100 Days - 16
Day 16
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| Br-Exit © Susanne Palzer, 2019 |
15 October 2019
In the early hours of this morning I watched Louis Theroux's Weird Weekend episode in which he visits American right-wing groups of the patriot movement and Aryan Nations. Filmed in 1998 the episode pre-dates the rise of social media and 911. From today's vantage point there emerges the chilling feeling that these right-wing movements have evolved from splintered mountain or rural communities to a global, networked and well-organized 'monster'. (The RAND corporation later called Aryan Nations "the first truly nationwide terrorist network" in the Untited States.) Just from watching this episode I can see how constantly engaging in these images and visions of perceived threat drives paranoia. If you believe this shit it creates a dangerous momentum - and yes, goes viral in every sense of the word. In our current societies there exists an increasing discrepancy between perceived threat and actual reality. Aided by online media algorithms what people think and feel becomes reality - rather than what is. Or how Edward Snowdon phrased it: "Fact has to matter more again than emotions, that is what needs to change."