The other day I wrote a piece about how the Left can’t argue anymore. My thesis was pretty simple: because they have owned the cultural means of production so long they have lost the need for or ability to argue things logically.
I still believe that. Having rarely been exposed to a conservative argument that haven’t been able to dismiss merely through repeated ridicule the Left pretty much only engages in ad hominem attacks. Even very smart prominent Lefties like James Surowieki, Tom Nichols, or Malcolm Gladwell seem incapable of doing much more than insulting their opponents any more. It all boils down to Bad Orange Man or MAGA simps.
It’s sad, really. I kinda enjoyed reading those guys to get a different perspective. It’s not like living in a conservative bubble is any healthier than living in a liberal one.
But I ran into a slightly different perspective on the matter while cruising Twitter, and I think it deserves consideration: sometimes, at least, the person throwing out an absurd take isn’t actually hoping to convince you of anything. They are, rather, trying to discredit the source and do nothing more. The ad hominem attack is the only point–to destroy the credibility of their opponent, without actually convincing you of any particular argument.
My new Twitter friend laid the argument first in a series of tweets, and at my request on his Substack blog. I implore you to click the link and read his take because he could use the clicks.
“Prebunking” is a term used by “disinfo specialists” – re her bio, Caroline is one. Will get to what “prebunking” is in a moment.
While idea “disinfo specialist” makes them sound a bit like professional oracles – don’t be fooled.
— GeroDoc (@doc_gero) December 13, 2022
What she does have expertise in (I looked over her publication list) seems to be the art and science of propaganda warfare. She understands how to convince people of things (whether they are true or not).
— GeroDoc (@doc_gero) December 13, 2022
“Through the Looking Glass” – is an “explicit” call to join a domestic terrorist group, QAnon.
Obviously, this is a lie on its face – although a subtle one in a way too. It’s in no way, shape, or form an “explicit” invitation to join the QAnon terrorist group, or any group.
6/
— GeroDoc (@doc_gero) December 13, 2022
It goes on and is worth reading, although the Substack article lays the whole thing out.
He clearly has a point. Carolyn Orr Bueno creates her own credibility by referencing her credentials, giving a gloss of academic prestige to her idiocy. She claims to be an expert in “disinformation” and even terrorism, although her doctorate is in Social and Behavioral Sciences, whatever that means. Her dissertation is “During Pregnancy: A Theory-Based Meta-Analysis,” which has as much to do with Q-Anon and White Rabbits as trash collecting.
There’s a reason why there is a white rabbit emoji. It’s not to promote Q-Anon, for God’s sake. It’s a reference to the phrase.
But her assertion has emotional impact, if no logic or evidence behind it. “Follow the White Rabbit” is a normal phrase used all the time in English, originating in Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland and made famous again by the movie The Matrix. It refers not to Q-Anon or terrorism, but going down a rabbit hole and discovering a weird new world. In The Matrix it explicitly refers to discovering a surprising truth.
That being the Twitter Files, obviously. Musk thinks revealing the Twitter Files is a vital insight into how our society is being manipulated. Once you go down the rabbit hole your world will never look the same.
There is zero connection between this and Q-Anon, and our intrepid misinformation purveyor knows that. She is simply “pre-bunking” Musk. Smearing him as a source, just as the New York Times tried to debunk the Balenciaga/pedophilia scandal by linking it to Q-Anon. Anything that contradicts The Narrative is wild conspiracy theory.
That’s an interesting take, and complements mine I believe. The Left may not only be incapable of making an argument, but also uninterested since discussing realities is irrelevant to their real goal, which is manipulating people to believe and do what they want. Truth is an inconvenience to them.
So pre-bunking is just another form of propaganda. It is about ensuring that you trust them and don’t trust others. The white rabbit reference means nothing in reference to Q-Anon and the connection is imaginary, but who actually knows anything about Q-Anon other than that they are bad? Unless you bothered to dig deep into Q-Anon lore you would never know that the connection is wholly invented. It could easily be true, right? You don’t know, and she didn’t care.
This is a fight for establishing credibility, not discovering truth.
It’s an interesting take, and captures a real phenomenon. It’s why the Left always tries to tie their opponents to something everybody agrees is bad. Forcing us to rebut an absurd charge serves their purpose.
Yet I still believe that this tactic has a shelf life, and it isn’t that long a time horizon. The Left is pushing too far too fast, and these tactics will only work for a while before the effectiveness wears off. If you can weather the storm–and Elon Musk has the resources to do that, I think–after a while people will ignore the misinformation purveyors.
I hope that’s true, at least.
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