[quote=Milosia2]How Warped Are Trump-loving, White Supremacist Christian Nationalists? Warped Enough to Idolize the Taliban.
Conservatives and the Right
by Ian Reifowitz | September 12, 2021 - 7:32a
In the days after the Sept. 11 attacksâlaunched by a group of Islamist terrorists (al-Qaida) given safe haven and protection in Afghanistan by the Talibanâmost Americans did not harbor positive feelings toward that regime. Yet somehow, 20 years later there is one group, right-wing white Christian nationalists, who now sing the Talibanâs praises. If you were prescient enough to see that one coming, well, thatâs some serious Professor Trelawney-level talent.
For some time now, these right-wing extremists who (falsely) claim the mantle of patriots have been just raving about the Taliban. Why? Because both groups hate LGBTQ folks, Jews, women, liberals, a non-theocratic society, and "globalism," for starters. The hard right also hates Muslims, but they mostly concern themselves with Muslims here in the U.S., not so much Muslims in other parts of the worldâso long as they stay there.
There are plenty of receipts, some of which were assembled by New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg, a long-standing expert on the extreme Christian right whose 2006 book broke new ground. She provided examples that demonstrate the ideological affinity built around the concept of hating a common enemy. Earlier this summer an âalt-rightâ bunch created a Twitter account that tracked and lauded the Talibanâs successful step-by-step conquest of Afghanistan. One retweet auto-translated a message that read: âLiberalism did not fail in Afghanistan because it was Afghanistan, it failed because it was not true. It failed America, Europe, and the world [sees] it.â
Along similar lines, white nationalist âGroyperâ Nick Fuentesâheâs also a close chum of Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosarâwrote on the encrypted app Telegram: âThe Taliban is a conservative, religious force, the U.S. is godless and liberal. The defeat of the U.S. government in Afghanistan is unequivocally a positive development.â The fact that the Talibanâs victory came on President Bidenâs watch only added to the general glee on the right. Joanna Mendelson, associate director of the Anti-Defamation Leagueâs Center on Extremism, noted that a dangerous number of right-wing extremists are displaying âalmost this infatuation and admirationâ for the Taliban. She added: âthe fact that the Taliban at the end of the day could claim victory over such a world power is something that white supremacists are taking note of.â
An account linked to everyoneâs favorite assholes, the Proud Boys, put this message out on Telegram: âThese farmers and minimally trained men fought to take back their nation back from globohomo. They took back their government, installed their national religion as law, and executed dissenters ... If white men in the west had the same courage as the Taliban, we would not be ruled by Jews.â I expect the Proud Boys donât want to turn the U.S. completely into Afghanistan, with its incredibly high poverty rate, but they donât seem to make the connection between a society based on religious freedom, equal rights, and pluralism and the level of development our country has managed to achieve. Just sayinâ.
Hereâs another one, from a blog post connected to Atomwaffen Division and the National Socialist Order, a neo-Nazi terrorist group: âNATO is pulling out of Afghanistan after 20 years of war with the Taliban and losing. ...This should in fact be celebrated as a victory against the Jewish-controlled world. While the Taliban does have its faults, they are nonetheless a marked enemy of the Jews.â
Antisemitism is a common theme in these right-wing messages, which also typically denigrate Islam overall, despite their kind words for the Taliban. Intellectual consistency isnât exactly a hallmark for these guys. Ultimately, the enemy of their enemy is their friend.
These sentiments donât just appear on encrypted apps and blog posts; they reflect mainstream thinking in todayâs Trump Republican Party. Donât believe me? Hereâs Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of the twice impeached former guyâs strongest allies (heâs also officially under investigation for sex trafficking and, unofficially, for being the smarmiest looking guy in America whose name doesnât begin with T and end with UMP).
He sees the Taliban as more legitimate than the duly elected president of the United States. No snarky comment can do justice to how disgusting that statement is.
Then thereâs the leading media voice of Trumpism, Tucker Carlson. Heâs almost giddy about having the opportunity to bash liberalism (oddly, he calls it âneoliberalism,â a mostly economic term that centers on the principles of democratic capitalism, but accuracy has never been his strong point) and specifically its âgender studies symposiumâ as a major factor in helping the Taliban defeat the previous government. He blathered on about the notion that âmen can become pregnantâ as somehow being a fundamental value that was pushed by the U.S. on Afghanistanâs traditional society.
I wonder, was this notion also being pushed under Trump, the guy who actually signed the surrender agreement pulling our troops out of that country under the terms of what one conservative foreign policy expert called âone of the most disgraceful diplomatic bargains on recordâ? Either way, Carlson praised the Talibanâs overall views on gender politics, saying that at least âthey donât hate their own masculinity. They donât think itâs toxic. They like the patriarchy.â It certainly seems as if Tucker does, too.
One of the other core ideas animating right-wing trash-talking on Afghanistan relates to refugeesâpeople who, in case anyone forgot, risked their lives working with the U.S. Carlson hit this point hard as well, lying about âmillions of foreign nationals whose identities we canât confirm mov[ing] here,â and warning ominously about âmany refugees from Afghanistan resettling in our country . . . probably in your neighborhood.â Because what else would you expect a xenophobic, fearmongering feckface like Tucker to say. He then spoke of incoming refugees numbering in âthe millionsâ before concluding: âFirst we invade, then weâre invaded.â
John Cohen, chief of the Homeland Security Department's Office of Intelligence and Analysis, expressed a number of chilling facts on a call with law enforcement officials to which CNN gained access. First, right-wing white Christian nationalists see the victory of the Taliban as a âsuccessâ that can serve as a template for their violent takeover of the U.S. government. Second, a number of these extremists are also connecting events in Afghanistan, in particular the migration to our country of a significant number of Afghan refugees to âthe great replacement concept."
This nakedly white supremacist claptrap, also promoted on his Fox News show by the aforementioned Grand Wizard Carlson, centers on the fear that immigrants are changing our countryâs demographics and replacing the white Christians who are the only real Americans, depriving them of their rightful place as the people in charge of America. Most often the focus has been on Mexicans, but Afghan Muslims are both brown and non-Christian, so they can do double damage on this front. Cohen warned âthere are concerns that those narratives may incite violent activities directed at immigrant communities, certain faith communities, or even those who are relocated to the United States.â
This anti-immigrant bile is also an element of common antisemitic hate connecting these Taliban-loving right-wingers and the anti-immigrant hate that sparked, for example, the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre where 11 Jews were murdered. At the center of all these hatreds stands the Great Replacement, which Jews are supposedly facilitating with their liberalism and globalismâseen both in their support for âbrownâ Latino immigration and bringing in âbrownâ Afghan refugees.
I know this doesnât make a lot of sense to most of us. Unfortunately, it made enough sense to motivate the Pittsburgh terrorist, along with another synagogue shooter in Poway, California, who killed one worshipper in 2019. You may also recall the Charlottesville neo-Nazi ralliers who chanted âJews will not replace us.â Those are the lovelies Trump referred to as âvery fine people.â These strands of right-wing hate all really do run straight through Mar-a-Lago.
Another through-line is the clear rejection of democracy and open support for dictatorship on the rightâas long as itâs a dictator they like, such as The Man Who Lost an Election And Then Tried To Steal It. QAnon and other pro-Trump online communitiies have straight-up called for a Myanmar-style military coup that would put Trump back in power. Trumpâs own former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, when asked about the prospect at a QAnon event, agreed, stating âit should happen here.â
This embrace of authoritarianismâa direct rejection of the democracy that stands at the core of the American experiment in self-governmentâis yet another point where Carlson and Trump echo their most extreme followers. Weâve seen Feck a lâOrange show his love for authoritarians like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinpiang, among others, on many occasions.
Just last month Tucker had his own lovefest with Hungaryâs right-wing would-be dictator Viktor Orban. He visited Budapest, conducted a fawning interview, and then told his Fox News audience that Orban leads a âsmall country with a lot of lessons for the rest of us.â Like mucking around with his countryâs independent judiciary, crushing media that doesnât toe the party line, and forcing universities who teach things he doesn't like to close or leave the country. When the political and intellectual leaders of a movement act this way, itâs not hard to understand why a chunk of their acolytes go along the same path, one that leads to the profoundly anti-democratic notion that the Taliban are worthy of praise. If Trumpists can worship Putin, Orban, and the Taliban, one can only imagine what kinds of characters theyâll be cuddling up to next. Talk about strange bedfellows.
Hate begets hate. So many forms of hate intertwine in the dessicated web of right-wing extremism that it can be hard to keep them straight. They want their brand of white Christian nationalism to dominate America, which means they want to keep out Muslim refugees fleeing Afghanistanâwhom they hate. But they also admire the most extreme Islamists in Afghanistan, the Taliban, who drove those refugees out in the first place, who hate Christians as infidels, whose forces fought and killed U.S. soldiers in that country for twenty years and who, oh yeah, helped facilitate the 9/11 attacks. Itâs almost incomprehensible. Until you remember whatâs changed in American life since Sept. 11, 2001.
We elected a Black president, who won with a resounding majority not seen in a generation. And not just any Black presidentâalthough surely any would have been enough to generate a powerful backlashâbut one named Barack Hussein Obama. Despite the fact that he centered his entire political career on the idea that people of different backgrounds could come together as one unified American people, those opposed to a truly multiracial democracy struck back, and propelled his polar opposite into the White House in 2016. In another sense, those extreme right-wing forces emerged with such explosive energy not in spite of Obamaâs powerful advocacy of democratic pluralism, but rather because its potential success threatened their power all the more.
How one of our two major political parties got taken over by people who reject the basic principles of democracy most Americans thought were a requirement of patriotism will be a question we as a society will be grappling with for the foreseeable future. Actually, thatâs assuming weâll remain free enough to substantively grapple with it at allârather than, if those forces win a comprehensive victory, be forced to accept such a development as the final stage in Americaâs political journey.
Trumpism brought to the fore, and into the mainstream, a form of hatred that has long lurked on the American rightâhatred of anything that differs from what they see as traditional white Christian America. Whether thatâs hatred of brown people, of equal rights for women or, heaven forfend, LGBTQ Americans, of progressive ideology more broadly, or, of course, hatred of the always handy scapegoat/stalking horse for radicalismâthe Jooz. At its essence, this hatred is ideological in nature. These right-wingers love the idea of authoritarianism built around a strictly conservative dogma, and the Taliban qualifies for sure. They envy the Taliban for being able to exercise absolute power, eliminating anyone that disagrees. Thatâs what Trumpists want for themselves.[/quote Opinions are like A'holes, everyone has one. When I was young I had a job cleaning out a horse barn. I never had to scoop out horse apples this deep.
manning5 wrote:
Here are the principles of Humanism as expressed in the first Manifesto published in 1933. Manifestos II and III will be explored later.
The purpose of this post is to ensure that readers of OPP have had the opportunity to explore the writings of our progressive citizens and scholars, thus they would be more prepared to counter these positions from a true American viewpoint.
A Humanist Manifesto
The time has come for widespread recognition of the radical changes in religious beliefs throughout the modern world. The time is past for mere revision of traditional attitudes. Science and economic change have disrupted the old beliefs. Religions the world over are under the necessity of coming to terms with new conditions created by a vastly increased knowledge and experience. In every field of human activity, the vital movement is now in the direction of candid and explicit humanism. In order that religious humanism may be better understood we, the undersigned, desire to make certain affirmations which we believe the facts of our contemporary life demonstrate.
There is great danger of a final, and we believe fatal, identification of the word religion with doctrines and methods which have lost their significance and which are powerless to solve the problems of human living in the Twentieth Century. Religions have always been means for realizing the highest values of life. Their end has been accomplished through the interpretation of the total environing situation (theology or world view), the sense of values resulting therefrom (goal or ideal), and the technique (cult), established for realizing the satisfactory life. A change in any of these factors results in alteration of the outward forms of religion. This fact explains the changefulness of religions throughout the centuries. But through all changes religion itself remains constant in its quest for abiding values, an inseparable feature of human life.
Today man's larger understanding of the universe, his scientific achievements, and his deeper appreciation of brotherhood have created a situation which requires a new statement of the means and purposes of religion. Such a vital, fearless, and frank religion capable of furnishing adequate social goals and personal satisfactions may appear to many people as a complete break with the past. While this age does owe a vast debt to the traditional religions, it is nonetheless obvious that any religion that can hope to be a synthesizing and dynamic force for today must be shaped for the needs of this age. To establish such a religion is a major necessity of the present. It is a responsibility which rests upon this generation. We therefore affirm the following:
First: Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created.
Second: Humanism believes that man is a part of nature and that he has emerged as the result of a continuous process.
Third: Holding an organic view of life, humanists find that the traditional dualism of mind and body must be rejected.
Fourth: Humanism recognizes that man's religious culture and civilization, as clearly depicted by anthropology and history, are the product of a gradual development due to his interaction with his natural environment and with his social heritage. The individual born into a particular culture is largely molded by that culture.
Fifth: Humanism asserts that the nature of the universe depicted by modern science makes unacceptable any supernatural or cosmic guarantees of human values. Obviously humanism does not deny the possibility of realities as yet undiscovered, but it does insist that the way to determine he existence and value of any and all realities is by means of intelligent inquiry and by the assessment of their relation to human needs. Religion must formulate its hopes and plans in the light of the scientific spirit and method .
Sixth: We are convinced that the time has passed for theism, deism, modernism, and the several varieties of "new thought."
Seventh: Religion consists of those actions, purposes, and experiences which are humanly significant. Nothing human is alien to the religious. It includes labor, art, science, philosophy, love, friendship, recreation-all that is in its degree expressive of intelligently satisfying human living. The distinction between the sacred and the secular can no longer be maintained.
Eighth: Religious humanism considers the complete realization of human personality to be the end of man's life and seeks its development and fulfillment in the here and now. This is the explanation of the humanist's social passion.
Ninth: In place of the old attitudes involved in worship and prayer the humanist finds his religious emotions expressed in a heightened sense of personal life and in a cooperative effort to promote social well-being.
Tenth: It follows that there will be no uniquely religious emotions and attitudes of the kind hitherto associated with belief in the supernatural.
Eleventh: Man will learn to face the crises of life in terms of his knowledge of their naturalness and probability. Reasonable and manly attitudes will be fostered by education and supported by custom. We assume that humanism will take the path of social and mental hygiene and discourage sentimental and unreal hopes and wishful thinking.
Twelfth: Believing that religion must work increasingly for joy in living, religious humanists aim to foster the creative in man and to encourage achievements that add to the satisfactions of life.
Thirteenth: Religious humanism maintains that all associations and institutions exist for the fulfillment of human life. The intelligent evaluation, transformation, control, and direction of such associations and institutions with a view to the enhancement of human life is the purpose and program of humanism. Certainly religious institutions, their ritualistic forms, ecclesiastical methods, and communal activities must be reconstituted as rapidly as experience allows, in order to function effectively in the modern world.
Fourteenth: The humanists are firmly convinced that existing acquisitive and profit-motivated society has shown itself to be inadequate and that a radical change in methods, controls, and motives must be instituted. A socialized and cooperative economic order must be established to the end that the equitable distribution of the means of life be possible. The goal of humanism is a free and universal society in which people voluntarily and intelligently cooperate for the common good. Humanists demand a shared life in a shared world.
Fifteenth and last: We assert that humanism will: (a) affirm life rather than deny it; (b) seek to elicit the possibilities of life, not flee from it; and (c) endeavor to establish the conditions of a satisfactory life for all, not merely for the few. By this positive morale and intention humanism will be guided, and from this perspective and alignment the techniques and efforts of humanism will flow.
So stand the theses of religious humanism. Though we consider the religious forms and ideas of our fathers no longer adequate, the quest for the good life is still the central task for mankind. Man is at last becoming aware that he alone is responsible for the realization of the world of his dreams, that he has within himself the power for its achievement. He must set intelligence and will to the task.
This was signed by numerous believers in Humanism, their names were excluded here to save words.
Here are the principles of Humanism as expressed i... (
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Good post. I have issues with several of the points they have made. However we have a storm coming up, it's already raining with some lighting. I have to check our stock they get skittish in storms. Added to favorites and will reply tomorrow.
Capt-jack wrote:
The America I was born into is not the America of today and sadly, Iâm convinced that for some reason, I was born at this time in history, to witness the death of America I was born into.
The America I was born into still had many of the foundational principles that our Founding Fathers established. To start with, America was a republic, not a democracy, and was never intended to be. The difference between the two has been totally lost on many Americans today. Whatâs the difference? A republic is where the people elect leaders to do the bidding of the majority of the people. A democracy is where the people elect leaders who rule and dictate over them. A republic is a free nation whereas a democracy is the first step towards socialism.
Secondly, the America I knew was one where the majority of the people ruled, not a whining perverted minority like today. Politicians, for the most part, did what the majority of their constituents wanted them to do, not what a few minorities demanded.
Thirdly, The America I knew still adhered to many of the biblical and Christian principles and laws that our Founding Fathers believed were important. Did you know that our Founding Fathers quoted from the Bible eight times more than from any other book or document?
Today, many of those biblical and Christian principles and laws have been abandoned due to catering to liberal anti-biblical self-centered, hedonistic minorities.
Fourth, the America I knew was patriotic and proud, not ashamed and turning to globalism instead. The American flag was allowed anywhere in this country, not banned from schools, peopleâs homes,s or mailboxes. It wasnât trampled upon or defaced without repercussions. Everyone stood for the playing of the National Anthem because it stood for something good and great and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by every kid in school.
Fifth, the America I knew respected other people. We respected otherâs property and their person. It wasnât uncommon for people to leave their cars and front doors unlocked at night. It was safe for kids to play outside and walk to school, a park, or the store.
Sixth, in the America I knew, gay meant being happy, pride was how you felt about an accomplishment, achievement, about your parents, and America. Marriage was one man and one woman. Anything else was adultery. Living together or having sex before marriage was fornication. Murders and traitors were executed, not elected to office. Illegal aliens were deported, not given the keys to the city, and more benefits than American citizens.
Lastly, our nationâs history, the bad and the good were important to everyone. Historic monuments were viewed upon as reminders of bad and good times. Families used to travel on vacation to visit many historic places, Union and Confederate. No one looked upon these historic monuments and places as being symbols of racism, but as reminders to the many men and women who sacrificed themselves during one of our nationâs darkest times.
Todayâs America has turned away from everything that it was founded on. Biblical and Christian principles have been rejected. Marriage is no longer one man with one woman. Sex outside of marriage is deemed acceptable to many. The American flag, National Anthem, and Pledge of Allegiance are despised and seen as symbols of oppression. Itâs no longer safe to let our children play outside unattended or to walk anywhere away from their homes.
The cancer of liberalism has spread too far to save our America. After the way so many have reacted to the election of Donald Trump and now after Trump dared to speak the truth about who was responsible for the violence in Charlottesville, I truly believe that we are witnessing the dying gasps of the America I knew.
Only God can save America, but why would He after our nation have turned our back on Him?
The America I was born into is not the America of ... (
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Same country I grew up in and served for thirty-eight years because I felt I should give something back. Stay the course, keep faith in God and this great nation.
debeda wrote:
How can you think straight and make rational decisions when each and everyday you hear conflicting and contradictory information from âauthoritativeâ sources? You canât. No one can. Thatâs the whole point. Thatâs why the powers that be are doing this.
Welcome to the secular hell of a post-truth world.
We donât need to wear masks. No wait, now we do. Hold up now we need to wear two masks. We can stop wearing masks now. Surprise, we need to wear masks again. Actually it turns out masks arenât as effective as we thought.
We just need 15 days to slow the spread. Now we need a month. Maybe a year. Never mind, we didnât need to lockdown at all and it caused more harm than good.
Donât take any vaccine that Donald Trump rushed to market. You didnât get the vaccine, are you nuts? The vaccine is highly effective. Oops it looks like highly vaccinated Israel is having a major outbreak. Get the vaccine or lose your job.
Are you keeping up? This is the reality of living in a post-truth world.
They want us shell shocked with rapidly changing information overload which leads to option paralysis and fear. When people are in a state of fear coupled with option paralysis they are very susceptible to manipulation and easy to control.
While we are all dazed and confused they are destroying families, small businesses, and entire nations. They are rigging elections, they are botching troop withdrawals to flood western countries with refugees, the American border is being invaded by hundreds of thousands of people, they are buying up single family homes and pricing you out of the market, they are printing endless money and inflating your currency.
They are transferring trillions of dollars in wealth to themselves and shutting up each and every last voice of dissent to it all while doing it.
All while the while you worry about a virus that statistically you have a 99% chance of surviving with the immune system God gave you.
Itâs exhausting and impossible to keep up with by design. Itâs meant to drain you mentally, physically, and spiritually so that you submit to their control. Donât.
In the post-truth world anything goes. Chaos reigns. Those who create the chaos manifest their means of control. Do not comply. Do not give them one inch. Stand your ground. Hold the line.
Christians reject the post-truth world.
We have absolute Truth in Jesus Christ and His Gospel as a firm foundation on which to stand. God is our authority. Not the CDC. Not the Biden administration. Not the WHO. Nor the talking heads on CNN and Fox News. In the darkness of chaos Jesus is the Light that leads us to salvation. Jesus saves. That is the fundamental Truth of the Gospel. Now more then ever we need saving. We need Truth. We need Order.
The battle rages on, but the war has already been won and we must never forget that. We must cling to the cross and stand firm in our convictions. We must love one another, obey God, and humble ourselves enough to fully depend on Him in this time of great trial.
I know we can do it, because we serve the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Creator of the universe.
May you find comfort in His Truth and keep the faith.
God bless you and God bless America,
Andrew Torba
CEO, Gab.com
Jesus is King
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2 Thessalonians 2:11 "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:" Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became as fools. Stay the course on the narrow path. The end is worth the tribulation.