The Russians Are Coming? No, They're Already Here.
Yesterday in the midst of so much tragedy, I ran across a really disturbing Facebook post that was clearly intended to divide us. I won't bother with the specifics, for that will distract from my purpose here, and will only serve that poster's interests, which are diametrically opposed to our interests as Americans. It was in that moment of realization that the poster's intent and origin became clear to me. It was a Russian troll, and he/she/it (who knows if it was even a human being?) was intent on stirring the shit.
I then realized that I (and you) have likely been arguing with these trolls for months if not years. Reflecting back on my social media life, I can recall specific arguments--ones I generally know better than to engage in--that, predictably, moved no one, and succeeded only in sharpening our edges and raising our temperatures.
That is precisely what they are geared to do. Theirs is a long game. A game of stealth. A hall of mirrors. They select politically hot and controversial topics and take a contrarian position. Mostly, they don't care which side they argue. Their goal is to divide, it is not to win an argument, only to promote one. They have discovered our Achille's Heel and are exploiting it in ways both obvious and subtle.
If on this tragic day you want to talk about gun control, they extoll the Second Amendment and question your fealty to the Constitution. If you want to talk about extending and protecting Second Amendment rights, they accuse you of being insensitive. They are not arguments you are going to win, and it is in the engagement that they win.
As my expatriated Russian friends who came West to make a good living and live a decent life know, their home country is a kleptocracy in the hands of a few ruthless billionaires and ideologues. The establishment there is not innovative in a commercial sense. Their only desire is to interfere in our representative government and free speech. But even in the Age of Trump, the USA will not succumb to their anti-democratic ideas.
But while they'll never succeed in the open market of goods, services or ideas, they have been extremely successful in sewing the seeds of doubts about ourselves and our institutions. It is a kind of cynical Jiu-Jitsu. They use our own weight and our own freedoms against us. Our tradition--and passion--is in the arguing. In the pre-internet days, we relished a good argument with our fellow citizens. It's an old and worthy American tradition. It is exactly how the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and Bill of Rights were hammered out. It was a closed domestic loop, and interlopers were quickly identified and cast out.
While they may not build great cars or smartphones, one thing they have mastered is the social media hit-and-run. They didn't invent the internet, but they know how to manipulate it. They show up in robotic droves, say things calculated to divide us, and disappear into the ether.
What you decide to do is up to you.
I, for one, am going to stop playing their game. I don't wish to become paranoid or overly suspicious, but neither do I wish to be slammed to the mat by lending my own weight to their assault. Putin's stated goal is to upset the balance of power. To destabilize elections (and whole societies if he can) here and in Western Europe by initially giving voice to our worst instincts, then giving voice to the retort. Anything to keep us at each others' throats while they plant, spread, and promote fake news stories, knowing all the while that our legally sacrosanct--if completely nutty--websites that thrive on clickbait will pick them up and turn them viral. A sexual assault in Idaho that never happened; a child porn ring in DC that doesn't exist. Child's play when you know the Daily Stormers, InfoWars, and Breitbarts will play right into your hands.
So, I'm done. I'm no longer in the business--unwittingly or not-- of providing aid and comfort to the enemy.
Author's note: This was written October 2, 2017, in the aftermath of the Las Vegas Massacre.