Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter # 165

A MAGA-Led Attempt to Spark a Civil War?

(Not having written a long-form post for my X account for a good while, I hammered this one out late last night. It’s spicier than usual. No, I wasn’t drinking. I don’t drink. I was just in my zone…and rolling...so I present this to you, exactly as it was originally written)

For about a week now, I've been seeing more and more comments/posts from apparent Trump-supporting accounts that hint at one possible "justification story" for the election-related violence our nation might see. Some are telling their followers that as many as 20 million immigrants are being allowed across the border to wage war on Trump voters.

This is troubling in many ways. It very likely signals that we might be seeing this particular story as a reason that far-right zealots might use to attempt to spark civil unrest.

You know how it goes. They seed the minds of millions of people with the classic, "Illegal immigrants who happen to be terrorists are being allowed to flood the country to beat back any attempt by Republicans to put Trump in the White House!" and then initiate the very attacks they claim will be made against Republicans. "Look! My God...they were right!! Just like they said, this army of terrorists is coming for Republicans and Christians...take up arms, and let's end this shit now!!"

Is this the purpose of the wild stories I have seen posted recently? I have no idea. It could just as easily be a handful of idiots who are posting every crazy-ass fear-based thought that pops into their minds, and they are all just drawn from the same old worn-out "rapists, killers, and terrorists are flooding across our borders..." theme to whip up a story to get a few likes from their hate-filled online contacts. It could simply be that.

It could be. It might also be that I latched on to a storyline that caught my eye as one that could be forecasting something darker and more sinister than many of us want to even think about.

Lev Parnas told me during one of the episodes of The Jack Hopkins Show podcast, where he was a guest that we would most likely see political violence if/when Trump loses the election. I can find no valid reasons to argue with that.

I'd say it's almost certain. The only question is, on what scale? I certainly don't see it reaching a magnitude of "Holy FUCK! It's coast-to-coast mayhem and carnage!!" In a nation full of people who claim to be frustrated with inflation and that there is "too much month left at the end of the money," I don't find it believable to think that millions of people would take up arms, walk away from the only jobs they have to support themselves and their families and settle in for a long drawn out civil war.

It's not going to happen. We are a nation of people used to central air, warm furnaces, running water, sewage treatment facilities, and Sleep Number beds. That's not the ideal pool to pull from for bloodthirsty warriors. The most common response to the question, "Do you want to come fight in the civil war?" would be, "Fuck that shit!"

The majority of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents...have no interest or willingness to fight in a Goddamn civil war. They're simply not going to do it. Period. Now, I've found that some people in the Democratic Party don't like what I'm about to say. I don't give a fuck. It's true, whether they like it or not: The problems in this country are almost always initiated and sustained by the crazy fuckers in the extreme ends. Yep...the far right...and the far left.

These are the people who want to always be stirring shit, taking things to the extreme, and having some type of ongoing conflict. When things are calm...they lose their shit, get uncomfortable...and start doing the equivalent of blowing on a Tom Cat's asshole. It's all fun and games until Tommy has had enough and swats you like six bolts of lighting simultaneously.

This, is their preferred way of living. Meanwhile, everyone else...just wants some peace and quiet and to be able to negotiate for a better life for everyone. Have I oversimplified some things? Sure...but not so much that you can make a legitimate case against my belief that it's a minority of people in both parties that create the majority of the challenges our nation faces.

Here's an idea: Take these fucking people from both sides, drive them out to the desert, give them food, water, and whatever else they think they need...and let them go at each other until they've got that shit out of their system. No, fuck it. Just let them stay there...for good. Fuck'em. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of the extremists making things more difficult than they have to be.

What's an extremist? Anyone who seeks to use violence in the United States of America against fellow citizens to solve problems. I don't care how much you love Kamala Harris, if you think the best way to make sure people of color, members of the LGTBQ community, or anyone else in our society are treated fairly is to break out windows, loot stores set buildings on fire and throw Molotov cocktails at cops, then you in the extreme, and nothing but a fucking trouble maker who is slowing any attempts at forward progress.

If you shave your head, have a swastika tattoo, hang nazi flags in your living room...and think the best way to make life better in America is to eliminate all the Jews, Blacks, or people of color...and shoot immigrants as they attempt to cross the border, you're just as assuredly in the extreme, and nothing but a fucking trouble maker who is slowing any attempts at forward progress.

Neither you nor extremists on the left are most people. Furthermore, most people can't stand you...and are awakening to the fact that, "Wait a minute...there are tens of MILLIONS more of us...than these outcast shit stirrers. If we can bring the mostly moderate masses of both Republicans and Democrats closer to the middle...and cut these freak show domestic terrorist types away...and completely dissociate ourselves from them...we can work peacefully co-exist.

No, if we see violence in this country related to politics/the election...it will be domestic terrorism being engaged in by relatively small numbers (very small) of people. Now, don't get the cart in front of the horse.

This doesn't also mean that only relatively few people would be impacted, harmed, etc., by these people. Very recent world history is replete with examples of carnage resulting from just 1-5 terrorists acting alone.

Bad people with a plan and a little skill can turn many lives upside down for extended periods. That's also something I could see happening in this election year: small groups of people really fucking life up for an extended period for thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of non-extremist, law-abiding American citizens.

Will it happen? I sure hope not. Is it neurotic to think that it might happen? Not unless you just smoked a big fat bowl of some wicked weed and have the giggles. For extremists, the environment is ripe for about anything.

Personally, my planning for such possibilities is mostly centered around the idea of interrupted supply chains. COVID-19 showed us the fragility of the supply chains. We found out how fearful and frantic people could become after finding out they couldn't immediately get some of the things they were used to being able to get any time they wanted to.

The more central to their lives those items were (Food, water, medicine, hygiene products, etc., the more panicked people became when they couldn't get them. At a minimum, make sure you've got at least a month's worth of the essentials. You'll be light years ahead of most if you do. Three months' worth of the essentials probably gives you enough to deal with something beyond what you could have imagined. So...think 30-90 days.

Do I think you'll need those backup supplies? Probably not. But that's the goal, right? It is if you're a sane person. The reason I tell everyone to have a little extra, though, is because of the mental, emotional, and psychological confidence having done so gives you.

The more confident you are because you know you've taken care of things, the calmer you will be if things get chaotic. The calmer you are, the better the decisions you make will be. Ultimately...when we make better decisions...things have a way of working out better than they would have...otherwise.

Enjoy your weekend!

Remember…I appreciate YOU!

Jack