I Don't Negotiate With . . .

9/5/2021

I've developed this sardonic habit of thinking whereby I turn well-known System catchphrases against the System itself.

My latest is a direct response to anything related to the birdemic and its propaganda, peck(s), pills, passports, or what have you:

Sorry, but I don't negotiate with terrorists.

13 Comments

Andrew

9/5/2021 20:08:21

On point!

William James Tychonievich link

9/5/2021 20:44:55

Exactly. "Negotiation" is a trap, since they don't negotiate in good faith. How many people agreed to get the peck so that they wouldn't be locked down, wouldn't have to wear a mask, etc. -- only to have the rules changed of them later?

Sean fFowler link

9/6/2021 09:51:42

Excellent I shall add that one to my repertoire.

Have you Francis, or any of your readers any sound advice on how to deal with accusations of racism and white privilege? They have some diabolically clever, tried and test methods of tying one up in knots. Rocks and hard places strewn about all over the the battle field.

Francis Berger

9/6/2021 11:41:07

@ Sean - I have always refused to respond to such accusations or wade into any conversation concerning litmus test topics for the simple reason that these issues are inherently dishonest and structured in a way that makes it essentially impossible to come out "on top" or "innocent". Furthermore, I don't like engaging with people who are itching to fight me on their terms. These sorts of "topics" are designed to put one on the defensive and keep one permanently on the defensive.

In my experience, responding to something like white privilege is in itself a validation and verification that such a thing exists as the accusers define it. Responding to accusations merely validates and verifies the accusations themselves.

Sometimes the best course of action on the battlefield is to simply refuse to step on the battlefield.

However, if you are forced into responding, I suggest saying that you would be happy to do so, but that you would require at least 45-60 minutes to present your arguments properly. During that time, the other party would have no other role but to listen. In addition, you would absolutely need this time to present your thoughts before you could effectively engage in any form of debate.

Chances are the matter will come to end right then and there.

Illuminatus

9/6/2021 13:47:14

Sean Fowler,

Just call them a pedophile, a communist, a traitor, and/or a Fake American(substitute the correct nationality; Empirically, for some reason "Fake American" triggers them a lot.)), and then end the discussion.

Here is an example of how it's done:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=3TSlVIqNHxE

Francis Berger

9/6/2021 14:07:22

@ Illuminatus - Yes, that is certainly an option and this sort of approach may indeed be effective, but I think the key here is to remember that the war we are fighting is fundamentally a spiritual war.

More to the point, one must be careful not to fall into the kind of potential demonic snares such confrontations may manifest.

Epimetheus

9/6/2021 14:57:56

As a white man, you have been written into the script as the villain. There's no sense getting angry or condescending about it - it only plays into the script.

Maybe it would work better to say things that would be impossible for a villain to say, things that re-humanize white men. The universal yearning for love and belonging, emotional poetry and music written by white men, etc. etc. Go off-script as much as possible. But I haven't had occasion to try this out myself yet, dunno if it would work.

Anthony Probst

9/6/2021 19:45:05

I've avoided interactions like this myself but I wonder if asking questions would help smooth the encounter: Are you optimistic for success of [whatever movement] given current conditions? From what you know of your adversaries will ongoing tactics be effective?

In other words, don't question the rightness of the cause but get them to tell you how attainable they think it is. See if there's an inner realist there.

Sean Fowler link

9/8/2021 11:11:11

Thank you francis and fellow readers.
I can’t help but think that I have a duty to confront all these lies and accusations, both to myself and the deluded fools who raise them. I was brought up to stand my ground and fight my corner. I think this lunacy has been allowed to thrive largely due to us remaining silent when confronted by it.
I feel I have more than enough in my Arsenal to deal with individuals or groups of individuals. The problem arises when being coerced into submission by an institution.

Francis Berger

9/8/2021 11:31:47

@ Sean - One last point if I may. Bruce recently addressed the topic of manipulation in communication, and I think that point is vital to remember here as well.

When you are accosted, it is not so much the content of the accusations, but the intent behind the accusations that matter the most.

Do the people who confront you see you as a subject with free agency or as an object they want to influence and control?

Put another way, do they want to share ideas with you in good will and faith in the hopes that you will also share ideas with them in good will and faith - and, ultimately, accept the reality that you have the "right" to decide upon the issue for yourself?

Or do they just want to "control" you into thinking how they think?

If you perceive the intent is manipulation, then there really is no point in debate or discussion.

This doesn't mean we shouldn't defend ourselves when necessary, but it does raise the question of what qualifies as "necessary". And that it is a matter of individual choice.

Sean fowler link

9/8/2021 12:34:32

@francis. Sorry to labour the point francis and I appreciate the wisdom of that which both you and Bruce are proposing. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. The intent of these people is invariably evil regardless of whether they believe that their intent is good or not. I agree that terrorists should not be negotiated with. I think that they should be confronted and destroyed. As things stand they are being allowed to run riot. Avoiding conflict is no way to engage terrorists either. Prioritizing the conservation of ones own soul and locking ones self in a spiritual toilet while there is a battle to be fought is a selfish act I fear. Solzhenitsyns great regret was that no one confronted the police who came to take them off to the gulags. That through the Russian people’s passive acquiescence they allowed it to happen and because of that he reached the conclusion that the Russian people had to share the blame.
The intent of these people is to manipulate. Not just the individual but the entire human race. In order to prevent this manipulation it is not enough for the individual to merely stand aside. Haven’t we, if we refuse to engage these people on the battlefield then we have already lost the war for our children, nations and our peoples. What happens on earth matters.

Francis Berger

9/9/2021 08:15:49

@ Sean - What happens on earth does matter, but it only really matters if it is determined by the spiritual, not the earthly.

I understand your frustration. Things get so bad we feel we simply must "do" something - Deus vult, and all that. I agree. We must "do" something. There is, as of now, no general formula for what we must "do." Everything is now personal and individual. Having said that, I am afraid that you will interpret anything I offer in this response as a clear sign of resignation, apathy, cowardice, or inaction.

The current state of the so-called cultural war can no longer be our primary concern. Not only because that war has effectively been lost (and decisively too), but because that war can only be won when the tide of the spiritual war has turned.

As Christians, our primary concern must be with the spiritual war - and that is fundamentally a war for souls, a war which includes our own souls. This war must come first. The war for souls is individual and personal. It is the choice between salvation and damnation. This is not selfishness, but a fundamental reality.

I am not a pacifist. Nor am I conflict-avoidant. I believe the enemy should be resisted and confronted, but I refuse to confront the enemy on a battlefield of their choosing - one that has been carefully arranged to provide them every advantage and their opponents with every disadvantage.

I also don't see any sense in fighting the enemy according to their own clearly defined and limited rules of engagement. To "fight" the enemy in this manner is to fall into a clearly set trap - to open oneself up to manipulation and, possibly, self-damnation. To resist evil also entails being able to resist obvious push button tactics that instill fear, anger, resentment, etc.

The spiritual war entails that we must resist evil actively and creatively rather than reactive-ly. We must focus on creation rather than destruction. Our position "for Good" must always be greater than our position "against evil."

Let's take the confront and destroy line of thinking to its ultimate "final solution" conclusion. Imagine a scenario in which every single God-hating leftist has been rounded up, shot, and unceremoniously dumped into a mass grave. Sure, you could argue that the world would be a better place, but do you think such an event would "defeat" evil?

More to the point, do you think such an event would serve God and Creation? Do you think it would help you in your own salvation and pursuit of theosis?

Back to real world circumstances. Take a look at that video link posted above. Would you say the confrontation depicted there led to anything good? Did it help stem the tide of the culture war? Did the blonde woman in red "win"? Was her opponent positively transformed by the confrontation in any way? Did the confrontation accomplish anything meaningful at all?

If you think it did, or if you believe the Holy Spirit is guiding you in this direction, then by all means engage in such confrontations. The young lady in the video certainly demonstrated her courage - she made sure she had a couple of bodyguards on hand before she initiated her confrontation.

Solzhenitsyn is right about the Russian masses - they were to blame. In this sense, we are all also to blame for our current circumstances, which is why we must repent and repent hard . . . "Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me."

You are obviously on the right side of spiritual war. You are able to discern and reject the lies. This in itself is already a great victory for God. The greater victory will not be found in continuously confronting the enemy on their terms, but in continuously creating the world on terms aligned with God and Creation.

And this happens primarily at the level of thinking, at the level of being free with God.

Moreover, if you have chosen to follow Christ into life everlasting, you have already won, regardless of what happens in the world.

You are now free to engage with the world (and evil) in ways those who have rejected Christ's gift cannot.

Let me repeat that - you are now free to engage with the world and evil in ways those who have rejected Christ's gift cannot.

Acknowledge this freedom. Embrace it. Don't throw it away.

Anyway, I don't want to keep adding bricks to this wall of text. I will have to expand upon these thoughts in future posts.

Sean Fowler link

9/11/2021 13:51:06

Thank you Francis. I don’t disagree with anything of that which you have written above. Nor would I consider you even for a second to be cowardly. And heaven forbid, I am not suggesting rounding up leftists and putting them in camps, only that we confront and destroy their arguments, delusions, policies lies. You have given me an awful lot to think about. Much appreciated.
We find ourselves in a very difficult situation. I feel that I have a duty to my fellow man to at least attempt to alleviate them of their delusions. Of this evil pandemic of lies that has been unleashed upon humanity.The only medicine I have at my disposal is truth, hopefully combined with fair degree goodness and beauty. This may more often than not turn out to be futile.still worth the effort.
Here, for me, is the real challenge, to fearlessly enter the lions den, the snares the and traps, set by a diabolically clever enemy and without allowing oneself to be contaminated by fear, hatred or resentment. This can only be achieved through love. It’s a question of motivation and exercising self control.
It is to easy as someone wishing to serve god to confront this enemy for the wrong reasons, when fighting monsters to become a monster oneself, but equally easy for a Christian to avoid engagement of the enemy for the wrong reasons, cowardice and selfishness being the two primary.
I am generally disappointed in my Christian brethren and church. At this point in time one feels we need a little more St Micheal and a little less Mother Teresa in drag.
I think we are all built differently. Some are sprinters others marathon runners others weight lifters. The same can be said of the spirit.
You’re right. We have to play the hand that’s dealt us.

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