Imagine a strange world that is inhabited by a variety of intelligent life forms, rather than just one like on earth. These life forms are not just different tribes or races like here on earth, but different species. That means no interbreeding between the groups, so they remain separate and distinct. Here on earth, humans are the smartest beasts on the planet, so we sit at the top of the hierarchy. On this alien world, the top of the hierarchy is a crowded place populated with these different intelligent species.

One group evolved from a serpent-like ancestor, so they retain many of the features we would associate with reptiles. Unlike a lizard here in earth, they are like the aliens from the movie They Live, in that they can appear to be familiar to those around them. This is one of their main advantages as a species. They sort of fit in with the other species when they want to do it, so they are able to influence the other intelligent species. This allows them to avoid direct confrontation with the other intelligent life forms.

Another intelligent species evolved from something bird-like. Like birds and reptiles here on earth, this groups shares a distant relative with the lizard people, but it is too far back for them to share many similarities. One branch went the bird way and then a bird-like humanoid way in the distinct past. The lizard people went reptilian and the evolved into the smart lizard people of the present. The bird are much more efficient breeders, so they have the ability to increase and decrease their numbers quickly.

Another group went down the primate path like humans. They split into two branches at some point in the past. One group turned out to be a dumber, brutish ape-like creature that lives in caves and is prone to violence. The other branch ended up something closer to what we think of as humans, but still apish. They are like the apes from the Planet of the Apes movies. All of these species are smart enough and aware enough to grasp their relationship with one another.

The lizard people are smaller in number, but nature has endowed them with great cleverness as a force multiplier. The bird people are smart as well, but not quite as smart as the lizard people. They have greater numbers when necessary. The cave-apes, of course, are quite dumb, while the yard apes are pretty smart. They can be as smart as the bird people, but they are a notoriously individualist species. They tend to cluster in small groups while the bird people organized into large flocks.

Now, these are all species of varying intelligence, so instead of relying on the natural evolutionary processes to sort out their differences, they reason them through. The lizard people, despite being small in number, tend to control things. The bird people feel a natural kinship with the lizard people, for the most part, but they also compete with the lizard people for control. The lizard people will use the cave-apes as an ally in these fights, while the bird people will try to recruit the yard apes.

Into this system of interlocking loyalties and rivalries comes a new group of intelligent creatures from some other planet. These are much closer to humans, with a wide range of skills and intelligence. They are refugees from a nearby planet and settle onto this new world. Initially, they hope to reason with the host species to carve out a place for themselves in this complex set of relations. After all, these are all intelligent species that can solve problems and avoid conflicts.

What they find is none of the groups in these coalitions want to open up to them. The lizard people, in fact, dedicate their efforts to keeping the new group outside the coalition, even trying to oppress them. They encourage the yard apes to attack the new comers and organized the cave apes to harass them. The bird people see no reason to side with the newcomers, as they don’t want to go to war with the lizard people and their cave ape army. The planetary coalition remains closed.

The new people now face a dilemma. They can leave, but there is no guarantee they can find a new world that will welcome them or be able to sustain them. They can stay and allow themselves to be preyed upon by the apes. Maybe if they defend themselves well enough, they can win a long war of attrition and bring the lizard people to the negotiating table. Alternatively, they can go to war with the current system and find ways to shatter the current relationships.

Naturally, the first choice will be to find another world, as this is not a war-like species, but the facts eventually make this unreasonable. That leaves the long war of defense or the possible shorter war of offense. Either choice means violence. The only way to survive is to either smash the current arrangements or drive up the costs to the people at the top of it until they yield. That either means war on the lizard people or a long war against their ape-like proxies.

Fundamentally, this is the logic of political violence. The group committing the violence on behalf of their cause is assuming there is no other option. Muslim terrorism in the West is the long war of attrition. They don’t think they can negotiate with the West, which they see as the aggressor, so it is the long war model. The Civil Rights movement was the other option. The people behind it were using black violence to overthrow the natural order, controlled by a white elite.

This is a useful way to consider the current organized street violence. The people doing it have access to power. Many are the sons and daughters, sometimes both at the same time, of the people at the top. They have that initial option of petitioning for redress and negotiating for new rules. This is what makes them the cave apes in our fantasy world described in the above scenario. They may think they are revolutionaries, but they are actually tools of the prevailing order.

The people being assaulted and attacked, the white shop owners and residents in these areas are the newcomers in our scenario. It’s why there are no corporate sponsors for their side, as we see with the attackers. These riots are one step from having commercials from Amazon and Goldman Sacks. “This assault on an old white man walking his dog is brought to you by Amazon World Services.” It’s also why no one in charge thinks anything is wrong or this needs to be stopped.

The one difference between our reality and the conjured reality of the above scenario is the people under attack in our world lack self-awareness. They think they are in charge and that the corporations and politicians will respond to market pressure. You can be sure most of them think they will have their revenge in November. They think “get woke, go broke” is a reflection of reality. A big part of the war being waged on them is a psyop to reinforce this false consciousness.

Another important difference is the math of the situation. On the alien world, the existing species have the numbers on their side. In this world, the ruling coalition does not have numerical superiority. Once the people being attacked realize there is no negotiating with the lizard people and there is no escaping the situation, the math of the situation becomes the most salient aspect of the fight. The only question is how long will it take for the people under siege to grasp the reality of their situation.

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