Don’t Be the Useful Idiot They’re Praying For
A hard look at why calls for violence feel righteous, fail historically, and get innocent people crushed
Don’t Be the Useful Idiot They’re Praying For
A hard look at why calls for violence feel righteous, fail historically, and get innocent people crushed
The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #750: Saturday, January 24th, 2026.
A man is dead in Minneapolis today…shot and killed by a federal immigration officer during an enforcement operation.
And right on schedule…the internet filled up with the dumbest advice on Earth:
“Hit back.”
“Get violent.”
“Only way to stop a bully is to punch him.”
Let me say this so plainly nobody can pretend they misunderstood me:
If you’re promoting violence as the answer…you’re not resisting. You’re volunteering to become their excuse.
You’re handing them the headline.
You’re handing them the pretext.
You’re handing them the “emergency” they’ve been trying to manufacture.
That isn’t bravery.
That’s amateur hour.
Yes, your emotions are real
Anger? Real.
Hate? Real.
Fear? Real.
Outrage? Real.
Those reactions are biological. Your nervous system is built to surge when it detects threat. Your body dumps chemicals into your bloodstream that scream: DO SOMETHING. NOW.
That’s not weakness. That’s wiring.
But here’s the part the keyboard-warriors never say out loud:
Those chemicals are not a strategy.
They’re an alarm system.
And…if you let an alarm system drive the car…you don’t get “justice.” You get a crash.
What the pros understand (and the amateurs don’t)
The amateurs think “action” means theatrics.
The pros know action means leverage.
Because there are only two kinds of “pushback” in the real world:
The kind that makes you feel powerful for 30 seconds
The kind that makes them pay for 30 years
Violence belongs to category #1…and it usually ends with you in cuffs…somebody else in a hospital…and the machine you hate getting more money…more authority…and more sympathy.
And don’t miss the cruelest part:
The people screaming for violence online are almost never the ones who pay the price.
Other people do.
Communities do.
Families do.
The vulnerable do.
So…if you’re serious…if you actually want to stop what’s happening…then stop taking your cues from ignorant amateurs who confuse adrenaline for leadership.
Quick in-app check
If you’re reading in the Substack app, comment one word: DISCIPLINE.
Not because it’s cute. Because it’s the dividing line between serious people…and useful idiots.
“But what are we supposed to do?”
Good. Now we’re talking like adults.
Here’s what you do when you refuse to be baited into helping them:
You demand receipts. And you attach consequences.
In Minneapolis today, officials said the fatal shots were fired by a U.S. Border Patrol officer during a targeted operation…and the incident sparked major protests.
That means…right now…before the narrative hardens into whatever PR script they want…the only winning move is: force facts into the light.
Not vibes. Not “trust me bro.” Facts.
Receipts look like:
Body camera policy + footage status (what exists, what doesn’t, who controls it)
Use-of-force reports
Names and chain-of-command
Timeline from dispatch to shots fired
Independent investigation with real subpoena power
Because here’s the ugly truth about power:
Power doesn’t fear your anger.
Power fears documentation.
Documentation is what gets lawsuits filed.
It’s what gets budgets questioned.
It’s what gets agencies dragged into hearings.
It’s what gets careers ended.
Violence makes them bigger.
Receipts make them fragile.
The “bully” analogy is childish
People love to say, “The only way to stop a bully is to hit back.”
That’s something you say in a school hallway when you’re 14.
We’re not in a hallway. We’re in a country where the state has:
Badges
Budgets
Prosecutors
Prisons
Friendly media pipelines
And the power to label anything “insurrection” when it’s convenient
If you give them a violent image…you give them the easiest propaganda win in history.
And…then you’ll watch the same people who dared you to “hit back” vanish into the ether…while you and your community deal with the aftermath.
Here’s the real flex: controlled, relentless pressure
You want to know what toughness looks like?
Toughness is watching something horrifying happen…and refusing to hand your opponent the one thing they’re begging for: a justification.
Toughness is staying calm enough to build a case…keep your coalition…and apply pressure where it actually hurts.
Because “hit back” is emotional candy.
It tastes good.
Then…it rots your teeth.
A disciplined strategy is vegetables.
Not sexy.
But…it keeps you alive long enough to win
.This is how serious people think
If you’re reading this, I’m going to make an assumption about you:
You’re not one of the amateurs.
You’re not here to perform rage for strangers.
You’re here to protect people and force accountability.
That means you don’t mistake feelings for instructions.
You treat your anger like fuel…not a steering wheel.
And…you understand the difference between “making noise” and “making them pay.”
Because if the question is: What stops a bully?
The answer isn’t “swing wildly.”
The answer is: Remove the bully’s power.
Legally. Financially. Politically. Culturally.
That takes discipline.
And discipline…is exactly what separates the people who win…from the people who become a footnote in someone else’s press release.
“They Killed a Man. So We Should Kill Back.”
20 Things People Are Saying-and Why They’re Wrong
A man was shot and killed today in Minneapolis by federal immigration enforcement. That fact alone is enough to flood the nervous system with rage…fear…and…grief. Those reactions are human.
What’s not human…or intelligent…is mistaking those reactions for guidance.
Below are the most common things people are saying right now… and the grown-up response.
1) “They killed a man. The only answer is to shoot back.”
That’s not an answer. That’s a pretext. The state has badges…budgets…courts…and prisons. Violence hands them instant permission to escalate…and you lose on their field.
2) “If we don’t get violent, we’re weak.”
No. Undisciplined is weak. Discipline is strength. People who can’t control themselves are predictable…and predictable people are easy to crush.
3) “Bullies only understand force.”
Bullies understand consequences. Courts. Oversight. Budgets. Careers. Documentation. Turning yourself into their favorite story…is not force…it’s stupidity.
4) “Civil war is inevitable.”
“Inevitable” is what people say when they stop thinking. History isn’t fate…it’s incentives. Stop supplying the incentive they want.
5) “Nonviolence doesn’t work against fascists.”
Wrong. The strongest research shows nonviolent campaigns succeed more often than violent ones and produce better outcomes. Violence shrinks coalitions and expands repression.
6) “Peaceful people still get killed.”
Tragedy doesn’t prove the strategy is wrong. It proves the opponent is dangerous. The question is which response reduces harm long-term and builds power.
7) “I don’t care about optics anymore.”
Optics is how permission is manufactured. Power doesn’t need your approval…it needs the middle. Violence hands them the middle…on a platter.
8) “They’ll call us terrorists anyway.”
A lie without evidence is manageable. A lie with video is lethal. Don’t make it easy.
9) “If they bring guns, we bring guns.”
That’s a losing symmetry. They have training…backup…immunity…and narrative cover. You…have none of that.
10) “We need militias to protect communities.”
That’s how you invite infiltration…prosecutions…and tragedy…then watch your whole community labeled “insurrection.”
11) “Talking is pointless. Only action matters.”
Correct. But violence isn’t action…it’s theater. Action is leverage: records…lawsuits…oversight…budgets…mass participation.
12) “What are we supposed to do-nothing?”
Demand everything: body-cam status…use-of-force reports…chain of command… timelines…independent investigations. That’s how power gets boxed in.
13) “Violence will make them afraid.”
No. It will make them funded. Fear doesn’t defund agencies…it expands them.
14) “Property destruction isn’t violence.”
Tell that to prosecutors and headlines. Extreme actions reliably reduce public support and harden repression.
15) “Some violence is necessary.”
The moment you normalize it…you hand the microphone to the least stable people in the room…and lose control of the movement.
16) “They’re already escalating.”
Exactly. Don’t validate the script that justifies the next step.
17) “What about Germany? When would violence have been justified?”
That’s a fantasy question that sedates responsibility today. The real question is what now builds allies and fractures their support.
18) “You sound like the loyal opposition.”
Wimpy is flailing. Strategy…is choosing the terrain where you win.
19) “They’re murdering us. We have no choice.”
You do. You can respond in ways that save people and build power…or in ways that get more people hurt.
20) “So what’s your answer-just words?”
No. Receipts + consequences. Documentation that survives propaganda. Pressure that lasts. Coalitions that grow.
Bottom line:
Anger is fuel. Fear is information. Outrage is human.
But…letting those emotions drive strategy…is how serious people get replaced by useful idiots.
If you’re still reading…you’re not one of them.
Before you go
If you’re reading in-app, comment DISCIPLINE so I know you’re here for consequences, not catharsis.
History doesn’t reward the loudest rage or the fastest trigger. It rewards the people who kept their heads…when others lost theirs…and who forced consequences…instead of providing excuses.
If you’re still here…you’re not here to feel better. You’re here to win.
#HoldFast
Back soon,
-Jack
Jack Hopkins
P.S. Remember, starting next week for paid subscribers.
So happy you are here to guide us to a better path. Ghandi allegedly said, “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”. Non violence is not weakness, but a proven and effective strategy.
DISCIPLINE