7 Signs of Controlled Opposition

Postcards from the Edge of Reason lists seven signs that your saviour du jour is just another gatekeeper:

  1. Inexplicable popularity with conservatives.

The first time you heard about Big Conservative Thing was probably someone in media telling you how popular it has already become. No one can explain how, and most likely nobody you know could say they knew anything about it when it was small. Their rise is described as miraculous, or a movement, but the growth was very sudden.

  1. Fleecing massive amounts of money off of conservatives.

Gee. With all those resources in one pool, we’ll surely see some positive change, right? Right? Don’t hold your breath, mate. But do expect someone to extol the virtues of “taking stands” and “making statements” and other ways of paying them to tweet things about other famous people.

  1. Alleviates the pressure of the current situation by saying, “Something is being done.”

Somewhere, out there. You may have had a bee in your bonnet about some issue, and Controlled Opposition may have even gotten you riled up about it, ready to kick names and all that. Even just listening to someone talk about it was cathartic.

  1. Offers their entertainment value as part of some vague solution.

This is closely tied in with the last two. One way or another, it always comes back to them leading the way forward. They assure you that you’re all part of something big together.

  1. Leaves the true power of action entirely within the System.

The closest they ever come to offering a solution is to reinforce processes inside the System, or to leave solutions entirely in the hands of System officials.

  1. Portrays the managers of the system as incompetent, weak, cowardly, clumsy, or even greedy, but never evil and complicit.

This deflects true responsibility from those in power. Worse, it appeals to our natural inclination to say this about leaders we disagree with. But this is all part of the show that starts with politicians saying one thing and doing something else with entirely different results.

  1. Irregular ties to suspicious folk.

How many CIA agents do you know? How many criminals? How many billionaires? You may know zero, or a handful. But you probably don’t know many, and you probably haven’t received large sums of money from them, or acted as godfather to their kids.

The most reliable sign is the first one, the way that they suddenly pop up out of nowhere and their “incredible rise” is celebrated by the media and accepted unquestioningly by the average conservative. And here are a few additional signs:

  • This isn’t their first rodeo. Look into the background of all these manufactured characters and you’ll inevitably discover a previous attempt at becoming a star, from Ben Shapiro’s playing violin on TV as a “child prodigy” to the “modeling” of various female gatekeepers.
  • They publish books even though they’re obviously not writers. I’ve written and published more books than most of these “bestselling authors” combined, and I’m not even particularly prolific. The one “popular book” is there to justify their marketing as a relevant intellectual figure.
  • They’re poorly read and are usually known to have one major influence, who is the only intellectual figure they ever reference because it’s the only one they can reference. How much Jung do you think Jordan Peterson actually read when he didn’t even bother reading the Bible once?
  • They’re connected to other manufactured creatures. See: Jordan Peterson and Andrew Tate.
  • They travel a lot. Most genuinely successful people don’t travel that much because their success permits them to live comfortable lives in the manner they prefer. If you’re in LA on Saturday, DC on Sunday, and Budapest on Monday, you’re not successful, you’re an actor working a PR job.

It’s not an accident that these signs tend to point to The Sound of Freedom being a gatekeeper operation. That doesn’t make it a bad thing, per se, especially given the comparisons and context. But it does point to the improbability that enthusiastically anointing those involved with the film as conservative leaders will end well.

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Tell Me You’re a Ticket-Taker

Without coming right out and telling me you’re a ticket-taker.

The sign of a ticket-taker: a colleague describes Huw Edwards, the BBC presenter who has been accused of paying young men to expose themselves.

“I admire the professionalism of both of them and remain impressed by Huw’s sensational rise through the BBC from humble beginnings in Bridgend.”

Key words: “sensational rise”. But wait, there’s an additional clue right there in the same article.

“We agreed that delving into the backgrounds of news journalists such as ourselves wasn’t appropriate.”

Indeed. One wouldn’t want the public looking too closely into the real reasons for those sensational rises and amazing careers, would one?

Not all material success is fake, but most success in Clown World is, at a minimum, manufactured. It’s manufactured and then distributed to those who are willing to render the required services and provide the necessary hostages. And the sooner you accept this reality, the more effective your independent efforts will be, as you will stop chasing illusions and wasting your best efforts playing a game that is rigged against you and everyone else unwilling to take their tickets.

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The Media Knows

Never talk to the media. Observe that the media executives themselves never respond to inquiries from other media organizations. Notice that ESPN is resolutely refusing to respond to questions from Outkick and Fox News about a misleading edit of a clip it broadcast recently.

OutKick emailed ESPN Vice President of Communications Josh Krulewitz the following questions Thursday:

Josh,

I would like to send an inquiry about the ESPYs taking a video of Will Cain out of context to make him look bad.

Does ESPN stand by its decision to edit the video?

Who approved the clip?

What level of management approved the idea to edit the clip that way?

Does ESPN feel it should issue a statement correcting the record?

Krulewitz and ESPN did not respond. Nor did they respond to a Fox News inquiry.

If the media knows it’s foolish to talk to the media, then that’s all you really need to know. Keep your ego in check, don’t seek the attention they offer, don’t permit them to claim they talked to you, and thereby avoid giving them the evidence they require to make their usual strawmen.

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The Ink Wall Crumbles

Once more, we learn that /pol/ is always right. The “BBC Presenter” is confirmed to be Huw Edwards, the presenter of BBC News at Ten.

Huw Edwards’ wife Vicky Flind names him as BBC star at centre of ‘£35k sex pics scandal’: Statement issued on presenter’s behalf claims he is in hospital suffering from ‘serious mental health issues’ – as Met Police say ‘no offence has been committed’

It’s just so obnoxious to see how the media doesn’t hesitate to go out of their way to identify people of whom they don’t approve, while fighting like rabid dogs to hide the identities of celebrities and their fellow media figures whenever they are accused of wrongdoing of some kind.

Stars rally round Huw Edwards as John Simpson and ex-BBC stars Dan Walker and Jon Sopel share support for their former colleague.

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The Name of the Accused

It’s fascinating to see how the mainstream media is more than willing to identify common people accused of crimes or even badthought – even going to the trouble of spelling out their real names in the event of their stage name being better known – while at the same time staunchly refusing to identify celebrities, sports figures, and media personalities who are accused of much more serious crimes.

/pol/ reports the “BBC Presenter” is Huy Edwards. And /pol/, of course, is always right.

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They Do Love Their Pedos

It’s fascinating to observe the juxtaposition between the way the media immediately jettisons anyone suspected of possessing Christian beliefs with the way it circles the wagons and aggressively protects accused sexual predators like Jimmy Saville, Cyril Smith, Arthur C. Clarke, Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, Philip Schofield, and the current “BBC Presenter” it refuses to name.

And given what we’ve already heard in the last year concerning a) abortion and b) transgenderism, I’d estimate it will be about 18 months before we are reliably informed that “pedophilia is a Jewish value”.

UPDATE: The BBC is investigating “sensitively”. Which is to say, its executives are desperately attempting not to see or hear anything. Notice that it took nearly two months and a public outcry before the BBC executives even began looking into the allegations.

  • May 19: Alleged victim’s family complained to the BBC, asking for the presenter to be told to stop sending their child money.
  • June X: The accused host allegedly attended a party alongside BBC senior executives.
  • July 7: The BBC star was said to have been taken off air – but has not been suspended.
  • July 8: It is revealed the presenter could face a police probe over potential crimes which carry a maximum 14-year prison sentence
  • July 9: Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer holds ‘urgent talks’ with BBC boss Tim Davie.

UPDATE: Syria bans the BBC

BBC journalists will no longer be able to legally work in Syria after the country’s authorities revoked their accreditation.

This isn’t related to the BBC sex scandals, but will likely prove to be an important future vector for reducing the importance of the media and its ability to push an international narrative. If all the BRICS countries follow suit and ban all Western media companies, it will severely restrict their reach, their revenues, and their influence.

Eventually, everyone from individuals to entire nations will learn the necessity of refusing to talk to the media.

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Surrender Monkeys Urge Surrender

It reads like a vicious American parody, but this is an actual editorial published by Le Monde in response to the recent invader riots that have literally set France on fire.

Urban riots: the need for appeasement
EDITORIAL
Le Monde

While it is necessary to question the roots of the violence in France following the death of young Nahel M., the seriousness of the situation requires us all to call for calm. This is first and foremost in the interests of the inhabitants of neighborhoods considered difficult, with whom we must show solidarity.

Yes, because appeasement is famous for having worked out so well for the appeasers. At this point, no Frenchman or Frenchwoman can possibly continue to imagine that the French elite, or the liberal democracy which purports to uphold, is even remotely conducive to the long-term survival of the French nation.

Where is La Résistance when it’s even more desperately needed than it was before? And why does anyone bow before an elite so aptly derided as “cheese-eating surrender monkeys”.

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Not Even Hot Girls

Should talk to the media. The Cavinder Twins discover that the media lies before it even puts its lies into print.

“The interview for this article was obtained by a false pretense that it would be written about our life after NIL, why we didn’t take our fifth year, our passions, and business opportunities,” she wrote. “We were specifically told via the publication the context would be to ‘see the Cavinders as a very important story not only in the context of women’s college sports but the new media culture and business. They’re building a hugely successful brand, and they’re at the forefront of a new space, and we think that’s exciting and newsworthy.’

“We discussed with our team and met the media opportunity openly after reviewing the intentions. Haley and I welcomed this man into our home. He followed us throughout the entire weekend asking us questions and understanding what goes on in our daily lives. After the weekend, we had a sit down interview in our kitchen for over an hour and was only asked one question regarding our ‘physical looks.’

“The subsequent article not only demeaned our athletic and business accomplishments, it furthered the narrative that hard working, creative and driven women can only do well if they are deemed attractive. The piece disregards our work ethic and dedication toward NIL and business endeavors. He fails to acknowledge the young girls/woman [sic] that follow us and that we work so hard to inspire. Instead, he degrades us down to ‘hot girl(s).’ We agreed to do the interview and wanted to support a woman ran news outlet. We are both disappointed and disgusted by this journalism practice and blatant sexist trope. We only wish to inspire young woman [sic] to chase their dreams, work hard, think big. Now we must also defend them against men that wish to sum their potential to physical appearance.”

Hanna Cavinder Calls Out Publication for Interview ‘Obtained by a False Pretense’, 14 June 2023

It’s hard to blame the stars of social media for not understanding the fundamentally dishonest nature of the mainstream media. But I have no doubt they’ll learn very quickly that when one has an audience of thousands, or even millions, one has no use whatsoever for the dubious benefits dangled by the narrative police.

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Turning the Tide!

The long-awaited Ukrainian offensive has been launched and it is succeeding on every front, if the British media is to be believed.

The battle the world has been waiting for: As Ukraine’s counter-offensive gets underway, a breakdown of what has been achieved so far, with Russia on the backfoot and Western weapons turning the tide.

The long-awaited moment has arrived: Ukraine’s counter-attack, for which the country has been preparing since late last year, is now underway. Kyiv is saying nothing, but Ukrainian officials, Western analysts and Russian military bloggers all agree the attack began early this week with fighting ramping up across the frontline since then.

Ukrainian officials say there will be no single thrust and the offensive is designed as a series of operations that will take months to play out. What we have seen over the last week is merely the opening gambit. But things are already starting to take shape.

Ukraine is attacking on three fronts in the east, south-east, and south of the country: Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia last month; Velyka Novosilka & Novodonetsk, in Donetsk oblast; and Orikhiv, in neighbouring Zaporizhzhia.

I just like to post these things for the record, so they aren’t buried in a few weeks if events don’t proceed in the way the media was first reporting them. I particularly enjoyed the self-congratulatory “Western weapons turning the tide”.

I wonder how long it will be before the British media is desperately denying that any weapons or personnel were supplied to the Ukrainian forces or involved in the offensive?

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