The recent US presidential election was a disturbing spectacle. We saw political professionals and self-appointed “experts” resort to intimidation, shaming, and apocalyptic doom and gloom to manipulate or shame people into voting for their candidate. Scaring or shaming someone into voting a certain way is a condescending and immature strategy that will always backfire because no one likes to be treated like a child by being frightened or tricked into doing things. This is typical of dictators like Nicolás Maduro, Fidel and Raúl Castro, Kim Jong Un, and Vladimir Putin— all on the left— or Adolf Hitler and the Ayatollahs of Iran on the right. Any politician who does not know how to persuade people with respect, integrity, and intelligent arguments and who has to resort instead to fear and intimidation to win votes is unworthy of leading any country, party, or company. Pop, rap, and R&B singers, as well as disturbed actors like Robert de Niro, Oprah Winfrey, and Whoopi Goldberg, made complete fools of themselves by loudly threatening Nazism, dictatorship, and the end of the world if people didn't vote the way they wanted. Sadly, this kind of political deceit is used in every continent and every political party.
So, it is time to think about fatalism or catastrophism as a strategy for gaining or maintaining power. The short and brilliant text I present to you today was written by Andrew Torba, a man who gave up his easy and luxurious life in Silicon Valley to create the digital platform gab.com after seeing how Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, and LinkedIn only promoted the posts and accounts of those who aligned with their political, social, or sexual sympathies. The gab.com platform aims to facilitate free speech for all (even those we do not want to associate with) and the parallel economy in the US. Visit gab.com and decide for yourself (I will not scare, manipulate, or shame you into doing so).

Credits:
Text: Andrew Torba
Translation by Gabriel Porras for murmullosradiantes.com
Show presented and produced by Gabriel Porras for murmullosradiantes.com

Music: Until we all reach full measure, by Ghosts Of Us on Artlist.com. Used under licence.
Alive & Well by Hello Love on Artlist.com. Used under licence.

Cover image created by Ricardo Gil, ricardo@scrav.com
Image created by Freepik on www.freepik.es. Used with permission.

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