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A word that is heard prolifically within right-wing, nationalist and a few other political circles is ‘grift’. The accusation of being a ‘grifter’ is one thrown around left, right and centre. It is always a negative descriptor, used to call someone a ‘crook’ of some description, but it is difficult for many to define exact what makes something a ‘grift’, or what makes someone a ‘grifter’. Even more so because on instances where the word is used to describe political figures, most people outside of fringe circles don’t even understand the concept.

 

Therefore, we have to identify and explain exactly what 'Grift' is, and how to avoid it:

 

A 'grift' is, put simply, anything or anyone who works to obtain resources (money, manpower, authority) by dishonest means, or for dishonest reasons.

 

The reason that grift is so prolific within political circles is because there are a large number of desperate people whose anxieties and fears can be easily stoked, to get them to support things against their better judgement. The fact that something is a grift is always extremely obvious to the majority of the population, and thus supporting anything that fits the bill is extremely damaging, because it sends the signal that the person is either gullible/stupid, OR that the person is well aware of the dishonesty but turns a blind eye to it. Either thing deals serious, often permanent damage to the credibility of the individual.

 

Therefore, it is in the best interests of everyone to refuse to associate, in any way, with anything that shows the warning signs of being a grift. Even short-term association out of pragmatism is suicidal, because even the briefest endorsement can lead to permanent damage if it appears as though the person was willing to overlook obvious fraud. The best course of action when presented with a grift enterprise, is to actively denounce it, because it proves to the wider population that the person has a concept of honour and honesty.

 

The Seven Signs of 'Grift':

 

So what are the warning signs that something is a grift?

 

In no particular order:

• Lack of a clear aim or goal. You are told to support or get on board with something, but are not told why. If you ask what the ultimate end goal is, the answers you get are vague or inconsistent (or even hostile) depending on who you ask. Or, you ARE told a goal, but the things that you are being asked to pay for/do don’t seem to rationally lead to that goal, and nobody can explain to you how they will. In the sense of politics, this means parties or organisations with no clear ideology or end state, where just being a member/giving money is treated like the reward or objective. This is a warning sign because it shows that the only real priority of the person/organisation is to get resources in the immediate term, and that no thought has gone into what these resources will be used for (thus paving the way for them to go straight to the pockets of a tiny number of individuals).

• ‘Secret’ decision makers. Either most people in the organisation are anonymous and unwilling to be anything else, OR the leaders are anonymous. This also includes having committees or councils making decisions, where it is never clear who is on them, or who is ‘signing off’ on what. Lack of named people in supposedly vital decision-making roles. These are warning signs because if nobody is able to be held accountable, then this is a deliberate decision so as to avoid anyone being traceable for the use (or misuse) of resources. An environment in which accountability is vague or able to be deferred to anonymous ‘committees’ or ‘councils’ is an environment which will attract the most criminal and self-interested people, because they can get away with it.

• Extreme fixation on social media, ‘optics’, and marketing. The mark of a con man is his fixation on creating a certain, fictional image about himself and his character, rather than letting his character speak for itself, and using marketing to just enhance his existing qualities. People or organisations that relentlessly fixate on ‘looking good’ should be treated like builders that paint over cracks in walls. If an organisaition cause, or person is genuinely good, it’s good qualities will be self-evident and any marketing will only highlight those qualities. But if the image generated by marketing, social media and ‘optics’ is NOT reflective of the truth, or is grossly exaggerated, then it is a warning sign that the entire cause, enterprise or person is running a grift.

• Populism. What populism ultimately boils down to, is telling people what they want to hear, regardless of whether it is actually true or not. The easiest way to spot it is if different people get told different, even contradictory, answers to the same question. Values, ideals and principles of a person or organisation are inconsistent depending on the audience. The political ‘right-wing’ in general has a massive problem with populists, but they exist in all parts of the political spectrum and the open embracing of populism is a major red flag that people are being taken for fools.

• Extreme machiavellian tendencies. This can be in either the leaders of an enterprise OR in large numbers of supporters. In other words, a culture of sociopathic, power-hungry behaviour, driven entirely by selfishness and greed. People who brazenly act in this way, and are even open about it because they are praised for it by those around them, are highly likely to be running grift enterprises. And organisations where people are actively encouraged to behave like this – or praised for it - are even worse, because those kinds of circles will attract society’s most asocial people, none of whom can ever be trusted, and who will constantly be working against everyone else.

• ‘Self-gaslighting’ of existing supporters. This is where people inside a certain group wilfully put blinkers on and ignore evidence before their eyes, because of a refusal to recognise that they have been defrauded or tricked in some way. This also includes holding totally irrational perceptions about their own ‘groups’ capabilities or achievements. This is because they have invested resources into a grift, and when faced with that realisation, they are often (and wrongfully) too angry and ashamed to admit it. Hence, they go into a bizarre state of denial that makes sense to them, but is very obvious to everyone else. When a group has a large number of people in it exhibiting this behaviour, it is because it is a grift, and they have been ‘grifted’. In which case, don’t become the next victim.

• Hypocritical behaviour. Leaders who do not follow the example they expect others to follow. Including indulging in vice and making excuses for it afterwards. Also includes having a superiority complex or double-standards that the leaders or members of a group/movement believe exclude them from having to follow their own ‘rules’. This is a warning sign of grift because it shows that the people in command are inherently dishonest and corrupt, which means they have the mentality of a criminal already.

 

These are the seven signs of Grift. A person, organisation or movement which exhibits even one of these must be treated with scrutiny. If it exhibits two or more, it is almost certainly a grift enterprise, and should not just be avoided but actively sabotaged, undermined and condemned by decent people.

 

If our ultimate aim is to achieve power, then we must do it by winning the respect of the British people. And the only way we will ever win their respect, is through totally flawless integrity and loyalty.

 

By National Rebirth Party