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Well, his chief strategist is Steve Bannon, whose stated goal is to destroy both sides of the establishment in a Lenin-esque uprising through misleading narrati

by bbctol 10y ago

Well, his chief strategist is Steve Bannon, whose stated goal is to destroy both sides of the establishment in a Lenin-esque uprising through misleading narratives and clever media manipulation.

aetherson 10y ago
Neat. My stated goal is to have my current stock options be worth $20 million+ in the next three years. It's possible that both Bannon and I will be disappointed.
- kharms 10y ago
  Well, you're just a dude on the internet, while Bannon got a Trump elected so I'd say his odds of success are a little higher than yours.
  - aetherson 10y ago
    His goal is also a little more ambitious than mine. And it's far from clear that Bannon was anything like dispositive in getting Trump elected. Having a stated goal doesn't mean that you have the means to make that goal happen. Also: You're just a dude on the internet, but you've apparently deciphered the evil scheme of this master of media manipulation. Are we supposed to believe that you're uniquely talented, or what?
    - roninb 10y ago
      You should proofread your comments before you hit "reply" to avoid easy downvotes and flags. > stated goal and > deciphered the evil scheme very directly conflict as concepts. The above poster did not have to "decipher" anything because the goal is "stated."
    - patcon 10y ago
      > but you've apparently deciphered the evil scheme of this master of media manipulation. Uh. He paraphrased, but could've just copy-pasted for same effect. Jeez man, just do a search before you challenge... > “I’m a Leninist,” Mr. Bannon was quoted as saying by a writer for The Daily Beast who met him at a party in 2014. He later said he did not recall the conversation. “Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal, too,” the site quoted him as saying. “I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.” http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/us/politics/stephen-bannon-breitbart-words.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/us/politics/stephen-bannon...
      - aetherson 10y ago
        Okay, so here's the deal: Bannon shot his mouth off at some point and made some grandiose claims about his goals. There's no particular reason we should believe them, and no particular reason we should think he's capable of those goals even if he does actually hold them, rather than being something he said to sound cool at a party. But, if we accept for the moment that Bannon really is going to destroy the state by manipulating the media, and that we should take seriously for just one second that he might be capable of that, we find immediate direct evidence that he is in fact not capable of directing a secret conspiracy to manipulate the media after all: because he told people he was going to do it, got quoted by the media, and ended up in the crosshairs of people like you, who are now presumably going to be watching his sinister schemes and warning other people.
        bbctol 10y ago
        What's with this belief that the only way something can work is if it's kept secret? It's not a "sinister scheme": it's a plan. And it works not because of deception, but because plenty of people believe in it, or are willing to follow it. "Warning" people about manipulation doesn't stop manipulation at all, especially not when the goal is simply to reduce trust all around. Dismantling institutions will not be done secretly, it is being done openly (which is what you initially seemed to doubt.) There's no secret conspiracy. Secret conspiracies are not the only thing a person could possibly be worried about.

by bbctol 10y ago

Well, his chief strategist is Steve Bannon, whose stated goal is to destroy both sides of the establishment in a Lenin-esque uprising through misleading narratives and clever media manipulation.

aetherson 10y ago

Neat. My stated goal is to have my current stock options be worth $20 million+ in the next three years. It's possible that both Bannon and I will be disappointed.

kharms 10y ago
Well, you're just a dude on the internet, while Bannon got a Trump elected so I'd say his odds of success are a little higher than yours.
- aetherson 10y ago
  His goal is also a little more ambitious than mine. And it's far from clear that Bannon was anything like dispositive in getting Trump elected. Having a stated goal doesn't mean that you have the means to make that goal happen. Also: You're just a dude on the internet, but you've apparently deciphered the evil scheme of this master of media manipulation. Are we supposed to believe that you're uniquely talented, or what?
  - roninb 10y ago
    You should proofread your comments before you hit "reply" to avoid easy downvotes and flags. > stated goal and > deciphered the evil scheme very directly conflict as concepts. The above poster did not have to "decipher" anything because the goal is "stated."
  - patcon 10y ago
    > but you've apparently deciphered the evil scheme of this master of media manipulation. Uh. He paraphrased, but could've just copy-pasted for same effect. Jeez man, just do a search before you challenge... > “I’m a Leninist,” Mr. Bannon was quoted as saying by a writer for The Daily Beast who met him at a party in 2014. He later said he did not recall the conversation. “Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal, too,” the site quoted him as saying. “I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.” http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/us/politics/stephen-bannon-breitbart-words.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/us/politics/stephen-bannon...
    - aetherson 10y ago
      Okay, so here's the deal: Bannon shot his mouth off at some point and made some grandiose claims about his goals. There's no particular reason we should believe them, and no particular reason we should think he's capable of those goals even if he does actually hold them, rather than being something he said to sound cool at a party. But, if we accept for the moment that Bannon really is going to destroy the state by manipulating the media, and that we should take seriously for just one second that he might be capable of that, we find immediate direct evidence that he is in fact not capable of directing a secret conspiracy to manipulate the media after all: because he told people he was going to do it, got quoted by the media, and ended up in the crosshairs of people like you, who are now presumably going to be watching his sinister schemes and warning other people.
      - bbctol 10y ago
        What's with this belief that the only way something can work is if it's kept secret? It's not a "sinister scheme": it's a plan. And it works not because of deception, but because plenty of people believe in it, or are willing to follow it. "Warning" people about manipulation doesn't stop manipulation at all, especially not when the goal is simply to reduce trust all around. Dismantling institutions will not be done secretly, it is being done openly (which is what you initially seemed to doubt.) There's no secret conspiracy. Secret conspiracies are not the only thing a person could possibly be worried about.