Wednesday Overnight Open Thread - Sept 10, 2025 [TRex]

What happens when the center does not hold?

Will we fight?

Imagine thinking that all 8.2 billion people in the world have to agree with you on everything. Imagine having the myopic narcissism to think that anyone that doesn't align with your world view is inherently evil.

Once you decide others are evil ("literally Hitler"), you can easily justify almost anything - and still think you're in the right.

Imagine surrendering ownership over your own existence to the point that anyone and everyone that does not validate every aspect of your existence is a threat. Imagine having it so good that you need to invent demons to fight.

Imagine thinking that a guy sitting by himself on a folding chair with a microphone and a social media account with a mission of dialogue and debate is a threat to you. Imagine thinking that a guy who is willing to talk to anyone about anything was an existential problem. Imagine feeling the need to physically silence someone that explicitly rejected violence as a means of getting his way. Imagine that everything that made him good also made him a threat.

The ends justify the means.

Imagine buying into the "my violence is speech but your speech is violence" nonsense.

Such a waste. Imagine thinking that the gun is the problem.

Not all societal struggles are noble. They're dressed in the trappings of causes and language and "making a difference," but are mostly people pushing for more control and power. Undercurrents of class conflict are easy to find if you look. Working the system is an entitlement that brings no shame.

Fighters are not afraid to use all the tools available to pursue control and power (and often wealth). When you're fighting, you use every avenue available. You may espouse a philosophy, but ultimately your philosophy is that anything you do or desire is warranted to win. Dialogue is not a virtue. Why talk with your enemy? Why give them a "platform"? Better to destroy them.

It isn't a secret. Alinsky published the playbook.

"If only they would better understand, they'd see..." Presuming good faith or pointing out a hypocrisy or inconsistency misses the point. Never explain, never apologize. Everything is malleable in the name of the cause. "Queers for Palestine?" Sure. Just keep fighting. The long march must continue.

Most dangerously, both fighters and sheep want to think highly of themselves. Ego must be served.

Think the right things. Show that you're not "one of them." In the ongoing struggle for power, your "tribe" is the one right and true tribe. Heresy is punished. Push further into the unhinged to show your true commitment to the cause. Accumulating power is good because they all imagine they should have the power. Power for power's sake, but power is also useless unless wielded.

Useful idiots also think the alligator will eat them last. They also have the arrogance of elevating themselves above all else, including God or a judeo-Christian moral framework. Why wrestle with a moral foundation of natural law from God when I know better? Easier to substitute the religion of climate or DEI or whatever the grievance of the day is.

How do you reason with people that despise your existence? How do you reason with people that despise your existence and feel morally justified and compelled to do so? How do you live with people that are dedicated to fighting you?

What happens when the bubble gets shattered? What happens when all the people who didn't realize they were in a fight realize they are in a fight?

The era of "reasonable people can differ" is gone. The era of "live and let live" is on literal life support. Many still can't comprehend that their mere existence is viewed as a threat. Many still think the media reports the "news."

The "moderates" or "precious independents" presume that peace and prosperity is the default without recognizing both are the exception. Few recognize the precarious perch upon which our daily lives rest.

We trusted that others would act the way we would and value the same things we value. We were wrong. We removed strong foundations and thought there would be no cost. We thought the center might wobble but ultimately hold because it always has before. We "took the high ground" and absorbed the body blows because we didn't think we had to fight. We incrementally committed suicide.

You may not be interested in the fight, but the fight is interested in you.

Will we fight?

The great sorting has been underway for some time. Red states and blue states. Red counties and blue counties. Migration data shows people are voting with their feet and their future.

X has broken the media monopoly and allowed voices to be heard and find each other than did not before. It created such a threat that governments are still fighting to shut it down. If they can't control it, it must be destroyed.

What happens as historical pivot points force more people to "see"? A guy sitting on a chair and a woman sitting on a light rail seat did not perish by accident. Both were calculated and intentional.

Recognizing you have a problem is the first step to dealing with the problem. The rules of the game have changed. Charlie overturned the rock and shined a spotlight to show what was beneath. It earned him a bullet but what was seen cannot be unseen. How many people now see with greater clarity? Do those people now realize they are in a fight?

What causes a break? What makes it different this time?

What happens when the center does not hold? What happens when there is no center?

Will we fight? What will be left to fight for? What will victory or defeat look like? Does it happen with or without us, despite us or because of us?

"Fighting" does not mean random violence or even physical violence or blindly attacking flawed people and institutions. It means taking an active role in our own life. It means being skeptical in places we used to trust. It means being firm in places we used to bend. It means finding allies with values rooted in natural law. It means defending truth. It means saying prayers to recognize our blessings and remember we are created in the image of God but we are not God. It means acting like citizens rather than subjects. It means acknowledging there are wolves out there and the flock needs shepherds to look after the sheep.

Will we fight?

posted by Open Blogger at 10:00 PM

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