Post No. 3,030 - Lies, lies, and darned dog whistles

So ... the USA’s 3IC, JD Vance (behind President M_ sk and 2IC King Tr_ mp) has been ... “speaking” to Europe. 

News reports on that are: 

• “‘Out of control’: JD Vance takes aim at European leaders over free speech, immigration”   https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/out-of-control-jd-vance-takes-aim-at-european-leaders-over-free-speech-immigration/65dqg78aj   “The prospect of peace talks had been expected to dominate the annual Munich Security Conference, but US Vice President JD Vance barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine in his speech”   The report discusses accusations by Vance, “divergent worldviews”, and that Vance had questioned democracy, and that there was barely any mention of Ukraine or Russia - but there was of free speech [Ed. evidently in the US sense]. It also mentions Germany hitting back later     
  

• “US Vice President JD Vance blasts Europe over free speech, lax migration”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/14/vance-slams-europe-on-free-speech-migration-in-first-international-speech   “The US vice president calls Trump a ‘new sheriff in town’ as he offers harsh words for Washington’s European allies”   This report includes Vance’s reference to Tr_ mp as a “new sheriff” [Ed. I wonder if that should be “a new Custer”? There are quite a few in the USA who are now regretting their vote last November ... ], describes Vance as being harsh, using jabs and swipes, backsliding, etc - and free speech [Ed. evidently in the US sense]. The report also includes good background on tariffs and the current Ukraine war situation     
  

• “JD Vance Leaves Europe Aghast After Claiming Largest Threat To Continent ‘Comes From Within’”   https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jd-vance-leaves-europe-aghast-after-blistering-attack_uk_67af67aae4b0513a8d76ffe7   “The vice-president's blistering speech comes amid worries about just how the US will settle the Ukraine war with Russia”   This report describes the speech as shocking, Europe as stunned, and Vance’s accusations that Europe is afraid of voters [Ed. the art of a propagandist is to build on and distort a small element of truth. Thus, democratic governments are always concerned about what voters think - they have to be, partly because they want to be elected, but mostly because they are acting on behalf of the people. And thus people like H_m m l_r and Vance can take that and twist it into a fear - which seems like a small thing, particularly to people who believe in genuine - as opposed to US - free speech, and they let it go, which makes it harder to defeat what has been built on it], in retreat from key values - specifically, free speech [Ed. evidently in the US sense], looking “like old entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet era words like misinformation and disinformation” [Ed. the word misinformation pre-dates the Soviet era, but both are most commonly now associated with the online world], and that “if American democracy can survive 10 years of climate activist Greta Thunberg “scolding it” then Europe can “survive a few months” of Elon M_ sk” [Ed. which is likely a key indication of Vance’s true aims/targets - and will be further commented on below]     
  

• “JD Vance attacks Europe over migration, free speech”   https://www.politico.eu/article/us-vice-president-jd-vance-attack-europe-migration-free-speech/   “U.S. vice president stunned the audience with his broadside on the way Europe is run”   Report mentions that this is a M_ G- style speech lacking in details, repeats the alleged threat from within, and discusses the culture wars      

• “JD Vance attacks Europe over free speech and migration”   https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceve3wl21x1o   This report included “Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Russia, told Politico Vance's remarks were “insulting” and “just empirically not true”.” [Ed. This is the first mention of the falsity - i.e., the LIES that Vance was spouting] It also described the problems with the far right in Germany, and that Vance argued the fire wall against fascism should be removed [Ed. despite the very good historical lessons]      

• “Trump and Vance are courting Europe’s far right to spread their political gospel”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/14/trump-vance-europe-far-right   “US vice-president’s speech and meeting with Germany’s AfD chief signal administration’s wider plans for continent”   This gets to the deeper purpose of Vance’s rant: fascists. “That speaks to a trend in the Trump administration’s thinking: that voters abroad will handle what his negotiations and alliances cannot.”      

I know newspapers write with respect for readers, but we are living in an era of internet disinformation and misinformation - old words being used with a new, but very clear and precise, contextual meaning. 

That means the old standards need a certain amount of boosting - and, in particular, they need to give readers the ability to see clearly that something is wrong or absurd, and make sure that workers who are stretched between possibly multiple jobs and family duties and do not have the energy or time to go elsewhere for background can get at least a sense that there is some other background - which the Al Jazeera and Huff Post (and some of the other) reports do provide.

But what is also needed, both in the newspapers and from ALL the leaders at the conference, is a robust defence of democracy - call out, challenge and correct all Vance’s propagandist “little things” that I mentioned - e.g., in the Huff Post report. State that Europe doesn’t fear voters - it respects them and is considerate of and answers to them ... and also doesn’t attempt to control how local government officials vote, nor impose loyalty tests, nor tell prospective officials to claim wrongly that their boss cannot ever make a mistake and thus could not possibly - oh deary me, no - give them an order that is illegal/yes, sarcasm. 

Also, Greta Thunberg is a young person concerned about the future of the world and making a persuasive argument for constructive change, whereas M_ sk is an older oligarch subject to many court cases and investigations - except for the ones he has recently shut down - and increasingly disliked, as shown on the bumpers of Teslas in Europe. 

The threat from within is also an example of the propagandist’s work: there are always concerns within any nation, but few of those are threats, and the threat that does exist in Europe that is of greatest concern right now is the sort of far right wing extremism that Vance, Tr_ mp and M_ sk exemplify. 

Also, free speech does NOT include hate speech. 

And with regard to the other CONCERNS, the way to best manage them is to have a fully informed debate (not a one-sided fascistic rant) which includes the broader historical contexts (i.e., the reasons international treaties on migration etc exist), economic truth (that migration boosts economies and the USA is currently collapsing economically BECAUSE of the M_ sk - Tr_ mp regime’s policies of hate and fear), and inspiring calls to the better angels of our nature - including care for our neighbours and other humans. 

This is needed not just for the busy, but also for persuadable - to prevent them collapsing into what may superficially seem to them to be answer. 

Those lost persuadables are a good part of the reason the USA is in so much trouble - which it is exporting. 

And while saying Vance’s rant was unacceptable is true, it is not enough. Vance was dog-whistling - successfully - to the fascists. He ignored the persuadables - many of whom, in the USA, and are now those most regretting their voting choices last November ... 

The days of nice, polite exchanges with people like M_ sk, Tr_ mp, and Vance are over. We need a robust “more” - to gain the persuadables, and cherish and keep the good.

Any leaders in Europe want to have a go at that?

PS 

• “‘Thought crime’ and cancelled elections: how do JD Vance’s claims about Europe stand up? | Europe | The Guardian”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/14/thought-and-cancelled-elections-how-do-jd-vances-europe-claims-stand-up   Fact checks on SOME of the ... “claims” by Vance      

• “Ukraine war briefing: Alexei Navalny’s widow warns ‘no point trying to negotiate’ with Putin | Ukraine | The Guardian”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/15/ukraine-war-briefing-alexei-navalnys-widow-warns-no-point-trying-to-negotiate-with-putin     
  

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(Gnwmythr is pronounced new-MYTH-ear)  

Remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, to mind our Mӕgan, and to acknowledge that all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering” (just as binary gendered [men’s and women’s] sporting teams are either both given the gender descriptor, or neither).

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