Why I Am Optimistic: Trump is Losing His Pillars of Support

 

Why I Am Optimistic

When you’ve lost Laura Loomer, you’ve lost the conspiracy industrial complex.

Referencing “Why Civil Resistance Works,” Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan’s book of the same name,

Every autocrat has to depend on pillars of support: business community, security forces, civil servants and state media.

Trump is Losing His Pillars of Support

Business Community

Farming and construction industries are being hurt from a lack of workers to, well, do the work. Cue more expensive food. Small businesses that relied upon international trade are losing revenue because they lost their source of components and can’t replace them with something Made in the USA.

Wall Street

These idiotic tariffs have caused punishing losses on Wall Street - something which Trump is very sensitive to. More than that, Trump is always changing the tariffs and changing the deadlines for them to take place. Maybe no one in this administration has noticed, but the world economy is very inter-dependent and trade-reliant. Cut off the outside supply, and there will be panic in the boardrooms.

Share The Tell with Christine Axsmith

Civil Servants

There are massive layoffs of civil servants that have simply been reversed. Many are still without jobs, but thousands have returned to work. More than that, recent events like the flooding deaths have demonstrated to everyone the important role of government. Whatever you might think about the people working for this Administration, they can’t fly bombers or collect taxes. That takes civil servants.

Military/National Guard

There is resistance within the military and security ranks. I know this because immigration activists in Los Angeles were tipped off before the National Guard and ICE arrived in that park, which was virtually empty by the time they got there. The ones who did that had to be part of the security forces that were ordered to storm the park.

The Tell with Christine Axsmith is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Epstein-Haters

The howls of betrayal by (what is now) former Trump supporters was most striking. Even wacky Laura Loomer is condemning Trump for not releasing Epstein’s client list. Oh, and Alex Jones cried about it. He couldn’t bring himself to blame Trump at this point, but he will get there. My right-wing nutjob social media feed was full of Trump denunciations. He simply won’t get away with this reversal. Many of his supporters invested their identities in wanting retribution against the pervert elites. He will pay a big price for that one.

Joe Rogan Bros

When Joe “I don’t like to think too much” Rogan is condemning your policies for being stupid, you’ve got a problem. Actually, you’ve got several of them: it looks bad on the surface (where Joe likes to live) so you are losing the narrative, people feel sorry for immigrants who are just living their lives like them, people don’t want their neighbor sent to war-torn Sudan never to see their families again, and your policy is messing with how people see themselves.

Actually, that last one is a big one, and will be the focus of a future article.

Handy-Dandy Tips For Defeating Tyranny

Join the protests, but take a bath first. And comb your hair and wear clean, nice clothes. No one cares about your self-expression. You need people to be open to listening to your message first.

Maybe taking to the streets isn’t your thing. OK. Then find some other form of resistance. I told my paid subscribers my little action already, but find something that works for you: put up stickers that say “Don’t obey in advance” and “Defeat fascism”, delete Amazon and Twitter off of your phone (throw in Facebook and Instagram for good measure) OR READ A BOOK!!!!

You heard it here first, folks.

Fight the AI Slop

 

Fight the Machine

When I was a girl, some grown-up asked me why I used big words. “Because they’re pretty,” I answered. He was shocked, but it made sense to him. Later, I was fired from a babysitting job for using “weird words” that her daughter had started to use, too. “You mean vocabulary?” I asked. That was the end of the conversation.

And so, as we descend into the age of AI slop, let’s revive those little words and expressions that were such attractive curlicues in our language. In the decades since that question, I’ve expanded my expressions to include the archaic, which my husband and I traded back and forth daily. G-d, I miss that man. The words in old books are beautiful things, like discovering treasures in an old box of jewelry at a yard sale that has been overlooked for too long.

Who knew it could lead to revolution?

Share

Now that we are inundated with AI slop, what better way to evoke actual feelings than to communicate with words never used by AI? People are dying for real, authentic communication and connection. It gives a lift to the soul to know a person thought about you and wrote something meant for you. It didn’t used to. But here we are.

So here is a handy-dandy list of expressions to weave into your email discourse:

• whither, thither

• yon

• lest

• “draw a bath” means to fill the tub with water

• nary

• anon

• betwixt

• buss on the cheek

• naught

• wherewith

• ribald

• n’er do well

• rapscallion

• rapier wit

• cut to the quick

• to wit

Add to the list in the comments!

The Tell with Christine Axsmith is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Rewriting an AI Email 

From ChatGPT:

Subject: Temporary Closure of 5th Floor Bathrooms Due to Construction

Dear [Team/All],

Please be advised that due to scheduled construction work, the bathrooms on the 5th floor will be temporarily closed starting [start date] through [anticipated end date].

During this time, we ask that you use the restrooms located on other floors. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to improve our facilities.

If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to contact [Facilities/Building Management] at [contact info].

The Alternative:

Subject: Construction Inconveniences Impede Our Bathroom Use on the Fifth Floor

Dearest Co-workers and Uneasy Allies,

Alas, the fifth floor bathrooms are not available for use by any of us, no matter the need, for the next two weeks. Ongoing building improvements prevent any such measure of relief.

Until such time as these improvements are complete, please use the restrooms elsewhere in the building. Your inconveniences related to this situation are a cause of woe to us, the building management; and we are indebted to you for your graciousness and good manners.

Any inquiries will be embraced and promptly responded to. Our Facilities Manager always answers phone calls to this number xxx-xxx-xxxx and awaits your thoughts.

You Were Right and Nobody Cares

 

“You Voted For It”

Oh, how we love to gloat! Feels good, huh? Na-Na Na Na-Na! Whippee! I am superior! But somehow, it changes nothing. Those fools can’t see how wrong they were! They can’t admit they are idiots! What’s wrong with them?

Continuing on the theme of taunting and insulting people doesn’t change their minds, let’s examine a new way to analyze belief systems.  Chris Shelton, a cult expert, just introduced a new model of understanding belief and persuasion: REM. 

“The REM model gives us a way to move beyond surface-level disagreement. We stop asking ‘why are they so irrational?’ and start asking ‘what emotional needs or moral beliefs are shaping this person’s logic?’” explained Shelton.

This new approach explains how people fall into cults and certain belief patterns like conspiracies or politics. Essentially, he “wanted to understand why people act the way they do.” That’s what the REM model explains. Further, it is a model to understand all human belief, not just extreme ones. Any quotes are attibutable to Chris Shelton.

Share The Tell with Christine Axsmith

Reason - Emotion - Morality

Reason 

Reason or rationalization. It is the reasoning we use to justify our behaviours after the fact. Actually this type of thinking is usually just coming up with rationalizations. It is the logic people tell themselves about what they think or how they act. 

Emotion

Emotion layer includes “our immediate emotional reactions and our longer-term emotional needs,” according to Chris Shelton. “Needs like safety, connection, identity, control and meaning.” It could include acceptance, relief from grief or trauma, stability or “validation they never got elsewhere,” Shelton said. These powerful emotional needs are drivers for behaviour and then reason comes along to justify it.

Morality

Deepest part of who we think we are. Good/evil, right/wrong. Emotionally grounded and feels true. A shift in this layer will change an entire worldview. 

To get the emotional need met, morality can shift to “obedience is good, outsiders are evil, and questioning the leader is wrong.”

Reciting facts won’t work to change their mind because the underlying emotional needs are still being met by the belief system. “It also explains why a person leaves a cult, like when they see a leader contradict their teachings it hits the core. The emotional needs of belonging starts to conflict with emotional reactions anger or grief from what they’ve seen.” Then reasoning starts to change.

People don’t change because of logic alone. Safety and shifted values lead to change.

It is the moral break from the old belief system that leads to change, not reasoned arguments. When “a moral foundation shifted, the emotional bond cracked, and suddently all the rationalizations fell away,” explained Shelton. People don’t change because of logic alone. Safety and shifted values lead to change.

“The REM model gives us a way to move beyond surface-level disagreement. We stop asking ‘why are they so irrational?’ and start asking ‘what emotional needs or moral beliefs are shaping this person’s logic?’” explained Shelton.

Foundations for beliefs need to change first - then the beliefs will change. It explains why logic and facts don’t persuade people. Personally, I think this idea a ground-breaking. If a person feels safe, valued and heard, you could change their beliefs in time. “Connection, storytelling and shared values” change minds.

“If you want to help someone change, arguing with their reason rarely works. Instead, listen for the emotional needs they are protecting. Pay attention to the moral values they are trying to live up to. That’s where real transformation happens.”

The REM model is useful in everyday life, not just extreme examples like cults. When in disagreement with someone else, ask youself: What layer am I reacting from? Am I stuck in reason while the real reason is emotional or moral? Or when judging others, ask yourself what needs or values might be underneath their behaviour?

See Shelton’s better explanation:

https://youtu.be/DOPdEf1TGNM