SOURCE: MATT AGORIST @ THE FREE THOUGHT PROJECT

The video only affected two people, Nick Sandmann and Nathan Phillip, yet the entire country—quite literally at the direction of mainstream media—allowed it to affect them. The media is getting so good a cutting the country in half on random issues that there is actually a term for it. Videos and instances like this are called a “scissor.”

As Ross Douthat recently pointed out, in a short story published last October, “Sort by Controversial,” Scott Alexander imagines a Silicon Valley company that accidentally comes up with an algorithm to generate what it calls a “Scissor.” The scissor is a statement, an idea or a scenario that’s somehow perfectly calibrated to tear people apart — not just by generating disagreement, but by generating total incredulity that somebody could possibly disagree with your interpretation of the controversy, followed by escalating fury and paranoia and polarization, until the debate seems like a completely existential, win-or-perish fight.

This win or perish fight has become the go to reaction for nearly every news story. Instead of critical thought on news articles, people simply build their defenses and prepare for war—actual truth be damned.

“OMG, the MAGA hat is literally a swastika! It represents everything wrong with society!” Or, “those stupid libtards are trying to ruin this country by preventing Trump from building that wall!” Meanwhile, both sides are missing the point. Their ridiculous infighting is keeping them distracted from actual issues that affect their lives.

A teen from Kentucky staring at a Native American man on video has no bearing on your life. None. It only serves as a distraction and a ‘scissor’ to push people apart so they are more easily controlled. The term “divide and conquer” isn’t some random statement, it is what happens. And, as long as we let stories like this drive a wedge into society, it will inevitable happen to us.

As the country argued over this irrelevant video, very important stories that actually affect them simply slipped under the radar. TFTP has compiled a brief list of these stories for those who are vigilant enough to care about them.

1. BILL WOULD FORCE CITIZENS TO HAVE GOVERNMENT SOFTWARE ON ALL DEVICES THAT ACCESS THE INTERNET WHICH WOULD BLOCK ANY CONTENT THE STATE DEEMS “OBSCENE”

While Americans called for making the Catholic Kentucky teen a hero or a villain, law makers proposed legislation that will put software on every single device that accesses the internet. Under the guise of collecting revenue, this legislation would force citizens to pay the government to access porn content.

However, if for one second, you think that the state would limit its ability to block internet access solely reserved for pornography, you haven’t been paying attention. The federal government, right this moment, is likely plotting away behind marble walls to conceive ways to stop you from viewing content they deem inappropriate — fake news anyone?

It is a win-win for tyranny. Under the guise of blocking ‘obscene content’, the state gets to force device manufacturers to install built-in functionality designed for government-sanctioned censorship — all the while keeping tabs on the hardware, but collecting money to free up porn access.

But keep on fighting over MAGA boy….

2. AN INNOCENT MARINE VETERAN WAS FALSELY ARRESTED AND BRUTALLY STRIP SEARCHED IN A HORRIFIC ACT OF ‘PUNISHMENT’ CAUGHT ON VIDEO

As the media paraded around the fact that Nathan Phillip was a veteran—who was not abused in any way by MAGA hat teen—other veterans were actually undergoing horrific abuse at the hands of government agents.

Disturbing video footage of this scenario—which needs no media spin—was recently released as part of a lawsuit against the LaSalle County Sheriff’s office showing deputies throw an apparently innocent woman to the ground before stripping off all of her clothes. Zandrea Askew, a former sergeant in the Marine Corps says she was “humiliated, degraded and dehumanized” and the video backs her up.

Askew was beaten, stripped bare, and left naked on the floor of a cell for hours. This former Marine had committed no crime.

3. VIDEO WAS RELEASED SHOWING A POLICE OFFICER SHOOT AND KILL A 14-YEAR-OLD BOY AS HE RAN AWAY WITH A TOY GUN

Antonio Arce was shot and killed by a Tempe, Arizona police officer after someone called 911 to report a suspicious truck parked in an alley.

The owner of the truck was unloading some items and says that a meddling neighbor, who he’s had problems with in the past, called police to get him in trouble. When police arrived, the officer claimed that he feared for his life and was forced to shoot at the boy who was six houses down the road from him.

According to the truck owner, Lou Silvas,he saw the gun police claimed was on the child, in his truck after the officer shot the boy.

Another witness, Julie Ann Bravo said she recorded the incident on her tablet and allowed police to take the tablet to copy the video for their investigation. After officers returned the tablet, which Bravo said was only a day old, she said it no longer would turn on and hasn’t functioned since, according to AZCentral.

4. VOLUNTEERS ARE STEPPING UP TO DO THE JOB OF GOVERNMENT WORKERS WHO REMAIN HOME DUE TO SHUTDOWN

If you have visited one of the many national parks or even the nation’s capital in the last 5 weeks, then chances are, you’ve benefited from the work of selfless volunteers who’ve been doing the government’s job for them, for free.

Youth groups, private businesses, and political clubs have stepped up across the country to fill in where the government has left off.

From Yellowstone to Washington D.C., dedicated private individuals have been picking up trash, clearing snow from roads, maintaining trails, cleaning toilets, and much more. And, they are all doing it for free.

Business owners and individuals from all walks of life have seen the void created by this shutdown and they are proving that private citizens can do these jobs just as good or better than the state.

Sadly, however, as TFTP recently reported, some of those volunteers are being kicked out of the parks for failing to have the correct paper work to pick up trash.

5. ALTERNATIVE MEDIA COMPANIES UNITE TO RALLY AGAINST THE CORPORATE GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF INFORMATION

For those who have been following TFTP, they likely know about the massive purge of alternative media which has been underway for some time now. The sharing of peaceful ideas and government accountability has become the target of the information controllers and is quickly being snubbed out and being replaced with “scissor” creators who push divide and conquer content like the MAGA hat video.

Recently, members and owners of multiple alternative media outlets gathered in Houston, Texas to discuss the heavy hand of corporate and government censorship and how to stop it.

The event was a huge success with many potential solutions coming up. One such solution is the migration to other platforms who do not censor their members. Bill Ottman, the founder of Minds.com was in attendance, so this platform became the center of the discussion.

Another solution to come from the summit is the formation of an independent media coalition in which members will help each other fight censorship as well as the creation of an indy newswire, similar to that of the AP.

The selective outrage and weaponization of information over the MAGA hat video is all but a smoking gun proving that the mainstream media exists for the sole reason to keep us divided to generate clicks and profit from your hatred for your fellow human—all while protecting the corrupt establishment. The time for free thought is now. The time to stop buying into the divide is now. We must stop playing into their manipulative spin and come together as peaceful individuals rather than fight over irrelevant scraps thrown to us from the masters’ table.

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