Wednesday, 5 November 2025

On Being a Contrarian

The Contrarian Archetype: Justice Bait

Hand drawn cartoon 'have you farted?' 'No!' 'Why not?!'

A Confrontation Kinda Character

7 min read 

We all know someone who argues not to find out the truth, but only to win. This sophist type like this guy is divisive, annoying and rich pickings for any manuscript or novella because they offer delicious just-deserts. They can inspire the protagonist to play their egotistical game—Batman and Riddler dynamics. We could say that the intellect of the Riddler is wasted, tainted by a sad point-scoring mentality and a reactive self-esteem. Genuine skepticism is a polished front the contrarian puts on, hiding their relentless, unnecessary oppositional drive to prove they are the smartest person in the room, a bit like William Lane Craig. It has a cerebral narcissism grown out of the need for validation of self-appointed beliefs of exceptional intelligence.

I have decided to share a character for this blog post. He is the Swine King Porcinus VIII of Swinebard, an enthroned figure whose most defining trait was his suffocating intellectual vanity. His Royal Highness Porcinus VIII would regularly make his announcements indirectly as declarations for everyone to accept while perusing his palace—'chess is superior to knowledge' he broadcast one day. That one started after his own slightly above average score in the royal competition. The irony, and the deep hypocrisy: despite his self-proclaimed cleverness, he often failed to accomplish anything meaningful outside of winning petty palace debates. Never vehicles for understanding, those arguments of his were mere performances to get an egotistical hit. 

The Oppositional Mind is Entitled


This is not a majority behaviour and sadly Porcinus VIII’s mind was built on contradiction. His cerebral contrarianism was rooted in a pathological need to reject the established and champion the obscure—it looks clever! Eventually palace courtesans and other aristocrats started to agree with him for an easier life. It took a while before he suspected. All those years of being the one who announced the flaw, the loophole, the technicality no one else could see. He realised that they knew it wasn't his insight anymore; it was surface-level intellectual agility hoping to impress. Despite this he continued rejecting established truths anyone offered at the table. 

King Porcinus VIII The Contrarian, forced his narrow stake down hard; just an irrelevant detail, deep into the beliefs Glirine Duke shared before nibbling his cheese. The arrogant king denied him with inconsequential details at the dinner discussion which put the mouse duke off his desert. Pronounced and glaring, the swine’s hypocrisy was pig-headed and automatically correct by Royal-Decree. 

The Privileged Pig


All this entitled ignorance reminds me of Kehinde Andrews in his debate with Rafe Heydel-Mankoo on Triggernometry; he would inspire the multitudes of ‘right-thinking’ folk to want to say something to take him down. It's quite frustrating how these people don’t tend to listen to experts or even the multitudes. Could this be the textbook toxicity forming your character needs? 

On one hand, the swine king totally denied the principle of the ancient philosophy of Atomism (the idea that matter is fundamentally comprised of tiny irreducible particles called Atomos). ‘It’s totally wrong and has nothing to do with real science,’ he said, ‘we can split the atom’. Resorting to hyper-literalism, and taking quantum-level standards of proof against an Atomos Philosophy was quite enough, but later, he admitted to having no knowledge of atomic splitting or quantum physics at all! After a few simple questions His Royal Highness conceded to say he didn't know why atoms were called atoms, clue; it's the philosophy–he minced out of the dining hall. 

Celebrity and Contrary


Do you remember Piers Morgan's prime moment of hypocrisy when he was exposed on live TV? It was after fiercely insisting his absolute right to express his views on air, the hypocritical man lost the argument became enraged and stormed off the set of ‘Good Morning Britain’ and resigned! The valued 'free speech' was just his own version of 'free speech' others were not very free.

Double Standards 


Monarchs like King Porcinus VIII think they have divine authority to rule. Of course, such a man would insist sophisticated scientific methods can dismiss and reduce a non-scientific principle. Therefore, people would find his belief in the ancient scripture that maintains his divinity to rule distasteful and hypocritical. We can see the contrarian archetype is not logical to fact, but to his desires. They're like tricksters. You see, the rigorous scientific standard disappears when blind faith is needed. This selective application of scrutiny perfectly exposes the vanity and irrationality that drives them. 

A pet shop that has a fish with testicle-like features. A cartoon.

The Motives Behind Everything


What makes a person do as they do? We often want to pin the actions of our antagonists onto some mental diagnosis associated with violence, but it's not always necessary. Intellectual rigidity is often found fuel in traits associated with neurodiversity, specifically Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Anyone can have negative personality traits that border on despicable. 

Here, examining the argument, we see black and white logic: if a modern atom can be split, the ancient concept of Atomos is 100% wrong. When combined with opposition or a common personality disorder a character begins to take on a plausible confrontational front. The Monarch wasn’t arguing for a better answer; he was arguing against your answer. 

The Power Dynamic


The real fool's errand was not the King’s arguments but engaging with them when you know exactly what he is. That very moment you argue back, the Royal Contrarian wins, why? Because the goal was to bait you into his game. It's also a Donald Trump thing. The Duke, just like Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the orange faced president should have moved on into friendlier territory instead of bickering in the White House. Keep the toxicity high with a manipulative contrarian and the drama flows. 

'Can you teach me about nuclear fission or explain the original philosophy of Atomism that you said is irrelevant?’

' No, I uh, well... I can't, no, '

'So why would you, as uninformed as you are, want to start an argument about it?' 

This the way of the contrarian. 

The Self-Validation Reversal


The Cerebral Contrarian’s game is built on arrogance and a stubbornness; they flat-out deny agreeing because it's easier than constantly shooting down whatever's said. By refusing to play the victim of their baiting, or by simply making them out up or shut up, the manufactured intelligence of the cintrarian dissolves, leaving only the sound of a fool who must argue blind to sustain vanity. 

Tricks and Misleading Tactics


Watch out for dodgy evidence like newspaper reports, media or academic studies. Simple test: if their logic can't distinguish. 

Someone I argued with used this particular walking study to leverage their opinion that walking 'does' make you live longer. Closer inspection shows it claims walking 'may' extend life and cut healthcare costs. The methodology, however was the punchline: interviewers asked people only once how much they walk, and then, they waited 13 years, saw some walkers died (all unknown causes, could have been shootings electrocutions, stabbings, suicide, running too much!?) others died less: it  concluded walking promoted longevity.

On this logic, we really could take the piss by saying if all Ukrainians significantly increased their walking it would decrease the efficacy of Russian missiles, why not? Urinating on an electric fence would be less of a gamble for trekkers. If a group of people walk into a heavy hail storm with a wheelchair user, guess who should get hit first? Wouldn't the sedentary population be warned to stay indoors for risk of any possible cause of death?

Data can't always tell if walking makes you healthy nor will it always clearly state X, Y or Z, especially if it is used to buffer someones need to be right! We saw this practice with Jordan Peterson and his lobster data he used to explain human behaviour, or Alex Jones, the man who conjured up conspiratory rehetoric to sell his idea that the Sandy Hook shooting was a lie. 

Cartoon of Batman and Robin arguing philosophy

My Conclusion


A prime example of contrarian justice is ultimately played out in Good Will Hunting. When Will defends his friend from a narcissistic Harvard graduate, Clark, who arrogantly uses his complex terminology to undermine someone. He boastfully claimed the early colonial economy was 'agrarian pre-capital' near some girls. 

Will instantly clocked him as a plagiarist, naming the specific book and page number of the quote. Will cross-sectioned the contrarian, finally asking the man if he had any thoughts of his own, shattering his fragile manufactured intelligence. Will concludes that Clark wasted $150,000 on an education 'you coulda picked up for a dollar fifty in late charges at the Public Library,' scene ends. 

These characters, like The Riddler, Harvard Kid Clark, Rick Sanchez or Dr. House M.D contribute dearly to any story!

Sunday, 19 October 2025

The Shadow Magician and The Saint

The Corporate Takeover of Christianity: How Paul, the Shadow Magician, Killed the Original Jesus Movement

Image of a hooded shadow magician

A Case Study in Power: Controlling the Narrative

Disclaimer: This is one of my argumentative blog posts and it follows the theme of my Jesus post here and other posts exploring archetypes here

10 min read

A man is executed. His community is crushed. The messianic movement he started - one that promised the immediate arrival of God's Kingdom on Earth- is dead.

For a few desperate years, the Jewish Christians (Jesus's original followers and family) clung to the fragmented hope of their departed saviour. They were sharing their story, but they remained weakened, leaderless and limited in number.

Then, he enters the narrative.

He never knew the executed holy man, yet he was a former rival, an enemy and outsider. He didn't seem to ask permission; he saw the power revelation could bring—the Resurrected Christ elevated Apostles to respected church leaders and community figures, and then, the same grace was also mysteriously extended to him. With this came the freedom to rewrite rules. His new church gradually rose to prominence as Jewish Christianity slowly declined.

This isn't a theory about theology; it's an analysis of power. We're picking apart how a first-century entrepreneur executed history's most effective corporate takeover comparable to a Shadow Magician archetype—a Jungian pattern describing machiavellian world builders, those who might manipulate with claims of secret knowledge, bypass authority with mysterious credentials, or even control you with words rather than force. 

Master Manipulating a Magick Show

Such an archetype can make quite a compelling character study, the pattern is so recognizable once you see it. They begin by concealing their game. Star Wars has Palpatine who fooled everyone; reduced and then disbanded the Jedi Order. Harry Potter's Lord Voldemort rejected the established ethical order and pursued immortality and dominance instead. Donald Trump was an outsider, a cuckoo born to republicanism. This Shadow Magician re-wrote their party's entire structure, while rejecting its soul: he replaced much of US conservatism with Trumpism

Selection of Academic Books That Discuss The Subject of Paul
Gentile vs Jewish Christianity is an academic field

What I'm exploring in this blogpost isn't hot off the shelf. We all know the history of the long standing issues Paul and James started over their arguments about Jewish Law. It's the very core of the 'Parting of the Ways' and a legitimate scholarly subject still actively debated 

But we can still play. 

---

Stage 1: Filling The Power Vacuum

I am not the only one to draw parallels between St. Paul and a Magus. The Jungian Shadow Magician is also ready to pounce whenever a golden opportunity to strike presents itself.

The movement led by Jesus of Nazareth provided just that. Historians and critical thinking scholars widely agree that Jesus was a nationalist apocalyptic Jewish preacher who professed the imminent arrival of the Kingdom of God on Earth (Ehrman, 2014; Sanders, 1993). This divine appearance became a political and concrete expectation of his followers: Rome would fall, Israel would be restored.

Within 20 years of Jesus's death, the eventual saint, Paul, was already writing letters. The original disciples? Silent. We see no letters, no real documents, no counter-narrative. Yet, they were the ones who had all the vital eyewitness testimony, but, I guess he had the power of using words? 

The Problem: Spectacular Failure

As expected, the prediction didn't happen. Jesus was likely executed for blasphemy or sedition, we don't know, but still, it was the ultimate proof of a failed messiah (Deuteronomy 21:23).

The original followers—the eyewitnesses in Jerusalem—were left leaderless, their core belief shattered. This world crushing crisis of meaning was the ideal entry point for a change in direction.

---

Stage 2: Unfalsifiable Authority

We don't know his intent, speculation is all we can do with matters of motive. However, if this is a Shadow Magician was his claim of the risen Christ appearing before his caravan genuine? It served well as a status springer despite the disappearance of his anonymous travelling colleagues who were also witnesses. Again all established Jewish Christians were eventually superseded. 

This word-caster had once actively opposed the early Jewish Christians! His cultural and communication methods were mostly Greek and he was a Roman citizen. It's no wonder he became 'Apostle of the Gentiles'. He was clever, highly educated in theology, but strangely, before his religious honour reduced his tent making time, something miraculous happened. 

The Powerful Vision

His mystical vision on the road to Damascus (Acts 9) is a report of a phenomenon that elevated him to an Apostle, despite the requirement of having to have known Jesus but exceptions were made and he surpassed the authority of Jesus's actual companions, like Peter and James! The vision strongly resembles a Greek narrative from the heavenly apparition that struck down Heliodorus in 2 Maccabees 3

Virtue Signalling

Why this works:

- The claim is unverifiable without witness testimony (only he was given the message)

- It's unchallengeable (what Christian would try to disprove anyone claiming to have witnessed their risen saviour?)

- It bypasses institutional authority (Peter, James, the Jerusalem church)

- It makes him accountable to no one but his own risen Jesus

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Stage 3: The Ultimate Rebranding Strategy


The Shadow Magician: Never uses the phrase 'Kingdom of God is at hand' with regards to Jesus's manner of God appearing - not once in seven undisputed letters.
He didn't continue the mission. He replaced it.

A Shadow Magician may be inclined to rewrite the core narrative in order to make the movement viable again, sacrificing authenticity for viability. The true genius of rebranding a catastrophe is supply on demand. In the bible, St Paul is, in essence selling the failed apocalyptic mission as a successful spiritual salvation theology instead (Dunn, 2005). People wanted easier access to heaven.

For centuries that passed the same church M.O continued to rewrite the pagan world view; appropriating old gods and transforming them into saints like St Brigid or St Nicholas. They even took ancient festivals as Christian tradition. It's not right to call it syncretism when it's plagiarism! 

Narrative Control: Moving The Goalposts

To execute a takeover, any market strategist would need to discard the parts of whatever failed and was restrictive.

Original Goal (Jesus): The physical, imminent Kingdom of God on Earth.

New Goal (Paul): Personal Salvation from Sin - a spiritual and cosmic transaction.

This was the core power move: widen the goalposts, declare the failed political mission retroactively ‘successful’ by reinterpreting it as a spiritual win! 

The Entrance Requirements: Simplifying the 'Difficult' Law

This strategic shift was primarily achieved by refuting the necessity of Jewish custom for new followers. The original movement required adherence to the Torah (circumcision, kosher laws). A Shadow Magician might strip these rules away but would an end-times Nazarene do the same? Especially if he claimed he would change nothing in the law, and follow the prophets? Essentially, this means the Torah. 

Original admission: Strict adherence to the Jewish Law (Torah Observance).

New admission: Justification by Faith (The Law is irrelevant).

This was the real workable tweak (Koester, 1982). By eliminating the 'difficult' barrier of Jewish law, a shadow magician might instantly pull something different out the hat for the wealthy, mass Greco-Roman communities across the Empire. 

---

Religious cartoon: 2 Witnesses Comparing themselves to St Paul, 'we don't get that much'

Stage 4: Monetizing Humility and Enforcing Obedience

The Shadow Magician operates on money and will use a hardship narrative or two, but the evidence of both St Paul's poverty and personal risk lacks any external proof but serves to downplay the financial support he had.

His Churches as a Personal Franchise and Power Base

The most damning evidence of power is that his churches were answerable to him and him alone. It was a personal franchise. Of course, it was enforced, and it was with his confrontational, argumentative, and demanding character.

Enforcing Obedience and Authority:

- To the Corinthians, he ordered specific punishment for immorality (1 Cor. 5:3-5), asserting his distant authority was as binding as his presence

- His writing style is notoriously argumentative and confrontational, dismissing rivals as 'false apostles' (2 Cor. 11:13)

- He used severe, aggressive language to correct perceived disloyalty (Galatians 1:6–9)

Asking for Money and Control:

- He commanded churches to participate in organized collections (1 Cor. 16:1-3)

- Explicitly defended his right to be financially supported by them

- Boasted he had 'robbed other churches' (2 Cor. 11:8–9) to serve others

- This power over the cash flow strengthened his dominance

The Tent-Maker Who Made Fewer Tents

Paul of Tarsus was a former Pharisee who said tent-making was his income. The substantial funds required to maintain his staff, constant travel, and living expenses did not come from his personal labour.

What he actually received:

- Multiple financial payments from the Philippian church (Phil 4:15-18)

- The money from 'robbing other churches' (2 Cor 11:8-9)

- Wealthy female patrons (Lydia, Phoebe) provided housing, meals, travel funds and goodness knows what else

- The Organised collections he controlled (1 Cor 16:1-3)

- He expected the Roman church to fund his Spanish mission (Rom 15:24)

The maths: Constant Mediterranean travel, urban living (Ephesus, Corinth, Rome), paid staff (Timothy, Titus), secretaries (Rom 16:22), writing materials: the operation cost serious money! You can't keep travelling continuously across the Roman Empire whilst working full-time making tents.

Money

The Tell Tale Signs of a Shadow Magician?

He protests his poverty obsessively. Why? Well his churches were clearly accusing him of profiteering. 2 Corinthians is essentially one long defence of his financial arrangements - the kind you need when people are regularly asking where the money keeps going.

The economic reality: a subsidised lifestyle built on the donations of followers whilst claiming the moral high ground of self-sufficiency.

The Unverifiable Devotion and Noble Intent

Another legitimate proof for his authority comes from his elaborate lists of personal sufferings and arrests, which serve as great credentials.

The Problem of Proof: When this man details his beatings, shipwrecks, and near-death experiences (2 Cor. 11:23-28), the claims are entirely free from verification by any external sources. They function as emotional currency, disarming need for eyewitness accounts from Jesus's life.

The Intention vs. The Result: We can't ever know if his position was truly taken up with noble intent, we only have his own word! The Shadow Magician's rulebook would frame his noble actions as clever power play, but still, that doesn't prove anything. What's a salvager of a fading religion recognised for shaping believers thoughts while writing about his own piety? 

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Stage 5: Elimination of Competition

The Shadow Magician's ultimate victory requires the removal of legitimate authority—sometimes through active effort, often through historical accident.

The Jerusalem church would oppose a Shadow Magician bitterly (Galatians 2). Remember, the Jewish Christian Community had the eyewitnesses, legitimate succession and the true story:

- Jesus's actual family members like James, his brother

- Eyewitness disciples such as Peter and John

- Institutional legitimacy

- Geographic authority of being the original location. 

St Paul had:

- Private revelation of Christ's plan

- Gentile churches loyal to him

- Financial and domestic infrastructure

- Written letters establishing his theology

In reality, the eyewitnesses should have won. But life isn't always fair, is it? 

Victory came by Historical Accident

70 CE: The Destruction of Jerusalem

The Romans destroyed the Jerusalem Temple, which meant the cultural, physical base and leadership of the original Jewish Jesus movement was totally wiped out (Dunn, 2005). The Shadow Magician was a Diaspora Jew born in Tarsus (Acts 22:3) and a trained Pharisee (Philippians 3:5). He was rigorously educated in the Hebrew scriptures, trained well, but positioned outside the blast radius.

Meanwhile, his widely disperse Gentile churches survived intact. His letters, already circulating, became the new scripture for a new version of the religion. That is definitely taking control. 

When the dust settled, his version was the only organised, written, and well-resourced movement left. If he is a Shadow Mage, he didn't defeat his rivals - history did it for him. Undeniably, he positioned himself to engage with the catastrophe. Of course, the winner writes history, and his theology was secured.

---

 How to Spot the Pattern

Image of a detective investigating

The true power of this analysis is in recognising the pattern elsewhere. This playbook isn't unique to Christian history; it's a blueprint for any charismatic leader seeking power through narrative control.

Shadow Magicians in History:

Joseph Smith: Formed a new religion based on private revelations and claims of secret knowledge (not unlike St Paul) that superseded all prior religious authority.

Rasputin: Claimed direct, mystical access to the divine to gain power over the Russian Imperial family, bypassing the state and the Church. Sound familiar? 

Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos): Promoted a revolutionary blood-testing technology requiring extreme secrecy. She cultivated powerful patrons, bypassed scientific authority, and monetised her product that didn't work aggressively. It was fake. The Shadow Magician archetype is a recognisable theme.

The Checklist

The next time you encounter a leader who:

- Claims special, unverifiable knowledge or divine access

- Bypasses institutional accountability

- Demands financial support whilst preaching purity

- Aggressively eliminates critics and competition

- Controls through narrative rather than transparency

...you'll recognize the Shadow Magician in action.

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Why This Matters

This analysis isn't an attack on Christianity—it's a case study on how self-appointed charismatic authority operates, especially when institutional structures collapse. The pattern repeats because it works:

1. Crisis creates vulnerability

2. Outsider claims special knowledge

3. Legitimate authority is bypassed or eliminated

4. New narrative becomes reality

5. Financial/power structure consolidates

The Shadow Magician didn't invent this playbook. It's just an archetype, a character of the human race! It's also the will to power. 

We aren't merely questioning whether or not this biblical person believed his own vision. The real question is: Can you spot the pattern when someone uses it today?

Why? Because somewhere, right now, another Shadow Magician is claiming unverifiable authority, rebranding someone's misfortune while taking power.

Will you recognize them?

Conclusion

What We Don't Have:
- No letters from Peter during Paul's lifetime
- No written rebuttal from James, Jesus's own brother
- No financial records of this interlopers 'collection for the saints' 

What We Do Have:
- Paul's letters, churches and theology

History belongs to those who write it down! 

The man who persecuted the church later became its architect. The family who knew Jesus became the footnotes. By the second century, Jewish Christians who rejected Paul as an apostate were branded heretics by The Church Fathers, early Catholicism.

Original movement: extinct.
Shadow Magician's numbers: 2.4 billion followers.

This is sometimes mistaken with a hostile takeover. In fact, it was always a cuckoo's egg.








References

Dunn, J. D. G. (2005). The Partings of the Ways: Between Christianity and Judaism and their Significance for the Character of Christianity. SCM Press.


Ehrman, B. D. (2014). How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee. HarperOne.


Koester, H. (1982). Introduction to the New Testament, Vol. 2: History and Literature of Early Christianity. De Gruyter.


Sanders, E. P. (1993). The Historical Figure of Jesus. Penguin Books.


Tuesday, 30 September 2025

Can We Prevent The Ruin of the West?

How Puppet Masters Keep Us Fighting Each Other

You really can see sad income inequality in the UK. Not to put a downer on this before even writing it but, most of us have little trust in the system - it's not just because of the failing services or the country's political polarization either. Nope, it's the social cohesion, unity's gone. Doesn't it make you think the entire West is undergoing a collapse? Okay, enough of that! But yeah, it really is going down.

An Amateur Cartoon of Western Politics: Left vs Right!

The Way Forward: Stop Playing Their Game

7 min read 

Let's cut the bollocks and get to the simple truth. The average person in Britain, America, China, Russia, or anywhere else wants the same basic things - safety, prosperity, dignity, and peace for their families. 14.4 million people in the UK live in poverty, and 13.8% of households are food insecure, see here. These are real problems, not culture war nonsense.

The average British family wants:

  1. Affordable food shopping
  2. Bills they can actually pay
  3. Safe streets for their kids
  4. Decent schools
  5. Maybe a holiday that doesn't require selling a kidney! 

The system is dividing us and it serves the interests of fewer, but yet, more powerful human beings. We know some of those in positions of power dissociate from us; they convince themselves that normal moral constraints don't fully apply to their 'necessary' work of managing the populace. Look at the psychology behind shit like Tony Blair's Dossier for WMD, America's Project Northwoods, MKUltra, Operation Crossroads and our ugly Post Office Horizon Scandal

The Sage vs. Modern Rage

Right, let's start with something that'll ruffle more feathers than December's turkey market. Christian patriots waving flags and invoking Jesus for Britain? They've got the wrong bloke entirely.

Cartoon of Jesus popping around for footy


For the sake of 'keeping it real,' the historical Jesus (you know what I mean), I'm not talking about the third century ancient fan edited version! This gentleman lived in Galilee - during his ministry it came under Northern Palestine, a multicultural spot. Yeah, strange how Jesus was Palestinian but also a Jewish man (not being political). The geezer was a very spiritual figure, operating under a brutal Roman occupation. On that note, we shouldn't deny humanism's contributions to British morality, as well as, other things like stoicism, or the old golden rule, our morality is not exclusive to the church, civilised ethics existed BCE. 

  • His message was dead simple: Love God, love your neighbour, and put compassion into action, especially for the marginalised.

What Jesus never said was: 'Wave flags for our country' or 'countrymen with opposing views are the enemy!'

Regardless of what his prosecution charge was supposed to be; he didn't use threatening language against Pilate or raise an army against Rome; go and check, search for Biblical and historical sources for aggression aimed at Rome. If you start stripping away the theological embellishments you'll find a more grounded historical figure; someone more likely to ask today's Christian nationalists to chill out a bit.

We rebranded the guy into a white European and the cross has long since been an idol used for political control and influence. 
Demonic cartoon possession

The Puppet Masters: Meet Your Overlords

While the internet argues what a woman is or debates if illegal immigration is wrong, real families are wondering how they'll pay the gas bill. The same elite networks that have been pulling strings for decades are watching us suffer while we pick sides. This post is not about religion and I'm really not trying to promote politics, just how it maintains their illusion. 

Bohemian Grove: Where Power Goes Spooky

Bare with the 'tinfoil hat' optics a moment and picture every Republican president since 1923, plus various influential figures from the Supreme Court, corporate world giants, and media moguls, right? Thousands of these powerhouses have been gathering in California redwoods to perform a ritual every twelve months! It even has a name: 'Cremation of Care.' They literally burn away all cares about the outside world in a weird ritual symbolically akin to baptism in front of a giant owl statue. Yeah, okay, it sounds loony tunes, so what? The theatrics are distracting.

Bohemian Grove Cremation of Cares

That owl? People say it represents Athena, also known as: Venus, Ishtar, Isis, Inanna, Lilith, the Morning Star, closely associated with Lucifer! But really, whether you take that literally or metaphorically, the message has led to mountains of speculative accusations from planning world domination, satanism to child sacrifice. Why? Well, world elites who castaway normal moral constraints for a 'greater good' is sensational and interesting. Of course, it implies the nefarious, cognitive empathy over emotional hindrance, and it's creepy. Still, fact or fiction, owls and robes aren't the sodding danger!!

The Manhattan Project was planned there! A fact. Nuclear weapons. Decided by blokes who'd just cremated their cares!

The grove the Bohemian Club's property. The Bohemians are part of a larger Bilderberg Merry-Go-Round of conspiracies, likely because it's the same faces, just different venues. So what about conspiracy? When the world's most powerful all gather under complete media blackout it's not to play a Street Fighter championship, is it? 

Bohemian Grove Owl


Speaking candidly, suspicion and conspiracy theory is divided by a line of stigma! Any posthumous allegation or unusual witness statement will usually turn to jelly and just sit there, maybe giving the occasional wobble. A grey area. Paul Bonacci openly said he was a victim at Bohemian Grove in Yorkshire TV's 'Conspiracy of Silence,' but after being convicted himself his claim was discredited. He still wobbles occassionally. It's worth asking yourself: Would new suspicions of child trafficking end up being down prioritised in the Grove today, considering the reputation and historical sensationalism? Absolutely. Does it mean child abuse has always been unlikely to happen there? Duh, no. Does it detract from what is really happening? Yes.

The following three men frequented The Bilderberg Group Meetings and Bohemian Grove. I hope it conveys power and attitude:

  • David Rockefeller: Trilateral Commission founder. Western plus Japan cooperation and diplomacy
  • Henry Kissinger: Escalated Vietnam War and Negotiated its end. Won a Nobel Peace Prize. Supported Authoritarian Regimes. 
  • Zbigniew Brzezinski: The man who authorized CIA support for Afghan fighters against the Soviets, contributing to later extremist groups

Bilderberg Book

The Division Machine: Who Profits Most?

Here's the thing that'll bake your noodle: division is how we are controlled. Algorithms across the internet are great for elite networks which seem to 'Cambridge Analytica' us all as either 'woke communist traitors' or 'fascist racist bigots.'

It's the nature of the beast; algorithms are already designed to promote content that gets the most engagement, and nothing gets a reaction like a political screaming match! It's a self-perpetuating machine managed by social engineers. It is so easy.

This isn't totally organic. Normal people aren't naturally this fucking mental. But division keeps us from asking awkward questions like 'Why are we giving millions away in foreign aid when my nan has to use a food bank?'  

The Enemy From Outside

We all know it's mostly China and Russia. The U.S. defence budget alone is over $886 billion a year. The top five U.S. defence contractors make tens of billions in revenue!

Nowadays, China will likely spy on us, threaten our media because of its perceived unsuitable coverage, or hit our governance with cyber-disruption. Jaguar Land Rover and M&S were hit recently, NHS a few years ago.

However, long before we nicked that Russian spying on Queen Elizabeth II, they had already been chipping away at us for some time. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion the book Russia fabricated in 1903 has spread globally. The Nazi party made use of it, look how that turned out. Then there was the cyber-attacks, not forgetting 'Doctors Plot' in the fifties and the 'Salisbury poisoning' in 2018 and the 'Litvinenko poisoning' in 2006.

The Manufactured Patriots: When Grassroots Aren't So Grassroots

Coming back to the sizable patriotic demonstrations we've been seeing, don't they have suspiciously good organisation and funding? Worth asking: who benefits from channelling genuine grievances into convenient political movements?

Take a political movement that paints itself as being outside the system. It's fighting for us, the people, not the establishment. Be that as it is; sound systems, massive screens, celebrities, and even a cooky billionaire?! Elon Musk made sure to push his grievance about 'impending violence'. 

Testicle Toon I Drew


Who paid for all that bollocks? Why is a man worth a quarter of a trillion dollars leading a so-called 'grassroots' movement? Really? Why did people listen to Katie Hopkins, Why did their message sound so tired and condescending? 

We're told to see these protests as the people's voice, but it's not a conspiracy theory to wonder why a figure with his own space exploration program is involved with left vs Right wing tensions in UK politics? 

Apparently, according to various people I've listened to in life, the textbook manipulation to watch out for is distraction; using incidents, media or authentic movements to redirect attention away. Even Greco-Roman power used controlled opposition that served them while appearing to challenge it. Julius Caesar's First Triumvirate, for example. 

Is that it? Hell no! Debt trap diplomacy using trade and loans for dependency, resource and supply route control, infiltrating education, manipulation of supply vulnerabilities, tech theft. Today we see hybrid warfare (cyber, economic, information warfare) alongside traditional field combat its multi-factored and leaders have to listen to elite multinationals who bring yet another dimension. 

Labour's Grooming Gang Cover-Up: Sacrifice in Action

Nothing shows human sacrifice like Labour's handling of industrial-scale child abuse. I'm not thinking alters and daggers, but a sacrifice to the gods of woke only to simply avoid appearing racist. Official inquiries and the government jiffer-jaff is well known now. 

Conclusion

Here's the really sinister bit: these secret groups and networks don't just take a slice of power, they pay for it through transgressional bonding, designed to forge unbreakable loyalty. They can also operate in religious circles and cults, let's ignore the prophetical red heifers and end-time jackanory plots in the Middle East

Bohemian Grove: Mock human sacrifice rituals and unsubstantiated allegations of child trafficking

Skull And Bones: Secret oaths formed by world leaders, media moguls, business tycoons leading to form life long bonds

Epstein network: Documented blackmail through sexual compromise

Bilderberg Group: Alleged coordinated deception of entire populations

Group of Thirty (G30) Ultra Elite Bank Governors who have control of world economics

Is there a class of wrong minded people psychologically capable of doing the fubar? This isn't Christian, Secular or Islamic, neither is it every day common decency. 
So how do we, the ordinary people build enough power to challenge things? As we know, voting every few years isn't cutting it. Ignore the radicals, the fringe, the extreme and be compassionate. Unite. Make politics boring again. 

Friday, 19 September 2025

Is Britains DEI Dodgy?

Britain's £50 Million Diversity Question

The UK has been coughing up over £50 million a year on diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI). Here's an uncomfortable question: Are they actually working or are we throwing bundles of cash at a fire only to make flames?

This isn't about whether DEI principles matter—of course they do. I'm just asking if it's wise to splash out on morally prestigious awards when other options exist. 

5 min read

The Financial Investment

The numbers are getting harder to ignore:

Local councils: Research from the TaxPayers' Alliance show the cost of DEI roles almost doubled from just over £12 million in 2020/21 to almost £23 million in 2022/23!

Government: Diversity managers often earn in excess of £40k, while the rest of us are expected to accept austerity! UK LinkedIn data from 2020 shows almost twice as many diversity and inclusion workers as many other countries.

Cartoon: No one liked the coloured cartoon guy (the cartoon character who has colour and not black ink only)

What is the Research Saying? 

This is more than just a political talking point for weddings and funerals, the government's own research is sounding the alarm. The official Inclusion at Work Panel report (2024), concluded that many DEI programs are being implemented without any proof that they work, this shows they can be counter-productive! Not good, especially who lost disability benefits

Even though employers might want to ‘do the right thing,’ they are ‘resorting to ineffective practices that can be polarising.’ Our own governments research says diversity and inclusion isn't even working. Yet evidently the spending keeps sky rocketting

On The Other Hand

The supporters of these programs will say that they tackle hidden prejudices, that change requires sustained investment. Fair enough, if that's how best intentions appear where's the evidence to show how it works?

If we go on research from the likes of the London School of Economics (LSE) we can get some clear facts. In a 2024 study they found that having a diverse workforce is associated with stronger long-term market performance!

The analysis from McKinsey & Company conclude that companies with plenty of women and ethnic minorities will likely bring employers above-average profitability. 

These are valid points. However the question remains: are current DEI methods benefitting the public? Is it doing what it says on the tin? 

Appalled Paul, appalled but does nothing, an amateurcartoon
Don't be an Appalled Paul

What People Actually Experience:

  •  At Work: Despite all the money spent, an Ipsos poll in 2025 uncovered deep divisions in public opinion. While there is widespread support for specific things like flexible working, 36% of Britons believe DEI efforts have ‘gone too far.’ To be fair the view is particularly strong among men (43%), those over 55 (47%), and people from white backgrounds (38%). 

  • At University: The anecdotes of ‘walking on eggshells’ and feeling more divided after diversity training are common. 


The focus on demographic differences increases segregation rather than foster genuine integration. Separate ceremonies and support groups for people of different backgrounds still continue! 

The Bigger Picture

These numbers often fail to show real progress. For example, while the Civil Service has increased its number of ethnic minority workers, the number of those workers in the most senior leadership roles still lag behind the overall population. We might argue it demonstrates how programs and higher costs do not always equal better results.

The Self-Perpetuating Problem

Diversity consultation is a big business today. Consultants profit when they find inclusion, diversity and equity problems, and of course, their departments will grow when they document inequality. 

There is financial incentive for peoples problems to continue, not for them to be solved. NHS Individual Placement and Support (IPS) workers are incentivised to find sustainable jobs for the unemployed who may not even be ready for employment!

What Actually Works: A Path Forward

Why should the path to genuine progress be about abandoning the goal of equality? We should shift resources from the more bureaucratic roles to tangible solutions, ones with a proven track record:


  •  Address real barriers: For instance, rather than having DEI services, committees and so on, why not pay for a young person from a low-income family to train as a firefighter or a welder? That will attract more diverse individuals from various backgrounds.

  • Build shared purpose: Make common goals and shared values count, don't emphasise demographic differences.


  •  Measure results: Track real outcomes, promotion rates and pay gap closures.


  •  Let relationships develop naturally: When we force interactions they backfire.

Cartoon: Unicorn discriminated by not being served chips

The Bottom Line

We've been presented with a system that increases racial and social class awareness while claiming to reduce these things when they don’t. If we want effective DEI support someone should reform it. The stakes are too high for virtue signalling culture.

After years of division, our towns and cities need something that is genuinely effective. Repeating the same thing while expecting different results isn't progressive—it's just expensive madness.

Conclusion

The demand for these DEI services is driven by both corporate and public pressure, but not the proven results we need to drive this forward. DEI is circulating the problems they hope to end, it has created wealthy people another profitable market! 

It's a ‘badge of virtue’ that every company wants to wear. DEI is a strong moral imperative, however, charging money for a training award without knowing whether or not the programs actually work isn't ethical.  

The irony is that DEI services widen inequality gaps, which is classism caught red handed: Professional-class solutions for working-class problems. They entrench the hierarchy further as professional administrators who oversee inequality instead of ending it. 



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