Divided We Fall is so bad it made me side with the FBI

[@JamesTullos]

I kind of wish I hadn't read these for a few more weeks, because real world events have lined up with the events in these books. Short version: Texas is trying to ignore the supremacy clause in the constitution because they want to kill people seeking asylum in the U.S. with buzzsaws (not a joke or exaggeration) and the Supreme Court has ordered them to listen to the federal government and stop. While reading, it was unclear whether or not the author understood how American law works, but he's commented on real events in such a way that makes it clear he doesn't. twitter.com/Trent_Reedy/status/1750973785636016494 So he's blaming the federal government for trying to enforce its laws even though the far right are the ones breaking it. It's one thing to disagree with the law, he's refusing to even acknowledge what the law is. That's something that should be kept in mind when looking at this series, the author 100% believes that Idaho, Danny, and the rebellious states are the good guys. He sides with the people who murder millions of civilians and commit ethnic cleansing, even if he doesn't agree with all of their actions. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt in this video, but he clearly doesn't deserve it. Edit: I can't believe I didn't mention this. As several commenters have pointed out, Danny's gun could only have gone off at the protest if he wasn't practicing trigger discipline, meaning that he's even more at fault than I brought up here. Edit 2 Electric Boogaloo: Since KZbin, being their very communicative, intelligent selves, have demonetized this video, I've reuploaded a censored version. Feel free to watch that one too kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmfZdJqXYpdobs0 Edit 3: Rightoids keep crying that Texas is totally innocent in this, and yet it's clear not one of them has even attempted to verify that everything I said here is 100% true,. observers.france24.com/en/americas/20230811-cruel-and-inhumane-the-us-mexico-floating-border-is-equipped-with-circular-saws kzbin.info/www/bejne/bImwd5JrjNaYn9U apnews.com/article/texas-buoy-barrier-migrants-6a807c66a5781448801ac7fc0be46083 I forgot how dumb and dishonest they are, tbh. If you are one of the people who was trying to simp for Texas murdering children with buzzsaws, feel free to kiss my ass now.

[@Someone-sq8im]

As a Texan, I apologize

[@nicole7884]

I think the author is just jealous that Texas is bigger than...his ego.

[@nicole7884]

Hey thanks for giving me something to listen to as I clean my bathroom. Hubby wondered why I was snickering into the tiles

[@marianatheschizoid5912]

I don’t know the intricacies of US politics but this seems like the type of guy who’s so jingoistic that not even the US government is hawkish enough for him. It’s crazy how common this type of mentality is, and it’s sadly not just in America.

[@marocat4749]

I know texas making a casr to siceed became annual, but that far is still crazy. Also the wqannabe john brown who definitly did not care about slavery or rassism. Who beheaded hids dad. Who wasnt a veteran but i thought he fits.

[@urusaiinu]

It's odd that nobody around the main character noted his poor trigger discipline: If in the first book tear gas hadn't been used yet, then the scenario wasn't dangerous for real bullets, which means his finger shouldn't have been on the weapon's trigger when the rock hit his head.

[@zacklapaglia7644]

Goes to show how more of a dummy our "Hero" is. Like some first person shooter protagonist, Danny constantly holds his gun at the ready. Waiting for the scripted action sequence to occur.

[@smergthedargon8974]

Plus, shouldn't he have had the safety on, _especially_ if they're not using rubber bullets? Another thing that could've worked for a very dark shade of gray/villain protagonist, but no - we gotta have our rural power fantasy.

[@Sniblet]

@@zacklapaglia7644 This is an excellent image, and I will treasure it. Every gun owner I don't like is now an FPS army man, gun out and pointed straight forward, never turning his head but pivoting uncannily as he regards his surroundings with no understanding in his eyes.

[@Nostripe361]

@@Snibletthis also makes me think of a video I once saw reviewing that old show about people preparing bunkers for the collapse of civilization. The video host says “It seems like you are really excited for an excuse to kill people” One guy even owned an abandoned nuke silo and still planned to have a flamethrower in case bandits break through the door

[@IJustAnimateThatsTheJist]

​@@Nostripe361 +Doomsday preppers are truly built different 💀

[@GusCaravalho]

Cracking up at the idea of the rest of the country paying this much attention to Idaho.

[@bararobberbaron859]

I'm from Europe and pretty sure we both think of Idaho the same amount, which is 'rarely unless something goes mayorly wrong' ;)

[@sydliminal]

it's genuinely insane out here. chad daybell (the child murderer married to fellow child murderer lori vallow) basically wanted to make some doomsday prepping jonestown-style deal out in rexburg, idaho. between his books and her podcast, they had this whole even more cult-like mormonism thing going on. I haven't checked about anything more recent, but I read back in 2018 that there were at least nine hate groups active in the northern idaho & spokane region, according to the SPLC. 20ish years prior to that, there was the aryan nations HQ. shut down after a car backfired outside the building, some idiot neo-nazi thought it was a gunshot and killed one of the people in the car. building was demolished. there's a guy here who regularly runs for local office positions - he's a former strawberry farmer who had his name legally changed to "Pro Life". we've got some of the harshest anti-abortion legislation going on in the country right now. looong history of anti-asian racism in the region. far-right group tried to crash a pride event in couer d'alene in 2022. lot of the january sixers ended up being from idaho. there was even - not sure if they're still going or not - a whole string of attacks on power plants in idaho, washington, oregon, etc. that was apparently some far-right "turner diaries" type thing of trying to shut off power and force a "societal collapse" or some such. imo, people _should_ pay attention to what happens out here bc it's pretty much on par with anything going on in florida or texas.

[@pugachevskobra5636]

The constitution says that Idaho is so insignificant it doesn't even have an official state name; a random person can literally call it SippinPissVille in a tweet and the residents have to immediately update their tags and driver licenses to reflect the change.

[@sydliminal]

@justvibing4796 was there a reason you felt you had to announce to me that you didn't read it instead of just not reading it and moving on with your day orrrrr

[@tbotalpha8133]

@@sydliminal I think they're joking about Idahoans being illiterate, or something.

[@mathiasmittge7587]

I remember reading these, got them for 50 cents at a garage sale. Still got ripped off.

[@kingsnakke6888]

Imagine writing something so worse than garbage that it ain't even worth 50 cents...

[@Aphelia.]

They should've paid you for you to take it

[@Reed5016]

Lmao.

[@WorshipperOfKhone]

That was a good gumball right there.

[@postbordemYT]

​@@WorshipperOfKhone**2** good gumballs...

[@WoobooRidesAgain]

4:15 >looks up Gamer Army >reads description "In this timely and thrilling novel, Ender's Game meets Ready Player One and--" nope.

[@MrChristianDT]

Wouldn't Ender's Game + Ready Player One just be Ready Player One?

[@lich109]

​@@MrChristianDTIt would also just be Ender's Game.

[@bestaround3323]

​@MrChristianDT Okay but what if it was ready player one but actually good?

[@tbotalpha8133]

@@bestaround3323 Hah! Good one.

[@TheBonkleFox]

​@@bestaround3323Otherlands. You're looking for Otherlands.

[@andrewcol]

Of all the insane plot points, the idea that the federal government accepts a ceasefire with the guys who “totally weren’t involved in nuking two of the nation’s most important cities” is what I can’t accept. Everything else could be justified as typical “author does not adequately understand the scope and power of the US military, nor the fragility of a modern interconnected society if that might were turned on it”, but the ceasefire is just pure fantasy. Especially when you add in that Idaho is (as it realistically should be) on the verge of collapse, there’s no shot that any kind of ceasefire happens.

[@recursiveslacker7730]

>Joined the national guard in Idaho At that moment, I knew you weren’t kidding about the neonazis.

[@sufnskanne469]

Idaho is pretty racist but it's kinda fun in a way cause of the distance

[@Hemostat]

​@@sufnskanne469racist in a "fun" way OK.

[@sufnskanne469]

@@Hemostat it's morsoe that since the population is low you can really scamper off and vibe someswre if you sense a racist vibe.

[@dragonace119]

Ironically the Midwestern US is overall much more racist than the deep south. You'd think it'd be the opposite but I guess thats what time does.

[@tylersmith3139]

​@@sufnskanne469Still not very fun

[@10lauren46]

“You just you just disrespected a future US soldier.”

[@andresmartinezramos7513]

Classic

[@randykopycinski7]

The real reason Sheriff Crow changed to General Crow was because he was tired of everyone making Sheryl Crow references.

[@suzbone]

All he wanted to do was have some fun!

[@TheUltrahypnotoad]

I got a feelin' he ain't the only one.

[@BaronVonQuiply]

You might say that civil war was his favorite mistake.

[@DefaultProphet]

Sheryllif Crow like them slipping in meow in super troopers

[@paulgibbon5991]

@@TheUltrahypnotoad Until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard.

[@aaroncabatingan5238]

The funniest and dumbest part of this story is when you realize that all the death and destruction, all the suffering and bull s h i t, all of it happens, because our 'glorious' and 'brave' protagonist don't know how to hold his gun. They literally plunged the whole country into a civil war just to protect this one guy. Jesus fu c k ing christ. I'm betting the author wanted to romanticize an American civil war because he pictures that he would be like this protagonist if it happens. In reality, they will just be bombed into oblivion. Even if they 'capture an American airbase with all the equipment inside it intact', that's not gonna be enough to hold the US air force back. Iraq had a larger air force and air defense in 1991 and they got obliterated in one day. And the most unrealistic part of this story is that the US government didn't respond to New York and Washington DCs nuclear bombings, by sending all rebel states into the fallout universe. Even if you argue that there are diplomatic and political reasons why nuking your rebels is a terrible idea. The bombings would have pissed the US and ordinary Americans off to the point that they will never accept any ceasefire. And again, I'll remind you that this all started because a governor wanted to protect a s h i t head who can't hold a gun. Millions of people died because this one guy wanted to protect an i d i ot. At the very least, the story should have ended with both the governor and the 'hero' being guillotined in front of national TV.

[@anon9469]

"that's not gonna be enough to hold the US air force back" Plus the British, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Polish... air forces.

[@hirocheeto7795]

@@anon9469 The weirdest part about this book is how little the rest of the world gets involved. I haven't watched the video yet, so I don't know if this gets mentioned, but the author tried to explain the lack of outside response with an invasion by the New Soviet Union and China into Europe and East Asia respectively.

[@CygnusDerg]

Ah, so answering basic critique with another layer of delusionally unlikely nonsense@@hirocheeto7795

[@anon9469]

@justvibing4796 "I think this is the start button button." "Nein, das ist nicht der button." "Thanks... wait."

[@Redfoxjack]

@justvibing4796JTF2 delta force and the SAS: “allow use to introduce our selfs”

[@totallynotavoyeur6977]

Ok, I am like, 15 minutes in and my first thought is like: your gun going off because you were hit in the head by a rock most likely means you had you finger resting on the trigger and pulled it when you clenched your fists by reflex, which is shit trigger safety for someone supposedly trained by the national guard.

[@remiliascarletmybeloved]

And his fucking SAFETY WAS OFF

[@Littlemanairsoft]

That one sergeant who was like really war hungry told everyone to load up, before I read the book my friend told me a little about what happened and when I heard him say "Load up." I saw it coming. @@remiliascarletmybeloved

[@Dell-ol6hb]

Naming your kid Jobell is hilarious, that sounds like the name you'd give a cow not a human being

[@Hemostat]

I think they thought Jolene was too cliche and just started adding sounds to it lol

[@TheBonkleFox]

Unkel Jöbel, as us vinesauce fans call him.

[@elin9382]

the whole idea of closing a states borders is really not all that credible to me. there's no existing infrastructure that could support this at the vast majority of interstate borders, no walls or fences. most people cross on big highways, sure, but there are countless minor roads, and most of the land around the borders is rural. you can just walk across. idaho in particular is the 14th largest state by land, but 37th for population and 45th for population density.

[@l0rf]

Imagine closing off the borders of Nebraska or Colorado. How would you even do that? A gigantic fence around the entire state? Or even California or Vermont. Mountainous or heavily forested areas aren't going to be closed off for years, if at all. I could, at most, see checkpoints on interstates lanes.

[@szymonlechdzieciol]

Carving new borders across more natural things like rivers or mountain ranges?

[@Ceruleansquid-lo3iv]

Listen, it would be very easy to close off Idaho to the outside, because no one wants to go there, but it would be hard to stop people from leaving.

[@aaroncabatingan5238]

​@@Ceruleansquid-lo3ivWe will build a wall to keep in the Mexicans

[@harry_ord]

To go to smaller scale that was a problem during brexit, there were a lot of crossings between northern Ireland and Ireland; to make matters worse some homes were built on the border so you could have your kitchen in one country and your living room in another.

[@jordinagel1184]

“You can’t punish soldiers for following orders” Sounds like the governor never heard of the Nuremberg trials…

[@commandertorres]

I saw that shirt and all I can think of is “CHECKMATE LINCOLNITES”.

[@maxthepaladin2147]

I can hear that intro

[@darwinism8181]

Do it again, Uncle Billy!

[@butHomeisNowhere___]

Atun-Shei!

[@theshenpartei]

A man of culture I see.

[@BaronVonQuiply]

Wait.... didn't I ...err..."hug".. you last episode with a black powder cap and ball revolver from Gander Mountain?

[@LittleMissLounge]

I guess I could believe Danny doesn't know a Nazi when he sees one if he received a "patriotic" education. "Gee, they sure said the N-word a lot, but I thought they were just dedicated rap fans."

[@pavelZhd]

15:27 This inciting incident is actually pretty dumb. Police responding to a protest are not supposed to have their firearms off safety unless there was an order to get them off safety. So either the gun could not fire by accident. And the whole premise falls apart. Or the governor actually gave order to switch guns off safety and that is a really big deal and the governor should be removed from office and prosecuted. Or the protagonist switched safety off without order, in which case - yes, he should be behind bars.

[@zavano92]

The story could of had the order given, or done something "cheesy" like he is given his firearm by someone else and didnt check the safety. Also the inciting incident isnt a rock thrown but a decision to fire but leave it ambiguous if an order was given to fire or which side fired first. It could have shades of the Boston Massacre back in prelude to Revolutionary war.

[@Hemostat]

In mpls during all the George Floyd stuff the national guard didn't even have magazines in their rifles

[@underarmbowlingincidentof1981]

or could be a situation like in "National Guard Shoots at Minnesota Driver"

[@PreparationH67]

The idea that any governor would put themselves in front of that bus even if they literally did give the order to shoot is so insane.

[@DefaultProphet]

@@HemostatYeah cause the military has stronger rules of engagement than cops

[@maxthepaladin2147]

[Danny witnesses Brotherhood of the White Eagle doing some neonazi shit again] Danny: ...wait, you guys are Nazis! BotWE: Nein, ve're not Danny: Yes, you are!

[@Zachmxyzptlk]

Ayyy sick Venture bros reference.

[@FuelDropforthewin]

Can anyone honestly imagine the US agreeing to a ceasefire against the folks that they think nuked two major cities? Hell, it's a good thing that the federal government didn't decide to reduce Idaho to a radioactive crater after that little stunt to bring the other states back into line. Very convenient that.

[@MrChristianDT]

I can't really imagine any of the other states agreeing to a ceasefire either. Or just going along with it without asking what authority he had to ask for one on behalf of the government of Idaho.

[@hirocheeto7795]

If I remember correctly, the feds didn't know who did it (by that time half the country was part of different breakaways, and the Pacific Fleet was fighting the Chinese), so they didn't know who to nuke. Up to that point the book was like a popcorn flick, but no retaliatory strikes really broke any vague semblance of suspension of disbelief.

[@FuelDropforthewin]

@@hirocheeto7795 not knowing who to retaliate against didn't stop the US after 9/11, and that was 2 buildings and a few thousand people. Nuke two cities and kill a few million? ANYONE who could plausibly or implausibly be blamed is getting lit up.

[@paulsilagi4783]

@@hirocheeto7795That might be a reason, though not a particularly good one, as the US has shown well enough they don't need a proven culprit for retaliatory military action after terrorist attacks. And with what looks like an attempted decapitation strike at the US government, everyone in the book can be happy that whoever assumed nuclear launch authority at the time didn't immediately fling a (presumed to be retaliatory) strike at Beijing and Moscow in the confusion.

[@bestaround3323]

​@@paulsilagi4783Shame, we could have gotten something better like fallout.

[@MetaFanWing]

At the end of these videos, you should stab the books a certain number of times. 1 time equals “bad” and 5 times equals “should be condemned to the pits of fire and brimstone whilst eternally watching every single James Corden film in succession”.

[@JamesTullos]

The problem with that idea is that I consume many of them as audiobooks.

[@connorodum6710]

Make a necklace out of cheap decapitated headphones like the Crones of Crookback Bog do with ears in The Witcher 3

[@Methus3lah]

@@JamesTullos you gotta stab the concept of the book

[@TheSamgo]

Its time to stab your phone@@JamesTullos

[@danielomar9712]

​@@JamesTullosStab audible right in the headphones !!!

[@Rick-mn5zy]

It always worries me when a writer depicts a scenario where the most dominant country with the most dominant military force on the planet suddenly breaks down and balkanizes and never puts any effort into depicting the global impact of that shift in the balance of power. For example, never mentioning how newly created splinter territories gain alliances with foreign nations that hated the country they came from. How tf else would they get ammo and supplies beyond 30 days?

[@Rick-mn5zy]

Yeah I get for the US it's a gun behind every blade of grass but...ammo is an expensive investment for the individual

[@Duskbound]

@@Rick-mn5zy As the U.S Civil War proved, having lots of guns doesn't mean shit. Most of the pick-up driving, gun-toting losers screaming for a second civil war have no physical conditioning or training as a soldier. They'd be dead or surrendering after a week of drone strikes and artillery fire.

[@ygthemoth9425]

@@DuskboundI wouldn't discount widespread access to guns in a civil war scenario: it does make formerly civilian partisan activity much easier to start and maintain.

[@Rick-mn5zy]

@@ygthemoth9425 guns, yes, ammo not so much. Forgotten weapons did some great interviews with ARES group (private UK intelligence firm) years ago on how non state actors acquire weapons and hardware. Ammo is usually the hardest thing to acquire a steady supply of in a clandestine manner. Fun part of that interview was the guy from ARES Group mentioning that Syrian militants tended to use ground up match heads for gunpowder

[@TobeyFairre7861]

2/3rds through and all I can think about is that I bet Marjorie Taylor Greene would also give this book high praise as she does not know how the government works and has numerous times called for the United States to disband. Great video!

[@justinwatson1510]

If I hadn't just moved to the South to try to pull it to the left, I would completely agree.

[@cursedcontent4207]

If I thought she could read, I'd agree.

[@MrChristianDT]

Gaetz strikes me as that dumb. Greene gives off an air of knowing exactly what she's doing & not caring.

[@euronimo34]

@@MrChristianDT really, "Jewish space laser" lady gives you the vibe of concealed competence? Bold choice.

[@hirocheeto7795]

@@euronimo34 And look at how many of those lunatics ate it up. They know exactly what they're doing. We don't have the luxury of assuming incompetence anymore.

[@NixFaerie]

question... isnt the only likely way a gun could go off by accident in that scenario be due to him already having his finger on the trigger?

[@douglasdea637]

Yeah, I wondered that too. Conservatives constantly state how safe guns are and how it is impossible for them to go off by accident.

[@Hwje1111]

Well, some guns were imfamous for being so poorly made that tapping them on the side (as far as I remember anyway) can actually make them fire without so much as pulling the trigger. The imfamous Nambu pistol is one such example. But that’s more shoddy build quality than something inherent in most firearms.

[@jakebrooks7481]

@@Hwje1111and some Taurus guns are shit and can be drop fired

[@justinwatson1510]

@jakebrooks7841 those aren't shitty guns, they are just enthusiastic.

[@jakebrooks7481]

@@justinwatson1510 they’re the prematures of the gun world

[@shilohmagic7173]

13:10 I freaked out when you said "accidentally goes off" I CAN ONLY CONCLUDE THAT'S TERRIBLE TRIGGER DISCIPLINE! YOU DO NOT HAVE YOUR FINGER ON THE TRIGGER UNLESS YOU INTEND TO ACTUALLY SHOOT.

[@anon9469]

Also, "never point your weapon at anything you do not intend to destroy".

[@ntfoperative9432]

@@anon9469that point doesn’t count because he had his gun pointed at the ground. It was a ricochet. Abysmal trigger discipline is still valid though

[@bestaround3323]

​@@ntfoperative9432THAT MAN WANTED TO DESTORY THE ENTIRE GROUND?

[@ottosturm7224]

even during WW2 there was some "not good stuff" done to japanese americans

[@vasilijrappana2335]

Camps.

[@TheModdedwarfare3]

​@@vasilijrappana2335that sounds fun :D

[@Tisbilly]

Not to mention that American businessmen funded the nazis, America unnecessarily involved themselves for war profiteering after slowly pushing Japan to attack, and they bombed Japan after they were no longer a threat lol. America was certainly not morally gray during ww2, much less morally good

[@romulusnuma116]

Do you think if you told american conservatives about the boston massacre without context they would side with the British soldiers?

[@anon9469]

@@rottytherottski522 The other thing that happened was that the soldiers fired over the heads of the crowd as a warning... and the musket balls hit the people who were watching from the windows overlooking the square.

[@cl34ve]

​@@rottytherottski522did...did you watch the video before commenting? The opening scene is state troops doing a boston massacre on American citizems and then fleeing and evading the whole 'being tried for murder' thing, and the books portray them as being on the right side, because they represent political views the readers will most likely agree with. The fact that the actual British did get tried does not actually have any bearing on OP's point, and if anything, it makes the heroic book patriots look worse to anyone who has any sort of consistent ideological beliefs.

[@stephenjenkins7971]

​@cl34ve Too many people don't care about ideological consistency, they only care about "their side" winning

[@saucevc8353]

Red Lives Matter! Support the Thin Red Lines! The Redcoats are the only thing protecting us from the radical democratic rebel mob threatening our traditional monarchic values!

[@squi1d460]

I got like 50 mins into this without realising that Danny was 17. So when you said it around that minute mark I was jumpscared. I thought he was a crazed 30-40yo with classic American Hero war trauma going off his rocker because of the plot and all of Danny's feats I just assumed he was a middle-aged man. Danny is the ultimate Gary-Sue lmao.

[@rwrw418]

Can't wait to watch your chemical garden video. For anyone who hasn't read the series, here are some highlights to look forward to: - One of the love interests has sex with a 13 year old girl, no one seems to care - The protagonist conceals her identity by wearing green contact lenses - Child servants whose services the MC uses, completely head-empty no-thoughts about it - Complete disregard for how genetics works - Kidnapping girls into sex slavery, committing dozens of acts of infanticide and keeping child slaves? That's all bad, but the villain *really* crosses the line when he dissects a dead body The Chemical Garden trilogy is far from the worst written post-Hunger Games YA dystopian series, but it is the one I'm most surprised got published

[@Moonlit2020]

Dissecting a dead body is the evil part? that author must think medical students are worse than hitler!

[@TheOneTrueAtodak]

"Okay, his mom works at a medical centre. But... what if they thought it was an Afghani wedding ceremony and blew it up?" Love it.

[@thereallocke8065]

1:08:47 yeah... I'm a black southerner living up north. Most of my friends live in the DC area and most if my coworkers are either from there or have friends and family in the area. My family's from New York. Yeah... I'd be ready to pull a reverse Sherman even before I heard that the Nazis were out there doing their best imperial Japan cosplay

[@BoisegangGaming]

A right wing book that actually goes "oh shit maybe neo-nazis aren't good guys"is disturbingly rare. Also before anyone comments, I'm not from idaho, the name of my account is from my childhood dog. Long story short my parents wanted to name her something with a "b" and thats what stuck.

[@PatchouliKnowledge22]

Name a right wing book where that applies and isn't satire...

[@nobodyherepal3292]

@@PatchouliKnowledge22well….victoria comes to mind.

[@PatchouliKnowledge22]

@@nobodyherepal3292 Kind of hard to depict neo nazis as good or bad when the book takes place 100 years before ww2

[@nobodyherepal3292]

@@PatchouliKnowledge22 oh no, Victoria takes place between the 2010s and 2060s. It’s a book by William S Lind. “victoria, a book of 4th generation warfare”. It’s even worse then this hot garbage

[@PatchouliKnowledge22]

​@@nobodyherepal3292 It's somehow worse than the people who write communist fanfiction on twitter... It reads like a /pol/ schizopost

[@ianbailey4213]

"The forces of Idaho" is inexplicably funny to me

[@BrandonPilcher]

I wonder if there's a left-wing equivalent to "Divided We Fall" out there, where a bunch of left-wing revolutionaries resist a US government that a right-wing regime has taken over? As in, something like "V for Vendetta", but set in the US.

[@nathannewberry8974]

It may be buried in some of the other comments, but someone else has mentioned (and I wholeheartedly endorse) “After the End” by Robert Evans. It takes place well after a second civil war and has a lot more sci-fi concepts, but the plot does focus on dismantling Brotherhood of the White Eagle-lookalike and plays a lot better in the grey areas of a warzone and rebellion, while still calling out clearly awful shit.

[@Speederzzz]

For some reason my brain went to Asterix and Obelix

[@andrewcol]

“Christian Nation” by Frederic Rich sort of fits this.

[@MrChristianDT]

The film On Deadly Ground by Steven Seagal. Conflict makes no sense, villains work for a corrupt corporation & are completely insane, gets obsessive about Native American rights & completely misunderstanding their issues as well as casting an Asian woman to play the main Native female lead, hero solves everything with violence without even attempting another option, whole.mpvie is trying to stop an oil refinery from poisoning the surrounding area, so, naturally, the entire climax is revolves around blowing up the oil refinery.

[@lich109]

​@@MrChristianDTNot sure I'd call that left wing, especially because the Native Americans in that film explicitly tell Steven Seagal not to do exactly that.

[@nicholaswalsh4462]

On the subject of "Just following orders". Under the UCMJ, it is illegal to give an unlawful order and it is illegal for soldiers to follow unlawful orders. If the Governor had given orders to fire on the crowd, the soldiers would be under an obligation to refuse those orders.

[@AndrewRT13]

I've been trying to write a parody to these books and conservative authors make it so much harder with every piece of shit the publish.

[@justinwatson1510]

If you write a parody, you might wind up making a manifesto for the fascists. Americans aren't known for their media literacy.

[@paulcruz168]

Victoria exists and you think you could write a parody?

[@AndrewRT13]

@@paulcruz168 💀

[@davidbare1749]

Living in Eastern Washington got me real afraid of my neighbors right now.

[@szymonlechdzieciol]

Come on dont be such wuss, those are only Idahians

[@aaaah540]

@@szymonlechdzieciolIda-Hoes

[@caffetiel]

Happened for me a couple years back at CDA's Pride event tbh EDIT: oh, and there's the whole Northwest Territorial Imperative thing. Look up the WS cult in Marble Country

[@davidbare1749]

@@caffetiel hoooooo, that's a lot of racist bs.

[@jbdbibbaerman8071]

I currently also live in eastern Washington 😬

[@Why_does_this_exist_YouTube]

Honestly, if this book was realistic, it would end with either a drone strike campaign against Idaho or Danny just gets arrested for being an idiot

[@nobody4248]

Having to have an ID by law is pretty normal in Europe

[@marocat4749]

Its also handy to autoregister to vote

[@Dominator150395]

It's probably why the author also had the government put tracking devices in them, because even he realized that mandatory IDs are a silly thing to get upset over.

[@makato_yuki1523]

also required in a lot of states to have an ID. I know my state has that law

[@Dominator150395]

@@makato_yuki1523 Not to mention driver's licenses also count as government IDs, and I haven't heard right wingers complain about them.

[@cfv7461]

​@@Dominator150395 I have!! (It's dumb)

[@sarahhirsch8919]

The presence of the knife IS hilarious. 😆

[@marocat4749]

True, its funny

[@nagi9004]

I love how in these types of books the MC always looks like Guts

[@petrfedor1851]

And somehow is more overpiwered while enemies are regular people and incompetent. Also no selfawerness.

[@podemosurss8316]

So basically it's "Are we the baddies?" the novel...

[@solk.posner7201]

Thanks for this video man, and also for the one about ben shapiro’s weird American fantasy book. I’ve been trying to write a story of a struggle between a not-so-good group against a militarized American dictatorship in the near future. So these videos are guiding me by not falling into pitfalls and cliches of these stories

[@emexdizzy]

Of course it's set in Idaho, good lord. And of course they have a knock-off Jotaro. I'd call this "Idaho's Bizarre Adventure" but it's not really an adventure and it's not fun enough to deserve "bizarre", this is "Idaho's Nonsensical Slog".

[@sinisgood]

i wonder if Daniel Greene is responsible for the algorithm favoring knife-wielding while talking about books

[@RMDragon3]

Another hypocrisy is how the protagonist feels justified smuggling his mom through a border and killing a bunch of soldiers in the process, considering what their views on the Mexico border probably are.

[@stevenjiang6418]

I wonder if you've heard of Robert Evan's After the Revolution. Its apparently a much better done version of the "American Civil War" trope though as the name suggests, it takes place after said civil war

[@JamesTullos]

I've heard of it, it's on my to-read list.

[@theshenpartei]

@@JamesTullos​​⁠I read two books about the idea of a second civil war happening in America first one is by Barbara f Walter’s called “how civil wars start” and the other one is by Stephen marche titled “the next civil war” both came out in 2021 or 2022 and both were fascinating and disturbing reads.

[@caffetiel]

​@@JamesTullos +1 for After the Revolution. Also exists as a podcast

[@letmemakeafuckingque]

@@JamesTullosLoved that book, excited to hear your thoughts

[@harmonlanager2670]

This should have been a tragedy. It should have had the protagonist lose everything and leave the world a far worse place. Because Danny has a huge character flaw: he refuses to take responsibility. He hid from the consequences of shooting those protesters, he denied responsibility for his mom dying, he refuses to accept his part in terrible things again and again. All this started because he chose to value his well-being over the people killed in the war. In a good story, that flaw would pave the way to his destruction.

[@zionengine]

Is this "The Turner Diaries" with a side of potato skins? Jeesh. As a fellow Springs resident, I'm not sure if the Capitol building would be Chapel Hills Mall or the Citadel.

[@scottmcloud257]

They named the Governor James Montaine because the author would be laughed at if he had named the governor Butch Otter.

[@Watashiwadeus]

Honestly, the politics of the books are dog shit and delusional - to think that Idaho wouldn't be overrun by the feds on day 1. The only realistic depictions of the 2nd civil war in US are where it's several states declaring independence collectively. But I also disagree with some of your criticisms. You mention that the protag kills a bunch of soldiers after noticing how young they are - and that's how the war goes. If the author thinks that the cause is just than yes, the feds are an occupying force and as a guerilla one would have to deal with them in this way. Also - yes, people do have fun and go play football even in blockaded cities. What are they supposed to do, just give up and be miserable instantly? No, everyone tries to keep their spirits up

[@goosegas2087]

Especially since idaho is one of the least populated states...

[@grimwizzard]

this is really timely considering all the stuff going on in Texas. I know you touched on that in the pinned comment, but, damn.

[@funybirbman3813]

holy shit that shirt is incredible

[@helicopterharry5101]

I like my South well done.

[@Joybuzzard]

...'when the rebels do something aweful, it's just them being forced into a difficult spot, and they feel bad about most of the time, but when the feds do something aweful it's because they're pure evil and they have to be stopped' That's the narrative of every side of every war ever. If the book is written from a rebels point of view, that's completely reasonable.

[@certifiedfool]

This series reminds me of a peer review I had to do in english class in highschool. We had to write a dystopian short story and the kid next to me that I peer reviewd wrote a similar story of a teenager in the military starting a war, having a girlfriend, and going to school. It read like a self insert story and it was so hard not to laugh reading it.

[@AbsolXGuardian]

"Guy with unexamined right wing beliefs accidentally shoots a protester in the inciting incident" feels like a single pov chapter character in a naunced book to show how regular guys form the rank and file of the antagonists. He does that in chapter 1, then we pick up in chapter 2 with the actual protagnists responding to the event and the plot happening. To make things really tight you could even have a teaching trigger displine scene later in the book, so all readers can pick up on reread that he was either stupid or subconciously wanted to kill

[@TekSoda]

honestly, i think it'd be the foundation of a good character arc with the same protagonist. especially with your idea for a trigger discipline scene, it's the perfect setup for a "wait, are we the bad guys?" sort of plot

[@Banana0_0Manly]

Imagine if neo nazis who are Christians realise jesus was from Palestine and that ge wasn't white

[@justinwatson1510]

As someone who grew up in Georgia and heard a lot about Sherman, I cannot approve of your shirt highly enough. 5 stars.

[@morfy42]

David Weber is my personal king of "I probably wouldn't get along with you politically, but I love reading your books".

[@benracer]

Oh god... Gamer Army... I've seen that book at the library I work at. Came off as a wannabe ready player one

[@Aurelian369_]

Yeah I read it and the plot twist was so stupid

[@benracer]

@@Aurelian369_ oh boy do tell. I ain't touching that except to put it on the shelf

[@theMMAdhatter]

This honestly reads like the _exact_ kind of book I'd expect to be set in Idaho: delusional anti-government hero porn. All you have to do is look at the occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to see how stupefyingly boring these sort of events actually play out in real life. 23:23 TBF Eastern Washington is basically more Idaho. They deserve each other.

[@Methus3lah]

I remember seeing an ad for the first book in Book Fair in middle school

[@MaryumGardner]

Oh dear, why is this garbage being advertised with kids around smh.

[@AndrewRT13]

And yet they burn books with gays in em. Conservative priorities

[@Kaanfight]

That’s saaaaad

[@FictionHubZA]

Ultra instinct theme starts playing

[@kazumahazeuzumaki]

So, it's basically just The Turner Diaries 2.0

[@rayvinkrossing]

I read this in high school bc i thought the premise sounded interesting. Honestly, i thought the sequence during the Boise riot was pretty well done, but everything else after that took a SHARP downward spiral. I was honestly just laughing at it by the end.

[@lanagomisc.6005]

The Sherman shirt and knife add to this review and series' political unhingedness. It makes me want to eat couch foam because of all the insanity.

[@LexYeen]

you stay away from my couch foam, it's been aged in the finest gamer farts for decades

[@smallcat848]

Until you mentioned it in the video i had absalutely no idea that he was 17. I assumed he was in his early 30s lmao Also btw the rest of the middle east has just given up on it's rivalries to invade israel multiple times, that's just kinda a thing that happened once a decade or so during the cold war.

[@tabachivq]

Not really. If you read history you can get a picture of how insane it is. One of the many wars, Syria promised support to Arab allies, *sent nothing,* and after the war ended Syria invaded Jordan while it was weakened. Thankfully, Jordan beat their asses. If they weren't attacking Israel, they would attack each other. That is how the Arab world works. That is something that left-wingers will never understand. If Palestine was "free?" It would be in constant civil war, killing each other. People should REALLY read history.

[@fell5514]

The fascist cries out in pain as he strikes you.

[@lucykwiatek5159]

The Keystone Empire. That's all I have to say. I think I'm owed restitution for reading the words "Keystone Empire".

[@CelticGuardian7]

I don't know what subtlety did to this author, but he absolutely murdered it with "Brotherhood of the White Eagle." Good grief.

[@dyna86]

I wrote my own novel manuscript last year but it got stuck in finding-a-publisher-purgatory, which got me really down and questioning my abilities as a writer. Ironically, seeing that stuff like this exists on the market boosts my confidence that maybe it isn’t actually that awful lol.

[@ja-vishaara]

I'm not sure I could come up with a more nazi related name than 'Brotherhood of the White Eagle'

[@johnswain4992]

I think the author needed to write an impartial timeline of the war before he figured out where the characters fit into it because unless they are big leaders, they won't be shaping the war mostly navigating or participating in it. I think a story like this should try to anchor itself more on real conflicts like the Mexican revolution or the Roman Civil Wars etc to keep the dynamics grounded in something believable.

[@loaf8506]

as if an idaho native wouldnt be able to recognize a neonazi militia in half a second. thats every 3rd person

[@eudescardozo3395]

Honestly the villain protagonist without the book aknologing it is possible but only if EVERYONE is worse then them just see any Warhammer 40k novels where even the """good""" characters are at the very least genocidal

[@anon9469]

Yeah, grey-on-black stories can be fun. Or even black-on-black stories where one of the villains has a moral code that they refuse to break. (See the one Marvel/DC crossover where Joker knife-fought Red Skull because, insane murder clown or no, he wasn't working with a Nazi.)

[@lorieslori8051]

I laughed at that chatacter description, what in a self insert fanfic character is that

[@DoovidToonet]

As a native Idahoan, this is all plausible to happen here.

[@hyperaticism]

For far-right political porn you can also have a try at Stephen Coonts' Liberty's Last Stand. I read a review on goodreads depicting the absolutely hilarious main plot years ago and can't stop revisiting it

[@Duskbound]

I'll have to read the book for context but if Danny wasn't intending to fire at the protestors, his gun shouldn't have gone off. One of the rules you learn about gun safety is to never put your finger inside the trigger guard until you are ready to fire.

[@Sinyao]

The plotline of this entire series would have been entirely avoided if the main character learned proper safety discipline and not kept his finger on the trigger.

[@efrenyalung1348]

Was eagerly hyped for this!

[@makodolphus7810]

The irony of mentioning WW2 as one of the few times the US was unambiguously one of the good guys; they were still not the greatest. After all, they were trying to stay rather neutral up until pearl harbour, and the economics of it more than likely wasn't the only reason for that.

[@henrynagel7175]

Lend lease?

[@makodolphus7810]

@@henrynagel7175 I said *rather* neutral, not *completely*. That they even ended up doing a lend-lease and not outright military support was part of the US' attempted neutrality on the war- they were just trading with friendly nations, as the justifications essentially went.

[@zoekirk1848]

This series sounds very uncomfortably close to a Turner Diaries clone Edit: I commented this before the “The Brotherhood are Neo-Nazis” reveal 🥴

[@robrotron2084]

RE: People who make being a vet their entire personality I'll never forget the time my aunt introduced her new boyfriend to someone who thanked him for his service in the Iraq War and he responded with "Oh, no, I had a great time".

[@Azrenthe1stHighKing]

Those points in the Story where the Character do horrible things but don't point it out, yet claim the Government Actions as Evil no Matter what. Isn't a Plot Whole That is Literally Right-Wing Propaganda/Ideology. That is how they Justify their Actions by pushing the Blame onto the other side so they can see themselves as Perfect Angles.

[@dummyaccount6372]

lol I'm the "some people" at 0:25--I'm the problem, it's me For what it's worth, totally agree with most of your criticisms, that Wright and Co. are unequivocally bastards that the feds were completely right to brutalize, and that the series itself was...not great at driving that home, more than anything just felt it's worth understanding the exact hows and whys of how it falls flat

[@ShadowProject01]

This is the problem with a certain kind of “exceptionalism” They are the hero in every scenario and are incapable of entertaining the fact that maybe they are in the wrong. Self reflection angers them and the nuclear option is their answer. This mentality spills out of fiction and into their real life

[@skinnyjasper3097]

Engagement until I can give a true comment.

[@justinwatson1510]

I appreciate the big Jake Rivers reference.

[@BaronVonQuiply]

Frankie Boyle was once told that he looked like one of The Proclaimers, but he poointed out that that's simply impossible. They're twins. He looks like both of them or none at all. I photoshopped his head onto their CD with 500 Miles, and he's right. He does.

[@fynnsternis6432]

i was convinced the author must be from idaho but he's not, he's from iowa

[@LexYeen]

That explains so much, but also raises further questions.

[@sheese6393]

Hey buddy not all Idahoans are Mormon neo-nazis, and Idaho is suprisingly naturally defendable, the southern Snake River Plain is surrounded by multiple mountain ranges. These books suck you are right

[@sheese6393]

These books are like if someone wrote a book from the perspective of a Hamas terrorist but tried to argue for their side with no self awareness.

[@jirojhasuo2ndgrandcompany745]

​@@sheese6393at least hms became what they are because they are actually being invaded, this is just self victimization

[@DefaultProphet]

1st gulf war was pretty unambiguously US are the good guys. Ditto 90s Balkans interventions.

[@srinivarma1320]

I feel like the invasion of Panama also kind of counts (we overthrew a drug traffiking dictator)

[@jirojhasuo2ndgrandcompany745]

​@@srinivarma1320 drg trffckng dictator they previously aligned with

[@LordGarryk]

I read this book series as a freshman in high school and was way more interested in the neonations they decribed than anything else described. Even then it was a bit unbelievable like florida georgia and i think the coralias become a military autocra cry

[@punishedarmsdealer8763]

Book review while brandishing a knife?? Love it, didn’t realize this was the type of content I needed in my life

[@Hkgiu]

As a veteran where my service is kind of a part of my personality (as it usually is), it should never be your whole personality.

[@chaosgreymistchild3818]

Forgive me if I'm wrong (been listening in background) but is Danny's Japanese Civics teacher named "Shiritori", as in. the word game.

[@helicopterharry5101]

Football and rodeos. Finally, some original hobbies for a conservative character.

[@Iotuseater]

The red white and blue font is so funny to me

[@sirdogith3783]

What is it with these books and making sure we know how big their protagonists are?

[@ntfoperative9432]

To be fair, I do trust my local sheriff’s a hell of a lot more then the federal police

[@itsdantaylor]

it's really shocking hearing this plot summary because..........it's almost comical? I mean if you were writing a book with the American government as the 'bad guy' you would have them BE the 'bad guy' but the way this plot is structured.......how could you think that they were? You mention 'plot armor for their morality' but this is the first time i've seen that used.....with the entire rest of the story and it's world seemingly contradicting it? It's really quite something if it wasn't so.....insane?