Who else dreads this year?
- Thread starter Cherico
- Start date
I. FOUR STEPS TO THE FALL OF THE REPUBLIC 133-27 BC
1. THE RISE OF POPULAR TRIBUNES, 133-121 BC, two brothers, Ti. And C. Sempronius Gracchus exploited the power of the plebeian tribuneship to seize power in Rome. They essentially used their sacrosanctitas to veto all other public activity in the city in order to force the senate and the magistrates to focus on their own political agendas. They tried to restore order to the military by reclaiming public land and putting landless poor citizens back on land. C. Gracchus also attempted to grant Italian allies Roman citizen status. Both men were killed with their political followings through urban mob violence fomented by the aristocracy.
(sounds like we are around here)
2. THE RISE OF PRIVATE ARMIES. When the oligarchy failed to resolve the military problem, Roman generals, specifically C. Marius (consul 106, 104-100 BC) and L. Cornelius Sulla (consul 88, dictator 82-79 BC), recruited private armies more loyal to themselves than to the state. In addition to the draft, they recruited landless poor citizens by offering them bounties and land upon discharge. The soldier's status as Roman or allied mattered little to these generals either, both of whom made extensive grants of citizenship to allied forces. Ultimately, the two men came to blows in 88 BC in the midst of the Social War and the Asian rebellion induced by Mithradates. So violent were popular feelings that Sulla was able to persuade his field army in southern Italy to march on the city of Rome to expel Marius and his followers. So began the first Civil War and the gradual transference of soldiers’ loyalties from the laws of the state to the persons of their commanding officers. Sulla ultimately prevailed against both Mithradates and the Marian element in Italy (Marius having died in 86 BC), and attempted to impose a reactionary political reform on Rome as dictator (Dictator rei publicae constituendae = Dictator for the purpose of restoring the Republic).
(What will likely happen when our so called leaders fuck everything up with their shitty plans. So you know stage 2) Long and short of it is the republic has a 10 year period to reform, if we fail we got about 30 years of fuckery by our current elites until they fuck things to hell. Then we get a civil war, then a dictator then an even more brutal civil war.
Then after progressiveness has fucked all of the things the single most regressive person in 300 years looks around takes over and turns back the clock and then we get an empire. The progressives lose everything, and people will look back and realize all of this could have been prevented if they just compromised with the populists.
But they never do at this stage, maybe its an ego thing, maybe its a power thing but at this stage most countries powerful fuck up everything.
f1onagher
Well-known member
While I tend to buy less into the "America copying Rome thing" the common problem of ingrown elite refusing to give up power even for their own benefit is an old and tired problem. There is a reason the Republicans revered Cinncinatus so much.
The US, fortunately, sports a much more robust governmental system and while it's creaking under the strain of power abuses already, we can hope that it holds out long enough for popular sentiment to turn. The Dems lost ground all across the country, even in California this year. Cheating, be it by electoral fraud or cyclopean media and institutional bias, barely managed to shove their puppet into office against a memetically unpopular president. Party divides are starting to hit the surface as the Far Left feels entitled to more power while the Hamiltonian core gets increasingly uncomfortable with the loss of influence if nothing else. Meanwhile, the neoliberal elite is aging like milk on a desert road and have sold every last shred of credibility their institutions had to stymie the Orange populist uprising. An uprising that has risen with Ross Perot, the Tea Party, and now Trump with increasing power, energy, anger, and dedication with every return.
It doesn't matter if Trump falls off a boat and never returns in January, the movement his election represented is still there. The crazies and deplorables are still there. And now even institutional GOP creatures realize just how much power they get when they actually represent their constituents. The Dems have bought time at a great price and they likely don't have enough bank to pull it off a second time.
And who knows, maybe the House gives the election to Trump and we start a civil war for Christmas. God has been really trying to hammer home that He doesn't give a shit about narrative conventions lately.
The US, fortunately, sports a much more robust governmental system and while it's creaking under the strain of power abuses already, we can hope that it holds out long enough for popular sentiment to turn. The Dems lost ground all across the country, even in California this year. Cheating, be it by electoral fraud or cyclopean media and institutional bias, barely managed to shove their puppet into office against a memetically unpopular president. Party divides are starting to hit the surface as the Far Left feels entitled to more power while the Hamiltonian core gets increasingly uncomfortable with the loss of influence if nothing else. Meanwhile, the neoliberal elite is aging like milk on a desert road and have sold every last shred of credibility their institutions had to stymie the Orange populist uprising. An uprising that has risen with Ross Perot, the Tea Party, and now Trump with increasing power, energy, anger, and dedication with every return.
It doesn't matter if Trump falls off a boat and never returns in January, the movement his election represented is still there. The crazies and deplorables are still there. And now even institutional GOP creatures realize just how much power they get when they actually represent their constituents. The Dems have bought time at a great price and they likely don't have enough bank to pull it off a second time.
And who knows, maybe the House gives the election to Trump and we start a civil war for Christmas. God has been really trying to hammer home that He doesn't give a shit about narrative conventions lately.
The lack of any self-awareness or insight is stunning, these have to be the least self-actualized people around...and they have what everything someone could want for? I think Maslow needs some correction, there is obviously more than just those needs that have o be met.
Anyways, the fact is that this lack of self-awareness means that can't understand they are the ones they are describing. They are the misinformation, and they have become the cancer. They cannot see that they are just pushing us into a corner and taking away all of our options, and unlike a certain someone I am not going to say it is "good" when we strike back. It will be a bad thing, since things would have become so unacceptable as to violence becoming the only option.
You know I think they want to force things to come to violence, because in their demented minds they think they'd be able to win and then be able to claim they were in the right because we dared fight back after they made it our only option rather than meekly submitting. Again, this is a bad thing, because this would do irreparably harm to the American Republic and leave many dead or maimed.
LifeisTiresome
Well-known member
Its cause of moral absolutism funnily enough. Thats what many right wingers don't get. You guys think that the left is morally relativist. They aren't. They are moral absolutists where they are the good guys and your side is that of the devil hence they can do as they like.
Only relativists when it suits them, and I understand that quite well. Right-wingers are more understanding and charitable to the leftists than the other way around. Actual studies have shown this.
Terthna
Professional Lurker
I suspect the country we'll emulate next is going to be China; specifically in regards to the Tienanmen Square Massacre. People will rise up in peaceful rebellion, and the Democrats will respond as the CCP did.
If they did it would be a mistake.
America is not China, the reason why the CCP gets away with the amount of shit they do is because when the Qing collapsed it caused a violent warlord era that more or less ripped the country apart, then the Japanese invaded and set everything on fire, then they had a violent civil war. Then they had the red guard and Mao's madness fuck things up further.
The CCP got its act together and promised the people stability and prosperity and dispite their numerous issues they have delivered on both. Pretty soon they wont be able to offer prosperity and will only be able to offer stability, such was the shit show that was china's history that people might actually take the deal.
America like I said isn't like that, we had stability, we had prosperity and things are getting steadly worse on both fronts. Successful models are built upon local conditions you adapt what works for you. If you copy whole sale with out thinking about it you set yourself up for disaster.
LordsFire
Internet Wizard
A Tiananmen Square situation in the US would not have the same results as it did in China. The vast majority of the military would refuse such orders, and if a Dem president somehow did find a unit to use tanks on protesting civilians, not violent arsonists, he'd probably find himself overthrown pretty damned quickly.
Also he forgets one thing. Americans have guns, and lots of them. So either way, if they even tried it they'd be mega-fucked. I think such an action would be cause for Americans to take up arms against the state. They probably wouldn't be dumb enough to even try.
Terthna
Professional Lurker
I haven't forgotten; all I did was describe what I thought the Democrats would attempt, not the inevitable civil war it would result in. The Dems are not exactly well known for giving much thought to the consequences of their actions; indeed, they seem to believe that they are above consequences.
I can tell you that an incident like that should it happen would end with those soldiers getting court marshalled and imprisoned in military jail, as any commander that gives that order will be also charged.
Unlike in communist countries, we are allowed to disobey orders and our commanders can be charged for what we do.
Unlike in communist countries, we are allowed to disobey orders and our commanders can be charged for what we do.
CarlManvers2019
Writers Blocked Douchebag
Their strongest power is “soft power” or using the media and ability to use “private companies” to smear and deplatform those who oppose them
As well as make people forget about what good their opposition does
The cops aren’t gonna be sent in to shoot, they can rely on the guy who shot a burglar, to surrender himself to the police
And if it actually escalates, they can smear the dude as a right wing gun nut and edit all the information
Though this tactic might only last so long and may not work on those they need gone the most
As well as make people forget about what good their opposition does
The cops aren’t gonna be sent in to shoot, they can rely on the guy who shot a burglar, to surrender himself to the police
And if it actually escalates, they can smear the dude as a right wing gun nut and edit all the information
Though this tactic might only last so long and may not work on those they need gone the most
Arch Dornan
Oh, lovely. They've sent me a mo-ron.
Arch Dornan
Oh, lovely. They've sent me a mo-ron.
Hundreds of anti-government protesters break into Guatemala's Congress, burn part of the building
Hundreds of protesters have broken into Guatemala's Congress and burned part of the building amid growing demonstrations against President Alejandro Giammattei and the legislature for approving a budget that cut educational and health spending.
www.wptv.com
What a fun time the end of the year is going to.
What did they do?
Arch Dornan
Oh, lovely. They've sent me a mo-ron.
A budget got cut the public didn't like so they're rioting. Twitter hearsay includes after increasing their own salary after multiple natural disasters and the kung flu there so they're pissed.
Arch Dornan
Oh, lovely. They've sent me a mo-ron.
Aliens or someone's art project they just left behind?
Wtf, that is awesome.
The end of the video nailed it. Most likely a tribute to 2001 A Space Odyssey.
But can you imagine running into that thing? You'd be so confused.