Ok, I admit it.   Some part of my reptile brain is confused when I see BLM 
signs, because it hashes to the other thing.. for developmental reasons, I 
guess.

From: Friam <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Steve Smith
Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2021 4:18 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] civil war(s)


I live on Bundy Lane (100 meters long, with three other households) off of NM 
502 and when I give directions to the house I describe it as "Bundy Lane as in 
Al or Ted" but have had to add "or Ammon and Cliven"  to be more current.   In 
another decade I hope none of those references mean anything.

Yes, there is an element of "chumming" among all the "spinning" and "churning". 
  I also liked Glen's usage of "spinning" with "Wing Nuts"  a while back... if 
Doug were still with us, he'd probably throw in some off-color reference to 
"Spinners" as well.  The boon/bane of metaphor I suppose.


On 3/10/21 4:41 PM, Roger Critchlow wrote:
Or chumming, as in throwing bloody fish in the water to attract sharks.

I read BLM protests on first scan as a reference to the Bundy stand-off, per 
Wikipedia:

The 2014 Bundy standoff was an armed confrontation between supporters of cattle 
rancher Cliven Bundy<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliven_Bundy> and law 
enforcement following a 21-year legal dispute in which the United States Bureau 
of Land Management<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management> 
(BLM) obtained court orders directing Bundy to pay over $1 million in withheld 
grazing fees<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grazing_fees#United_States> for 
Bundy's use of federally owned land adjacent to Bundy's ranch in southeastern 
Nevada<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada>.

Just another note on the hazards of acronyms.  Especially with erratic memories 
involved.

-- rec --

On Wed, Mar 10, 2021 at 3:28 PM Steve Smith 
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:



Not speaking for Nick, *I* think politics (vs statesmanship) are at the very 
*least* _rhetorical_.   I believe rhetoric often includes direct deceit.  A 
great deal of politics in the US today (maybe forever) is acutely deceitful, 
even when it isn't attack-oriented.  One party is significantly more bold than 
the other in that regard.  DaveW may invert the sense of that judgement, but 
probably agrees that deceptive rhetoric is a mainstay in politics.

I think the "Civil War" metaphor isn't just deceitful, it is intentionally 
provocative and deeply disingenuous.  My personal opinion is that the angry 
Right Mob and the Puppeteers yanking their strings wants a *literal* Civil War 
so that they can exercise their superior firepower and brutality to 
obtain/retain singular minority rule over a growing majority coalition of 
minorities.   I think the rhetoric of the last year from that quarter trying to 
imply that the LEFT was on the verge of starting a hot Civil War if they 
"didn't get their way" was more projection, and intended to create a certain 
amount of cover and/or precedent for the type of coup attempt we saw on 
December 37th and the acute threats of violence from the right that has been 
bubbling for a very long time.

Perhaps "Cold Civil War" is more apt and less suggestive of 
endorsing/tolerating violence as a means.

Even the most violent of BLM and related protests did not aspire to overthrow 
government or reverse an election.   While their attempts to hold law 
enforcement accountable in response to specific recent incidents (it is not a 
small list) and systemic abuses might have risen above a threshold of violence 
that many of us might approve, the movement was NOT about disenfranchising 
anyone except the very public servants who are supposed to work for us 
("Protect and Serve").

All that said, I'm not unsympathetic with the resentments "the common man" has 
against their elected Representatives in our Republic, but any rhetoric that 
suggests that the Left is worse than the Right is acutely disingenuous.

Regarding the term "spin"...  I *do* think it is apt in the sense of "making 
your head spin" but I think the metaphor of "churn" is yet more apt in the 
sense that a great deal of the point seems to be to generate lots of 
obfuscation by conflation.   Muddying the waters...

- Steve


That's because you think politics is essentially deceitful?

-- rec --


On Wed, Mar 10, 2021 at 1:59 PM 
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
I always thought the metaphor was to a web of deceit.
n

Nick Thompson
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/

From: Friam <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> On 
Behalf Of Roger Critchlow
Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2021 12:53 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group 
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] civil war(s)



On Tue, Mar 9, 2021 at 3:34 PM Prof David West 
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
schisms might be a better metaphor than civil war.

you are correct that there is, and always has been, "churn" among factions 
within both parties and any significance given to a particular instance of that 
churn e.g GOPS taking committee assignments away from a flake or the Nevada 
state party instance — originate in the mind of the one pointing at the event 
rather than intrinsic to the event itself. One reason that I find most 
political headlines to be examples of wishful thinking rather than 
communicators of significance.

davew

Second that, it's why they call it spin, cause it makes your head spin if you 
pay too much attention.

-- rec --
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