Ogre Outrage

 Once this habit is well established, you have the delightful situation of a human saying things with the express purpose of offending and yet having a grievance when offense is taken.

C.S. Lewis- Screwtape Letters

One of the more gratifying trends in current political discourse has to be our success in fomenting  virulent verbal attacks between adversaries.  Through our efforts, contempt has been sanctified; acts of malice are seen as a sign of courage and strength rather than being acknowledged as indulgent vices born of cowardice.  

To this end, we have employed the technique of ogre outrage.  Vile and vicious epithets are spewed out under the guise of "speaking truth', knowing full well they hold only the slightest connection to veracity, and are designed sorely to inflict pain.  

If the slander prompts a negative response, the attacker then lambasts their victim; accusing them of trying to cancel legitimate discourse, or asserting that the gutter insults are merely "jokes", not to be taken seriously.

If, however, one does not respond to the verbal assault, then the vilification is deemed vindicated and a more pernicious denigration follows.  Thus, under the guise of dialogue, the most atrocious utterances can be voiced without any sense of remorse or responsibility; and should offense be taken, the attacker feels justified in being aggrieved.  

Outrageous Ogres acting offensively who are outraged when anyone is offended - that's what gladdens the hearts of the August Assembly.  

Dr. Mordacious "Deceit as the tool of Statecraft"

Gift of the MAGA

WE WILL GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WISH, BUT NOT THE PAIN OF ANOTHER.-

CORDWAINER SMITH

The era of MAGA sounds a despicable decree- we will give you nothing, but the pain of others.  For those who have become accustomed to misery and despair of escape, another's agony provides them solace.  This strain of sickness runs through the history of society; whether the spectacle of the colosseum or the squalor of the hometown hanging, the stupefying satisfaction derived from observing the torment of others has a dark hold on humankind.  

The birthright of suffering remains as sure as the upward flight of sparks, but the relish with which some devour the misfortunes of others- that is chosen and preventable.  Lacking beneficial offerings, MAGA  delights in inflicting anguish as it revels in dehumanizing and debasing vulnerable people.  Embracing exploitation, rending scapegoats, and mauling the defenseless gorge but never satiate their cravings for the suffering of others.  

They have squeezed themselves hollow with a lust for power, and no amount of cruelty and torture can fill that void.  This is the gift of the MAGA.

MASKS OFF

 How to start a war?  Nurture your own latent hungers for power.  Forget that only madmen pursue power for its own stake.  Let such madmen gain power- even you.  Let such madmen act behind their conventional masks of sanity.  Whether their masks be fashioned from the delusions of defense or the theological aura of law, war will come.

-Gowachin aphorism

War has come and with it, the loss of any semblance of sanity.  We are delivered whatever madness the day requires; delivered from the electronic rooftops throughout a land under siege.  Any that speak against it are denounced as traitors, branded as demons, and threatened with extermination.  

Bloodlust feeds a frenzy that sacrifices life, liberty and resources on the altar of hubris; an altar dedicated to a despot divorced from reason and compassion.  Conceive in fear and forged in hatred, his rages consume the country that elected him and threaten the world at large.  

The mask has been removed, revealing the darkest impulses hidden beneath.  The face of war mirrors our own.