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Unfortunately, as much as it sounds like satire, it isn’t.
Are you on Tik Tok? If you are or aren’t familiar with their algorithm, it’s an amazingly advanced piece of software and will put you in very niched echo chambers. They call it sides of Tik Tok, then the niche-Tok (I.E., #BookTok, #LeftistTok, #PokemonTok, etc.). The Tik Tok software can accurately pinpoint and feed you your specific interests.
I made a new Tik Tok account intending to get over to the right-wing side of the platform. For one, unlike Facebook or Twitter, since my feed (FYP, for your page) aligns so well with my interests, I never come across Republicans on Tik Tok. And two, I thought I would find idiots sticking spoons to their arms (vaccinations) or some other moronic thing. Instead, what I came across was shocking.
The more I dug and the further I tailored my FYP, the more shocking the content became. Although I don’t think they have given it a name, I’m pretty sure I curated my Tik Tok feed to #DomesticTerroristTok.
[mepr-hide] https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); [/mepr-hide]No quarter shall be given.
It didn’t take long to find hundreds of videos where these Trumpers and so-called patriots were hanging black American flags.
You can see a mashup to your right, there are hundreds of more videos like this, but I just wanted you to get the gist of it.
Black American flags are the flags that mean “no quarter shall be given.” They are the opposite of the white flag of surrender.
According to the people on Tik Tok and the Sun (British tabloid), the black American flag originated in the civil war and was flown by the Confederates.
It means that they will not surrender, will not take prisoners, and are willing to die for their cause. It means they will execute their enemies.
Who are their enemies? Pretty much any non-Conservative. You know, Democrats, Liberals, LGBTQ, BIPOC, and the vaccinated.
Over the last few years, the right has been vocal about calling non-Conservatives the enemy and make it apparent through their actions that they think we are their enemies.
The rest of these videos are compilations of some of the Tik Toks I witnessed on the dark side of the app. There is so much more online, but these videos should give you an idea of how depraved these guys are.
So, we’re the enemy, and they’re openly professing to want to execute us… So, why are they doing this?
Covid vaccinations, mostly. They believe that Joe Biden has declared a civil war on them by mandating that employers with over 100 employees and the military have vaccinations.
Yes, they say civil war, and they say it’s already started. But, unfortunately, many of them also live in states where masks and vaccines are required by state governments, healthcare, and law enforcement.
An alarming number of military members have been making Tik Toks talking about how they are being discharged because they refuse the vaccine. It’s alarming because there is probably an equal number of guys on there talking about the civil war plans and actively using Tik Tok to recruit these military and ex-military members.
The biggest message they have been sending out is, “it’s time” or “the time is now.”
They primarily use Tik Tok as a recruiting tool and let others know their willingness to commit violence. Then they tell people to message them or where to find them on Telegram.
The bad side of Tik Tok is also full of conspiracy theories.
All of these theories tie in with Joe Biden, Democrats, the vaccine, and this civil war that they now think we’re in.
They think that the Covid vaccine will change your DNA and turn you into something unhuman. They think the “elite” are trying to kill 2/3rds of the population.
These Trumpers believe that if they don’t get the vaccine, the government will come and take their children, then put them in internment camps.
I watched dozens of videos of these guys talking about how they haven’t been able to sleep over this, some of them crying and pledging to protect their families and die on their feet.
All of these people worship Trump. All of them. They talk about Biden not being a real president and Trump 2024.
Democrats are all complicit because we let Joe Biden in office to put these vaccine mandates in place.
And they truly believe that when the actual shooting starts, the military and law enforcement will be on their side. Many of them believe that the military and law enforcement will join them in overthrowing the government.
They all believe themselves to be patriots.
Almost all of them are white.
What are they talking about doing?
Overthrowing the government, mostly. Removing the Biden administration and taking our country back. Forcibly removing elected officials. Kicking in the doors of Democrats.
Violence.
Although showing guns on Tik Tok is supposed to be against community guidelines, they show lots of videos of their guns, shooting them, wearing them, or sitting on their bed.
Many of them have been broadcasting to their fellow Trumpers that things are about to start popping off. Make sure that they all have lots of food and water to get them through. There are going to be apparent food shortages and road closures.
When is all of this supposed to happen?
Your guess is as good as mine. Is it September 18? Did the FBI have prior knowledge of all of this, which is why they’ve shut down D.C.? Maybe.
On the other hand, while some Trumpers said they would be there on the 18th, many more call it a setup or a false flag.
“You know, like January 6,” most of them say when warning others about how DC will be a setup this weekend.
What’s up with September 18 in DC, anyway?
Last year, leading up to January 6, which was openly planned online, it was easy to find out that it would happen because of chatter on Republican Facebook and Twitter. Since then, those platforms have cracked down on the domestic terrorists on their sites. So, when the news began talking about the rally in DC this coming weekend and possible violence, those were the places I went first.
Crickets.
After that, I figured whatever they were planning was on Telegram, Parlor, or Gab. I didn’t look. (Imagine my surprise to find so many on Tik Tok).
It’s quite possible that they are planning their violent take back the government stunt this weekend on one of those other platforms, and it just overflowed to Tik Tok.
Or maybe they won’t commit violence this weekend.
But we’ll be fortunate to make it through the rest of 2021 without a serious act of domestic terrorism.
At some point, these people will get organized off of the internet and try to overthrow our government. They believe the military and law enforcement will join them. They also think Joe Biden has the U.N. ready to come to try and put them down. Another conspiracy theory going around is that there are 250,000 of China’s military across the borders in Canada and Mexico, waiting on Biden’s order to sweep in and kill American patriots.
[mepr-hide] https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); [/mepr-hide]You know, so that Biden can turn America into a communist country and the New World Order.
Over the last week, I watched hours and hours of the wrong side of Tik Tok. It was draining and left me feeling sad. But, I know that the conspiracy theories aren’t real, that Joe Biden hasn’t declared war on the American people, and that when these people commit violence, it will be bad for them.
When I try to understand their mindsets, I realize that other people watching their content share the same perspective. Remember how I told you Tik Tok’s algorithm would feed you particular niched videos tailored to precisely what you want to see. So, there could be thousands of these same brainwashed Trumpers, with arsenals in their bedrooms, who see these nuts and decide it’s time to connect with like-minded people and take action.
How seriously should we take these people?
Last year, before the election, I spent a good deal of time monitoring the far-right and various social media platforms. I wrote “White Supremacists Gearing Up For a Civil War, Including In North Texas” in August and “We Should All Be Paying Attention To The Far-Right And Their Plans Post-Election” in October.
Many of Living Blue in Texas’ readers saw January 6 coming a mile away. And then, after Trump put out a call to action for the 6th, most of us knew that’s when it would be. This time is different. This time Trump isn’t encouraging them and giving them blueprints on Twitter. I don’t even think that this time Trump is controlling them at all. But make no mistake, these are the monsters he created.
Their hatred, fear, and willingness to commit violence now are double what led up to the 6th. These are people who live in the same America we do. Income inequality, poverty, and poor economic conditions affect them as much as the rest of the nation, if not more. They are leaving their jobs and sources of income because they think the president, installed by Communist China, is trying to either kill them or alter their DNA with vaccinations. And they’ve been stockpiling weapons for years.
Many of them are younger and in good shape. The jokes about gravy seals aren’t going to apply to the younger guys who spend half their lives in a gym. They think they will take the country back, the same way we took our independence from the British in 1776. Many of them are vets.
I think we all should take it seriously.
[mepr-hide] https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); [/mepr-hide]What about law enforcement, the FBI, and Homeland Security?
After the Civil War, President Andrew Johnson pardoned hundreds of thousands of traitors. But, unfortunately, they all went back to the South and made sure their systems of white supremacy were in place. In many places in the South, they’re still in place. There were never consequences for those who committed treason.
On January 6, hundreds, maybe thousands, of Trump supporters committed an insurrection. Law enforcement allowed them to do it. There were only like 13 arrests that day. Many of them still haven’t been identified. Those identified and arrested have been allowed to leave the country or only got slaps on the wrist. Not one of them has been charged with sedition, insurrection, or treason.
Later, when the FBI testified at Congress, one FBI agent spoke about how they monitored “Antifa.” They didn’t know January 6 was coming, even though it was all planned in the open online.
After that, they are monitoring these guys now. How much? Perhaps they are. Perhaps they will be prepared. However, historically, forgiving treason is as American as apple pie.
What’s going to happen to America?
Democracy is in greater peril now than it probably has been since 1776. It’s not like the civil war because, in 1861, we were divided by borders. Today, it could be your neighbor plotting to overthrow the government and commit violence against anyone they perceive as a communist.
What do we do about it? If there was an answer for that, we’d all know.
Between the pandemic, climate crisis, class inequality, and these assholes, we still may have some hard years in front of us. Only time will tell.
Always pay attention to your surroundings, be vigilant, and if you see something, say something.
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