Behind the Bastards / It Could Happen Here Weekly 210

Date: November 29, 2025
Host(s): Garrison Davis, Mio Wong, James Stout, Robert Evans
Podcast: Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode features a series of topical segments touching on:

1. A comprehensive, retrospective analysis of the Defend the Atlanta Forest/Stop Cop City movement, examining its phases, successes, failures, and the enduring lessons for resistance movements facing state repression.
2. Major updates and commentary on current political news, with a focus on the shifting structure and priorities of the U.S. federal government under Trump, surveillance state expansion, changes to the Department of Education, and high-profile political meetings (notably between Trump and NYC Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani).
3. A tongue-in-cheek investigative report on queer life at the Republican National Convention via Grindr; and
4. A deep-dive into how gaming culture, and the affectation of ‘being a gamer’, has become a performative political identity for contemporary right-wing figures—especially Elon Musk.

Detailed Breakdown

1. The Rise and Fall of the Stop Cop City Movement in Atlanta

(00:03:09 – 00:56:45, Garrison Davis main voice, interspersed with Atlanta activists)

Phases of the Movement

• Discovery & Attack Phase (Spring–Summer 2021)
  • Activists learn of Cop City plans: immediate sabotage, tree-spiking, equipment destruction.
  • Quoting an anonymous anarchist:

    "Early stages of the movement were very intentionally defined by lots of sabotage and unapologetic militancy... This is what we're doing, this is what we're about, this is the goal." (03:54)

• Occupation & Pressure Campaigns (Fall 2021 – Spring 2022)
  • Forest occupies: “free reign” as police “paralyzed,” unable to intervene.
  • Pressure tactics succeed in driving off contractors.
• Police Escalation (May 2022+)
  • End of “paralysis,” police conduct large-scale multi-agency raids; results in death of activist Tortuguita (Jan 2023).
  • Revenge/Direct Action Phase: “Trading blows with the cops... things are getting pretty fucking crazy.” High point at the South River Music Festival action (March 5, 2023).
    • Aftermath: 23 arrested, charged with domestic terrorism.
• Limbo & State Repression (Spring–Late 2023)
  • Loss of forest as base of operations, internal debates over tactics; state preemptively clear-cuts forest.
  • Raids on the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, approval of major funding package, referendum campaign announced but eventually nullified.
  • "Repression phase" marked by August 2023’s sweeping RICO indictment against 61 people, surveillance, house raids.

    “State repression then evolved in the form of persistent surveillance of activists, house raids, and additional charges, which leads to the current trial phase.” (04:47)

• Trial & Reflection (2024–2025)
  • Police and government determine conclusion; activists enter “zombie movement” period—struggling to close the chapter and move forward.
  • Vital lesson: the importance of self-determining a movement’s end, learning and pivoting rather than lingering in “undead” status.

Key Insights & Reflections

• Momentum & State Repression
  For years, the state failed to disrupt the movement’s momentum; repression tactics (including domestic terrorism charges and fatal police violence) ironically fueled resolve for months. Only once activists lost the initiative—struggling to innovate or escalate post-forest—did state repression choke the movement.
• ODA Loops & Need for Adaptable Strategies
  Detailed breakdown of "ODA loop" (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) as central both to state policing and activist strategy:

  “You need contingency lines... When cops start to break out of paralysis, the occupation, the defense of it has to escalate... Or the physical space of action has to change...” (16:48)

• Fear as Weapon & Weakness
  Deep reflections on fear—its weaponization by police and, unexpectedly, by activists against the state:

  “While we understand our own fear, I think people often fall into the trap of not understanding that the state is also afraid of them… made up of people with flaws and emotions...” (22:16)

• Legacy, Nationalization, and Next Steps
  Both state and activist sides learned from Atlanta—police copied repressive policing, surveillance, and legal tactics to address Palestinian liberation organizers and elsewhere; activists urge taking Atlanta's “training ground” lessons to a nationwide, anti-fascist scope:

  “Insurrectionary struggle is often an imaginative one. And if you were part of this thing here, you are now like a veteran...” (29:00)

Memorable Quotes

• “Don't let outside forces... define the ending. That is a scope of battle that we are still engaged with and still have to win. We need to close the book on it ourselves.” (55:45)

2. Weekly News Round-Up

Starting ~00:59:21, hosts: Garrison Davis, Robert Evans, James Stout

a) Social Media Disinfo, ‘Foreign Troll’ Panic & Twitter/X Location Scandal

• Discussion: New Twitter/X feature revealing account locations prompts outcry that MAGA influencers are foreign ops; hosts clarify that VPNs make this data meaningless.

  “Nothing that Elon has done here... has proven that these accounts exist in any particular country... You can use a VPN to look like you’re posting from almost any country...” – Robert Evans (62:07)

• Broader point: Social media dilutes consensus reality; both right and left remain vulnerable to disinfo.

b) The Collapse of DOGE ('Department of Government Efficiency') & Legacy

• DOGE is “gone,” having accomplished massive, negative cuts to government employment and development aid.

  “They massacred large portions of government employees, did permanent damage to the administrative state, and cost several hundred thousand people their lives...” – Robert Evans (76:08)

c) Dismantling the Department of Education

• Trump admin breaks up Education Dept, scattering programs to Labor, Interior, HHS, State—framed as “streamlining,” but hosts warn of increased disparity and surveillance.

  “That will result in massive disparities in educational outcomes…we already have that to some extent, but that’s only going to be exacerbated by this.” – James Stout (83:29)

d) Border Surveillance & License Plate Data

• Expansion of border enforcement into “sanctuary” cities; Border Patrol now uses nationwide camera networks (notably Flock Safety, originally prominent around Cop City).

“Automated license plate readers have been a big thing in this kind of... tendency of democratic mayors in big cities to massively increase spending on the police and massively increase police surveillance.” – James Stout (86:58)

3. Trump & Zoran Mamdani White House Meeting

(91:09 – 121:59; highlights below)

Meeting Dynamics & Key Moments

• NYC Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani (DSA) meets with President Trump. Curiously warm vibe despite sharp ideological differences.

  “Trump seemed pretty, pretty enamored with Mr. Mamdani... the most popular politician in the country right now and Trump likes winners.” – Garrison Davis (94:13)

• ICE Policy & "Sanctuary" Dispute:
  Delicate efforts at negotiation; Trump seeks “law and order” cover, Mamdani pushes for limiting raids to serious crimes, harm reduction:

  “Before we discuss, I do want to play this second bit ... you get more of Zoran’s angle:” (98:01)

• Trump called a Fascist (with approval):

  “Are you affirming that you think President Trump is a fascist?” – Reporter
  “I've spoken about—" (Trump cuts in) “That’s okay. You could just say okay. It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind.” – Trump & Mamdani (104:33)

• Gaza, Genocide, & Foreign Policy:
  Zoran, using his platform, directly calls out US complicity in Gaza genocide:

  “...I’ve spoken about the Israeli government committing genocide and I’ve spoken about our government funding it.” – Mamdani (111:16)

• Policy Takeaways:
  Zoran leverages points of overlap (pro-housing, anti-war sentiment) for harm reduction—Trump publicly promises not to deploy National Guard or cut funding to NYC.

Critiques & Reflection

• Panel discusses performative vs. pragmatic left politics; criticism Mamdani receives for even meeting Trump.

  “Politics as a form of personal expression vs. as a method of achieving systematic change. There’s a role for both... Zoran has taken one specific path...” – Garrison Davis (116:52)

4. Grindr at the RNC: Undercover Queer Reporting

(126:16–157:09, Garrison Davis solo segment)

Method & Observations

• Garrison presents undercover “Young Republican” Grindr profile at 2024 RNC in Milwaukee to investigate rumors of a massive influx of closeted gay Republicans.
• Reports a “bump” in activity, but mostly local users, curious journalists, and a significant number of police. Data and anecdotes debunk the myth that RNC = “Grindr’s Superbowl.”

  “It is not the hotbed of closeted Republicans that we meme it to be. It’s mostly local gays, a few reporters and a few more cops.” (148:38)

• Notable moment: Most right-wingers remain stubbornly in the closet or deeply paranoid; more “cop types” than closeted GOP staffers.

5. Gaming, Right-Wing Cultural War, and Elon Musk

(160:04–201:22, Mio Wong & Garrison Davis)

Gaming as Political Identity

• Segment unpacks how powerful men like Elon Musk, Sam Bankman-Fried, and others have increasingly performed ‘gamer’ identity for social capital and political cult-building.

  “Gaming is in one, 84.3 billion dollar industry…when people think about the gamer TM, you are thinking of a bunch of weird incel, right wing dipshits who are white and suck ass.” – Mio Wong (161:17)

• Detailed examples:
  • Musk’s elaborate, failed attempts to pass as a gaming pro (Elden Ring, Diablo, and notably Path of Exile II, where he hired someone to play for him, was outed by both left and right gaming community).
  • SBF, Sam Altman, and others cultivating the “eccentric high-IQ gamer genius” image.

Critical Analysis

• Gaming has been a battleground for far-right culture (Gamergate) and remains fiercely contested; white male grievances weaponized, but marginalized communities also subvert gaming spaces.
• Concludes that disrupting the coalition between right-wing grifters and their ‘gamer’ base, even by sowing doubt and disillusionment rather than conversion, is a legitimate and necessary tactic.

Memorable Moment

“There is a kind of shift happening right now where people really are turning on [Musk]... just being so obviously cynically pandering to them... the only way we get out of this mess is by systematically tearing away these people's coalition.” – Mio Wong (197:36)

Key Quotes (with Speaker & Timestamp)

• “Early stages of the movement were very intentionally defined by lots of sabotage and unapologetic militancy... This is what we're doing, this is what we're about, this is the goal.”
  — Anonymous Atlanta Anarchist, quoted by Garrison Davis (03:54)
• “You need contingency lines, right? ...the occupation, the defense of it has to escalate in some way to prevent [police] from feeling safe coming in...”
  — Anonymous Atlanta Anarchist, quoted by Garrison Davis (16:48)
• “While we understand our own fear, I think people often fall into the trap of not understanding that the state is also afraid of them…made up of people with flaws and emotions…”
  — Anonymous Atlanta Anarchist, quoted by Garrison Davis (22:16)
• “Don’t let outside forces…define the ending. That is a scope of battle that we are still engaged with and still have to win. We need to close the book on it ourselves.”
  — Anonymous Atlanta Anarchist (55:45)
• “You can use a VPN to look like you’re posting from almost any country on the planet… you have no way of knowing if any of these accounts are based where X is saying they’re based…”
  — Robert Evans (62:07)
• “I feel very confident [Zoran] can do a good job. I think it’s going to surprise some conservative people, actually.”
  — Donald Trump (94:55)
• “Are you affirming that you think President Trump is a fascist?”
  — Reporter / “That’s okay. You could just say okay. It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind.”
  — Trump (104:34)
• “I’ve spoken about the Israeli government committing genocide and I’ve spoken about our government funding it.”
  — Zoran Mamdani (111:16)
• “It is not the hotbed of closeted Republicans that we meme it to be. It’s mostly local gays, a few reporters and a few more cops.”
  — Garrison Davis (148:38)
• “Gaming is in one, 84.3 billion dollar industry…when people think about the gamer TM, you are thinking of a bunch of weird incel, right wing dipshits…”
  — Mio Wong (161:17)
• “The only way we get out of this mess is by systematically tearing away these people's coalition…”
  — Mio Wong (197:36)

Timestamps for Notable Segments

• Stop Cop City Movement Analysis: 00:03:09 – 00:56:45
• Weekly News: Social Media & Twitter/X Location: 00:59:21 – 00:67:15
• DOGE Dissolution: ~00:75:04 – 00:78:00
• Department of Education Dismantling: ~00:79:22 – 00:83:29
• Border Surveillance Expansion: ~00:83:29 – 00:90:45
• Trump & Zoran Mamdani Meeting: 00:91:09 – 00:121:59
• RNC Grindr Experience: 01:26:16 – 01:57:09
• Right-wing Gaming, Elon Musk, etc.: 02:00:04 – end

Tone & Language

The episode maintains the show's trademark blend of detailed political analysis, anarchist skepticism, dark humor, and irreverence. There’s a recurring use of sardonic humor to process grim political realities, candid recognition of movement failures, and a commitment to platforming direct voices from within social movements. The hosts’ banter alternates between self-deprecation, sharp political critique, and encouragement for adaptive, militant resistance.

Takeaways

• Police and government agencies are learning and nationalizing tactics of repression piloted in Atlanta; organizers must similarly prepare and adapt for future, decentralized struggles.
• The shift of the US government, education, and surveillance under Trump-2.0 is accelerating state repression and is supported by new cultural narratives (e.g., gamer identity as right-wing status).
• Contemporary politics demand harm-reduction pragmatism and new forms of coalition-building—not just performative purity.
• Myths about closeted gays in reactionary movements often distract from very real, systematized homophobia and violence against queer people.
• Online and cultural insurgency is real—how tech, gaming, and media are marshaled by the right (and how they might be re-appropriated or at least disrupted matters).

For those seeking to understand radical social movements, state counterinsurgency, the complex reality of state repression, and the shifting absurdities and dangers of 2025 America, this episode stands as a thorough, unflinching, and darkly funny roadmap.