What happens when "imagine if the roles were reversed" actually happens
Trump 2.0 is a case study in actually using power when you have it
I made a post on X that got some traction. Reposted here:
Things that have been un-bottled since the 2010s are not easily put back in the bottle
Based millennials remember the 2010s censorship. Gen Z got hit the worst with lockdowns
Appealing to "due process" isn't going to go over well for people who it was denied to
https://x.com/Bowtiedplayer/status/1913047642445119661
For well over a decade, the US right had this refrain of “imagine if the roles were reversed” to some leftist calamity, meaning that if the right attempted to use power in such a way, there would be some kind of popular outcry that would backlash against them. What I find rather poetic is it is now the left making these kinds of statements—but back to the point, the fact that this statement was made by the right in the first place shows how much cultural power they had at the time: not much.
The line “imagine if the roles were reversed” implies as a baseline condition that the left has mass popular support and that the right exercising power would quickly turn hostile. What we are seeing now is an unwind of the base layer protocol governing the social and political structures in the post-WW2 era, or I would argue even earlier than that, going back to Rooseveltism and the New Deal. Maybe even the government expansion under Wilson.
2020 was intended by the powers that be (at the time) to be the death knell of US populism, MAGA, or whatever label that you want to put on it—but actions have reactions. The left thought purely in terms of one man: Mr. Donald Trump. The destruction from the COVID lockdowns, say nothing of the mass riots and criminality actively encouraged by local officials in Portland and Seattle, did not go unnoticed—particularly by Gen Z men, who statistically poll much more towards the right than historically typical for the youth.
I assume readers here are familiar with the game theory concept of Prisoner’s Dilemma; if not, look it up on your own time. In a perfect political system, both sides choose benevolent tactics. In the world in which we live, the left used hostile tactics where the right used benevolent tactics—and this led to local officials becoming petty tyrants during 2020, this led to gender insanity, this led to rising crime in US cities because nobody wants to be called racist…and ultimately, it led to the baseline condition of the left having cultural power while the right is reduced to groveling about “imagine if the roles were reversed.”
Trump 2.0 is when the right starts responding to hostile tactics with hostile tactics. The flood the zone strategy has been wildly effective, and I was critical of Trump during the primaries. Consider that pardoning the January 6 protesters and Ross Ulbricht is already old news. Defunding USAID is already old news—and what a story that was. I had no idea about the levels of grift in that agency. I would also imagine that we start seeing more right of center candidates win elections globally now that USAID is not “fortifying democracy,” i.e. funding subversive organizations through NGOs.
The bottom line is that I'm not going to get lectured about due process after the COVID lockdowns. The left is going to have to come to grips that my view is not an isolated view, and there are now millions who are no longer interested in dialogue, much less negotiation or accommodation.
The way forward
What I would encourage the right, libertarians, and anyone who wants to see a more sensible set of policies and governance than the insanity since the Obama years: stop with the small dick energy. One of the best organized right of center activist groups I have seen is the New York Young Republicans Club.
New York City. About as blue as it gets. Meanwhile in Texas, I have seen on plenty of occasions that some random low-level city councilor in Austin says something liberal, and then the right goes into a doomscroll fit about how the state is doomed. Enough of this. This is just not productive.
Remember that optics and framing matter. I would avoid entirely reposting the freakout videos of some old liberal lady spazzing out at a Tesla driver. What gets posted often gets normalized. What we should be posting are our wins. Ignore the haters entirely. This is why I tuned out Fox News long ago, since it seems like half of the content is them criticizing MSNBC instead of any original thought of their own. We need to be thinking in terms of action, not reaction.
Lastly, times of disruption like these are big opportunities for ambitious and motivated people. This is our chance to set the framework for institutions that may be around for the next 80 to 100 years. I said back in 2021 after the election that I expect things will get worse before they get better. I see things now getting better.
https://x.com/Bowtiedplayer/