A great one from last year…
Are you a radical? You should be.
Being called a radical sounds bad. Most people probably don't want someone calling them a radical because it makes a person sound unhinged, dangerous.
About a year ago I made a post defining radicalism. I pointed out that we get the word from Latin: Radicalis. It means root, like the roots of a tree. The earliest uses of this word in English all refer to actual roots.
A radical seeks to address root causes to fix problems. If you want to try and actually fix something it makes sense to address the root problem causing the issue. If you treat the symptom but not the disease, you're never going to cure the disease.
Radicalism is a rational response to injustice.
Today this word is being used as a cudgel against pro-Palestinian protestors on college campuses. The Mayor of New York has been fretting publicly about young people being "radicalized." The establishment is losing sleep because an entire generation of young people risks becoming "radicalized."
And what radical positions are they taking?
Today's radical position is that the genocide in Gaza must end. Does that strike you as troubling? The position considered extreme by our establishment says genocide is bad and it must stop. By contrast, the mainstream position is that the Israelis have a right to perpetrate this genocide - using weapons that the United States sells them. The mainstream position is that the famine in Gaza is just some unfortunate accident rather than an intentional strategy to indiscriminately wipe out more Palestinians.
Suddenly being against genocide is considered radical, despite the fact that we have been taught our entire lives that genocide is the greatest crime that can ever be perpetrated against humanity. Now everything has gone topsy turvy and opposing genocide is a dangerous position. By extension, if you want to be a good Democrat and support Joe Biden or Israel, it becomes your job to support this genocide. Which is a pretty outlandish position.
But the ruling class isn't wrong. Being against the genocide in Gaza is radical. Alex Karp, CEO of defense contractor Palantir (busily finding ways to weaponize AI for warfare), explained why during a recent rant at the Ash Carter Exchange on Innovation and National Security. Said Karp,
"We kind of just think these things that are happening, across college campuses especially, are like a sideshow — no, they are the show." He went even further saying “Because if we lose the intellectual debate, you will not be able to deploy any army in the West, ever.”
That's a pretty big statement. Notice how the members of the establishment are pissing their pants right now. The protests are working.
This is why they want TikTok to go. The ruling class is losing their ability to control the narrative. People are waking up to the fact that our leaders don't have our best interests at heart. People are developing what is called "class consciousness." That is the consciousness that develops when you realize that what's good for the rich is rarely ever good for you. And when people stop believing what those in power want us to believe we become unmanageable. We start thinking that we should have a hand in making decisions that affect our lives, stopping countries from going to war or committing genocide - a very dangerous concept for the rich and their servants in government.
That is radicalism. That's why protesting the genocide is radical. Be radical.
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Let’s make them pay.
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