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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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1. We’re in another moment in which the makebelievers makebelieve a makebelieve thing, and everyone else – let’s call them the spoilers – respects the makebelieving of the makebelievers just long enough to ask themselves whether the makebelieve thing real.

It’s not *real*.
09:26 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
2. I’m talking about the narrative that’s been building since Friday when the Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. That was a BFD. Fear and panic seem to be spreading. The government seems to taking action.
09:27 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
3. As of this writing, Bloomberg reports that First Republic is “getting $30 billion from the biggest US banks in an effort brokered by the government to stabilize the lender.” This is serious business.
09:27 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
4. But the makebelievers don’t care, as chaos and disorder are part of their imaginary tandrumscapes.
09:28 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
5. Like a kid who stomps another kid’s toys, the makebelievers relish the instability unleashed when things, as they often do, fall apart. They have loads of fun blaming Big Bad Baddies for everything going wrong but making no effort to help.
09:28 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
6. To wit: the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and the apprehensions being felt in the world of finance, is all the fault of The Wokes.

It isn’t.
09:28 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
7. According the San Francisco Chronicle, SVB “invested a lot of customer deposits into long-term Treasury and mortgage-backed bonds. They fell in value when the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates.
09:29 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
8. SFC: "Then, when many customers needed to withdraw cash as the tech boom fizzled, it had to sell those bonds at a loss.”

Don’t spoil the fun!
09:29 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
9. Here’s Andy Puzder, a fellow at the illiberal Heritage Foundation: “If you’re not focused on how your company is governed and run, if you’re just focused on being woke, you’re going to have problems.”
09:29 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
10. WSJ's Kessler: “In its proxy statement, SVB notes that besides 91% of their board being independent and 45% women, they also have ‘1 Black,’ ‘1 LGBTQ+’ and ‘2 Veterans.’ I’m not saying 12 white men would have avoided this mess, but the company may have been distracted by diversity demands.”
09:30 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
11. An unnamed source told the New York Post that it’s “the bank of the Democrats.” “If it was the Bank of MAGA, what are the chances it would be bailed out?” the person said. “There’s not a chance in hell.”
09:30 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
12. That last one seems to be getting some attention on account of it looking, to the spoilers, like a gotcha. MAGA banks don’t collapse, eh? Let me introduce you to Peter Thiel, billionaire fascist, benefactor of rightwing US Senator JD Vance and a major SVB depositor.

Gotcha!

Not really.
09:31 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
13. It’s more like an inadvertent refueling of the makebelieving power of the makebelievers by giving it attention and time. We don’t do this with small children.
09:32 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
14. We don’t wonder whether the madeupthing that they made up is real. We know it’s not real. We don’t analyse it. Yet we accept the framing of the question: Was SVB woke or MAGA?

Instead, let’s really listen.

If we listen, we can hear the problem.
09:32 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
15. The problem for the makebelievers is that the most enduring symbol of capitalism – the bank – takes steps, in theory, toward recognizing the legitimacy of people who, according to the makebelievers, do not deserve recognition, because they are not legitimate.
09:34 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
16. The only people worthy of recognition are the people who have always gotten it. And I guess I should spell it out: they have always been male and white.
09:34 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
17. Remember what Andy Puzder, of the Heritage Foundation, said. SVB “focused” on things that it should not have been focused on.
09:34 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
18. When capitalism is not “focused” on people undeserving of recognition, because they are not legitimate, all’s well. But when capitalism, especially the most enduring symbol of it, focuses elsewhere?

WOKE CAPITALISM!
09:35 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
19. I would say it’s ironic that – surprise! – most banks in America have governing bodies that are still very much male and white.
09:35 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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In response to John Stoehr.
20. I would say it’s ironic if I believed for a second that the makebelievers were looking as the same reality the rest of us are looking at instead of imagining what they want to see for themselves and their enemies.
09:36 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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John Stoehr
@johnastoehr
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21. But I don’t. Neither should you.

The makebelievers want a world that doesn’t exist.

Let’s spoil it.

(Read the whole article here. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!)

https://www.editorialboard.com/what-woke-capitalism-means/
In response to John Stoehr.
09:36 AM - Mar 17, 2023
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