Strategic necessity of responding outrageously to the outrageous?


Empowering Ineffectual Outrage with the Strategically Outrageous (Part #8)

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The current period can clearly be said to one of outrage -- whether as articulated by Donald Trump, by those who oppose him, or by the Occupy Movement -- as remarkably framed by Stéphane Hessel (Time for Outrage! 2010). Such outrage is also evident in the various forms of terrorism.

As with jihadists, it could be said that Donald Trump has succeeded to date through being "outrageous". The Occupy Movement could be accused of "not being outrageous enough" -- as with the massive movement in opposition to the policies he has articulated, notably under the banner of "Resist".

The strategy has been variously acclaimed, but seldom called into question:

In the spirit of this argument, outrage needs to be met with outrage of a "higher order" -- however that is to be understood -- as a means of outmaneuvering the current outrageous initiatives envisaged by the USA. How did Trump succeed in outmaneuveruing those opposed to him? How did radical Islam succeed in reframing global priorities?

Clues as to how this might be understood were discussed separately in terms of psychosocial disciplines (including philosophy), psychology, martial arts, and psychodrama (From whom is new insight to be expected? 2017).

With a non-rational dimension as necessarily fundamental to expression of the outrageous, the transformative role of drama merits careful consideration, as can be explored in the case of Mikhail Gorbachev (Gorbachev: Dramaturge ?! Participative Democracy vs. Participative Drama, 1991). This would be consistent with the showmanship with which Trump has been associated in the past, as noted by the emphasis of The Economist on Trump as a vaudeville impresario (The Impresario-elect, 3 December 2016).

The strategic issue of the times is whether those opposing Trump can put on an even more attractive show -- from the perspective of the media. Are progressives capable of articulating a more striking story -- namely one that is more outrageous? (How storytelling explains world politics, from Spain to the US, The Conversation, 6 February 2017). The latter offers insightful comparisons between the successful political narratives of Trump and the leader of the left-wing Podemos movement of Spain.

Do the radically religious offer further clues -- given the unexpected success of jihadists for which no "eradication" initiative has yet proved viable? Could the "wind be taken out of the sails" of both Trump and the jihadists? What would it take to beat them at their own game?

An earlier exploration of this possibility was framed in terms of "negative strategies" (Liberating Provocations: use of negative and paradoxical strategies, 2005). Rather than resisting and seeking to eradicate, are clues to be found in the slogan: Don't push the river -- guide the canoe. This is consistent with a basic principle of martial arts, as argued separately (Engaging an Opposing Ideology via Martial Arts Philosophy: reframing the challenge of Trump and Jihadism as worthy opponents, 2016).

There would seem to be a poorly explored confluence, nexus or complex system, involving:

  • intimidation to the point of terror
  • radical inspiration
  • abusive sexual implication (associated with pleasure)

Given the challenge this nexus represents, it could be considered remarkable that so little effort is made to explore why it gives rise to violence, as argued separately (Global Incomprehension of Increasing Violence: matching incapacity to question the reason why, 2015). This is all the more suspicious in that violence has become a central feature of many forms of entertainment, notably as purveyed via the media -- a pattern dating from the gladiatorial arenas of ancient Rome. Trump is necessarily familiar with the attraction of violence given his sponsorship of one of the most violent sports through Affliction Entertainment, namely mixed martial arts (Mihael Crowley, Donald Trump's other blood sport, Politico, 30 August 2016).

Trump has evoked outrage through narrowing the focus of the first two on Islam, associating the third with the particular attitude of Islam to women. Rather than resist his articulated concern, a strategy meriting consideration is to render it more inclusive, taking it much further.

The argument is usefully illustrated by the release of a report by the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse (Child abuse: 7% of Australian Catholic priests alleged to be involved, BBC News, 6 February 2017). Over 4,440 people claim to have been victims between 1980 and 2015. More than 1,000 Catholic institutions across Australia were identified in claims of sexual abuse, with a total of 1,880 alleged perpetrators between 1980 and 2015. The average age of the victims was 10.5 for girls and 11.5 for boys. On average, it took 33 years for each instance of abuse to be reported.

As argued above, the threat of such abuse necessarily implies a high degree of terror for the victims. There is little excuse for failing to extend the definition of "terrorism" to include such behaviour. The religious system within which it was enabled suggests that Trump should be encouraged to extend radically the scope of his preoccupation beyond Islam (Trump team wants anti-terror program to only target radical Islam, New York Post, 2 February 2017).

Given the long-established associations between penis and gun, Trump could be encouraged to give far greater thought to the terror potentially associated with confrontation with either. Whether pointing a gun or pointing a penis, the implied threat merits consideration in a fruitfully extended understanding of terrorism. It is remarkable, for example, that the incidence of gun crime in Chicago should currently be dissociated from terrorism (762 murders. 12 months. 1 American city. CNN, 2 January 2017; Chicago records 762 homicides in 2016, up 57 percent from previous year, Fox News, 1 January 2017; Why 2016 has been Chicago's bloodiest year in almost two decades, Newsweek, 15 December 2016). The focus on homicide clearly obscures the underlying terror associated with mugging and rape.

The outrage evoked with respect to Trump's declarations regarding abortion, could be reframed by encouraging his recognition that subjection of women to rape also merits consideration as a form of terrorism -- potentially to be framed as placement of a bomb in a womb, perhaps metaphorically to be understood as an "improvised explosive device". Given the degree of complicity of religious institutions with abuse of those in their care, they are increasingly vulnerable to being challenged regarding the outcome.

Trump has made no statement regarding bullying, itself readily to be considered as terrorism, given the terror it evokes. Bullying is widely acknowledged -- most notably in prisons, the workplace, hospices, the military, and educational institutions. His apparent lack of sensitivity to the phenomenon suggests a vulnerability to strategies in that regard. This is especially the case in that he has been widely accused of bullying behaviour (Edward Luce, Donald Trump, the bully in America's pulpit, Financial Times, 6 February 2017; Jack Shafer, Trump the Bully, Politico Magazine, 27 January 2017; Jesse Singal, An Expert on Bullying Explains Donald Trump's Mean, Consequence-Free Rise, NYMag, 15 September 2015).

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