White Horse (Trailer Park Rome, Revisited II.)

 [ISB director Col Wullf Yularen addresses Major Partagaz and all ISB officers in the wake of the Aldhani raid]

Col. Wullf Yularen: The criminals responsible for last night's atrocity on Aldhani think they've taken the Empire by surprise. We know better. We know the real shock will be when they discover how ready and eager we are to respond, to be prepared, to be here this morning and know that the only question we need to answer is how tight to close our fist. This is why we plan. This is why we work so hard when we're at peace. This is why we recruit so carefully and demand so much. The following measures will be adopted Empire-wide as of today. A tribute tax equal to five times the amount stolen from Aldhani will be levied on any sector harboring partisan activity. We will make it clear that no one steals from the Empire. The use of any local custom, festival, or tradition as cover for rebel activity will trigger permanent revocation of Imperial tolerance. I spoke with Emperor Palpatine last night, and he's assured me that the ISB will be taking the lead going forward. No one in this room should have trouble accessing Army or Naval resources in future. The Emperor will be convening an emergency session of the Senate to propose a legislation package of bills and amendments that will free our hands in all matters of surveillance, search, and seizure. We will be invoking the Public Order Resentencing Directive later today. P-O-R-D. Any criminal act, with even indirect effect on the Empire, will henceforth be branded a Class One Offense. All prison sentences are immediately re-evaluated. All outstanding fines and levies are to be paid in full.

~From the Star Wars series Andor, S1.E7 "Announcement."

...

The Holy Quran says it, "Pilgrimage to the House [of God built by the prophet Abraham] is a duty men owe to God; those who are able, make the journey." (3:97) Allah said: "And proclaim the pilgrimage among men; they will come to you on foot and upon each lean camel, they will come from every deep ravine" (22:27). Every one of the thousands at the airport, about to leave for Jeddah, was dressed this way. You could be a king or a peasant and no one would know. Some powerful personages, who were discreetly pointed out to me, had on the same thing I had on. Once thus dressed, we all had begun intermittently calling out "Labbayka! (Allahumma) Labbayka!" (Here I come, O Lord!) Packed in the plane were white, black, brown, red, and yellow people, blue eyes and blond hair, and my kinky red hair -- all together, brothers! All honoring the same God, all in turn giving equal honor to each other. . . .That is when I first began to reappraise the "white man." It was when I first began to perceive that "white man," as commonly used, means complexion only secondarily; primarily it described attitudes and actions. In America, "white man" meant specific attitudes and actions toward the black man, and toward all other non-white men. But in the Muslim world, I had seen that men with white complexions were more genuinely brotherly than anyone else had ever been. That morning was the start of a radical alteration in my whole outlook about "white" men. ~Malcolm X.

I saw this AI slop shit last night.

Trump, riding horses with George Washington.

The people who beat their meat to the idea of Trump as their Man On The White Horse (from Revelation) told on themselves, because they put Trump on the Black Horse.

And if you don't think that's exactly what the fuck is going on here, read the above public statements by the CEO of that Electroshock glove company that's in the news lately.

He thinks Trump was sent by God.

These Fucking People, fundamentally, think they can beat (or shock) the rest of the world into compliance with their horseshit (And I say that as a Christian, it's utter horseshit.) It's not a fucking accident that one of the other big items in the news lately is 1980's/1990's Focus On The Family type "Moral Majority" people who are now old and starting to die off, have the fucking BALLS to wonder why their kids have cut them off and won't talk to them. This after they bought James Dobson's abusive BS whole-hog and abused the shit out of their kids.

Now, neither my partner nor I was ever subjected to that crap, our parents weren't that kind of religious people. I'm ADHD, she's Autistic but wasn't diagnosed until much later in life. 

Her issues got listed as behavioral problems. We both had counseling and whatever psychological support was available in the 1980's and 1990's respectively. 

Guess what?? Growing up with those issues at those times still sucked gigantic ass.

And yes, I'm absolutely going to put a face on this mess, because people that could be or could have been affected by this kind of crap are important to me. And if you don't like it or want to think about it, fuck you.

[Cassian Andor and a number of men are sent to the Narkina Five prison complex]

Prison officer: Welcome to Narkina Five. This is an Imperial factory facility. You've all been assessed as labor-worthy. Now, following this introduction, you'll be transferred to your level assignment and workroom, where your floor manager will explain the details of our schedule and expectations. Your length of stay has been predetermined. The quality of that time will be up to you. Now, those who've been incarcerated before will be surprised by the calm, sanitary conditions, and our minimally invasive enforcement techniques. Well, I'm sure some, if not all of you, are wondering, how we risk standing before you without weapons? It's a potent question. And hopefully, one you won't need to have answered very often, but... [activates electric floor and the new prisoners are shocked to floor before he turns it off] You may stand. That was level one of three. Our floors are Tunqstoid steel. Do your time productively, keep to your lane, and this needn't be more than a memory. Good luck to you.

~From the Star Wars series Andor S1.E8 "Narkina 5."

Now America and its educational and medical professions (and allegedly even Law Enforcement) all supposedly know better and until very recently this was fairly bipartisan. However, that was before Republicans, no, not MAGA...Republicans, as in the institutional kind...think they wanna be the Empire from Star Wars but all started competing to be that guy from Season One of Andor that went around shouting "On Program!" at all the other prisoners in the Imperial factory gulag building Death Star parts. 

Now? Along with Trump 2.0 there's still a small movement of people that basically just want to beat (or shock) your kids (and their fellow citizens) into compliance with whatever Unga Bunga bullshit. 

It won't work.

I'm waiting for the first time this happens and some ignorant-ass gym teacher, School Resource officer or security rent-a-cop who did this bullshit gets their face blown off by an irate parent (whose kid got shocked for *Checks Notes* basically just being a kid) with a shotgun at point-blank range.

(And, considering the national backlash and these fucking things are just now being deployed, gets off because a jury that would normally convict a ham sandwich for about anything won't.)

And/or some shit-ass school district in a place like Dry Hump, Alabama becomes national news and gets their shit sued into oblivion by more liberal, louder activist-attractant or wealthier parents. Yeah, I'd imagine Ben Crump among others are waiting for this to happen.

Not what I'd do, I more likely fall in the first category and damn the consequences, but either way it's human nature to resist, one way or the other. It never fails to amaze me that there's a large faction of so-called "Conservatives" that seems to be very confused by this fact and/or maintain a "Tread on me harder, Daddy!" attitude in the face of it.

Because oh, yes, if you don't resist this fucking garbage, that is exactly what's going to happen to you.

Too many people don't fucking get that.

The Empire doesn't give a fuck about you, homie.

It's the White People these motherfuckers wanna enslave and colonize now, because that's who they couldn't get at before.

Like I fucking said, there's a lot of these people lately coming off like they think they're gonna be some kind of Roman Plebeians or some shit. The thing is, even in Ancient Rome, the State feared the power of the Mob and at least sought to keep the people distracted. Very few emperors let alone other officials were dumb enough to be like "Look at me! Look at me! I'm oppressing the People! Aren't I wonderful?"

There's a fair number of Roman Emperors and other famous people of that time that were probably clinically insane and likely today would be called narcissists...but, unlike Trump and a lot of today's cops and/or Republicans, they weren't stupid.

And, among other things, Rome as a society recognized that courage was and is the highest virtue.

America no longer does that, which is why we're Biblical-grade LOST.

And we WILL provoke the Wrath of God, if we are not doing so already.

Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. ~Ezekiel 16:49-50 (NIV)

As much as some people like to pretend otherwise, America is not Rome.

In Rome, a certain level of physical courage or at least decorum was expected, demanded and socially enforced. A person who transgressed that would almost certainly suffer physical consequences for their actions. I mean, fuck, one such way is literally the root of where the term "Fascism" even comes from.

These Fucking People are such soft-handed bitches.

We're becoming a mutant love-child of Babylon and Sodom, because of the Republicans, not the gay people.

This bullshit only persists if we allow it.

Resist.

Because honestly, they wouldn't be trying so goddamned hard nor obviously and Epically Furiously failing at it if they had this whole thing in the bag.

This is going to end badly, but it will be worse for them.

Слава Україна!

[Cassian plays Nemik's audio diary]

Karis Nemik: There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy. Remember this. Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they've already enlisted in the cause. Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward. And then remember this. The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire's authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege. Remember this. Try. 

~From the Star Wars series Andor, S1.E12 "Rix Road."

One

[At ISB headquarters, Major Partagaz plays a clip of Karis Nemik's audio diary as Supervisor Lagret enters the conference room]

Major Leo Partagaz: I'm assuming you've heard it before.

Supervisor Lagret: Bits and pieces.

Partagaz: Just keeps spreading, doesn't it?

Lagret: It's been hard to contain.

Partagaz: Who do you think it is?

Lagret: I'm afraid they're waiting for you, sir. I told them I'd bring you down.

Partagaz: [breathes heavily and inhales sharply] May I have a moment to collect my thoughts?

[Lagret leaves. Outside the room, he hears a blaster sound, indicating Major Partagaz has shot himself.] 

~From the Star Wars series Andor, S2 E12 "Jedha, Kyber, Erso."

The martyrs of history were not fools, and our honored dead who gave their lives to stop the advance of the Nazis didn't die in vain. Where, then, is the road to peace? Well, it's a simple answer after all. You and I have the courage to say to our enemies, "There is a price we will not pay." There is a point beyond which they must not advance. This is the meaning in the phrase of Barry Goldwater's "peace through strength." Winston Churchill said that "the destiny of man is not measured by material computation. When great forces are on the move in the world, we learn we are spirits — not animals." And he said, "There is something going on in time and space, and beyond time and space, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty. ~Ronald Reagan