The DARVO method: Examining the traditional, foundational American spirit of supremacy, in an age of rising fascism, through the lens of abusive narcissists' DARVO bully tactics.
As I read this essay it occurred to me that a couple of phrases I see on the Twitter and some other social media, although I don't use TikTok, Instagram or really any of the others, are "every accusation is a confession" and "every accusation is projection".
Fascist tactics in particular seem to be to accuse your target/enemy of that which you are guilty or have the intention of performing. Even before Trump and MAGA some "proto-fascists" were publicly expressing thier intentions but once he was elected POTUS it seemed the floodgates started to open and after he ckaimed the 2020 election was stolen they didn't just open so much as collapse. Now conservatives of all stripes seldom hesitate to say the quiet part out loud and often double down if called out about it.
So DARVO is the order of the day it seems and instead of making more people stand up and speak out the bully tactics make university presidents resign after being openly bullied at the highest levels of gov't. I don't have any answers any more than anyone else but I feel and fear of Trump and his cohorts are allowed to regain the WH all of us, both bullies and victims, will regret not trying harder to make sure I it doesn't happen.
Just want to note: the part just after "aint that some shit?", you have "...as part of a larger subset of trying to destabilize, defend, and discredit..." I think you mean "defund", not "defend".
Most appreciative of time you took to build your argument and keep the slide show of your illustrations going which amounted to a perp walk through a hall of shame that could only exist in these United States of Amnesia or Alzheimers....
Personally, I needed some brushing up on DARVO slacktivist methodology and its repertoire of grifter's tactics so well illustrated by the continuing growth of former President (still sticks in my craw, despite the host of grifters who've held and hold office as I type) Trump's Cult of Personality. So easy to get lost in the acronym alphabet soup. Also, doubtful I am impervious to the forms of dementia, amnesia and Alzheimers that Gore Vidal was referring to when he coined that term for the US of A.
Keep on doing and taking the time and boundless energy and patience to try working through not only the snake oil salespersons' spiel but penetrating the never-ending deluge that feeds our Pay2Play cronyocracy, auctioned off mass communications systems and technologies while it all also poisons the civics long since banished to the taboo school curriculum being rolled out by Florida Gov. DeSantis across the many DeSantistans sprouting where the next Dust Bowl is sure to swirl out from that makes sure our off-spring keep their distance from Context in Pay2Play News Reporting & Critical Thinking or any other form of analysis up to and including any post mortems on metaphorical or actual quick to rot and stink flesh.....
Keep on healing US with deliberate rational exercises, playful challenges and thoughtful exchange through meaningful discourse. Won't make this life on a food chain any easier to survive nor will tragedy nor the tragic remains vaporize, but it tends to sand down the paradoxes of the condition of our human condition and cuts down on the gaslighting tactic not mentioned in DARVO's repertoire and that has been historically shown to lead to actual gassing of fellow humans.
Reading the beginning of this essay, I was struck by the parallels between (1) our current resident supremacists who compare themselves to Rosa Parks and other civil rights leaders and (2) our historical supremacists--the Confederates/sympathizers and their present day apologists--who captured and changed the popular narrative about the Civil War, despite their military defeat.
One thing that keeps coming to mind for me as we watch this recent and convenient pivot by the right wing from clear, persistent antisemitism to *pretending* they are now Zionists who have always loved Jews and Israel... is that Supremacy is still at play here too.
It's simply that their system of Supremacy, which of course puts White Christians at the top, doesn't necessarily put ALL the "others" at the same level of being devalued. It seems pretty clear that although they did not care for Jews at all, that their deep disdain for Muslims and Arabs is that much stronger.
So, of course you pretend you're suddenly an ally to Jews, as they actively eradicate the Palestinians through an abuse of excessive military force. And if they can manage to keep Jews and Palestinians riled up, so this conflict remains a drawn out tragedy that kills even more Jews and Muslims, and results in some domestic hate crimes against these people at the same time, then they will feel doubly pleased.
They honestly wish neither one of these groups existed, it's just more politically expedient to side with Jews, because they hate them a tiny bit less, AND of course because they are currently engaged in the kind of rationalized genocide right wingers respect and envy.
“...supremacy is like the water we swim in; accusing someone of acting from supremacy is sort of like standing in a crowd in the rain and accusing your neighbor of being wet. I can implicate you, but I should recognize that I’m drenched. The thing to do is to try to get an umbrella over both of us.”
Well stated, and it brings to mind the idea of white privilege, and the defensive misunderstanding of some, who will bristle: “I’m not privileged; I earned it all by my own work.” But privilege is simply the ability or freedom to ignore supremacy.
But I would quickly put democrats in the same boat.
Especially Chuck Shumer, claiming being anti Zionist is antisemitic. It's not, and it's a tool to fight protesters who are anti genocide & pro Palestine(who are semites).
So while the Republicans are an obvious and easy target, we must not forget we have a bunch of the exact same shit coming from the blue side.
One caveat. Those schools are in fact required by federal law to essentially follow the 1A. That means that calls for genocide cannot be punished by the universities unless they can be construed as threats or can be shown to have inspired actual violence. This "environment" has little to do with Republicans, though they have of course capitalized on it.
"If I were Jewish, I might be inclined to seek allies wherever I might find them." This sentiment is exactly what the right assumes and relies on. And many Jews do follow that inclination. Many of us, however, are very aware of the difference between someone truly concerned about the hatred directed at us for being Jewish, and those who are appropriating the reality of rampant antisemitism as a justification for perpetuating other violently oppressive agendas. They are using the history of western/Christian persecution of Jews - and thereby, using us Jews - as cannon fodder for their own battles to further their supremacist agendas, and many of us (I wish I could say most of us, but I really don't know how the numbers break down) are not only aware of this tactic, but completely jaded by the never-ending frequency with which we are expected to actually fall for it. I don't even argue with them anymore. I just roll my eyes and move on.
Nice work, thanks. I especially liked this definition: "Slurs are how abusive entrenched power names those it intends to abuse, to help make the case for abusing them." It's all about constructing a reality that benefits the one constructing, and who has the power to construct it. As the meme goes: privilege is when equality feels like oppression.
Watching the response to that Congressional hearing, I thought, "They're really good at this, aren't they?" Republicans, I mean. And what they're good at is taking a place, or an institution, and through a relentless smear campaign, turning it into an object of fear and suspicion. Doesn't matter whether it's Harvard University or the entire state of California, it's a "sick" place (DeSantis' response to the hearing was to claim it proves a "sickness" at the heart of all higher education.) And most of all, SCARY, a place or thing that no decent person should want a part of.
One consolation is that this technique doesn't actually work so well with normal people. Offer any normal person a two-week vacation in San Francisco, and they'll jump at the chance. Offer them a place at Harvard for their kids, and they'll grab it with both hands. But on ignorant, fearful people (i.e. the base of the Republican party) it all works wonderfully. Right now, there are tens of millions of Americans walking around imagining that the campuses of our Ivy League universities are places of chaos, where all Jewish students live in fear of the rampaging mobs of Hamas-supporting protesters. And it's just as powerful for them - and just as accurate - as their imagined view of downtown Seattle.
As I read this essay it occurred to me that a couple of phrases I see on the Twitter and some other social media, although I don't use TikTok, Instagram or really any of the others, are "every accusation is a confession" and "every accusation is projection".
Fascist tactics in particular seem to be to accuse your target/enemy of that which you are guilty or have the intention of performing. Even before Trump and MAGA some "proto-fascists" were publicly expressing thier intentions but once he was elected POTUS it seemed the floodgates started to open and after he ckaimed the 2020 election was stolen they didn't just open so much as collapse. Now conservatives of all stripes seldom hesitate to say the quiet part out loud and often double down if called out about it.
So DARVO is the order of the day it seems and instead of making more people stand up and speak out the bully tactics make university presidents resign after being openly bullied at the highest levels of gov't. I don't have any answers any more than anyone else but I feel and fear of Trump and his cohorts are allowed to regain the WH all of us, both bullies and victims, will regret not trying harder to make sure I it doesn't happen.
Just want to note: the part just after "aint that some shit?", you have "...as part of a larger subset of trying to destabilize, defend, and discredit..." I think you mean "defund", not "defend".
Most appreciative of time you took to build your argument and keep the slide show of your illustrations going which amounted to a perp walk through a hall of shame that could only exist in these United States of Amnesia or Alzheimers....
Personally, I needed some brushing up on DARVO slacktivist methodology and its repertoire of grifter's tactics so well illustrated by the continuing growth of former President (still sticks in my craw, despite the host of grifters who've held and hold office as I type) Trump's Cult of Personality. So easy to get lost in the acronym alphabet soup. Also, doubtful I am impervious to the forms of dementia, amnesia and Alzheimers that Gore Vidal was referring to when he coined that term for the US of A.
Keep on doing and taking the time and boundless energy and patience to try working through not only the snake oil salespersons' spiel but penetrating the never-ending deluge that feeds our Pay2Play cronyocracy, auctioned off mass communications systems and technologies while it all also poisons the civics long since banished to the taboo school curriculum being rolled out by Florida Gov. DeSantis across the many DeSantistans sprouting where the next Dust Bowl is sure to swirl out from that makes sure our off-spring keep their distance from Context in Pay2Play News Reporting & Critical Thinking or any other form of analysis up to and including any post mortems on metaphorical or actual quick to rot and stink flesh.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lUB4un8Zzw
Politics - The Great McGinty
The neithernors
Keep on healing US with deliberate rational exercises, playful challenges and thoughtful exchange through meaningful discourse. Won't make this life on a food chain any easier to survive nor will tragedy nor the tragic remains vaporize, but it tends to sand down the paradoxes of the condition of our human condition and cuts down on the gaslighting tactic not mentioned in DARVO's repertoire and that has been historically shown to lead to actual gassing of fellow humans.
Health and balance.
Carry on....
Mitch Ritter\Paradigm Sifters, Code Shifters, PsalmSong Chasers
Lay-Low Studios, Ore-Wa (Refuge of Atonement Seekers)
Media Discussion List\LookseeInnerEarsHearHere
Reading the beginning of this essay, I was struck by the parallels between (1) our current resident supremacists who compare themselves to Rosa Parks and other civil rights leaders and (2) our historical supremacists--the Confederates/sympathizers and their present day apologists--who captured and changed the popular narrative about the Civil War, despite their military defeat.
One thing that keeps coming to mind for me as we watch this recent and convenient pivot by the right wing from clear, persistent antisemitism to *pretending* they are now Zionists who have always loved Jews and Israel... is that Supremacy is still at play here too.
It's simply that their system of Supremacy, which of course puts White Christians at the top, doesn't necessarily put ALL the "others" at the same level of being devalued. It seems pretty clear that although they did not care for Jews at all, that their deep disdain for Muslims and Arabs is that much stronger.
So, of course you pretend you're suddenly an ally to Jews, as they actively eradicate the Palestinians through an abuse of excessive military force. And if they can manage to keep Jews and Palestinians riled up, so this conflict remains a drawn out tragedy that kills even more Jews and Muslims, and results in some domestic hate crimes against these people at the same time, then they will feel doubly pleased.
They honestly wish neither one of these groups existed, it's just more politically expedient to side with Jews, because they hate them a tiny bit less, AND of course because they are currently engaged in the kind of rationalized genocide right wingers respect and envy.
“...supremacy is like the water we swim in; accusing someone of acting from supremacy is sort of like standing in a crowd in the rain and accusing your neighbor of being wet. I can implicate you, but I should recognize that I’m drenched. The thing to do is to try to get an umbrella over both of us.”
Well stated, and it brings to mind the idea of white privilege, and the defensive misunderstanding of some, who will bristle: “I’m not privileged; I earned it all by my own work.” But privilege is simply the ability or freedom to ignore supremacy.
I agree 💯
But I would quickly put democrats in the same boat.
Especially Chuck Shumer, claiming being anti Zionist is antisemitic. It's not, and it's a tool to fight protesters who are anti genocide & pro Palestine(who are semites).
So while the Republicans are an obvious and easy target, we must not forget we have a bunch of the exact same shit coming from the blue side.
One caveat. Those schools are in fact required by federal law to essentially follow the 1A. That means that calls for genocide cannot be punished by the universities unless they can be construed as threats or can be shown to have inspired actual violence. This "environment" has little to do with Republicans, though they have of course capitalized on it.
"If I were Jewish, I might be inclined to seek allies wherever I might find them." This sentiment is exactly what the right assumes and relies on. And many Jews do follow that inclination. Many of us, however, are very aware of the difference between someone truly concerned about the hatred directed at us for being Jewish, and those who are appropriating the reality of rampant antisemitism as a justification for perpetuating other violently oppressive agendas. They are using the history of western/Christian persecution of Jews - and thereby, using us Jews - as cannon fodder for their own battles to further their supremacist agendas, and many of us (I wish I could say most of us, but I really don't know how the numbers break down) are not only aware of this tactic, but completely jaded by the never-ending frequency with which we are expected to actually fall for it. I don't even argue with them anymore. I just roll my eyes and move on.
Nice work, thanks. I especially liked this definition: "Slurs are how abusive entrenched power names those it intends to abuse, to help make the case for abusing them." It's all about constructing a reality that benefits the one constructing, and who has the power to construct it. As the meme goes: privilege is when equality feels like oppression.
Watching the response to that Congressional hearing, I thought, "They're really good at this, aren't they?" Republicans, I mean. And what they're good at is taking a place, or an institution, and through a relentless smear campaign, turning it into an object of fear and suspicion. Doesn't matter whether it's Harvard University or the entire state of California, it's a "sick" place (DeSantis' response to the hearing was to claim it proves a "sickness" at the heart of all higher education.) And most of all, SCARY, a place or thing that no decent person should want a part of.
One consolation is that this technique doesn't actually work so well with normal people. Offer any normal person a two-week vacation in San Francisco, and they'll jump at the chance. Offer them a place at Harvard for their kids, and they'll grab it with both hands. But on ignorant, fearful people (i.e. the base of the Republican party) it all works wonderfully. Right now, there are tens of millions of Americans walking around imagining that the campuses of our Ivy League universities are places of chaos, where all Jewish students live in fear of the rampaging mobs of Hamas-supporting protesters. And it's just as powerful for them - and just as accurate - as their imagined view of downtown Seattle.