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35) x-post from fb:

Instead of proposing an alternative solution to the tariff situation(which I've been posting every day for awhile) I'm going to go in a slightly different direction today. For suggestions on "what to do instead" see just about anything I've posted in this thread and for "but we have to do something" see above in this thread.

Apparently on the TV news, especially the business news networks, the americans have brought in a variety of business "experts" and propagandists. What they are saying to their viewers, one after another is that "canada can't win, the US is too strong, trump's dick is too big, US tariffs are harming us too much, we have to give in and do everything trump wants us to and kiss his ring"

This is somewhere between a black and white fallacy/false dillema[2]("our choice is either to tariff back or kiss his ring"), a argumentum ad baculum[4]("let us grab you by the beaver [or we'll hurt you]") a hasty generalization[5]("we can't win with tariffs therefor there's nothing we can do") and generally not the *only* way to look at the situation.

It's clear that the trumpists PR agencies are masters at framing and what they are trying to do is to instill Fear and Doubt into canada at the prospect of taking our future into our own hands. Also it's trying to tie a bad response (retaliatory tariffs) as the *only* response because sooner or later it's going to be clear to us that our own response *is harming us* and so we will eventually stop doing it. Once we stop with the retaliatory tariffs there will be some in canada who will be tempted to just give in everything and give trump and the american government whatever they want -- but this is a mistake.
because it is possible to hold these two premises
* We shouldn't *have* retaliatory tariffs
AND
* We should resist trump's attempt at taking over the country

as well it is possible to admit two things
* It is a bad idea to have retaliatory tariffs (IS)
* We should resist trump's attempt at taking over the country (OUGHT)

(Note the existence of an "IS" and an "OUGHT" above - one of them is a positive claim, the other is a call for action -- this is an is-ought problem[1] - again something that could in principle be bridged but which at least as stated above, and which as stated on TV by appeasers/propagandists certainly isn't).
Generally: don't believe the hype. North Korea survived as an independent nation for generations against the fact of US attempting to overthrow its government and replace it with a friendly regime. Granted: their standard of living is low, and they have a dictator, and have allied themselves with china to some extent, and now have nuclear weapons... but they are living proof that just about no matter what trump does it is *our choice* at the end of the day what happens to our nation. We *can* survive trump's tariffs, and we can even survive our own stupid retaliatory tariff response (though both will be painful). We can also make life increasingly difficult for the US government via a lot of actions of our own. Resistance is fertile[6] for generating more solidarity, more ideas for resistance and for getting closer to having more practice at self-government generally. We *never* need to "kiss the ring" and acquiesce to the demands of trump and his totalitarian allies for full submission. This is true even if we "choose our battles" wisely and strategically, both in terms of "trade war" (in Melanie Jolie's terms) and otherwise - there may be things that we have to agree on that makes sense on their own terms, or in terms of strategic losses that put us in a better position but those *should be considered on their own merits*. We have a lot going for us as a nation and a lot of potential that is as of yet unrealized - we've got potentially years to go before Trump's inevitable one-big-mac-too-many-event to make his life, and the life of those who oppose our existence very difficult.

Especially as Trump is picking fights with nations around the world -- Canada is increasingly not alone. Every time Trump opens his mouth about Iran(see above) or Panama or France -- it offers us another nation that has every interest in working together with us more closely. Every time Trump acts to restrict trade with other nations it empowers Canada to replace them and grow our economy to counterbalance them. The scales, globally are already close to tipping. If we can continue to mostly have peace(outside of regions like ukraine) we can continue to reap dividends that will buffer us against US pressure. And the fact that we are so close already to a global order shift is a sign worthy of hope that their strength will falter.

Canada should not relish struggle over our own independence with the US government. What we're going through is already ugly and can get more ugly. We should be working together with the US to pursue our shared, common goals as two nations with a somewhat shared history, similar cultures, similar aspirations, similar problems and similar limitations. But if Trump and the GOP want to pressure us into bending to his will, we can resist. We should expect the US to use PR and propaganda against us. We should expect that PR to make it look like not just victory but our own survival as an independent nation is impossible. Because that's what Trump wants.

And we should never confuse what Trump wants for what we're going to do.

[1] is https://yewtu.be/watch?v=-44Xnj93Lag&pp=ygUNdXJlZ2luYTEyMCBpcw%3D%3D
[2] false dilemma https://yewtu.be/watch?v=5DmxB9UFFcg&t=1s&pp=ygUQdXJlZ2luYTEyMCBmYWxzZQ%3D%3D
[3] false equivalent https://yewtu.be/watch?v=uMGuCke3wvQ&t=1s&pp=ygUQdXJlZ2luYTEyMCBmYWxzZQ%3D%3D
[4] baculum https://yewtu.be/watch?v=DeOkjDEgWy4&t=5s&pp=ygUSdXJlZ2luYTEyMCBiYWN1bHVt
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faulty_generalization
[6] anarchism, sec j 15 (apt-get install anarchism to install)

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