Charlatans

"Charlatans"by Moises Naim and Quico Toro give many examples of charlatans and as a skeptic you will be amused or maybe disgusted.  The authors have determined that there are things to learn.  First the victims are not necessarily stupid or ignorant.  The perpetrators do not rely on persuasion.  You, yes YOU are vulnerable.   

A charlatan is defined as "a public figure who manipulatively champions the dream that a group of people share in order to exploit them without overt coercion, turning those marks into enthusiastic participants in their own  exploitation."

The book is listed as published in 2024 which means the research was completed ahead of time.  In one section they point out that one charlatan foolishly predicted that Joe Biden would be replaced as a candidate by someone before the election.  So, they too were taken in.  More on politics later.

Charlatans have existed for a very long time.  Mamugna visited Venice before 1589 and was elected an official alchemist for the republic.  He was able to create the illusion that he could turn metal into gold.  For awhile he was able to live a life of luxury.  Eventually reality brought him down to earth.  Crypto currency is thought to be another easy path to wealth that few really understand.

Arif Naqvi from Pakistan started off legitimately as a successful entrepreneur.  However he couldn't abide failure and soon switched to setting up an elaborate Ponzi scheme where new clients helped to pay for the earlier clients.  To build his credibility and get a big infusion of capital he was able to get Bill Gates to back him.  Eventually like all Ponzi schemes his scheme collapsed.

Alex Jones was a believer in conspiracies and was able to locate several people who shared the dream of dragging down authority figures.  Perhaps his most dastardly deed was turning a tragic shooting incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School into an extreme reaction where dozens of followers turned on the parents.  The parents were considered actors who were trying to do away with the Second Amendment.  One parent moved from Connecticut to Washington State and still received death threats.  Eventually the parents ganged up with legal help and stopped Alex Jones for the moment.  

A story I read in Michael Cohen's book, "Disloyal" explained how he got a critical endorsement for Donald Trump from Jerry Falwell Jr.  Basically Cohen ingratiated himself with the Falwell family, built up a trust relationship to the point he learned of very damaging circumstances that he used to force them to endorse a most un Christian candidate, Donald Trump.  That endorsement had been sought by Ted Cruz who as an evangelical Christian thought he had it sewn up.  A very significant choice that ended up with what we endure today.  Why did Jerry Falwell Jr. have such an impact?

 

He did not have the preaching ability of his father, but became in charge of Liberty University steering the children of evangelical Christians to this university.  Developed an online presence.  His motive was profit oriented, but he knew he could use his famous name to gain support.  He used Google and the Department of Veteran Affairs to recruit.  His word carried a lot of weight with Christian Evangelicals.  see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/11/disloyal-michael-cohen-version.html

Trump would provide many examples, but the authors focused on Trump University.  Before getting in operation the Trump team was charged with improperly using the title "University".  That was just ignored and steps were taken to set up a curriculum which really just used material already rehashed.  At first outsiders pointed out the dishonesty of the scheme and eventually insiders realized they were being ripped off.  As he was running for the presidency Trump agreed to a $25 million penalty.  This was before his first term.  The authors missed his second term where his followers supported a range of policies that hurt them.  Tump illustrates another trait of charlatans by humiliating references to his enemies.

As outsiders we think that the victims are not well educated or smart.  In fact some very intelligent people have fallen.  The trick is not persuasion, but targeting people with a dream, that are what the authors call

 "marks."  Modern technology make it easier to identify exploitation targets.  The algorithms used by Facebook and Google for example are designed to drive engagement.  

 

As insiders we all like to confirm the rightness of our dreams.  We can latch onto confirmation very easily We use motivated reasoning to justify our hope.  For many, even contrary evidence actually reinforces their beliefs.

What can be done?  The authors feel it is very tricky, especially with modern technology it is easier to identify suitable targets.  Spotting the charlatans out to exploit your dreams has become a critical survival skill.  

On a wide basis we need to strengthen legal protections.  Google has had some success with pre-bunking non scientific ideas.  Social isolation is a risk, but have to be considered carefully.

For individuals it is recommended that we are humble, realizing we can be vulnerable.  Having a network of family and friends is a check on outsiders who want to take advantage of us  If something is too good to be true, it probably is.  Fast thinking needs at times to be replaced by slow thinking.

An earlier blog on Moises Naim; http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/11/the-revenge-of-power.html

Who Killed the Montreal Expos?

 "Who Killed the Monteal Expos?" has hit a nerve.  Although basketball has been my favorite sport since high school I was definitely a baseball fan.  During the players' strike 1994 the decision was made to sell the Expos to American interests.  At the time they were leading the majors.  The good players were traded or sold with little value in return.  In 2004 the team was sold to interests in Washington, D.C.

I felt betrayed.  I switched my interests to other sports and now basketball, my favorite was getting more accessible on tv and even in person. 

Montreal had a baseball history.  Jackie Robinson played there on a farm club as well as other blacks.  It was not the smallest market and did much of the time have good attendance.

The bottom line was money.  The documentary names names, but the truth is if more (a lot more) money had been available Montreal would likely still have the Expos.  By the 1980's player salaries had started to escalate and to make it worse that money was in American currency while revenues were in Canadian dollars which were declining in value.  Quebec politics drove out many anglophones who had been a significant portion of the fans.  There were no billionaires in Quebec and attempts to consolidate lesser fortunes started to fail.  

Near the end circumstances had conspired to make broadcast revenues shrink.  In one year TSN offered the Expos $5,000 per game while offering the Toronto Blue Jays $200,000 per game.  French broadcast rights were also difficult, yet vital for future success.

In 1994 the strike led to the season not being completed.  The players had long felt they were not getting their fair share of the money brought in by the fans.  The owners felt that the rising salaries were hurting the poorer teams (like Montreal) affecting the competitiveness needed to draw crowds.  Revenue sharing was seen as one solution, but was resisted by some owners.  Of course they all wanted to keep salaries under control.  As we know they kept growing, helping to freeze out prospective Quebec and Canadian owners.

In addition to interviews in French and English with business people there were many conversations with former players, a few in French, notably Felipe Alou and the senior Vladimir Guerrero.  Alou who went on to being a successful and popular manager put his children into French schools.  One fan recalled that when she gave birth she had insisted a tv. would be put in the room so she could watch an Expos game.  

In my research I was reminded of some players.  Rusty Staub was an early star and with his reddish hair was nicknamed "Le Grand Orange."  He endeared himself to fans by learning French.  The Expos had 9 former players get elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Olympic Stadium had become a liability.  Parts of the building had collapsed and players were reluctant to play there for the poor playing conditions.  A new stadium was identified as a necessity, but gathering funds was very difficult.  Most American teams were able to get money from government, but Premier Lucian Bouchard was quoted as saying Quebec was closing hospitals and could therefore not open stadiums.

Jeffrey Loria and has stepson, David Samson are pointed as the main villains by some.  They had good intentions at the beginning in 1999, but felt frustrated with all the mostly money squabbles.  When Jeffrey sold the Expos that became the Washington Nationals he used the money to invest in the Miami Marlins taking all the Expo resources he could, including one computer an interviewee pointed out.

Here in Blue Jays territory Vladimir Guerrro, Jr. is a big star and it is nice to realize his father was a big star for the Expos.

Jean-Francois Poisson was the director of the film,  His experience has been mostly with documentaries in the Quebec market.  He has 14 directing credits, 11 for writing and 3 as editor.  Check out "Who Killed the Montreal Expos" on Netflix--subtitled for the French, but it is mostly in English.

I better understand the situation, but it also reinforces my feeling that money is the power that (mostly) guides our lives.  Just enjoy what you can with what access you have. 

There is interest in getting baseball back to Montreal.  Surprisingly considering many critical details it was stated in the credits that film was done "with the participation of Major League Baseball.  There undoubtedly will be a lot of competition.  

I already loved basketball, but the failure of the Montreal Expos played a part in my sports priorities.  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/06/my-60-year-love-affair-with-basketball.html

"Underground Airlines"

This is a work with "alternative facts," but that it is why "Underground Airlines" is a work of fiction.  But more like Picasso's  "Art is the lie that tells the truth."  There are a lot of truths to be found in this narration with bits that illustrate current conditions.  As with time travel when one event is changed all the subsequent events are effected, but author Ben H. Winters likes to include familiar names to the changed circumstances.  Also it is a compelling mystery.

The Civil War never happened as Abe Lincoln was assassinated in Indianapolis on his way to his inauguration.  As a compromise back in 1861 the United States legalized slavery and required those not practicing slavery to respect it.  Four hard States (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Carolina) actively used slavery to current times, but much of law enforcement, both white and black sympathized with abolition so the slavers hired people like the protagonist.  Victor, is actually partly black, but somehow got trapped in a job he despises, hunting down and returning runaways.

Canada is referred to as a safe haven, several times.  A place where the slave hunters did not have to be respected.  We Canadians can be a bit self-righteous, but underneath we have our prejudices, but are superficially relatively polite.

A football reference seemed to imply that black football players could be rented out.  James Brown was brought to the north as a slave band, but escaped to Canada.  Ironically sports and music were two of the first breakthroughs for blacks as whites slowly came to enjoy at least some talents of African Americans.  Yet we have generally used this appreciation as a stereotype that limited our ability to appreciate them as equal humans.

Racism is still strong in the north.  Flags with "1819" on them are explained as representing the year before 1820 when slavery was abolished in Indiana.  Similar to the Confederate flag that symbolizes the "good ole days."  The word "boy" is used as a slur.

Little bits of revised history are brought in spaced throughout the story.  Martin Luther King Jr. played a key role in abolition in Texas and then was killed.  Other protests occurred in Selma, Alabama.  The United States withdrew from the United Nations in 1973.

In 1927 a Clean Hands Act was passed in Massachusetts to make it illegal to possess, sell or consume any slave made products.  After a Supreme Court decision other states adopted their own version of the act.  But the slave manufacturers found a way to re label their products in another country and sell them back into the states as they were that much cheaper.

Recently read, "The Half Has Never Been Told" about the critical contribution of slavery to American capitalism.  I was surprised to learn that brutality, carefully calculated could dramatically boost the efficiency of slaves.  "Underground Airlines" suggests that science and technology would be used to improve the profitability of slave labour.  Check out:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/12/the-half-has-never-been-told.html

What makes mysteries so compelling is missing information or misinformation.  You never know the full story, until the end, if ever.  You are being teased and you can't help wanting to move forward, at least with a well written mystery.  Nobody, including the protagonist is quite what they appear to be and you are never sure what their motivations are.

The author Ben Winters has written 7 previous novels and has won awards for both mystery and science fiction.

I have since read the Pulitzer prize winner "The Underground Railroad" that confused me with a similar title.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/05/the-underground-railroad.html