bad cattitude

Share this post

propagandistic praxis

boriquagato.substack.com

propagandistic praxis

the lifecycle of lies, through gaslighting, and on to acculturation

el gato malo
Nov 21, 2021
256
124
Share this post

propagandistic praxis

boriquagato.substack.com

tales from the little red cat box:

i was having a conversation with longstanding gatopal™ @elonbachman yesterday about what can be essentially termed as:

propagandistic praxis, the process by which lies about unpopular ideas are used to to make them seem unworrying and lead to their being ignored until they are already so widespread that you can claim they are normal, common, and even beneficial.

it’s the meme equivalent of tricking your immune system into not seeing a virus, not reacting to a virus, and then, once it is overrun, embracing the virus as a form of new normal.

it seems to run in the same 4 stages: (where X is an objectionable idea)

  1. we are not going to do X

  2. we are not doing X

  3. we are doing X but only a little and only for some specific reason

  4. we have always done X because X is good.

once you see this construction as an abstract, you’ll see it everywhere in practice.

  • there is not going to be inflation

  • there is no inflation

  • there is some inflation, but it’s transitory and only in a few goods.

  • this is the good kind of inflation!

or perhaps:

  • no one will tell schools to teach critical race theory

  • schools are not teaching CRT

  • schools are teaching some CRT, but it’s important to see these perspectives

  • CRT is the backbone of vital social justice education and historical context!

Get everything you need starting at $5 | Cat posters, Cat art, Matchbox art

it’s not that dissimilar from the classic clinton quagmire defense of “deny, deny, deny, it’s old news” except that this structure can be used more proactively and pre-emptively.

Obey The Kitty Propaganda T-Shirt - Cat Bandit | Cat Shirts Sponsoring  Rescue Cats

it works in the obverse as well.

  • vaccines will stop the covid pandemic because the vaxxed cannot get or spread covid.

  • vaccines ARE stopping the covid pandemic.

  • there are some breakthrough cases in the vaccinated

  • those with 2 doses are no longer vaxxed, you’re going to need 3, just like we always said you would.

that last part is the orwellian revisionist history play.

control the past, control the future.

control the present, control the past.

Top 1 Eastasia 1984 Quotes & Sayings

this starts to look a bit more like what investment bankers call the “sun, the moon, and the stars pitch.”

to get you to hire them and sign the engagement letter, they promise you the sun, the moon, and the stars.

once you’re locked in, they walk you ways down the road and say “hey, you know what, i think it’s only the sun and the moon. we cannot get you the stars.” and you think “OK, that’s still pretty good!” and you keep walking.

then, it’s “sorry, it’s just the moon, no sun.” but you’ve come a long way by now, the sunk cost fallacy sinks in, and so you accede.

then, it’s yeah, no moon either, here’s whatever we can scrabble together… and by then you’re too tired and demoralized to fight it.

The Sad Kitten Look | Voltron Amino

it LOOKS like an accident, but it is, in fact, a type of pitch so deliberate and so contrived that is actually has a name. they teach it.

guess which stage we’re currently reaching?

Twitter avatar for @aginnt
Aaron Ginn @aginnt
Already jumping the shark to fourth booster.
5:06 AM ∙ Nov 17, 2021
85Likes24Retweets

2020 was “you need to do these painful things until we get a vaccine.”

2021 was “the vaccine is here you can rejoice”

but that didn’t last long, did it? masks came RIGHT back. (then they went to “we should always have used masks. masks are good…) breakthroughs started rapidly. soon it was “you need to get vaxxed AND keep restrictions.”

then it was we’re not going to mandate boosters.

now they are clearly about to. it’s already starting.

it’s “just for some people.”

see the pattern? i mean, it’s already spurting out into 4th boosters.

Cat Propaganda by cat-gray-and-me78 on DeviantArt

anyone want to bet that 2022 is not the year they start trying to make endless boosters an annual or even a semi-annual requirement to be “fully vaxxed”?

because they will unless they get stopped.

this propaganda playbook runs like clockwork and it’s as easy to predict as the arrival of swiss trains once you see the structure and the erasure of history (or even its seasonal inversion) is just another part of the structure.

every summer, there is no covid seasonality by region. every winter, there is.

predictable as a lunar eclipse.

understanding the game that’s being played is half the battle in terms of of not being caught up in and fooled by it.

it’s also a great way to shout out the coming moves the propogandists will undertake which, in turn, diminishes their credibility and enhances yours.

lots of us were saying all summer that the seasons would flip and covid would move north and that when it did, this winter would be as bad or worse than last winter despite all the vaccination.

many tried to claim otherwise. now they are out on a limb.

the pivot from “we have this handled” to “you need forever boosters” will leave already torn credulity in tatters.

you can only run this trick so many times before the audience cottons on.

help it along. find pieces and tear. dig out the past pronouncements where people said outlandish and dishonest things then immediately went back on them.

Cat Tearing Up Toilet Paper

this is the internet age and this medium has a memory like no other.

do not let history be picked apart and re-written.

make the past accurate again.

here, i’ll start:

124
Share this post

propagandistic praxis

boriquagato.substack.com
124 Comments
SimulationCommander
Writes Screaming into the Void
Nov 21, 2021

You're right on about the Clinton playbook and how it's being followed now.

1) This isn't happening

2) This isn't happening

3) It's possible it's happening a little

4) This thing has always been happening

5) Shut up, racist

Expand full comment
Reply
Alanito
Nov 21, 2021

Another interesting explanation about this moment:

WHY DO SO MANY STILL BUY INTO THE PANDEMIC NARRATIVE?

There are 3 groups immune to this effect of the manipulative narratives:

1. Those who've been abused and are suspicious of manipulation attempts,

2. Those with religious, spiritual belief in a creator, and are aware of evil,

3.those who have been scapegoats in their family, and are independent, or have had a hard life and so have life sense.

Explains a lot for me personally. Others here?

It's not about politics. It's been done "on the right" just as much, just not as much now. You're right about... forewarned is forearmed.

Expand full comment
Reply
15 replies
122 more comments…
TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 el gato malo
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing