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Annoying to see all the wasted words about Trump's resignation or the successful impeachment or invocation of the 25th amendment. After the riotous way he's behaved all are justly deserved, but none will happen. I mean, 1% chance. Why not focus on what can be changed?
A thread:
A thread:
There are varieties of right-wing extremism; why not better understand these? It's become critical for the US to engage in more than shallow takes on this subject. The same with radicalisation. But the real question in 2021 will become deradicliastion.
2/10
2/10
How do you tailor messages to radical right groups and at-risk individuals? No less importantly, who are your messengers going to be? What context and frequency are message and messagers going to have? We haven't even framed these questions yet, despite the urgent need.
3/10
3/10
For the first time top platforms engaged in content-moderation for accounts of mainstream politicians (and yes, part of the alarm is *precisely* that Trump is mainstream!). That is amongst the biggest changes we've seen in internet governance, ever. Little discussion as yet.
4/10
4/10
Security failures at the Capitol were severe and multifaceted. Were there just isolated incidents of aid to insurgents, or worse? This gets lots of coverage by pundits, but less from counterterrorism and security specialists. The latter ask more probing questions, of course:
5/10
5/10
1) Who was monitoring right-wing extremist networks for the government, and why wasn't this perspective part of preparations for 6 January? Anyone working in this area knew that Wednesday posed great risk. Extremists were absolutely ginned up for violence beforehand.
6/10
6/10
2) Were organised radical right groups (especially the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers) directing events? Too early to say for sure, but their leaderships were there. They were coordinated. And they clearly felt they were acting at the best of Trump and his political enablers.
7/10
7/10
3) What next? We're not at all out of the danger zone, even if the FBI and Secret Service handling the Inauguration gives confidence. But events are scheduled for the days leading up to 20 Jan. and plastered all over social media. We're not out of the woods by any means.
8/10
8/10
I could go on. Is there any coordination between state and federal officials to protect statehouses and the like? Why might sweeping use of new domestic terrorism laws be risked. Are all these guys just fascists, or might it be more complex than that.
9/10
9/10
These questions don't even seem on the radar. Which condemns us to advancing little in the critical days to come. With Covid, for instance, pundits happily defer to Medical Doctors - and rightly so. With the pandemic of US radicalisation the opposite seems to apply.
Sigh.
10/10
Sigh.
10/10
