The False Equivalence.

Or, “How Extremists Manipulate Their Audience"

Here, we have Tim Pool, notorious disinformation agent, making a claim to justify, and indeed, call for violence against LGBTQ people. He does it in a very subtle way, in order to avoid accountability. He doesn’t explicitly call for violence himself, instead, he establishes a false equivalence, in order to, “lead a horse to water", if you will, and let them drink.

We will be using this tweet as the example of how 'The False Equivalence' operates, and hopefully, by the end, we will be able to recognize these statements for what they are, when they happen: Let’s Go!

Tim sets the stage here by making a statement that his followers will recognize: he says, “the grooming of children is not stopping”. Now, if we isolate that sentence and think about it, he’s saying that children are being groomed by pedophiles and no one is stopping it. Seems like his goal would then be to stop people from grooming children, which in and of itself, is a honorable charge; yet, it’s important to note here, that for Tim and his audience, “grooming", doesn’t mean what you think it does (more on that later*).

Next up, Tim says, “people are calling for more violence". That’s an interesting statement that requires a lot of context (which he, conveniently, leaves out). This tweet was in response to the shooting at a gay club in Colorado. Even with that tidbit of information, we’re beginning to lift the veil behind Tim’s tweet, and see what he’s doing here - but, let’s continue.

“I do not think legislators will stop the grooming", he says next, which is a type of a priori statement. He’s saying that government officials are aware of the alleged grooming, and aren’t going to do anything about it.

Tim then goes on to say, “people will not stop calling for violence". He’s not establishing a direct causal link here, but, we can infer now that the violence the “people” are calling for, is against the so-called “groomers". A weighty statement, but one that exempts his own input, despite him being the one who said it.

The Provocateur then finishes with: “so you tell me what happens next"! Well, for the reader to do so, will require making lots of assumptions, while following the general guidelines of the narrative Tim is espousing. Tim is essentially saying here, “I have led you to water — now drink.”

*Now, we have to take a short break from Tim to examine what exactly is a “groomer". Typically, grooming, in this context, refers to a person who uses manipulation tactics in order to exploit children, often sexually. But, what does Tim mean when he says “groomer"? As many of us know already, Tim and his ilk are referring to LGBTQ people, whom by their mere existence, are (somehow) convincing children to be like them. This article will not go into depth regarding this association, since, it is well established by those who hold this view, and those who don’t, that this definition is, at the very least suitable. Just look up, “ok groomer" on Twitter for examples.

Let’s get back to Tim. Let’s look at his tweet again:

We’ve examined the tweet in pieces, but now, with context, we’re actively ready to read it the way one of Tim’s followers would read it.

• LGBTQ people will not stop existing.
• The solution of the opposition is violence.
• The government knows this, but won’t do anything about it.
• The solution still stands.
• What are you going to do about it?

In conclusion, what we have here is an example of stochastic terrorism, but with the added plausible deniability to Tim himself, since it is “people" who are saying this-not Tim directly. And that, my friends, is the False Equivalence. The “people" that are calling for violence here are obviously Tim and his ilk, yet he remains aloof from it, through manipulation of language.

You wouldn’t be wrong here, if your conclusion was that Tim Pool is grooming people toward violence, because… well, he is.

-complexpoints