The Right is Bad at Branding

Oregon Weaving Event, 2024, Speech #3. By Qualia Haver

In November of 2024, Oregon held its second official Weaving Event. The follows is a transcript from the half-written, half-improvised presentation by Qualia Haver.

I’m pretty imbedded into American “normie” life.

I was fortunate enough to be brought up in a socially rich environment, and managed to sustain it into adulthood. I grew up with a large and tight-knit extended family and always had plenty of friends through school, sports, and my Catholic community. I’m still close with friends made in early childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. In college, I was a frat bro. And I still spend most free weekends with my friends going to the bars or out camping.

This is not to sound like a douchebag or anything, but it’s to say I am still thoroughly imbedded into the bastions of typical American life. And on top of this, I’m born and bred in Portland - meaning much of this broad social circle is progressive. It’s all over the board - standard republicans, typical democrats, culturally far left people, sophisticated centrists, apolitical idiots. But yeah, a lot of it is progressive.

At the same time, I am into the breakaway space. I’m not here out of spite, or hate, or social want. I can just see the spiritually crippling issues of modernity, the flaws of cultural leftism, etc. And then I see that the ruling class and the intellectual elites are completely unable to talk about things that need to be talked about. I’ve found the breakaway space to be a breath of fresh air with some genuinely incredible thought leaders, and probably the best thing we’ve got to analyze and mitigate some of the pervasive issues of our times. If certain trends continue, I think we could and should have the cultural or political mandate of heaven if we play our cards right.

So as a guy who spends most of his time in standard socialite land, I spend a lot of time, probably too much time, thinking about how the breakaway space interfaces with normies, and I think I have some insights to share from this. And I think how we interface with regular citizens is key to playing our cards right. So here’s my perspective to offer.

Whether our ideas are monarchy, political analysis, or Christianity, I contend that one of the core strategic debates at hand is the proper spread of our ideas. We can argue about what the “proper” spread is - whether to focus on masses or the elites, the sequence of spread, etc. But the bottom line is that the end game of “winning” will look something along the lines of our ideas being totally normalized; and policy, culture and society acting in accordance with them. And to get there, we will have to spread our ideas to the right people in the right places, who will then further spread them to more people in more places.

If we, or the breakaway space, want to win, or get to where we want to get to, there is simply no sidestepping this game/battle of “idea-spread”. And in the game of idea spread, optics and branding are everything. Obviously, the majority of people don’t believe in ideas on a rational basis, they react to, pursue, or digest ideas based on vibes. Therefore, if we want to be good at idea-spread, we have to be good at vibes. So there’s two realms in which I want to talk about vibe curation, i.e., branding: Media and personal.

Media is one of the largest overall theaters by which ideas spread. And I’ve been wanting to scream this from the rooftops for a while now: the breakaway space (and conservatives in general) is retarded with media. The vibe and branding and aesthetics of our media outlets suck! And this is important.

Our space’s media ecosystem is mainly Substacks, twitters, podcasts, and websites. Owing to the nature of the platforms, there’s mostly standardized aesthetics on Twitter or Substack, but when you start getting more towards the website realm of the breakaway space, when user experience is far more within our control, our poor aesthetics really come to rear their ugly head. What do I mean by these bad aesthetics?

Well, here are some examples:

Would the Daily Mail feel at home with these aesthetics?

You guys - this is bad. These look terrible. These look like they’re either stuck in 2008 or the dark web. And this matters a lot. Bad media aesthetics delegitimize us. How can you claim to know what’s best for the culture and for politics if you clearly don’t know how to make a good looking website? Like this is not just net neutral, this actively makes you and us and everyone look bad. They actively tell me and others to not take you seriously. This includes elites, potential patrons, and people in positions of power.

This is a tragedy, because in terms of substance and depth of knowledge and wisdom, we run circles around most mainstream and high brow media analysis of politics, history, culture, etc. But every outlet beats us in terms of aesthetics. New York Times, Washington Post, etc. I know they have full time graphic designers. But we simply need to allocate enough resources for graphic design on our projects. We will need to actually work twice as hard at the optics and graphic design.

With all this being said, I think plenty of people have already recognized this issue and are doing their part to fix it. Here are some publications - IM-1776, Palladium, Passage Publishing, Aporia.

Would the Daily Mail feel at home with *these* aesthetics?

This is great, and it’s what we need and it’s what will allow us to be taken seriously by billionaires, politicians, media people, etc. So keep moving in this direction.

Secondly, we should in part apply this to some of the main social medias, namely Youtube, Instagram, and Tiktok. I know that these platforms are systemically rigged against us, but we’re still way below our ceiling even in that context. Like to start with YouTube - even the accounts that do exist still miss the bar. Here are some examples.

Just like some of the websites that I showed you, there is great information on some of these accounts, but sorry, these will algorithmically lose out to enemy YouTube accounts on aesthetics and editing. Even if we topically have them beat. Examples:

So that’s all to say that it’s just low hanging fruit. Do more than the bare minimum if we want to spread to the right people. No excuses. Bootstrap your own graphic designing. Be mindful of it. It matters.

Another point though, is that we’re not nearly as present as we should be. We’ve got a tiny presence on YouTube, and we’re barely present on Instagram and TikTok. This matters. There are 238 million Americans alone who actively use YouTube, 170 million on Instagram, and 120 million on TikTok. The spread of ideas is happening here. The minds of the future leaders are being molded. And look at what dominates the political content space:

These are garbage pieces of analysis and history, and they dominate the algorithms. We can compete with these on both substance and form, but we barely try. We have to get out there and grow accounts.

There actually is an unsupplied demand for well-done based history or sociology on some of these platforms. Look at WhatIfAltHist. There are based YouTube shorts and infographics to be made. Examples:

• Who was Lee Kwan Yu?

• Interesting facts about west coast Native American slavery.

• R selection vs K selection

• How the FBI constructs hate groups

Even if you don’t want to equip the masses with watered down based ideas, there are still tons of potential future Elon Musks or Steve Sailers, who are sitting in their untapped form, just waiting to come across a piece of content that starts them down a based journey.

If you think that any account of this type of bent will get banned if it grows, and that this project is therefore not worth trying, I say you are a defeatist and have a victim mindset. We need to try. If someone gets banned, it’s, at the very least, more mapping out of the censorship minefield. And as this map gets refined, we can iterate on the best optics, the best topics, the best ways to frame our ideas. And if we do that with beautiful aesthetics, we will have our place. If we continue the status quo strategy on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok strategy history will pass us by. We will not win.

Ok so that’s the media side of things. In summary:

• Aesthetic packaging are often lazy and bad.

• Topics are not often evangelizing, or high on the funnel.

• We’re completely missing on many of the main arenas of ideas.

With our depth of knowledge, and the lunacy of mainstream idea production, there is an astounding level of self sabotage and low hanging fruit improvements to be made with our media game. We have to become more media savvy. For all that do have some level of media output out there, it starts with the bootstraps. Make good thumbnails. Learn how to use Adobe. Take a free graphic design class online. If we can’t do this, we’re going to lose, and we deserve to lose, because it would mean that we simply were too dumb and uncoordinated to do it effectively. When we grow in sophistication, money will come. Then we can hire out the graphic designers.

PART 2

As I’ve said, the name of the game of strategic idea-spread. And while media is one area for this, the fundamental area is individual. Just like we need to be more savvy with media branding and aesthetics, we need to work on personal branding and aesthetics. This is multi faceted, but ultimately you can distill it into present exceptionally well and be good at socializing.

People judge new ideas largely over the likeability and trustworthiness of the deliverer or of the idea’s perceived constituents. As such, we need to really consider and reflect on our perceived likability, respectability, and trustworthiness.

Question: Where do we stand right now in that regard?

Answer: Not in a great place.

Regime media apparatchiks have worked overtime to negatively brand the constituents of breakaway space ideas. They’ve got people to think that right wingers are motivated by hate or a poorly guided manifestation of frustration over being a loser. The archetype is an incel school shooter type. Either that or a bible thumping idiot. That is truly what the average semi-political person thinks of the right wing. This is even what the average American thinks of the right wing.

At least wear an well-fitting suit while you go off

And guess what - while that’s obviously not entirely true, we also haven’t really made it too hard for enemies to brand us this way. There’s almost always a kernel of truth in stereotypes. This thought-space selects for “spergy”, often-online bookworms… And as such, we’re just not-good at naturally not-exuding incel vibes. There are a lot of symptoms of Gen Z era social isolation and chronic online-ness. As such a lot of you guys scare the hoes away.

Whether it’s smart normies or sympathetic but not committed elites, very few desirable outsiders will ever consider the ideas, let alone join or associate with us if that is the perception of the breakaway space. Or if that’s the perception of any of us as individuals. We have to completely undermine the stereotype. We as individuals need to increase both our true and perceived respectability, trustworthiness, likeability, and “coolness”.

Now there’s a tricky dynamic here: Much of the mainstream, modern, and normal idea of respectable, trustable, and likable, and cool is also retarded. As such, you will need to work to fuse some level of respectability or regime respectability with what we know is truly respectable. But what makes this easier is the fact that there are still signifiers of these traits that are universal and primal, regardless of the decaying times we live in - things like handsomeness or fitness. So put some level of effort into making your head and facial hair in good shape. Work out. Start dressing well. Etc. Yes, these are all points that have been made ad-nauseam (the Jordan Peterson shtick). But I will make it the point again. It is low hanging fruit. It’s one of the simplest investments you can make in yourself.

Ok, next, hone the skill of charisma. Get good at having good conversations with people. It doesn’t need to be, and probably shouldn’t be, about politics. Talk about hobbies, or random stories, or sports, or life in general. Ask thoughtful questions. Articulate yourself well. Smile and laugh. Listen to people. Genuinely care.

The final layer is to have cultural awareness and good taste accompanying it. Be observant of conventional culture. Consume both mainstream and independent art - music, books, movies, etc. You should have some semblance of knowledge over aesthetics norms of our times and the ability to fuse them with the stuff we appreciate

Some goals and markers of success on all of this will be:

• It’s easy to talk to strangers.

• It’s easy to talk to and relate to friends of your friends.

• You have a solid friend group.

• Coworkers speak highly of you.

And if you want to start taking it to the next level:

• You actually get along great with your super annoyingly anti-Trump in laws.

• You can walk into a fully booked restaurant, and charm the hostess into finding an extra table for you, simply because you are good looking, well spoken, and make people want to vouch for you.

• You could have a drink with a Black Hebrew Israelite and he would enjoy it.

• If you were stranded on a deserted island with a group of College Democrats, you would be in charge by the time you were rescued.

Whether you're at an above-average level or the social Ubermensch level, it will pay massive dividends to become this socially savvy as a collective. And as we grow in prominence, and as it becomes more normal to say “I’m on the right wing” when asked about your political leanings; the negative brand of school shooter vibe will wash away. And this would be the most significant possible win that the breakaway space could have. It will invite normies and elites alike to intrigue over our ideas. Combine that with all of us having genuinely good taste, being actual cultural connoisseurs, and boy, we’re it. Our ground game of idea-spread totally opens up. You will build up real trust and rapport with lots of people over time. People will listen to and consider and respect your kooky ideas. Strangers will consider ideas if you’re handsome and articulate and charming. People will come to dissident hangouts and stick around. Consider some of the halls of power like the GOP, or academia, or conservative media - spaces I hope many in this room consider pursuing. If you’re charismatic and articulate and friendly, and have the social savvy to fuse what’s acceptable and what’s boundary pushing - you will actually be able to climb the ladders within. Leaders of these institutions and the right people in these institutions may actually listen to your ideas or take a chance on coming to one of these events. The right alliances will be built.

Now this might all sound like pure insincerity. So it’s important to remember there’s a balance between getting along with people and just being a deeply corrupted fake person. Find that balance.

Social savvy doesn’t have to be motivated by narcissistic need for approval either, but rather, genuine anti-misanthropy. It’s easy to be likeable if you generally like people. Even though, yes, people can be incredibly lame and unintelligent, they all do have something to teach you, and they all can be inspiring or be your master in the right context, even if that context is rare. I don’t want to sound sappy, but embrace this mindset. If you don’t feel this way, you legitimately need to psyop yourself into it. Watch a “People Are Awesome” or “Faith in Humanity Restored” compilation. A fuel of anti-misanthropy will actually be a major driving force of wanting and becoming socially savvy. And if you have an unshakable disdain for humans writ large, you probably shouldn’t be in the business of societal change. No, I don’t mean some globohomo “one love” type rhetoric. But our motives should be born out of improving our society because we care for our people in it.

What can also make all of this easy, is a genuine zest for life. And to have this, you start by realizing that the human experience is magical. It’s the exact opposite of the leftist notion of “We are insignificant… Just a tiny planet in a multi trillion mile wide galaxy.” No. The human brain is, to date, the most complicated singular system in the universe. You actually are significant. Being conscious is a miracle and should not be taken for granted. And when you recognize this, you Get. After. It. Adventures, knowledge, responsibility, hobbies, people, relationships, love, risk - you pursue it. And you naturally become an interesting person doing interesting stuff as a result. And this causes people to be intrigued. If you’re hyped on humanity and have a zest for life, and are guided by that, you will naturally become respectable and likeable.

Now all of this is easier said than done. So I’ll review and give some basic tips:

• To become more charismatic: Just to start, socialize more. Get your reps in. You become better at something by doing it more. Both inside and outside of our sphere, be more outgoing and go to more social events. Be mobile. Go to a local hobby meetup. Go to a business networking event. Go to a political conference networking event. Make friends in person. Make friends online. Find collaborators. Find mentors. Mentor other people. Bring different people together. Read How to Win Friends and Influence People. Apply your autistic ability to consume info and get obsessed with something into self help social skills. This is simply a muscle. If you think you’re bad at it, it’s because you haven’t been exercising it much.

• For getting better taste, understand some of the mainstream stuff while still holding true to your tastes and beliefs. I get shocked at the level of cultural unawareness that a lot of people here have. We pretend to be sort of keen observers of modernity, but we can’t name more than a few musicians on the billboard top 100, refuse to watch blockbuster movies, can’t name a single contemporary artist, etc. Of course, you shouldn’t actually waste too much time on some of these things. But you have to be aware and understanding of contemporary culture to be a relatable and trustable person. And on top of that, good taste is, in part, the ability to fuse what’s really far out there with what’s normal and acceptable. Our ideas and aesthetics will have to accompany this principle.

• Love humanity and love life. If this doesn’t come naturally, psyop yourself into it. This will not only help your social skills and your general emotional well being.

And lastly, these aren’t even skills and attributes that are just related to our politics. These will do you well in life regardless if you apply them to our project.

You will have a better life if you can get along with your neighbors. You will have a better life with a strong friend group. You will have a better time if people in your life vouch for you because you’re a solid and respectable guy.

To bring this all back. We are going to have a better time with better branding.

And for this thing of ours - what is good leadership if not largely a collection of social skills and talents?

We cannot build a movement or take over society without good social skills. Being a good leader is indistinguishable from being good socially. The game and battle ahead of us is a social one, so we have to get good at socializing.