Whispering To Darkness

[whisperingtodarkness]

US warns Russia over Syria: Why we should all be worried

It’s just been announced that US Secretary of State John Kerry has warned his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that cooperation over Syria will end unless Russia halts bombing of Aleppo.

Breaking news story at the BBC

On the face of it, this is seemingly a diplomatic threat, but this is actually far more serious than many may realize.

First of all, let’s talk about what’s happening over Aleppo right now.

There is a Humanitarian disaster taking place, with the Syrian government and their Russian allies reportedly hammering the city with weapons being used against civilians which will, absolutely, constitute a war crime.

I know there’s going to be Alex Jones fan boys and Putin cheer leaders screaming about “propaganda” and other such nonsense, but let’s make one thing absolutely clear here - the US has absolutely NO INTEREST in falsifying an attack on Aleppo, something no one denies is happening. The only parties able and willing to attack that city are Syria and Russia.

Even if Russia were not directly involved in attacking those people (there is plenty of evidence that they are, in fact, directly involved) they are supporting the regime targeting innocent civilians.

The only parties responsible for the attacks on Aleppo are Syria and Russia, no bullshit, no screams of “Waa! Propaganda!” from the usual Putin suck-up’s can remove these facts.

Now that’s out of the way...

This is all happening on the same day that prosecutors investigating the case of flight MH17 shot down over Ukraine released their findings that the weapon used was a BUK missile, and that it was transported to Ukraine from Russia.

It’s no coincidence that these things are happening on the same day. The US is under pressure to take action against a nation which has, in the past few years:

1. Invaded and annexed Crimea

2. Shot down a passenger jet murdering 298 people

3. Threatened several neighbouring nations with military movements

4. Encroached further in the occupied region of Georgia

5. Supported Syrian dictator Assad in his war against his own people, leading to increased instability, the forced movement of millions of refugees into Europe, and the targeting of innocent civilians and an aid convoy this past week.

So, what does it mean when a U.S. Secretary of State says that cooperation between nations in a place like Syria will end?

Don’t be thinking this simply means they won’t be talking to each other or working toward a ceasefire, it means a lot more than that.

Ending cooperation is almost a declaration of your intent to act militarily against those forces when you see fit.

This effectively means that Russia and the U.S. will no longer communicate over placement of resources, use of air-space, areas of interest or protection... it means the U.S. may decide tomorrow that Aleppo needs to be protected from attack, and begin shooting down any Syrian or Russian assets daring to come close.

It means that both Syrian and Russian troops, positions, planes and any other assets will no longer be deemed “friendly” even in the loosest terms.

When that cooperation is removed it’s almost a statement that you now deem their presence to be a potential threat to your interests and your positions. Where before a Russian jet might be given the benefit of doubt, without this cooperation it can and will be deemed a military threat to be neutralized.

Some might say that this needs to be done, that Russia needs to be told where it stands and not be given the freedom to act with impunity against innocent people in cities like Aleppo.

Unfortunately, things are not that simple.

Russia is already on the verge of being on a war footing with the rest of the world, and it has been for several years. Putin has done little but roll back on international involvement and cooperation. Instead of engaging with the world, Putin has preferred an isolationist approach, keeping the West at arms-length while internally the country devolves.

Instead of progressing on the path his predecessor laid out, increasing engagement with the West, deescalating and disarming, Putin has brought back various aspects of the former Soviet Union.

Even internally, within Russia itself, Putin has been taking his people backward with routine monitoring and arrest of political opponents, removal of rights for citizens, tight control of the media, adoption of laws preventing protest and discussion of political views, marginalization of minority groups, increased nationalist propaganda, restrictions on cultural activity in everything from art galleries to the theater...

Russia is, in many ways, already back to where it was before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

What can we expect now?

Russia will not want to be seen as weak, especially within the country itself. Culturally Russia is hyper-masculine, it’s unacceptable for any Russian politician to admit fault or to concede defeat in any respect.

Russia could simply halt all action over Aleppo after finding a political excuse (cover) for doing so, and allow the UN and partners to establish Humanitarian aid routes into the city.

It might be possible that Russia can heed this warning and simply say “this was our plan all along and you have not influenced us one bit”. It might not seem credible, but if it’s the only option to avoid an escalation then it would send a message to the U.S. that Russia isn’t really interested in direct confrontation.

However, if Russia ignores it, continues to act in Aleppo and doesn’t even come up with an excuse to allow them to disengage in the area, this would be a clear signal to the U.S. that Russia is ready and willing to fight.

Given that just in the last week Russia directly attacked a known Humanitarian convoy with barrel bombs then acted like a child with chocolate all over their face while sticking to the lie that they hadn’t touched the cookies, it’s unlikely Russia will heed this warning.

If Russia disengages, for any reason, in regard to Aleppo, it will allow us all to breathe at least a little sigh of relief that WW3 isn’t right around the corner.

If Russia or Syria continues to attack the city of Aleppo after this warning has been issued (which I sadly believe they will), it will send a clear message to Washington - and indeed the rest of the world - that Russia is prepared for an all-out military confrontation with the West. It will be confirmation of willingness. It will mean that a larger conflict between Russia and the West is a greater certainty than we expected just a week ago.

The next 48 hours are going to be interesting, to say the least.

[whisperingtodarkness]

#PiedmontParkHanging - There will be rage, no matter what

Another name is about to be added to the disgustingly long list of Black Americans murdered, and it really doesn’t matter if he was murdered or took his own life.

Black America has decided already, and some of us understand why that is.

In a week already rocked by the tragedy of two police shootings, in a year already tainted by injustice after injustice, the term #PiedmontParkHanging is now trending on Twitter.

You won’t likely find much about this anywhere else, and why is that? I suspect it’s because the system of media suppression the DHS has had in place for several years instantly went into effect the moment it was discovered that a black man had been discovered hanging from a tree in a popular park in Atlanta, Georgia.

This would mean that, through fear of significant social unrest, information and reporting on specific events is suppressed. We have the same system in the UK, most blatantly seen when a suspected terrorism event shut down the Dartford Tunnel and Bridge several years ago. Even after 2 hours of continued police and anti-terror operations at the scene the BBC never reported on it, despite hundreds of witnesses and thousands of concerned citizens discussing it on Twitter and making it the top trending topic in the country.

There is effectively a media silence being enforced in this case, I believe, because the DHS knows (as does the FBI, the Justice Department and any other government body or agency with half a brain) that this could blow up into a significant event of public rage.

The discussion about whether they are right to enforce such a media silence is to be had somewhere other than here.

The reports we have seen suggest that the Atlanta Police Department have deemed this to be a “suspected suicide”. Now, it’s important to note the word “suspected” here. They are not saying that is most definitely the case, and they are not saying that no further investigation is to be made.

Even though they are being misquoted on Twitter and even though they are right to make clear that this is just their belief prior to proper investigation, this is their first mistake. They didn’t need to “prep” in this way (which is what people will believe they are doing). They didn’t need to do or say anything other than start an immediate, professional, thorough investigation into every aspect of this death. To do anything else gives those who are rightly suspicious cause for concern.

It needs to be made clear that the thousands of angry voices enraged by the gossip on Twitter know nothing more than what they are reading in those short repeats of anger.

Still, they’re angry, and they have reason to be. Why is that?

Because throughout their collective black American history they can pick out a thousand instances of Police cover-up, cops murdering people and their colleagues lying on record, the media “thugwashing” any victim of police shooting, the Conservatives claiming any black person assaulted or killed by the police somehow “deserved” it, the investigators absolutely and catastrophically failing in their BASIC duties to gather evidence.

People are rightly enraged, and because of decades of inaction and pathetic statements from government officials that something will be done, eventually, at some point, perhaps, after ten years of consultation and finances allowing... they’ve come to expect that this was a lynching, that this was a KKK murder, that the Atlanta Police Department is lying, that the FBI will sit back and do nothing, that anyone found responsible in any way for anything they did wrong in their position of trust will be found entirely innocent, that no one will ultimately face any consequences for anything - as fucking usual.

The poor man could have killed himself, we really don’t know enough to say he didn’t. The complete lack of trust black America has in policing and the “system” is so catastrophically bad that no answer is going to be good enough.

In all honesty, the FBI could send someone back in time to the night of the killing, film it all and come back with absolute irrefutable evidence of the man taking his own life, and Black America would refuse it entirely - because there is absolutely no trust, none, nada, zip, zero.

So what needs to be done now?

The FBI needs to try, it needs to get its ass to Atlanta, lock down the local PD and every piece of gathered information and evidence to prevent anything “being misplaced”, investigate everyone and everything, inside out and top to fucking bottom. They need to investigate the claims that the KKK were canvassing in the area the night the man died, they need to investigate every report even remotely related to the area for the month preceding the death, at least. They need to gather every piece of evidence they can find disregarding any local officials and ignoring any political bullshit.

Most importantly, the FBI needs to show that it’s taking the threat of a resurgent KKK (and affiliated right wing extremists) as seriously as many Americans are. This is a genuine and real threat that many Americans feel is being ignored, and it will probably continue to be ignored until there’s another Oklahoma bombing, another ten modern lynchings, another church shooting. Then we’ll see a hundred talking heads/terrorism “experts” all over the media talking about how they “never saw this coming” while most of us will be screaming “BULLSHIT!”

They need to bare all on this, they need to be so transparent we can see what they ate for lunch. They need to be so open their farts sound like exhalations. They need to be so up-front their noses are meeting ours and we can smell the Fried Chicken on their breath.

No bullshit.

No opportunity for corruption.

No chance for any fuck up’s, by anyone.

No CCTV footage being “accidentally deleted”.

No near identical police reports contradicting every witness statement.

No investigators arriving and saying “it's already clear what happened here”

Do your jobs, start rebuilding trust, or this will keep on happening, and one day what we saw happen in LA back in 1992 will break out all across America. That’s not a threat, that’s simply the inevitable conclusion.

[realmametownsnats]

[whisperingtodarkness]

Mm, love a baked potato with cheese and beans...

Oh, wait, that took a mental image turn I wasn’t expecting.

[whisperingtodarkness]

Dear Yorkshire... in the nicest way, FUCK YOU!

I’ve just read the most ridiculous piece in the Yorkshire Post. I’ll put the link at the bottom, after giving an outline and my response to it.

The people of Yorkshire overwhelmingly voted out of the EU. But rather sweetly, those same people were due to get a £600m payout from that same body for economic growth between now and 2020.

Naturally, after telling the EU to fuck off, they now expect our government to foot the bill.

They’re not alone either, Cornwall and Wales are in a similar position.

It gets even better, the leaders in Yorkshire are also demanding this while sticking their fingers up at London and claiming they’re hard done by and deserve that money while taking control of their own affairs.

Yeah, you heard that right. They just told the EU to fuck off, they demand that central government pay them the £600m, and they demand independence from London.

Well, Yorkshire, just as many of your older voters who decided to screw over their own kids and grand kids are no doubt telling disappointed Remain voters on Facebook - “deal with it!”

People of Yorkshire are like:

The rest of us are like:

(Yes, I’m a Supernatural fan, deal with it.)

Back on topic...

I have spent the last day and a half reading comments from Leave voters saying vague things like “we’ll work it all out” and “we’ll get through this” all while telling disappointed Remain voters to “just fucking accept it”.

Well, dear Yorkshire (and Cornwall, and Wales, and any other region to vote out and now making demands about what they want), fuck you, deal with it yourselves.

Why the fuck should the rest of the country, especially younger people earning far more than you in an economy that is likely to tank in the next five years, in regions which voted based on reality and intelligence, now pay to bail your arses out because you made a fucking ignorant decision?

No, fuck you. I’m approaching 40 and even I know that the young of this country should be on the streets rampaging right now, they should be out there ready to tear you old fuckwits apart for the future you’ve burdened them with, for the damage you’ve done to them, for the shame and the fear you’ve created in this country.

You deserve FUCK ALL from those young people, from London, from the people who actually engaged their brain and voted with intelligence rather than chucking an elderly hissy fit and believing the far-right bullshit espoused by Farage and his Britain First friends.

You shit the bed, now you either lay in it and fester or you fucking clean it up yourselves.

Oh, can you tell I;m still fucking angry about all of this? lol

Here’s the link to the piece, if you can stomach the stupidity of it then go ahead and give it a read.

Oh, and feel free to follow me. I know I’m moody and bitchy, but I plan to at least try to be a funnier than a kitten in a microwave from now on.

[whisperingtodarkness]

Brexit...

So, we voted leave.

I know that many who did vote leave and happen to find this post will instantly stop reading because they’re now in a state of denial about what they have done and utterly refuse to accept responsibility for their decision. For those of you who are still reading, please take this in and get to the end.

I am angry, but I’m going to try and write this without expressing that anger too much.

From what I’ve seen in the aftermath of this result many are now regretting their decision. Why is that? It’s because many of them voted in protest at what they deem the “establishment”, ignoring the fact that the establishment is recreated with every election and there is absolutely no way of changing this. Every government we ever have will be considered the “establishment”, unless of course you want to elect your mates from down the pub to run this country based on what they think and fear rather than what is actually the reality.

Many others voted on a wave of nationalistic fever, vague and nonsensical, ignoring the reality of the country we have always had - immigration is NOT NEW. You are a result of thousands of years of migration of people to and from this island, stop pretending you’re some mythical creature purely British - there is no such thing.

The nationalism I have seen is just as vague as the nationalism Trump preaches. The only difference between the two is that Trump only needs to get his audience to chant “USA! USA! USA!” like moronic drunk frat boys. In the UK it took weeks of fearmongering and blatant falsehoods about race, religion, nationality and general vague fears of “the other”. Yes, it did, shut up and stop denying it, you and I both know that is EXACTLY what motivated many to leave and claiming this is nothing to do with racism and xenophobia is entirely dishonest.

The only thing worse than a racist is a spineless racist without the fortitude to admit that this is what drives their political opinions.

The aftermath of this result is starting to trickle out to the regions who voted to leave the EU, many of which have just shot themselves in the foot given that they receive the most economic support from that same body.

The “scaremongering” Leave campaigners claimed was propaganda started happening within hours of the vote. The £ collapsed, the stock markets wiped off billions of £’s from pensions and ISA’s, Scotland instantly began planning to leave the UK and remain in the EU. European leaders instantly stated that this would be messy and they would not make it easy for us, because they can’t, because if they did it would risk a contagion. We knew all of this before the vote, this was stated over and over again while the Leave campaign claimed that all data, all research, all factually based information being put out was “scaremongering”.

If you uttered those words then you should be embarrassed right now, you were duped, worse than believing in the millionaire Nigerian Prince.

You see, all those intellectuals and statisticians who have degrees actually know a little more than the flag-waving nationalist down the pub - who would have fucking thought it!?

Shortly after things started to creep back to a little stability, but don’t be thinking this is the end of that tumult. Over the coming months and years we’re going to see this again and again, with every change in our political world shaking up the markets and fucking over our currency. Every step of the way this is going to cause concern and fears throughout the global markets.

No doubt some of the Leavers are now saying “so what, a few millionaires lose some cash...” That would be nice wouldn’t it? Unfortunately those same millionaires also run a lot of companies and millions of Brits who voted leave have pensions which rely on said companies and a stable economy. So, no, you’ve fucked yourself over again.

So lets get down to why you voted to leave the EU shall we?

Immigration

Surprise surprise, within hours of the leave vote those leading the campaign suddenly started backtracking on the immigration issue, admitting that this is something they probably won’t be able to do much about. Yeah, what a fucking surprise, it turns out after all that immigration is not the fault of the EU and we actually do need those coming to this country to be able to continue on the path we were on. Why is that? It’s because the average Brit doesn’t want to work for minimum wage and the employer can’t afford to pay them more without increasing prices, prices the British public ARE NOT WILLING TO PAY. Immigrants to this country actually create billions of £’s in profit for our nation, but you don’t want to hear that reality because it’s another example of how stupid you were to believe the bullshit.

Control of our borders

Surprise! We already fucking had control of our borders! In fact, we had more control than pretty much every other country in Europe. You see that big strip of water along the South East coast of our country? It’s good isn’t it? It means that we’re cut off from the trouble most of Europe is seeing as a result of the mass migration of desperate people fleeing war. Rather ironically, it looks like the control of our borders the Leave voter seemed to imagine wasn’t happening is about to actually get worse. We rely on an agreement with the officials of Calais to allow us to perform border checks and controls in their region, without that agreement we would be forced to do all of that ON UK SOIL. This means that millions of people would be coming HERE, setting up camp HERE, waiting HERE for their applications to be checked and agreed or refused. So, thanks to your ignorantly stupid decision the Jungle is very likely to be moved to DOVER. And you know what? There’s fuck all you can do about it, because France and Calais in particular would have every fucking right to tell us to deal with our own borders, just like you wanted after stupidly believing that we weren’t doing that already.

£350 million

No doubt you’ve finally accepted that this was utter bullshit from your Leave campaign. It’s a good thing you guys spent the last month claiming it was absolutely true and any facts to the contrary were propaganda, it’s one of the things that secured the result for you - even though it was all utter tripe. You might want to go back and remind Farage, Boris and the others now that they’re all admitting that they lied to you, repeatedly. So what’s the deal on that? What are you now going to do? Your Leave figureheads gave you a load of bullshit and you made a life changing decision based on this lie. The money you thought you were saving will not be going into the NHS after all, and it was already significantly less than the £350 million they claimed. Well done you.

Law

I don’t know why I bother on this point, I really don’t. It’s a fact (but again, you think it’s just “propaganda” right?) that almost every law passed by the EU in Brussels was either on the UK books already or was planned for our people. You see, this is what happens when DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS are a fundamental principle of the majority of citizens across borders throughout Europe, you find yourself agreeing with almost all of it because you share the same values. And those pesky laws were so “unfair” too, the ones guaranteeing you the right to a reasonable holiday from work, the ones allowing you time off to care for a relative, the ones allowing you the right to claim for unfair dismissal, the ones allowing you free movement throughout the EU, the ones letting our Brits live abroad, the ones... All those laws the Leavers seem to think were a problem will now have to be recreated over the next two to five years by whichever government we end up with. Are you feeling confident that our government will actually match what the EU put in place and protected? I’m not, especially not when we end up with a bunch of Tories in the government and their vested interests who have long wanted to do away with almost every aspect of workers rights.

Oh look, I failed not to get angry. That’s understandable though, considering half of this country just fucked all of us over based on nothing but right-wing bullshit and mindless flag-waving nationalism.

I am genuinely scared for this country. When so many people refuse intellectual reality in favour of a knee-jerk propaganda campaign we have a problem.

All those racists out there will not see any change to immigration.

All those nationalists out there will see Scotland and probably Northern Ireland abandoning the UK entirely.

All those Eurosceptics out there who thought we never had control of our nation will see that we did all along, and we had better control for the rights of the people than we will without the EU.

All those who wanted “control of our borders” will get exactly that, probably in Dover when France tears up the agreement we have with them and moves this massively complex and messy problem from France to the UK.

Well done you utter, utter cunting fuckwits.

Oh, and feel free to follow me. I will be trying to be a little funnier than a curry-induced fart in an elevator from now on.

[whisperingtodarkness]

What no one is noticing about the #Brussels attacks

Something seems to be being overlooked, and I’m not sure if this is intentional or whether the authorities really haven't worked this out. Have our agencies been blinded by expectations?

It seems to me that Salah Abdeslam didn’t “change his mind”, nor did he “back out” at the last minute. His sole task was to convince others to murder, through giving them the false impression that he was willing to die with them.

In my estimation Abdeslam never planned to take his own life in the Paris attacks, his job was to convince people more idiotic than he to do this. At the last minute, he fled, to continue on his mission of deluding more people to carry out more attacks.

I really fear that the authorities do not understand who they are dealing with, I worry that they are underestimating him and his fellow conspirators based on a misinformed expectation of their ideology.

Another man as yet unidentified fled the scene of the Airport blasts moments before. Again, he was not intending to end his life in my opinion, his job was not to kill himself, his job was to make sure the deluded brothers he’d convinced into action got to their target and did as they were told.

Again, in the second attack on the Metro in Brussels, another man was seen on CCTV leading the suicide bomber into the train, before fleeing.

These three individuals (Abdeslam and the unnamed two from the Airport and Metro) are still alive. This was not an accident, it’s not a coincidence, this is the plan.

Abdeslam fled the Paris attacks and was collected by others in his cell. He fed them a line about something going wrong. He never planned to kill himself there. By escaping he achieved his mission and then used that to convince others in his bunch of mental defectives to do what he’d just duped others into doing.

Abdeslam and the other two are handlers, just as there is an infrastructure delivering weapons to these cells these three have a role, and it’s not to blow themselves up - at least not yet.

It’s vitally important that the remaining two unnamed handlers are caught, and the information they have secured. It’s likely that, just as Abdeslam had another cell to do his bidding after the Paris attacks, these two will have other cells to influence after feeding them a line about how their involvement in the Brussels attacks somehow “went wrong”.

The authorities should be making a big noise about this right now, they should be publicising the fact that these handlers have no intention of dying alongside them, they are being fooled, controlled, lied to and led to their deaths like pathetic slaves.

The authorities need to get a message out to all those planning something; Abdeslam and the other two never planned to martyr themselves, at least not alongside their stupid sheep. Nothing went wrong with their parts of these plots, they have no intention of dying alongside their idiots, they’re just there to lead them to the slaughter and run away, ready to lead more to their deaths.

Right now it seems the authorities are supporting the notion that things have gone wrong. They are inadvertently feeding this delusion, supporting the lies of the three handlers. They need to stop, they need to make it clear that these three didn’t fail in their mission, their mission all along was to lead others to their deaths and run away like psychopathic little cowards to convince more to do the same.

[whisperingtodarkness]

So, exactly why did so many protest against Trump in Chicago yesterday?

I’m not an American, so watching the farce that is the current American election run is both troubling and intriguing. Most Americans probably won’t understand this, but the majority of people outside of the US see it as a ridiculous circus, an embarrassing charade, a show pandering to the idiots.

I remarked recently that every voter in the US should be made to watch the movie Idiocracy and read Orwell’s 1984 from front to back before being permitted to enter any voting booth.

In the rest of the world (or at least the majority of modern nations) a candidate who repeatedly preaches nonsensical vague promises about making the country “great again” while offering absolutely no substance to support that wouldn’t last a week. In most countries, the moment a politician says something abusive or threatening about an entire group of citizens, they are out of the race. In most countries, we don’t preach to each other about who to vote for as if we’re One Direction fan girls with psychological problems.

And yes, before you say it, even though I’m not American I have every fucking right to bitch about your political circus, because you INFLICT this bullshit on the rest of the world.

So, yesterday, In Chicago, Trump was finally told to fuck right off. Well done to those students.

But lets get one thing clear here, his “freedom of speech” was not harmed, his rights were not infringed upon, so please right-wingers, stop claiming this bullshit. Freedoms are for everyone, not just you. Those protestors had as much right to protest as he had to speak.

And, as reports are clearly showing, it was not those protestors causing violence at that event, it was Trump’s own supporters who were attacking people, throwing Nazi salutes, using racial epithets against others - just as many of you were on Twitter! And ironically, while claiming Trump and his rabble of ignorant followers are “not fascists”.

Trump is a fascist, and if you cheer for him knowing he’s a fascist, that makes you a fascist too.

This is a man who has targeted two groups of people for attack; Muslims and Immigrants.

This is a man who has stated on record that he would gut Press Freedoms in America.

This is a man who has cheered on violence against protestors, openly supporting a physical attack on an American citizen by one of his politically extreme followers.

This is a man who has ramped up hate and extremist nationalism to such a degree people are openly comparing him to Hitler. Indeed, anyone with any understanding of how Hitler gained power in Germany would understand that this comparison is not some ridiculous bombast brought about simply by a knee-jerk rejection of his politics.

Everything Trump stands for is fascist in nature. Everything he has done during this campaign has painted him as an ignorant, hateful, bigoted, xenophobic, cartoon character of a fascist. This is not some attack from the left-wing, this is not exaggeration or character assassination, this is what he has presented to the world.

Let’s make one thing clear here, Trump will never be President.

Either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders will be. Why? Because the Republicans have become a joke of extremist political nonsense for the last ten years, the younger voters are rejecting them entirely. Unless something drastic happens to the Democratic voters in the US over the next few months, there is no way in hell the majority of Americans will be voting for that man.

Even the Republican party understands this.

Young Americans are sick and tired of the moralistic, the religious, the preaching, the inflicting, the bitching, the in-fighting, the ridiculous last gasps of a political party on the brink of extinction.

Most of all, they’re sick to death of the hypocrisy of Conservatives who preach about rights and freedoms, while inexplicably believing that those rights and freedoms are exclusively for white, male, heterosexual Christians.

This is not a good thing to see one of only two political parties in such decline, not by any means. Any healthy nation needs a political opposition (it’s even healthier to have a myriad of parties to choose from, rather than this pathetic two horse race you have in the US), but in order to be that relevant opposition the Republican party needs to get its act together and push out the Tea Party crazies, the KKK, the NRA the Christian fundamentalists... in order to survive and evolve to become a genuine opposition party the Republicans have to drop the extremism, the fanaticism, the preaching, the moralistic crusading, and start working on things that the people ACTUALLY care about - economy, education, housing, employment, national security, and yes, GUN CONTROL.

Welcome to the world of grown-ups.

Unfortunately, this is not going to be a smooth ride. Extremism in the US is growing, as we’ve seen at Trump rallies over the last few months. Forget about the Muslim extremists, you have problems much larger than that. You’re facing a growing threat from right-wing extremism in your country, as seen by the recent events in Oregon, shootings by extreme Conservatives, threats from Conservative radio and TV, and as seen openly at several Trump rallies where violence and threats of violence were openly applauded by his followers.

This is what happens when an already angry group becomes increasingly marginalized. The most extreme Conservatives in the US right now are feeling very threatened, they’re seeing their views being increasingly rejected by the majority and their politics is under attack. When this happens, it usually results in extremist acts as a last ditch attempt to feel as though they’re making an impact.

There is a rage growing in America right now, and it’s being stoked by Trump and his followers.

This is what happens when you preach to the ignorant, you gain an ignorant following. The same thing happened to UKIP in the UK. They may claim that they’re not a fascist party, but there is no denying that their ignorant rhetoric appeals to the average fascist, so that’s what they get. With that comes the extremist opinions and acts of those ignorant followers.

A politician can claim a party doesn’t represent those views all they like, it’s not up to them to decide. A political party is judged by the following it has, they are the people that matter. If a political party has more fascists cheering for it than any other group, that party is by default a fascist party.

Please, America, get your act together. Enough with this radical politics. Stop attempting to inflict your voting choice on everyone else, have some fucking respect for others and discuss politics RATIONALLY and sensibly. Until you start doing this, the rest of the world is looking at the US an shaking their heads in disbelief.

[whisperingtodarkness]

Why metal fans should be vilifying Phil Anselmo

Background:

Phil Anselmo is the lead vocalist for Down, former lead for Pantera. On Jan 22nd, while attending the Dimebash 2016 event (in memory of murdered Pantera frontman Dimebag Darrell) a drunk Anselmo threw a Nazi salute and screamed “White Power” to the audience.

Comment:

Since this event there has been mixed levels of condemnation, but plenty of ignorance and forgiveness too.

It’s bizarre. Here is a man who stood on stage and blatantly expressed support for the most sickening ideology the world has ever seen, and there are people out there willing to excuse it.

Down is set to play dates in Germany, Italy and France this summer, but one event, FortaRock in the Netherlands, has already told them that they are no longer welcome.

So, why should we all despise Anselmo?

First of all, this is not the first time he’s given this kind of disgusting speech. In 1995 fans were shocked when Anselmo delivered a fire and brimstone speech from the stage preaching some of the most disgusting racism and anti-Semitism ever heard from a person in the music industry. Since then, other performers have come out and stated publicly that they have heard the same things backstage, on the tour bus, with other members of both Pantera and Down. This is not one little mistake from the stage, this is an ideology believed by Anselmo and others he associates with.

The difference now, of course, is that it’s no longer just rumours and conjecture, it’s caught on video and shared around the world to be reported on by anyone who wants to raise the issue.

Secondly, we already have/had an image problem in metal, and it’s one we’ve worked damn hard to shake off. Yeah, it might be true that most of us just don’t give a fuck what other people think, and we’re quite happy to let people believe whatever kind of bullshit they want about how mean and nasty us “devil worshiping metallers” are, but we know that our gigs are some of the safest you could ever go to. We know that although the mosh pit looks violent, everyone in there is looking out for the strangers around them. We know that if you’re at a metal festival and your tent floods, or you run out of beer, or you’re just camping on your own and feeling out of the loop, you can turn to ANYONE camping near you and find a friend willing to help you out.

Beneath all the bravado and bitchiness seen online, you could hang out with almost anyone at a metal gig and be best friends with them by the end of it.

Why is that? Because our collective interests lead us to be inherently more open and accepting of differences than any other musical genre out there. You might scoff at the notion that we’re a community, but look at the creativity of most within it, look at how we treat others, look at how we find friends and form relationships. There is no doubt that we are different to all other musical audiences out there.

And that’s what brings me to why Phil Anselmo should be vilified. Although people want to bitch about how we “don’t have a community”, we do, and it’s a community of misfits, outsiders, free-thinkers, individuals... it’s a community of people based on the idea that we treat all others as equals and individuals, and we accept them or reject them based on their attitudes to others.

What Phil Anselmo displayed goes against everything we stand for.

It wasn’t just a disgusting statement against black people, or support for a fascist ideology, it was inherently anti-other. No doubt there are people out there who think this shouldn’t offend them because they’re not black, or they’re not Jewish. The truth is, fascism and racism is anti-Human, it’s anti-individualism, it’s anti-thought, it’s anti-fucking-everything.

When Phil is up their throwing a fascist salute, he’s spitting on everyone, not just select groups of people in society.

Fascism isn’t just about hating black people or hating Jews, fascism is about forcing a strict distorted politics of absolute control onto a society, giving one specific group of people who believe themselves to be superior to all others on this Earth total and utter control over anyone who doesn’t fit that very specific model of what Humanity should be.

Phil Anselmo doesn’t just represent an ignorance to some, he represents the absolute opposite of everything we believe about Humanity, society, freedom, creativity, individuality...

So, don’t hate Phil because he’s an ignorant, mouth-breathing, vile cretin expressing disgusting beliefs towards some, hate him because he would just as quickly turn on you for dressing wrong, believing the wrong thing, saying the wrong thing, being gay, listening to the wrong music, being in the wrong place, coming from the wrong country, being a woman, having the wrong hair, being the wrong colour, following the wrong faith...

That is why the metal community should tell him, in no uncertain terms, that he is fucking done.

[whisperingtodarkness]

Regarding your post about the militia. "It’s time to take this threat seriously." you are absolutely right, but these people are not a threat to you, they are a threat to the government. And the government possess a much larger threat to the populace.

I disagree. The government is not threatening people with guns, attempting to fight against democracy and the rights of others, and under a religious delusion. The following is from the Bundy website. Clearly, these are religiously extreme radicals seeking something not unlike an ISIS “Caliphate”.

[whisperingtodarkness]

Don’t be so dismissive of the radical right

It’s easy to poke fun, simple to mock some of the nonsensical rantings of men like Ammon Bundy and his cohorts, but while we’re making memes and shipping them dildos something else is being lost in the discussion. I fear a real threat is being overlooked, a potential disaster being disregarded.

Like many others interested in politics and extremism I’ve been monitoring #OregonStandoff for most of the month, my response switching between utter disbelief and genuine anxiety for what this all means.

I admit that I have a bad habit. While others can see events like this as an isolated incident I often look for the larger picture, and the picture I am seeing forming right now is something I have been expecting for the last ten years.

This is not just a rag-tag bunch of loons thinking their make-believe Constitution makes any and all land theirs for the taking, no, this is one sect of a much larger movement that I fear many Americans are disregarding.

While some might think that this is all about land rights (or the nonsense beliefs of a minority who think land rights are one-sided and able to be influenced by terroristic demands), some, like me, see that this is only one facet of a much bigger far-right shift which has been growing across the US for several years.

When you dig a little deeper into the beliefs of this cult (and really, that’s what this is, a cult of political/religious/conspiracy theory extremes) then you start to see that this is not really about land at all - it’s about a vague and confused mishmash of anti-government sentiment connecting a vast array of extremist individuals and collectives across the country.

Why is this dangerous? Because, frankly, it’s not unlike the vast array of tribal groups in Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya who all had a gripe with power and collectively created chaos.

While these might not be tribal groups in the traditional cultural sense, they most definitely are tribes with loosely connected ideologies - the most predominant one being the simplistic “government bad”.

That’s your government, the democratically elected government. For all its faults and all its failings, it is still the best option for a free and democratic nation.

So, what do all these individuals and groups present as their reasons for wanting a “revolution” or an “uprising” against the democratically elected government of the United States?

Whether it’s the long overdue removal of Christian hegemony taking place right now, the passing of same sex marriage, the election of a black American as President, the bankers involvement in politics, the suspicions and paranoia over 9/11, the delusional beliefs about Sandy Hook and the Boston Bombing, the removal of an offensive flag from public buildings, the propaganda of “murdered babies being sold”... all of these things combine to create a confusing storm of extremist anti-government sentiment capable of uniting the most radical individuals and factions in a common cause.

These groups live in an echo chamber. They reinforce their own and others beliefs every day. They spend hours on sites like InfoWars and AboveTopSecret, drinking in the crazy, supporting the delusions of others, encouraging each other as they tie their own paranoias into the fantasies of their peers, making their own delusion even bigger.

It doesn’t matter that these things are delusions, fabrications or simple ignorance, these are conspiracy theorists we are dealing with. Their rejection of science and reality, their refusal of evidence in favor of believing an entirely unfounded suspicion, is enough to make these individuals incredibly dangerous.

There is simply no rational debate to be had with these people. When extremists have no rational thought process going on in their heads they become a direct and persistent threat to the society they inhabit. These people cannot be talked down from the ledge, because they see you as an enemy. Everything you tell them is a lie. Disagree with them and you become a “CIA shill”. They don’t accept differences of opinion, they see the world as purely black and white - those who agree with them, and those who are their enemy.

This is not just about 4 idiotic conspiracy theorists holed up in a wildlife refuge demanding a pardon for their crimes.

The bigger story here is that there are, right now, potentially thousands of extremists across the USA becoming increasingly radical in their opinions, and (potentially) increasingly willing to act on their beliefs.

Investigate them and you make their irrationality worse. Argue with them and they dig their heels in deeper. Confront them with the facts and you become the enemy too.

The irrationality is rising, the risk is rising, and while we’re sending dildos to Malheur and laughing at the “legal” demands Cliven Bundy is writing on napkins, I fear the majority are too distracted to see the truther/rancher/racist loading up a truck with fertilizer.

It’s time to take this threat seriously.

[whisperingtodarkness]

Why the #OregonStandoff is likely to end ugly

For the past few days I’ve been watching things unfolding with the #OregonStandoff and contemplating writing various things, but while collecting my thoughts on their motivations and the mentalities of those who remain I came to the conclusion that this is unlikely to end well for those who are still there.

I thought this would probably be the best piece to write at the moment.

So, what do I think will happen? Unfortunately, I think the remaining 4 will likely be killed, at their own hands.

This is likely to be through “suicide by cop”, but I would not rule out actual suicide while in the refuge.

Why do I think this?

Bluntly, it’s because those who remain are conspiracy theorists of the worst kind, the kind who see “signs” all around them.

Those currently still “holding out” are Sean Anderson, his wife Sandy Anderson, David Fry and Jeff Banta.

I half-heartedly suggested before that these individuals should be taking medication, but although it was kind of intended as a joke it became clear to me today that this is actually true, they should be on medication, because they are indeed delusional.

If you’ve had the opportunity to watch any of the videos David Fry has been releasing while there - visit his YouTube channel - you can clearly see that these individuals are becoming increasingly radical in their desperation and their rhetoric.

Already they were weaving various conspiracies into their narrative, from 9/11 to Kennedy, MLK to the New World Order. The videos he’s been releasing on YouTube have been taking a more aggressive tone, a more desperate tone, with ever-increasing streams of illogical ranting.

Now, consider the environment these individuals are in right now.

We have four conspiracy theorists who gravitated toward each other because of their extreme beliefs - aside from the husband and wife who seemed to already share the same opinions.

Note: Sandy and Sean Anderson also happen to be extremist Christians. In a recent video Sean was speaking about a friend who urged them to leave the refuge and he said the “devil was in her”.

Each of them is under a high stress situation, constantly on alert, losing sleep. They’ve stated on camera that none of them has been sleeping, this has likely been the case for at least two days.

Now add the fact that they are spending hours with nothing to do but talk to each other, and what do they talk about? They talk about their paranoias, their delusions, their fears and their hopelessness.

Given the situation these people are in, and given the mentalities of each, we have what could be described as Cabin Fever, but with an already psychologically dangerous twist.

Not only are they hyper alert, not only are they already extremely paranoid and not only are they delusional in their thinking and experiencing sleep deprivation, they also have all the time in the world to reinforce their delusional beliefs for each other.

The only way to safely deal with someone who has become dangerously irrational is to remove them from the triggers of that irrationality. In this case, it’s simply not possible to do that. These individuals are spiralling through a self-perpetuating and ever-growing reinforcement of everything they believed.

To put it simply, they’re in a feedback loop of batshit crazy.

Unless the authorities can isolate the more sane of the group, perhaps convince them to come out of there on their own initiative, this is not going to end well.

Right now these four individuals are doing nothing but reinforcing their conspiracy theories, their delusions, their paranoias. This cycle needs to be halted in one way or another.

If this cycle is not stopped, somehow, I don’t believe any of those remaining will come out of there alive.

I’ll finish with this as a perfect example of how lost these four individuals are:

Seeing Bald Eagles, they believe this is a sign that they are on a “righteous path”. Think about that for a moment. They are seeing Bald Eagles in A BIRD SANCTUARY, and they think this is a “sign” from some “higher power” that their cause and actions are just.

Although I have little sympathy for them (there are always choices to be made and theirs have led to this situation) I genuinely do not want to see more people die. Unfortunately, the psychological roller-coaster these individuals are now on makes a peaceful resolution to this almost impossible.

[whisperingtodarkness]

#OregonStandoff - Why these men are deluded fools

Of course the #OregonStandoff is in the limelight a lot right now, given that Robert ‘LeVoy’ Finicum lost his life this week in what was almost an inevitable showdown between immature ideologues and the authorities they threaten.

Death should never be celebrated, and it’s depressing to see so many normally rational people saying some truly despicable things almost in glee. He was a disturbed man, if anything there should be sympathy for the circumstances if not for his actions and beliefs.

Now, on to the main crux of what I need to write here, which will focus on their vague claims about land, the BLM and what they want to achieve through their terrorist actions.

Theft of land is a common theme in their disjointed and vague rants, but this is actually bullshit of the highest order, which might explain why none of them is actually able to clearly present their case when asked. Yes, it’s true that the US government manages vast swathes of land across the Western US, but the idea that this land has been “stolen” is fundamentally flawed.

Why do they claim it’s been stolen? Because they do not seem to understand that the government is the US, it is the public, it is the democratically elected representation of the people and its role is to operate in the best interests of those voting public.

This land has not be stolen from anyone, at least not since it was originally stolen from the Native peoples of North America.

Who owns this land? You do, all of you. This is not land claimed by some invisible authoritarian entity, snatched away from private hands, from ranchers or from states. It’s owned by all of the American public and managed by the elected government through the BLM and their partner agencies.

So, when you hear an irrational anti-government preacher like Ammon Bundy who claims to be a “Patriot” screaming into a camera about how land has been “stolen from the local people”, just know first and foremost that this is absolute bullshit being preached by someone who bases their beliefs on the notion that the government of the people is a rogue entity and shouldn’t exist.

This whole thing stems from the fact these people loathe the democratic system of government the rest of the population enjoys. They say the land has been stolen because they do not recognize the federal government.

And why is that? It really comes down to a long-running distrust of any government not representing their specific interests.

These are men who are generally racist, generally fundamentalist in their beliefs (whether that be God, Guns or Constitution) generally homophobic, generally paranoid, and they generally loathe any form of progress on any issue unless it’s in their favor.

When you think about delusional militia in the woods building bunkers, Tea Party radicals in politics preaching sexist and racist nonsense while pounding their Bible, or racists standing outside Mosques threatening innocent women and kids - these are the kind of nutters we’re dealing with at Malheur right now.

Yes, it might be stereotypical to suggest it, but these men generally are a stereotype of everything extreme right-wing. I guarantee you these men consider themselves to be “survivalists”, I guarantee some of them frequent sites like InfoWars and AboveTopSecret, I guarantee they are Trump or Cruz supporters (if they can bear to support any politician), I guarantee they are Pro-life, I guarantee they are against same sex marriage, I guarantee they’ve all made racist statements about Obama being in office, I guarantee some of them are ex-military, I guarantee most of them are known to their local PD’s for being belligerent assholes who want to challenge every little thing every day of their damn lives as if it’s all a crusade against them.

Now, there’s suggestion that some locals are “on their side” when it comes to their nonsense fight against the “tyrannical BLM and feds” - the truth, if you actually listen to any of those locals who have an opinion on it, is actually rather different (and just as confusing).

There are locals in Oregon who are on their side when it comes to opinions about land, but they are just as deluded about what has happened to that land. They too seem to think the land has been “stolen”, as if it’s been packed up in crates and taken to DC.

Mixed in with the nonsensical beliefs are angry opinions about mining, about their way of life changing, about their small community being damaged... as is often the case, the older generation of a community pines for how things used to be, they always look for someone to blame for how their lives have changed over the course of 30 or 40 years, and in rural communities the entity to blame is often the distant federal government. This is usually the entity they end up blaming for everything from the taxes they pay to the pot holes in their roads, from the price of a beer at the local bar to the fact that little Timmy now wants to move to the Castro and wear dresses on stage.

There are some undeniable facts that these traditionalist locals want to blame on the “big bad gubment” that a little sensible conversation would probably fix. For instance, it’s not the big bad gubment’s fault that mining collapsed. This was a global trend. The same happened in the UK in the 70′s and 80′s, remember Thatcher and the miners? The loathsome woman might have done a lot of bad in her time in power but she was right about the mining industry. Sure, it could have been handled better, but the industry was dead, the miners couldn’t accept that, they wanted to be continually subsidized by the general public to do nothing more than dig endless pointless holes in the ground.

So, when the Oregon locals complain about the end of mining and the job losses, remember that this was not the big bad gubment destroying their local industry, this was inevitable shifts in global markets ending the viability of that industry. Sensible people would have understood that life evolves and they need to change their focus to something actually viable. If your business is declining you invest in something else.

As a part of this the locals also complain that life is leaving the small communities and their kids are “having to go to California”. Again, this is not the fault of the government, this has been happening to smaller communities forever. I’m sorry to say it, but most kids do not want to scrape by in a little town working their fingers to the bone for the rest of their lives. Kids these days have plenty of opportunity to see how others are living and succeeding in larger communities and they will ALWAYS be drawn to that!

It’s not the government’s fault that your kids want a better life than you had slaving away on a ranch for a meager living.

In the 70′s and 80′s they saw movies and TV shows and were drawn to the lure of the big city, and now they see it everywhere thanks to the Internet. They see that life elsewhere is not stagnant, rigid, backward, limited, and they want to be a part of that, they want to experience that energy and opportunity for themselves. Can anyone blame them?

Another of the big complaints is that ranchers have a deal with BLM to graze cattle on those lands. They’re angry about that because they either think it should be free, or their views have been influenced by the core belief that land “has been stolen”. Again, land has not been stolen. When it comes to the cost of grazing, BLM offers them that at the lowest price possible. If anything, the public is being ripped off here because BLM gives those ranchers use of that land for an insane discount.

I’ve seen various statistics for this, and it seems to depend on where in the country we’re talking about, but while BLM charges them about $1.50 per head of cattle for grazing on public land (while managed and controlled to prevent damage and abuse of that land) private land owners charge something more in the region of $20 per head of cattle.

So, these idiotic ranchers supporting the likes of Bundy are really only making their lives multitudes of times worse if they want to hand that public land back to private interests.

And that brings me to the final point in this terribly long post (sorry about that) - before the federal government managed to wrestle away all that land who was it owned by? Much of it was unused. Much of it was in private hands, but those private hands were a cartel of gangsters who pretty much did whatever they liked to whoever they liked. Before the “big bad gubment” started managing those lands for the public they were run by a group of corrupt, criminal, dangerous companies and individuals who wouldn’t think twice about dumping dangerous waste, about poisoning entire communities, about chasing people off their land and claiming it as theirs. It was the wild west, it was dangerous and violent and wholly lawless.

This is what the Bundy idiots seemingly want to return to, they seemingly want to pay ten times more money for grazing their cattle, they seemingly want to see their water sources polluted by lawless mining operations and entire species wiped out by irresponsible corporations, and they base all of this on a rewritten and bastardized version of the Constitution presented to them as though it’s a religious document. I suppose in a way it is a religious document to these blind-faith folks, only in this instance that religion is a cult of guns, hate, ignorance and selfish interests.

[whisperingtodarkness]

Dear YouTube Creators

I have a question for you which no one seems to be asking...

YouTube has implicitly stated that they have no intention of removing Sam Pepper’s “murder prank”.

Let's be clear here - YouTube has now implicitly stated that kidnapping, holding captive and psychological torture of teenage victims for entertainment is now acceptable.

Many of you are adults, you have plenty of common sense and you have plenty of ethical and moral positions on all kinds of subjects. You’re creative young people I greatly admire, especially for the way you stand up and make your opinions known as a positive influence for many of your young viewers.

So, I would like to ask how you feel about YouTube now that it has made its position clear on this video in particular. Do you agree with their decision?

[whisperingtodarkness]

YouTube guidelines - clearly breached by Sam Pepper?

So there seems to be some confusion about what is acceptable on YouTube, but the confusion seems to be from YouTube’s own staff.

“It's not okay to post violent or gory content that's primarily                     intended to be shocking, sensational, or disrespectful”

“Some people post videos that contain dramatized depictions of violence. Much like movies and TV, graphic or disturbing content that contains a certain level of violence or gore is not suitable for minors and will be age-restricted.“

“Videos showing such harmful or dangerous acts may get age-restricted or removed depending on their severity“

“Things like predatory behavior, stalking, threats, harassment,                          intimidation, invading privacy, revealing other people's personal                        information, and inciting others to commit violent acts or to violate                    the Terms of Use are taken very seriously“

YouTube deems KIDNAPPING, false imprisonment, mock execution and the psychological terrorizing of a teenager to be entirely acceptable.

Yeah, can you tell I’m still angry about this blatant and clear hypocrisy of yet another social media giant?

[whisperingtodarkness]

The Hypocrisy of YouTube - Sam Pepper

Okay, so hot on the heels of my previous post about the messed up psychology of Sam Pepper, I felt the need to add a little more to this.

You know what I was expecting? I was expecting the story to be picked up by various news outlets (which has been happening) and then for YouTube to see that this video breaches several of its own guidelines and for the content to be removed.

(Just to clarify, it definitely does breach several of their own terms regarding depiction of violence and threatening content).

I held out hope that they would also factor in his record of criminality in his videos (sexually assaulting strangers in public) and finally decide he’d had enough chances and just delete his account.

Unfortunately, even though 99.9% of all Twitter mentions of Sam Pepper are condemning his "prank”, even though he’s clearly acted illegally in his video, even though it now has more than 104,000 dislikes and presumably thousands of reports, and even though there’s now a petition to have his account removed (currently with more than 23,000 signatures in less than 5 hours) YouTube has... done absolutely nothing at all.

Worse still, YouTube told BBC Newsbeat that they have no intention of removing this violently disgusting video from their services, in spite of the fact that it is clearly in breach of several of their own terms.

Let’s get this into perspective, shall we?

If I uploaded a video using 10 seconds of a 1D track, my video can be deleted by YouTube for copyright infringement.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Using just seconds of music is grounds for deleting a video, but KIDNAPPING SOMEONE, restraining them inside the trunk of a car, tying them to a chair, and making them terrified for their life while they watch someone they care about being executed in front of them, is PERFECTLY FINE!

According to the best and brightest of YouTube, that is.

You know, I’m reminded of last year when several prominent YouTube personalities were invited to the White House by President Obama to help combat sexual assault on college campuses across America. I remember seeing plenty of those YouTube personalities making videos about their visit and talking about how important the campaign was.

That kind of thing doesn’t sit well with me when that same company is then excusing kidnapping, assault, terrorizing and mock-execution by one of their own users.

The hypocrisy is astounding. YouTube is down with ending sexual assault (and of course every sane person would be!) but perfectly indifferent when it comes to kidnapping and terror.

I wonder if ISIS has a YouTube channel yet? I’m sure they would have no problem with that either.

I’ve often looked at the places these corporations call their offices and been amazed at how laid-back and modern they are, but now I just can’t help but imagine all these companies are ran by 15 year old kids trapped in 40 year old hipster bodies. You know what I mean, people who think common sense and basic Humanity are too “cliche” for them.

I really do wonder if the people at YouTube are too busy building retro Lego models, oiling their beards and trying to buy $200 suspenders from a company no one else in the office has heard of to be in any way fussed about something as insignificant as their professional responsibility.

I’m reminded of Facebook, a site which deemed a beheading video to be acceptable, while banning photos of a same sex couple kissing.

Yeah, these are the kinds of modern corporate morons we’re having to deal with in 2015.

Can you tell this makes me angry?

It’s no longer just about the fact that Sam Pepper is a vile cretin who does vile cretinous things to make money, now it’s also about the corporate hypocrite supporting that vile cretin too.

I used to be totally jealous of the people who get to work at places like YouTube, but now I’m just sad for them. Imagine being those guys or girls in the office who saw that video and agreed that it was disgusting, knowing that the company you work for is happy to let it continue. How soul destroying would that be? No amount of vintage gum ball machines or giant slides from 2nd floor could make up for that.

This is not a divisive or morally complex issue, this has nothing to do with creative freedom, it’s not an issue of freedom of speech. The outrage is pretty much unanimous - Sam Pepper did something so disgusting and so offensive it should not need a team of YouTube PR people to weasel their way through it.

This should be a no-brainer, but the people making decisions at YouTube seem to be lacking a brain.

YouTube, you are so fucking wrong on this. You should not only be deleting that video, you should be banning Sam Pepper, then you should be handing that video over to the LAPD to see if they agree that kidnapping, holding someone captive and making them think they’re about to be murdered for a snuff film is a crime. I think you’ll find it most definitely is.

[whisperingtodarkness]

The disturbing psychology of YouTube “pranksters” - Sam Pepper

I was wondering whether to write this, but after seeing most of the video and thinking about it for a while (after reporting it, of course) I felt compelled to say something.

For those who don’t know, Sam Pepper is a 25 year old YouTube creator with a history.

He’s one of those people who doesn’t seem to comprehend what the word “prank” actually means.

For instance, YouTube had to act after he created a video sexually assaulting women in the street - but it was okay because it was “just a prank”. They took his video down.

He then uploaded another where the roles were reversed, presumably in an effort to make it look less disgusting than it actually was - equality!

Wisely, YouTube saw through his excuses of “social experiment” and took that one down too.

So, the new video is expected to be taken down any moment now after the vast majority of people rightly pointed out that it not only goes too far, it’s basically a mock execution, with added highlights of kidnapping and psychological torture.

He had help in creating something most would call criminal too, from a couple of equally delusional YouTube guys.

Friends Sam & Colby were the victim and collaborator for Sam Pepper’s “prank” respectively.

Here’s the story and theme of the video:

Sam is kidnapped. Yeah, not pretend, they actually jumped him, put a hood over his head, tied him up and shoved him in the trunk of a car.

They end up in a secluded location where Sam’s hood is removed after he’s been tied to a chair. Sam’s friend Colby is kneeling, hooded, while their masked “killer” (Pepper) executes him in front of Sam.

Obviously, the young man is traumatized by this. I’m not just saying that as an emotional response to seeing something so sickening being described as “a prank”, there is absolutely no doubt that such an experience has an effect on the Human mind. This genuinely has the potential to cause long term psychological trauma to the victim.

For the record, both Sam (the victim) and his friend have claimed that this “prank” has brought them closer together. Victim Sam claims that everything is fine and he’s supportive of the “prank”. Unfortunately, for someone older and wiser as I am I can only put this down to him being equally stupid.

This whole thing raises numerous issues:

1. Questions need to be asked of YouTube and their seemingly dismissive attitude to the content their users create. Let’s not pretend this was a “prank”, this was a mock execution, involving kidnapping, false imprisonment, with emotional and physical torture. There is NOTHING about this video which could even remotely be described as a “prank”. YouTube is presumably run by adults, but you would have to start wondering if this is the case when it allows a person who has displayed such a complete lack of reasonable judgment in the past to continue creating such content for their platform.

2. There also needs to be discussion about mental health. It’s clear to me that there are some on YouTube who seem to have a sociopathic desperation for views and subscribers, this needs to be confronted and dealt with when it arises. There have been plenty of mild examples of this in the past with some truly loathsome individuals creating deliberately offensive and violent content, people who will simply ignore the laws of their own countries or deliberately act in ways which most would describe as unacceptable for nothing more than the attention it gets them. What does it say about those creating such content and those viewing it?

3. There’s also responsibility with the public here. Thankfully, most of those seeing this video are restoring faith in the younger generation amongst observers like me by condemning this “prank”, but how many of those people will actually unsubscribe from his channel? I’m guessing not many. Actions speak louder than words, and if you really want to get the message home you need to actually do something ON PRINCIPLE. Complaining about it just isn’t enough if you’re still giving him your implicit support through following his work. Condemning him in a comment is meaningless if you’re still willing to help him earn money through the disturbing content he creates.

4. Legality is a major issue here. There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that kidnapping is a criminal offense. This is clearly seen in the video and the victim was not part of the prank. Sam Pepper and Colby have filmed themselves committing a crime, this is not open for debate. If you kidnap someone and hold them against their will you are committing a criminal act. That’s before we even get to locking him in the trunk of a car, or threatening him with death. This is not “open to interpretation”. Sam Pepper and Colby committed a crime, videoed themselves doing it, then shared that crime with the world. I’m unsure where the law falls on people convincing others that their life is in danger, or scaring someone with the belief that their friend has just been murdered in front of them, but there is no doubt at all they committed a crime by kidnapping, restraining and imprisoning their victim.

There’s more to be said about the psychology displayed here and the lack of judgment shown by all involved in this, but that could lead to a whole paper on the subject.

[curaete]

[queerlove]

reblog the gay frog in 30 seconds and you will meet the gay love of your life

[whisperingtodarkness]

I don’t believe you, but I really want to share that frog anyway.