Hi, everyone. I’ve been seeing a LOT of people drawing parallels to Hitler and the Weimar Republic with what’s going on in the US and the world currently, and I want to offer some practical suggestions on how to not comply in advance that have kept my system and others safe for years.
A bit of background: I come from old money, am an ex Mormon, and taught history as an academic tutor for years. Over the course of this stretch of time, I saw and learned lot.
One of the biggest things I observed that I’m seeing play out now is from far, far further back in history than Hitler – the story of Hannibal Barca of Carthage.
Hannibal Barca knew that Rome, his greatest foe, would expect an attack by sea. Rome is situated only a short distance from the coast, and Carthage was predominantly a maritime power. So Rome expected Carthage to attack by sea. Hannibal knew this, and he took the long way, taking an army overland, over the Alps,a route so goddamned insane that nobody believed he would ever pull it off. People saw him coming for months, but because his methods were so implausible, by the time he cleared the Alps, it was too late, and he was terrorizing Italy for the next decade.
I call this anti-orthodox methodology “the Barca Effect”. It relies heavily on people firmly believing you’re insane or your methods are impossible until it’s too late to effectively stop you. It takes a very long time to effectively set up, but if you do it right, it’s devastating.
Trump is the master of the Barca Effect, if you look at everything he’s done.
My mother, Hera, was also the master of the Barca Effect, which is I know such tactics exist on a personal level, and how to effectively counter them.
A plan like Trump’s and my mother’s relies heavily on most people either turning a blind eye to it, complying with it, or not believing it in time. If you notice, he’s been forced to change course multiple times as information has been leaked and people have been banding together to keep each other safe. Pushing back and sharing information is an effective way to counter such tactics, but an even more effective way to counter it is to, in my experience, push back harder by being more batshit.
Much of a good Barca Effect plan relies on people ignoring the warning signs of the plan until it’s too late. So make yourself and your community LOUD. If you know what’s going on, don’t shut up about it, travel in numbers. Make people uncomfortable. Be fucking weird. If ICE shows up, refuse them entry unless they can PROVE they have papers signed by a fucking judge. Shout “LA MIGRA” or “ICE IS HERE” in ANY LANGUAGE YOU KNOW. Be a fucking threat to everything they hold dear. Laugh at fascists and make them scared again. Share your moments of joy. Keep making art. Form community, feel your emotions, document the shit out of them loudly. Don’t snitch. Bombard tip lines with memes. Make memes. The sillier the better.
This is why my system and I mostly shitpost and share cat photos, honestly.
Because being scared, hopeless, and divided is what this admin WANTS.
And if someone makes you remotely uncomfortable, learn to make them MORE uncomfortable. It’s saved my life many a time.
Welcome to the inconvenience store, bitches. I’m your overworked clerk. What can I get ya?
Stay crotchety, stay hopeful.
-Allēna
Here’s a bit about Hannibal if you want to read more ✨
