{"id":21172,"date":"2024-02-24T17:35:13","date_gmt":"2024-02-25T01:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/?p=21172"},"modified":"2024-02-25T10:56:02","modified_gmt":"2024-02-25T18:56:02","slug":"agents-of-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2024\/02\/24\/agents-of-chaos\/","title":{"rendered":"Agents of Chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>A piece in <em>The Atlantic<\/em> about people who embrace chaos and nihilism &#8212; and spread conspiracy theories just to alleviate boredom, or burn it all down;<\/li>\n<li>And an example of this: <em>Washington Post<\/em> on Libs of Tik Tok;<\/li>\n<li>And recalling a scientifictional counterpart: Harlan Ellison&#8217;s 1965 short story &#8220;&#8216;Repent, Harlequin!&#8217; Said the Ticktockman&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a substantial article about a possible deep explanation for so much of what&#8217;s going on lately, as well as the entire popularity of conspiracy theories. I come to this in the context of Harari&#8217;s speculations about what people in the future will do when or if they don&#8217;t need to work anymore. (In <strong>Homo Deus<\/strong>, reviewed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2020\/02\/07\/yuval-noah-harari-homo-deus-a-brief-history-of-tomorrow-2017-2015-in-israel\/\">here<\/a>. Chapter 9.) Take drugs (i.e. pharmacology to mediate moods and behavior), and play computer games.<\/p>\n<p>(Or become obsessed watching sports, I might add.)<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s another idea.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theatlantic.com\/thumbor\/pf70-wyzRqemrn0rNsZChxwXRIQ=\/0x0:2000x1125\/976x549\/media\/img\/mt\/2024\/02\/political_chaos\/original.png\" width=\"250\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Atlantic, Derek Thompson, 23 Feb 2024<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2024\/02\/need-for-chaos-politicsl-science-concept\/677536\/\">The Americans Who Need Chaos<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;They\u2019re embracing nihilism and upending politics.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Several years ago, the political scientist Michael Bang Petersen, who is based in Denmark, wanted to understand why people share conspiracy theories on the Internet. He and other researchers designed a study that involved showing American participants blatantly false stories about Democratic and Republican politicians, such as Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump. The subjects were asked: Would you share these stories online?<\/p>\n<p>Petersen felt as though he\u2019d tapped a new vein of nihilism in modern politics\u2014a desire to rip down the Elites, whatever that might mean. He wanted to know more about what these people were thinking. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/american-political-science-review\/article\/need-for-chaos-and-motivations-to-share-hostile-political-rumors\/7E50529B41998816383F5790B6E0545A\" data-event-element=\"inline link\">In further research<\/a>, he and his co-researchers asked participants how much they agreed with several statements, including the following:<\/p>\n<div class=\"ArticleLegacyHtml_root__WFd2I ArticleLegacyHtml_standard__kC_zi\">\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li>\u201cWe cannot fix the problems in our social institutions, we need to tear them down and start over.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201dI need chaos around me\u2014it is too boring if nothing is going on.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWhen I think about our political and social institutions, I cannot help thinking \u2018just let them all burn.\u2019\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The researchers came up with a term to describe the motivation behind these all-purpose conspiracy mongers. They called it the \u201cneed for chaos,\u201d which they defined as \u201ca mindset to gain status\u201d by destroying the established order. In their study, nearly a third of respondents demonstrated a need for chaos, Petersen said. And for about 5 percent of voters, old-fashioned party allegiances to the Democratic Party or the Republican Party melted away and were replaced by a desire to see the entire political elite destroyed\u2014even without a plan to build something better in the ashes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>So: sow chaos for the sake of sowing chaos. This could explain the motivation of some conspiracy mongers. Through stuff against the wall to see what sticks. They get off alarming people; it gives them a kind of power. And with more and more people with time on their hands, we can expect to see more of this.<\/p>\n<p>\\<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s an example. I&#8217;ve heard of this group before, but not paid close attention to it.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-apps\/imrs.php?src=https:\/\/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/DEOQYWMVP64FLVLSKXKXCVF2RU.jpg&amp;w=916\" width=\"200\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Washington Post, Taylor Lorenz, 25 Feb 2024<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2024\/02\/24\/libs-tiktok-oklahoma-nonbinary-teen-death\/\">How Libs of TikTok became a powerful presence in Oklahoma schools<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;The owner of the far-right social media account, who sits on a state advisory panel, has drawn attention since the death of a nonbinary student near Tulsa&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Beginning,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Far-right activist Chaya Raichik splits her time between California, where she\u2019s registered to vote, and Florida, where she often travels. But the place where she arguably is having the biggest impact these days is Oklahoma, a state she\u2019s visited only once.<\/p>\n<p>Raichik, who operates the social media account Libs of TikTok, has amassed an audience of millions on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, largely by targeting LGBTQ+ people. Last month, Raichik was appointed to the Oklahoma Library Media Advisory Committee by Republican schools superintendent Ryan Walters, a former history teacher who has been called \u201cthe state\u2019s top culture warrior\u201d for his opposition to teachers unions and other conservative targets, including LGBTQ+ students\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>As Libs of TikTok, Raichik has been blamed for sparking bomb threats, property damage, shooting threats, written and verbal harassment and other forms of violence against individuals, hospitals and schools across the country \u2014 including in Oklahoma, according to GLAAD, a nonprofit LGBTQ+ advocacy group. In her <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChayaRaichik10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">profile picture<\/a> on X, she is holding a newspaper that reads: \u201cwhen Libs of TikTok posts, threats increasingly follow.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And she&#8217;s proud of this.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In a podcast interview this week about the violence that follows her posts, Raichik smiled <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AriDrennen\/status\/1759994589065380209\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">and said <\/a>she\u2019s proud of being called a stochastic terrorist \u2014 someone who inspires supporters to commit violence by demonizing a person or group.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wpds-c-PJLV article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy\" dir=\"null\" data-testid=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\">\u201cHonestly, like, that makes me feel really important,\u201d Raichik <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AriDrennen\/status\/1759994589065380209\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Some people build; others get their jollies tearing down. What do will call the latter? How about: sociopaths.<\/p>\n<p>Reading further:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>After attending the <a class=\"contextual_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/january-6-capitol-riot\/?itid=lk_inline_manual_27\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jan. 6<\/a>, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, she amassed an audience by promoting <a class=\"contextual_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/coronavirus\/?itid=lk_inline_manual_27\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">coronavirus<\/a> denialism and false stories about child sex trafficking, in addition to casting doubt on the results of the 2020 presidential election.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>So she believes lots of things that aren&#8217;t true. Not a surprise. As I&#8217;ve noted before, certain traits among the crazies align.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s Wikipedia: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Libs_of_TikTok\">Libs of TikTok<\/a>. Quite a long piece. And Tucker Carlson praised it! No surprise.<\/p>\n<p>Or how about: domestic terrorists.<\/p>\n<p>\\\\<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a science fiction counterpart to this idea: Harlan Ellison&#8217;s 1965 short story <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%22Repent,_Harlequin!%22_Said_the_Ticktockman\">&#8220;Repent, Harlequin!&#8221; Said the Ticktockman<\/a>. About a noncomformist who made mischief. But that was in the 1960s, when increasing automation led people like the Harlequin, and Ellison, to rebel against social rigidity. Alarm clocks. Trains that ran to set schedules. The Harlequin would disrupt the smooth workings of society in various absurd ways; he wasa cast as the hero. The story won the two awards of the time, the Hugo and the Nebula, and 50 years later won a Prometheus Hall of Fame Award. And has been anthologized many times. But that was then; this is now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A piece in The Atlantic about people who embrace chaos and nihilism &#8212; and spread conspiracy theories just to alleviate boredom, or burn it all down; And an example of this: Washington Post on Libs of Tik Tok; And recalling &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2024\/02\/24\/agents-of-chaos\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,90,16,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservative-resistance","category-conservatives","category-culture","category-science-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21172"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21179,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21172\/revisions\/21179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}