First They Came for the Alt-Right Nut Jobs, and I Said Good Riddance

Medium recently closed the accounts of right wing Trumpists, Mike Cenovich, Jack Posobiec and Laura Loomer, and liberal were ecstatic, thrilled to be rid of those "Neo-Nazis crazies." Well, that's all fine and good, but now Mother Jones Senior Reporter, Shane Bauer (no relation to Jack Bauer), is calling for Medium to go farther, and expel from Medium Caitlyn Johnstone for posting "garbage on Syria."

Ms. Johnstone is not someone I with whom I always agree, but her views on Syria, and the US government's campaign for regime change there, in line with our own gjohnsit's essays here at c99, are valid and legitimate in my view. But even if I disagreed with her, I wouldn't call for banning her work from from social media platforms. However, that is exactly what many so-called faux leftists and liberals want: the elimination of all dissenting views from any online platform, so their centrist narrative can more easily prevail to brainwash the American public.

As you can imagine, Ms. Johnstone, has something to say about this dangerous call for censoring online progressive voices,such as hers and ours:

Bauer wasn’t the first to call on Medium to silence leftist writers like me for our skepticism of an empire with an extensive history of using lies, false flags and propaganda to manufacture support for regime change interventionism against noncompliant nations, and he will not be the last. They get you okay with silencing offensive right-wing voices (who contrary to Bauer’s claim are in this case not even “alt-right” by anyone’s standards, including the Anti-Defamation League), then they target the true left, who present the biggest threat to the US oligarchs.

Empire loyalists like Bauer will continue demanding that Medium delete writers like me who unapologetically promote skepticism of establishment narratives involving longtime imperialist targets like Russia and Syria, and they may well succeed, which will set me back a bit since I’ve spent nearly a year building up an audience there.

But that’s the least of our problems. Support for this broader trend of dissenting leftist voices being aggressively silenced has permitted Google algorithm changes to slash the viewership of leftist outlets like World Socialist Web Site, CounterPunch, and Alternet, as well as essential nonpartisan anti-establishment outlets like WikiLeaks, Consortiumnews, and Truthout. I myself have had my account suspended by Facebook for posting an article about known false flag operations around the world, and by Twitter for attacking the Democratic party and the establishment Russia narrative.

The endgame here is pretty clear - remove any threat to the corporate propaganda that is passed off on many unsuspecting Americans as the true and honest state of affairs in the world, rather than the position of wealthy elites who are just fine with maintaining the status quo, which benefits them to the detriment of everyone else.

This broader trend which we are undeniably seeing is extremely pernicious, however, and it should concern us all. The plutocracy which is driving our species toward extinction is far more afraid of the left than they are of the right, which is why they’ve poured unfathomable amounts of resources into sabotaging leftist and civil rights groups with psyops and infiltrations.

Many people in the fifties were no doubt thrilled when McCarthy had thousands of lives ruined by repeating the lie that our government, the military and even Hollywood, were deeply infiltrated by communists who had no right to voice their opinions or hold a job. The same people probably cheered when Martin Luther King Jr. was denounced as a communist and wiretapped by the FBI for advocating for economic equality and for denouncing the Vietnam War. And again, in the lead-up to the war on Iraq, Phil Donahue was fired from MsNBC from daring to suggest that maybe it wasn't such a good idea, the NY Times ginned up fear of "fifth columnists" in June 2002. Hell, as late as 2010 the FBI raided the homes of non-violent anti-war activists looking for "terrorist connections."

Well, today we are facing the same threat, only this time, its coming from the Democrats, the US intelligence community, wealthy donors, a myriad of "liberal" think tanks and lefty journals, and the compromised mainstream media outlets that give them a megaphone to call for killing off the progressive movement by any means necessary. And censorship has always been the first weapon of choice by the powers that be. Anyone who thinks it isn't happening now is deluding themselves.

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The Aspie Corner's picture

The Capitalist Party USA is perfectly fine with the so-called alt-right even though they'll never admit it. It is their creation, after all. These sons of bitches calling for our heads have no right to call themselves left-wing. They are right-wing enablers and have held power for far too long.

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

snoopydawg's picture

We know that the government can't censor anyone, but they can put pressure on other types of medium that people use to express their opinions. Whether that is what is happening with many of these alternative websites or not, I think that is what is happening with FB and possibly twitter.

Zuck was pressured by Obama to find those stupid "Russian" ads that threw the election to Trump. At first Zuck told congress that he did not see anything out of the ordinary, but then he met with Obama who told him to look again and harder. Low and behold, he found what 6-10 ads? And most of them were directed at Russians and were place after the damn election.

I fully agree with Caitlin that this is a dangerous slope. Censorship of one group means that any group can also be censored.

Yep, looks like we are going down the road to fascism. I'm hoping that there is a way to fight this.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

divineorder's picture

The 'senior reporter little fck, now needs to put up or shut up. CJ got something wrong ? Debate it or stfu.

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@divineorder I can't find the quotation, but I believe Ed Murrow once said something about how our beliefs and principles must be mighty weak and fragile if they crumble when we read the ideas of foreigners.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Amanda Matthews's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

you. describe, but I do remember this;

We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men ... We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.

My favorite quotes are:

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.

and

Anyone who isn't confused really doesn't understand the situation.

My early years we oddly ‘shaped’ in a large part by Edward R. Murrow. When I was young and during the time before my Dad took off, iI got a lot of info from him that was definitely NOT typical of a father-young daughter relationship. (Pops had ‘socialist’ tendencies even way back then.) We actually watched the McCarthy hearings together. And Murrow had a t.v. show back then that only I vaguely remember.

Funny part wad the McCarthy hearings were a major source of contention in our house because Mom believed all McCarthy’s lies for a long time. Dad considered him a liar and a ‘traitor’. That’s how I ended up being his ‘sounding board’ (for lack of a better word). My Mom always said he ‘ruined’ me. (I don't think he did.)

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

@Amanda Matthews

I think he did a damn good job of raising an independent thinker. Probably not easy to do at that time, either.

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Amanda Matthews's picture

@Ellen North

been declared Public Enemy #1.

I thought that was a little harsh.

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

@Amanda Matthews

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Amanda Matthews Wow. Does your Mom still believe McCarthy? Did she believe him even after he was discredited?

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Amanda Matthews's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

eat up the propaganda on ‘other’ disgraceful policies and actions of this government. She and I wrecked a Thanksgiving dinner once. A dinner I spent hours on. One of the last ones she was here for. (She passed away a few years ago.)

We were just chatting during dinner and all of a sudden she pops up with “I’m so glad bush** is president right now. No one else could handle the situation we’re in”. Those probably aren’t her EXACT words, but very close. It was the first Thanksgiving after Shock and Awe and the ‘war’ had been going on for a while. To my eternal shame I looked at her and asked her “What the hell is wrong with you?” and proceeded to list all the reasons why everything she believed was a lie. Then I got up and started cleaning in the kitchen. I instantly regretted what I had done but she freaking KNEW that I went to the protests here in Lower Hooterville and she knew how I felt about everything, including my absolute conviction that bush** was NOT the duly elected president, Al Gore was. (I often wonder if that didn’t have something to do with what she said.)

She was not a ‘stupid’ woman. She just believed everything she was told by ‘authority’ figures and anyone she thought she could trust. Crazy crazy thing is she was 2 weeks from taking her final vows to become a nun and she took a ‘break’ to think about whether it was the ‘right’ decision and instead she decided to marry my crazy father, who had somehow influenced her original decision to convert to Catholicism. (They had known and each other for years.) My Mom was proof that most people who convert are far more apt to believe everything hook, line, and sinker than most of us who were ‘born into’ the faith. They were married December 7, 1948. That date was an omen of things to come.

She was a good woman. I miss her terribly. And she was ‘smart’. She had some college education but ditched college for the convent. (It all has to do with how she was raised.) But she was like millions of our fellow countrymen and women. Too damn gullible for ALL our own good.

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

EdMass's picture

It's always impossible to disagree with your analysis.

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

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Steven D's picture

@gjohnsit What does IOKWWDI stand for?

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

@Steven D I believe.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

Steven D's picture

@lizzyh7

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

SnappleBC's picture

@gjohnsit

As near as I can tell, that phrase is a way to say, "Context doesn't matter".

In this case, it doesn't matter that the US actually uses military action to erode Democratic principles in other countries. Nor does it matter that a whole host of OTHER countries do this all the time... to America and each other. That context is also meaningless.

All that matters is that 13 people not connected to the Russian government posted opinion-memes on facebook and so it is JUST LIKE PEARL HARBOR. That's another bit of context that doesn't matter... all the deaths at Pearl Harbor.

Don't you just love our liberal "intellectuals"?

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A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard

Bisbonian's picture

@SnappleBC . Communist!

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Amanda Matthews's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

You would hope they’d be able to see where we are now.

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

Sums it up as concisely as possible. And the censorship is not just on politics, it's on medicine, cosmology, history, education.… "Only the views of the establishment are legitimate."

The real antidote to fake news is to use TV radio schooling social media to educate the public in how to think critically using the wealth of knowledge we have built over millennia on how propaganda and sloppy/lazy thinking work and how to neutralize that.

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Orwell: Where's the omelette?

I am not a Democrat but it seems to me that the RWNJs are running this country today. They control the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of our government. They also control 2/3 of our state governments. They are the enemy of right-thinking people the world-over. Fuck them.

All this Russia crap has as much effect on our government as Bernie Sanders "sheep dogging" politics had. None. It's circus.

And they (RWNJs) are not imperilled.

[I'm a big fan StevenD. I love your writing. But no...]

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@p cook

Hey, the corporate Dems have been competing with the Repubs for the PTB's 'front man' position and Clinton was all lined up for it, but apparently some of the multi-millionaires/billionaires told the Dem leadership - and the public - that they were dumping them, due to Dems mentioning millionaires and billionaires disrespectfully, and needed a 'new brand' just before the election, and the Electoral College (lobbyists and all) agreed. And it seems, according to some reports, that Trump is now even more eager to serve Bibi/Likud than Clinton was, although this doesn't seem possible to me, but then again, he seemingly thinks in terms only of 'deals' and doesn't worry about 'framing the optics' when in 'public', rather than 'private' mode.

But my personal leaning is toward the idea that in order to get at the US Constitution for that to-be-'runaway Con Con' which the Trilateral Commission, ALEC, etc. has long been pushing for, the Repubs (who will then bear the international/public blame) need the majority required and that the corporate Dems have been working toward ensuring that by losing so many seats, with bright prospects from their donors. And who knows, elections (and such as the Bill Of Rights) may no longer be required after a corporate/billionaire re-write to suit themselves. And I'd be much happier leaning toward some other area regarding that one...

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

@Ellen North see comment below

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Anja Geitz's picture

As an actual argument, this kind of censoring is like watching dogs chewing off their own legs because the television convinced them that was the only way to get rid of their fleas.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

@ ellen north A constitutional convention is a frightening thought. I agree regarding the thought that the dims are coming up short to make that a possibility. But I am more worried about the american taliban running the rewrite rather than the oligarchs. But the oligarchs are terrible. Reminds me of all the science fiction movies that have been made since the 1990s, such as The Matrix. And many others. God help us!

I think the move of the American embassy to Jerusalem is huge. It's what the Dominionists (end times!) want and Bibi loves. God help us!

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