid.

This can also be a way to contextualize events or relations.

IE, Joe Biden wants to tax us to death, the Democrats are running up the deficit.

The best messages are short and simple.

Overtime, the cumulative effect of many short messages will change a person’s worldview.

Some of the memes being produced in accordance with this guidance, and utilizing the latest DALL-E AI graphics engine, are very good. One example:

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Vibrancy in the UK

The English are beginning to learn that their former subjects didn’t really take to the English way of doing things after all.

Almost 90 retail leaders, including the bosses of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Boots and WH Smith, have written to the government demanding action on rising retail crime, in which violent criminals are “emptying stores”.

The retailers, who also include the bosses of Aldi, Primark and Superdrug, call for the creation of a new UK-wide aggravated offence of assaulting or abusing a retail worker – as already exists in Scotland – which would carry tougher sentences and require police to record all incidents of retail crime and allow the allocation of more resources.

“The police consistently tell us that a lack of data about these offences means they have no visibility about the nature or scale of the issue,” the letter says.

The 88 retail bosses have asked for a meeting with the home secretary, Suella Braverman, to discuss the issue after a meeting with the minister for crime, Chris Philp, led to the promise to develop an action plan.

The call comes after retailers, including the Co-op and John Lewis, highlighted what they said was a worsening issue. A survey of members of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents all the major chains, found levels of shoplifting in 10 of the biggest cities had risen by an average of 27% this year.

Meanwhile, the police’s own data for one major retailer shows that forces failed to respond to 73% of serious retail crimes that were reported, while 44% of retailers in the BRC’s annual crime survey rated the police response as “poor” or “very poor”.

Apparently the English dirt isn’t magic either. Of course, all of the “retail leaders” complaining about immigrant crime are still funding advertising that relentlessly pushes Africans into every single ad on British television. To judge by the advertising, and by the advertising for the shows, you’d think that BBC stood for the Botswana Broadcasting Corporation.

However, speaking of British television advertising, I was excited to spot family number 15 for the man who appears to be the primary black actor available for hire as a family man this last week. That makes 12 white wives and 3 black ones for him so far.

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The Saga of the Baen Exemplar

Jon is a sociopathic grifter who goes through life trying to insert himself into other peoples’ troubles to try and score clout for himself. He starts shit for others and then cries how he’s a victim. When you take exception to him fucking people over for clout he will say everybody but him is a secret leftist sell out and you just hate him because he’s “Christian”. Do not trust him. He’s fucking cancer. Seriously. I can’t accentuate this enough. Trust him at your own peril. That dude is the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing.

  • Larry Correia, 25 September 2023

I have zero interest in saying anything negative about Larry Correia or contributing to the never-ending stream of Baen-related drama. I’ve never had any problem with him, personal or professional. He’s a significant figure of the right-wing cultural scene and I like both his Monster Hunter and Grimoire novels. Quantum Mortis: A Man Disrupted was a conscious attempt to out gun-porn Larry in a science fiction setting. And even our disagreement about the ideal way to handle the Hugo Awards led directly to my favorite experience of my entire literary career, the epic two-year Rabid Puppies rampage, for which I will always be grateful.

However, given the public nature of these accusations about a valued contributor to both Arktoons and Unauthorized, I would be remiss if I did not clearly state for the record that Larry Correia is flat-out wrong about Jon Del Arroz. Larry is flat-out and provably wrong. I can testify, from personal experience, that Jon is neither “fucking cancer” nor a “vile fucker”, and that it’s both unprofessional and incorrect for any established writer to assert that he is.

Unauthorized subscribers who wish to hear Jon’s take can watch his UATV-exclusive video on the subject.

And since we’re speaking of Jon Del Arroz, I’m pleased to observe that his novel JUSTIFIED, the first in The Saga of the Nano Templar, launched in episodic format on Arktoons today.

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Immigration of Color = Bankruptcy

It’s interesting to see a post from six years ago turned into a meme. But it’s even more interesting to see how no one who purports to be an economist ever bothers to apply the financial reality to their empty theories about immigration being “good for the economy” and the need for more skilled workers somehow justifying mass immigration.

The United States, South Africa, and Zimbabwe all provide copious historical information on the economic results of changing the demographics of the population. And the per capita lifetime budgetary impact makes it clear that even a relatively small demographic shift on the order of 10 percent can have a massive and lasting impact on the wealth of nations.

For example, the annual cost to White Americans to subsidize the population of Black Americans is $420.7 billion dollars and rising. As the white population falls as a percentage of the population, so does the ability of the various levels of government to continue providing that level of subsidy. And this doesn’t even begin to take into account the additional effect of declining average IQ levels.

The dirt is not magic.

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China Signs On

The pagans may not be believers, but they appear to recognize true evil when they see it, and by their adoption of Russia’s rhetoric, it appears they have some idea with whom they’re at war.

Beijing has labeled Washington the “true empire of lies” as it dismissed allegations contained in a new report by the US State Department, which accused China of “global information manipulation.”

“Some in the US may think that they can prevail in the information war as long as they produce enough lies. But the people of the world are not blind,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday. It added that “more and more people in the world” are seeing through America’s “ugly attempt to perpetuate its supremacy” with lies.

The US has a long history of manipulation and disinformation campaigns, the ministry continued, citing a number of examples spanning from the early Cold War period to the present day.

Of course, it’s also possible that the Chinese diplomats just recognize the “empire of lies” as effective anti-Clown World rhetoric with a strong dialectical base and are adopting it on that basis. But while they’ve been at asymetric “unrestricted” war with the USA since 1999, they have not been open about it. Clearly, that is changing.

UPDATE: Interesting. The Chinese Foreign Ministry actually put out a press release dedicated to this one specific issue.

Q: The US Department of State released a report on September 28, claiming that China has invested billions of dollars to spread disinformation globally. It says that China’s “global information manipulation” is not simply a matter of public diplomacy – but a challenge to the integrity of the global information space, and if unchecked, Beijing’s efforts could result in a sharp contraction of global freedom of expression in the future. What is China’s response?

A: The US Department of State report is in itself disinformation as it misrepresents facts and truth. In fact, it is the US that invented the weaponizing of the global information space. The relevant center of the US State Department which concocted the report is engaged in propaganda and infiltration in the name of “global engagement”. It is a source of disinformation and the command center of “perception warfare”. From Operation Mockingbird which bribed and manipulated news media for propaganda purposes in the Cold War era, to a vial of white powder and a staged video of the “White Helmets” cited as evidence to wage wars of aggression in Iraq and Syria earlier this century, and then to the enormous lie made up to smear China’s Xinjiang policy, facts have proven time and again that the US is an “empire of lies” through and through. Even some in the US, such as Senator Rand Paul, acknowledged that the US government is the greatest propagator of disinformation in the history of the world.

Some in the US may think that they can prevail in the information war as long as they produce enough lies. But the people of the world are not blind. No matter how the US tries to pin the label of “disinformation” on other countries, more and more people in the world have already seen through the US’s ugly attempt to perpetuate its supremacy by weaving lies into “emperor’s new clothes” and smearing others.

Remarks on the US State Department’s Report Targeting China, 30 September 2023

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The Material Side of the Spiritual War

Boyzone singer Shane Lynch testifies to the way the pop music industry is as openly and knowingly Satanic as the 80’s metal hair bands aspired to be:

The [music] industry is destructive – let me take it straight to God and to the spiritual world. We have the Holy Spirit that guides us and protects us in the name of Christ, but the demonic side of the music industry is very real too. That’s how I came to God; through understanding the demonic side.

I was certainly interested in being mysterious; it gave me a character, it gave me some substance that I could hold on to. Why I portrayed myself in those ways I don’t know – maybe I was trying to prove something. But it intrigued me, the darker side of the world. Ouija boards, séances, tarot card reading, all that kind of spiritual stuff really got hold of me. That all came from our very first album launch; it was a Halloween party in a big mansion, but that was super demonic. We were just young kids, [and we thought]: It’s a bit of fun. All the record company and the journalists are there, and here we go. Not all music is bad, but the majority of it is [designed] to take you away from Christ, 100 per cent.

Do you mean in terms of the lyrics or the big players in the industry?

Both. Lyrically and big players. I’ve been in rooms – at the top of the top – where albums are prayed over demonically. Music is prayed over demonically that goes out to the radio stations, to the public. When you see that stuff, it’s frightening.

What do you mean by “prayed over demonically”?

Rituals, ceremonies, everything to give light to the devil, to Satan. It’s a satanic music industry.

Do you mean figuratively, or literally?

Literally. Yes.

The ticket takers don’t just have sympathy for the Devil. They know what they are doing and they are actively serving him. From Bob Dylan and Mick Jagger to Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and Doja Cat, they are literal servants of Satan.

That’s why the pop stars all hate, fear, and mock Christians.

It’s why I tend to prefer listening to classical music, much of which was written in the active service of Jesus Christ. There are few negative moods that a Bach concerto can’t cure.

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The Kids are All Right

They’re going to be, anyhow. The youth have clearly grasped that the older generations are not going to defend them or their nations, and that the burden of action is going to fall upon them. And they’ve also observed that vigilante justice is the only justice that exists any more.

No doubt the wicked Swedish government that failed to protect this girl and refused to punish her rapist will throw its full weight against these young vigilantes. But the massive hypocrisy this entails will only accomplish the precise opposite of its objectives and encourage a wave of similar, but more silent reprisals.

I’ve always said that the wars that will bring about the end of the United States would begin when someone from the wrong family is victimized by one group of invaders or another. Apparently this may hold true for less heterogeneous polities as well. It will be interesting to learn if this girl is actually Swedish or if she’s also a foreigner. If she is actually a daughter of the vikings, it won’t be surprising if one day, after the end of the mass repatriations, there are statues built to honor her. These are precisely the sort of acts that become myths and legends over time.

Consider, for example, the founding legends of Rome, and the rape of Lucretia that ended the Roman monarchy.

It’s already beginning in Latin America too. I won’t link to the report, since it’s worse than the average horror movie, but a young African woman recently learned the very hard way that it’s a fatal mistake to physically attack the daughter of a cartel lord.

All across the West, people have lost faith in their government to maintain order. And now they are beginning to realize that there is no cavalry, and that if anyone is going to protect their family, if anyone is going to protect their nation, it’s going to have to be themselves.

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Friday Arktoons

BLACK 5 Episode 4: Hammer Falls

FAIRY DOOR Episode 44: The Color of Sunbeams

THE SIEGE OF THE BLACK CITADEL Episode 13: Breaking the Gates

THE GRYPHON OF TIRSHAL Episode 4: Don’t You Feel It?

CHUCK DIXON PRESENTS: ADVENTURE Episode 94: The Brigand

三更战 Episode 4: 无处不在

THE GOLDEN AGE Episode 11: Even in Arcadia, Death Comes

STONETOSS Episode 228: Trespass

FULLSTRIKE! Episode 24: Best Laid Plans

CHATEAU GRIEF Episode 297: Gobsmoked

Stonetoss is coming in VERY hot today. Don’t miss it!

Sen. Feinstein Dead at 90

Senator Dianne Feinstein has died at the age of 90. Feinstein returned to the Senate in May after a two-month battle with shingles, where she appeared to be unaware of her own extended absence. When a reporter asked him how her colleagues have received her upon her return, she said, “No, I’ve been here. I’ve been voting.” She concluded by scolding the reporter.

While some have assumed this clears the way for Gavin Newsom to ascend to the Senate, that’s not necessarily a safe assumption given the current state of the Democratic Party. In fact, given the increasingly geriatric state of the politicians in both parties, I don’t think we can entirely rule out the possibility that Feinstein will run again for re-election, and win, in 2024.

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The Tragic Error

The Kurgan explains how situational advantages are generally insufficient to break ingrained patterns of behavior for the Gamma.

The Alpha may actually get quite stung at rejection, especially if it is public and from a high status woman. His ego and need to be seen as the Alpha may in fact also cause him to be quite caustic or dismissive, but if so it will be only in the moment and temporarily. After all, no real Alpha wants to be seen as a pitiful shadow of a man that is pining after some woman. Besides, there are usually several waiting in the wings for him happy to heal his broken heart. In the Alpha mind, getting angry at rejection from a woman is essentially below his dignity and status to do. He may privately be quite hurt, but rage, even to himself, goes against his nature, which is essentially generous and expectant of plentifulness (be it women, business, fame, and so on). The Alpha is a reacher for things, including women, but usually not a desperate grabber in the normal course of affairs.

The Delta is more of a balanced individual and generally will take rejection on the chin, be hurt, then move on with his life and try and find peace where he can. These are the majority of well balanced men.

The Gamma however has wholly different internal mechanisms and they end up being the really creepy and dangerous ones, even if they present as easy-going, liberal, modern metrosexual men in touch with their feminine side. In almost diametric opposition to Sigmas, the Game has a profound (and un-admitted) lack of self-confidence. This is a root cause in their very core and they try to cover up that existential hole in their soul with all manner of fakery. Be it money, status, recognition by the masses for their achievements (real or most often imagined or “manufactured”), it is never enough to really fill that essential lack of self-truth.

A Gamma can be a billionaire (see Bezos) and still behave in a completely creepy/loser/gamma way with women. It is true that and Alpha or a Sigma or even a Delta, that is really a millionaire or billionaire can have his pick of women willing to be his sexual partners, and many of those women, initially attracted by the power, wealth and status, may even end up having genuine feelings for the man in question, but there is a core difference in the dynamics with a Gamma.

The billionaire alpha, sigma or even delta, may be perfectly aware of the sexual liaison with women being purely transactional. Their temporary thrill at being on a private jet, or even just seen with the billionaire in question, is enough for them to permit sex between them. The Delta will eventually be a bit sad at such an arrangement and over time get disillusioned with this woman or perhaps even women in general if the pattern repeats. An Alpha may even prefer the situation to be transactional and be fine with it and get a new “performer” once he bores with the first one, or have multiple ones in play or make a proper business contract out of a “marriage”. A Sigma may do the same, or become a pimp, or a celibate monk by choice. But a Gamma will simply think that his material wealth gives him the right and the authority to do what he imagines Alphas do or get away with doing. And this is the tragic error.

Jeff Bezos really is the quintessential example of the triumph of behavioral patterns over situational status. But if you want a visual example of what the Kurgan is describing, you can’t do better than watch the clip from The Big Bang Theory, when Stuart dreams of being what he thinks is an Alpha dating Penny, complete with top hat.

For some reason, Gammas have very strange ideas about hats…

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