Felix Stalder <mailto:[email protected]>
9. Januar 2021 um 13:39
By now, I would venture to say that "trumpism" is finished.
By trumpism, I don't mean a specific ideology but a method. Trump never
had a coherent ideology. I think he was, basically, a resentful,
narcissistic entertainer/marketer who skillfully repeated the phrases
that elicited the loudest cheers. Sure, all three of them, his
resentfulness, his narcissism, and his marketing skills were on an epic
scale, but, nevertheless, this does not amount to an ideology. Sure, the
loudest cheers came from various corners of the racist, misogynist, and
nationalist right, each with its own deep and traditions in America, but
what bound them together was shared resentment and grievances, not
ideology.
The methodology is to create enough chaos, spectacle, volatility,
uncertainty, FUD (different names of the same underlying idea) so that
one could bend reality to adhere to one's wishes. There was no need to
care about facts because they would be created after in the aftermath of
action. This is a world of speech acts. Simply declaring things makes
them real. This is the world of entertainment, the world of finance, and
the world of politics, at least for their most powerful actors. Creating
rumors about falling prices can make prices fall, long enough for the
skillful insiders to profit from it. By the time they move back up, the
next thing can be created. The same method can also operate in politics.
If you apply just enough pressure, you can legislate almost anything
into reality. For Trump, the preferred way to execute this method was
using marketing to shape TV which would then be translated into money.
During his time in politics, the preferred marketing platform was
Twitter, geared towards TV as reality feeding back into various
money-making schemes.
This method, however, is entirely parasitic. It assumes that there is an
underlying support system capable of absorbing and smoothing over the
shocks, steadying the environment enough so that the next shock can be
applied. That support system can either be a legal team, a credit line,
or a well-functioning organization/administration that keeps the boat
afloat no matter what. This is, of course, a world of privilege, where
others constantly clean up so quickly that nobody really cares that the
master trashes the place.
And I think what happened on Wednesday was that the support system broke
down. It's kind of ironic, it was the police, largely sympathetic to the
demonstrators, that led it happen. Everyone could see that the place is
being trashed. I think this is the reason why quite a few people, like
Brian, were happy with this event. And I tend to agree with them.
I think, trumpism understood this way, as a form of violent, parasitic,
entitled mode of operation, is much larger than Trump as a person. So
it's ending might be more interesting than a president being abandoned
by his allies during the final days of his term.
He is both a symbol and an expression of late-stage capitalism. And it's
now most obvious form of parasitism lies in its relationship with the
natural environment. There is a parallel reckoning that the biophysical
systems that support human civilization are no longer capable of
absorbing the shocks inflicted by the particular method through which
this civilization operates. There are only so many hurricanes, floods,
droughts, and wildfires until even the Koch brothers understand that
weakening environmental regulations is a pyrrhic victory, expressing the
same kind of dead-end that the protestors found Nancy Pelosi's office to
be. Enough for some shallow gloating, but then?
The experience of a badly managed pandemic is another moment of
realization that a vital support system, whose existence was taken for
granted, can, indeed, break down at catastrophic costs, not just to
others, but to oneself.
This creates an extraordinarily open situation, in which even large
fractions of the core groups -- those with financial, social/political,
and cultural power -- realize that their respective status quo has
become untenable (marginalized groups knew this all along).
However, who can come up with a new, practical approach is unclear.
On the left, the vision is some kind of eco-socialism, a green new deal
with universal social (human and nonhuman) services, on the right, the
vision is some kind of eco-fascism with radicalized social services.
I think culturally speaking, they are both expressions of a necessary
post-humanist turn, even if they offer starkly different views of what
this "post" entails.
# distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
# <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
# collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
# more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l
# archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: [email protected]
# @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
Dan S Wang <mailto:[email protected]>
8. Januar 2021 um 20:46
Made by TV, made by social media. Trump, that is
Trump wanted to overthrow the election and his hardcore followers believed
that he would provide them direction, but in the end he proved that he is
unable to really lead when it counts. He is not a general, nor a
strategist, nor a coach, nor anything but a bluster machine (though a very
good one). Obvious to most of us, but a revelation to some not until they
were inside the capitol, wondering What now?
The backlash slapped him down and now the threats of impeachment, removal,
and sanctions yet to be figured, have Trump singing a completely different
tune. Stiff, uncomfortable, and surely fake--but a script for
self-preservation that even he knew had become necessary. (And in turn
creates dissonance among his people, some of those who vowed themselves
ready to die for his cause now crying betrayal. Hilarious.)
Why the (insincere) words acknowledging the end of his reign? Because of
all the reactions, the most important and effective in blunting the man's
thirst for chaos and desire to incite was Jack Dorsey's muzzling of the
Twitter account. Accompanied by a clear warning: keep this up and I'll ban
you from Twitter forever.
Donald Trump is addicted to Twitter, pure and simple. He doesn't want to
govern, he wants to tweet. He hates government meetings, legislative
processes, presidential ceremonies--but loves having his rapid-fire tweet
storms. More than any aspiring teen IG influencer, Twitch streamer, or
Facebook friend hoarder, Trump is addicted to hearts and retweets by the
millions.
Some fear once out of office Trump has enough capital (wait a minute, what
about that half billion in debt that's coming due??) to start a major news
and social media platform of his own. But he's not thinking about the
platform launch a year from now. He's too busy composing in his head his
next few tweets, and like any addict, already getting a charge from the
anticipation of the effects. For him it's Twitter or nothing.
And when Twitter turned the dial to zero for 12 hours, the reports are
that he sat alone in the White House residence riding a one-man roller
coaster of negativity, going from despair to rage and back. As has become
usual, unreachable by his aides or family. But for the first time unable
to tweet any of it.
A second impeachment? Invocation of the 25th amendment? Normally his
weapon of defense would be tweeting. With that taken out from his control,
and with the company making it plain that he doesn't own the platform, he
had no choice but to return to the activated account in a different kind
of voice albeit off-key (ie fake as hell).
This is merely one element in the larger drama, still unfolding as Prem
and others have noted. But the tension between Trump and Twitter, which is
to say, in some profound sense between Trump and himself, is a key
relationship to watch and one of the theaters in which power has shifted.
Whether he will reclaim it as a weapon, and what Twitter will tolerate,
will figure into the days to come, as well as Trump's capacity to continue
as a focal point for the always almost-fragmented hard right.
Keep sharing your takes, please. We're all digesting this together.
Dan
—Resident Artist, 18th Street Arts Center, Santa Monica, CA
@type_rounds_1968
@nowtime_asianamerica
danswang.xyz
On 1/8/21, 10:52 AM, "Molly Hankwitz" <[email protected] on
# distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
# <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
# collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
# more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l
# archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: [email protected]
# @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
Molly Hankwitz <mailto:[email protected]>
8. Januar 2021 um 19:52
not to nitpick, but they had a command and that was from Trump...to
"storm the capitol"
after that they had no serious intent to occupy the Capitol or, for
instance, to issue demands...
they were there to disrupt the electoral college vote confirmation by
Congress - on behalf of their leader (Trump)
your points about 'whiteness' are well-taken
we should not obscure 'reach' of whiteness trope, although one could
argue, I think that those caught up in the swirl of 'whiteness' may
think to themselves that they are a 'class' of some importance...
peace
molly
molly hankwitz - she/her
http://bivoulab.org
# distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
# <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
# collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
# more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l
# archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: [email protected]
# @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
Tara Mcpherson <mailto:[email protected]>
8. Januar 2021 um 18:57
It was definitely a mob, and I think Geert is right that this
particular event had no clear command.
But I would caution against assuming these rioters were all poor white
folk or that this was primarily about class. Many in the mob have now
been identified, and there were plenty of white collar hooligans in
the mix, some flying in on their private jets. The formation and
legacies of whiteness in the US are a key animating factor here in a
way that crosses class lines. It also fuels the way the mob claimed
the title “patriot” and invoked 1776.
Tara
(Sent by pneumatic tube.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* [email protected]
<[email protected]> on behalf of Geert Lovink
<[email protected]>
*Sent:* Friday, January 8, 2021 8:13:54 AM
*To:* a moderated mailing list for net criticism <[email protected]>
*Subject:* Re: <nettime> made for TV, made for social media
Good question, Keith.
Was it a putch without a purpose of a mob without a cause? For sure
they were all revved up, dazed by meme magick and shit, looking for
the best selfie opportunity.
Once we enter the heart of the power, and roam around there, we do not
face power as such. No need to repeat here what Foucault and many
other after him have written about power. We know, but what if one has
to experience this at first hand, as riot tourists?
The warriors were running through corridors, without a plan, needless
to say, without their leader, as he was sitting in front of his TV
set, around the corner, enjoying the images, watching the spectacle
unfold, yet remaining silent at the decisive moment.
There was no command, no plan, not even a serious counterforce. At
best it was a ‘disruption’ such as promoted by Silicon Valley venture
capitalists.
Geert
> On 8 Jan 2021, at 4:39 pm, Keith Sanborn <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Put another way, was it the burning of the Reichstag or the storming of the Winter Palace? or neither?
# distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
# <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
# collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
# more info:
https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!4ZlRYQvxRnxEGpBaDolKOdJ7WIEPd9iTmb7mHr3uHhhjtRY6B2Z47HSnjMr5MhY$
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l__;%21%21LIr3w8kk_Xxm%214ZlRYQvxRnxEGpBaDolKOdJ7WIEPd9iTmb7mHr3uHhhjtRY6B2Z47HSnjMr5MhY$>
# archive:
https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.nettime.org__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!4ZlRYQvxRnxEGpBaDolKOdJ7WIEPd9iTmb7mHr3uHhhjtRY6B2Z47HSnGQyZ9-Y$
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.nettime.org__;%21%21LIr3w8kk_Xxm%214ZlRYQvxRnxEGpBaDolKOdJ7WIEPd9iTmb7mHr3uHhhjtRY6B2Z47HSnGQyZ9-Y$>
contact: [email protected]
# @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
# distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
# <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
# collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
# more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l
# archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: [email protected]
# @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
Geert Lovink <mailto:[email protected]>
8. Januar 2021 um 17:13
Good question, Keith.
Was it a putch without a purpose of a mob without a cause? For sure
they were all revved up, dazed by meme magick and shit, looking for
the best selfie opportunity.
Once we enter the heart of the power, and roam around there, we do not
face power as such. No need to repeat here what Foucault and many
other after him have written about power. We know, but what if one has
to experience this at first hand, as riot tourists?
The warriors were running through corridors, without a plan, needless
to say, without their leader, as he was sitting in front of his TV
set, around the corner, enjoying the images, watching the spectacle
unfold, yet remaining silent at the decisive moment.
There was no command, no plan, not even a serious counterforce. At
best it was a ‘disruption’ such as promoted by Silicon Valley venture
capitalists.
Geert
# distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
# <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
# collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
# more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l
# archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: [email protected]
# @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
Keith Sanborn <mailto:[email protected]>
8. Januar 2021 um 16:39
Put another way, was it the burning of the Reichstag or the storming
of the Winter Palace? or neither?
# distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
# <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
# collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
# more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l
# archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: [email protected]
# @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
