#HWNDU – a play in four acts
Oh dear lord I enjoyed that! Did you enjoy that? I’m quite sure you groovy dudes have been following this thing as closely as I have, but I could do with a recap, as I find the timeline confusing. Herewith:
He Will Not Divide Us was a performance art project dreamed up by child actor Shia Labeouf and professional dim bulb Jaden Smith (who disappeared from the drama quickly). It was launched on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2017 and intended to run the full four (sic) years of Trump’s presidency. It was a camera mounted outside the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York, into which the general public was invited to stand and chant “he will not divide us” in a not at all creepy and stupid way. This was streamed to the internet live.
General public. Streamed to the internet live, 24/7. What could possibly go wrong?
ACT ONE: New York. And while some people stood in front of the camera performed as expected, the stream almost immediately went to shit. Messages featured a rich assortment of goombahs, hoodrats, generic white males, garden variety trolls and — critically, it would turn out — merry pranksters from 4chan’s /pol/. The stream had an audience and some people got internet famous.
Shia lost his nut, and by Day 6 had been arrested for assaulting a participant (ironically, someone on his side). Day 8, the NYPD erected a wall (I ’bout died of irony poisoning) — one of those crowd barrier things — and Museum staff let people trickle through and say their lines. By February 10, the Museum had had enough and shut it down. Total elapsed time: 21 days.
ACT TWO: New Mexico. Eight days later, it pops up in New Mexico at the El Rey Theater in Albuquerque, along a busy urban street. This time, the performance instantly went to shit. It was taken down again February 23rd after shots were fired in the area. Total elapsed time: 6 days.
ACT THREE: Tennessee. On March 8th, the project was ‘back’ at an ‘undisclosed location.’ This time it had morphed into something entirely different: a livestream of a flag that read HE WILL NOT DIVIDE US. The camera pointed up to the flag in an empty sky.
In less than 48 hours, /pol/ had traced it to a farm in Tennessee. Legend has it, they analyzed times of day, weather patterns, star maps and flight paths, then drove around the general area honking car horns and listening for them on the stream. In truth, they really did those things, but they had a huge leg-up when a fan spotted Labeouf in a diner in Greenville, TN and posted a selfie with him. On March 9, the flag was spotted IRL. Our heroes stole the flag and replaced it with a Pepe shirt and a MAGA hat. Total elapsed time: 2 days.
It gets muddled after that. There were reports of drones flying in the area and somebody accidentally setting fire to a field with a roman candle. There’s a blurry picture said to be a drone shot of Shia guarding the empty flagpole at night armed with a baseball bat. Local police eventually got tired of his calls (!) and shut it down, though what ‘it’ was by that time, who could say?
ACT FOUR: Liverpool. Liverpool? “Events have shown that America is simply not safe enough for this artwork to exist” said Labeouf. Pff! He thinks we don’t have autists in England? The flag was located on the rooftop of FACT UK (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology), a five-story building in downtown Liverpool. I have to wonder if anyone warned FACT what was headed their way. Everyone watched the stream and held their breath.
In just over a day — this afternoon — the explorers reached the flag via the building next door. They found it heavily zip-tied to the pole, took some pictures with it and made their escape, but it was only a matter of time.
On police advice, FACT and LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner have removed the installation HEWILLNOTDIVIDE.US due to dangerous, illegal trespassing.
Mar. 23, 2017
Total elapsed time: 1 day and a bit.
Is it over? Probably. I hope not. I can’t see anyone willing to host it in a public space. I wonder if Elon Musk would take it up in his rocket ship? And if we would survive what /pol/ did next?
Posted: March 23rd, 2017 under personal, politics.
Comments: 26
Comments
Comment from Hutch
Time: March 23, 2017, 8:17 pm
I’ve been following this for a couple of weeks now and I’ve enjoyed all of it. The weaponized autism on display in /pol’s YouTube HWNDU videos is HILARIOUS!
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: March 23, 2017, 8:20 pm
It is indeed, Hutch. It was super hard to piece together the timeline, though. Everybody watched it live, but nobody was keeping good records.
Lots of fun stuff in the HWNDU Wiki, but untouched by human hands.
Comment from Hutch
Time: March 23, 2017, 8:28 pm
Some of the videos do a good job of laying out the timeline.
All hail Kek! Shadilay!
Comment from J.S.Bridges
Time: March 23, 2017, 8:45 pm
What I say is, take off and nuke it from orbit – it’s the only way to be sure!…
Comment from durnedyankee
Time: March 23, 2017, 8:51 pm
LaDoof is unintentionally uniting us in laughing at his weirdness.
All hail KEK, synchronicity, 4chan!
(or BUR, if you happen to be one of THOSE people).
Comment from Ric Fan
Time: March 23, 2017, 8:53 pm
Having a bunch of autistic kids hunting you down and thwarting your every move has to be embarrassing. LOLOLOL!
Comment from Uncle Al
Time: March 23, 2017, 9:24 pm
This is 90% OT but 100% hilarious!
Dedicated to Uncle B.
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: March 23, 2017, 9:28 pm
PAHAHAHAHA, Uncle Al.
Comment from Uncle Badger
Time: March 23, 2017, 9:37 pm
Thanks, Uncle Al..
See? Honey Badger don’ care….
Comment from Niña
Time: March 23, 2017, 10:47 pm
I’ve been enjoying this too, although missed the move to Liverpool. My hat’s off to nerds!
Comment from RushBabe
Time: March 23, 2017, 10:49 pm
Oh, Weezie, are you starting a new Dead Pool?
Comment from ExpressoBold
Time: March 23, 2017, 10:55 pm
Comment from Brother Cavil, Nie Mój Cyrk, Nie Moje Małpy
Time: March 23, 2017, 11:16 pm
The hope and the shame of our war against these people is thus: By and large, they are idiots.
It is our hope, for we can defeat them without undue difficulty.
It is our shame, because we let these dumbasses get the upper hand to begin with.
Comment from Steve Skubinna
Time: March 23, 2017, 11:32 pm
Yup, nothing says “He will not divide us” like refusing to accept the results of a national election and continually protesting the legitimate government.
Comment from Armybrat
Time: March 24, 2017, 1:20 am
Uncle Al- that’s fabulous.
As to the original topic, we’ve been merrily following it over at grouchyconservativepundits,org
Comment from Timbo
Time: March 24, 2017, 1:35 am
I have been following the shenanigans with awe. Even at nearly 70 yrs old I bow down to these youthful super nerds and the distance they will go on a challenge. There is hope for the next generation.
Comment from Durnedyankee
Time: March 24, 2017, 8:20 am
It’s sorta like watching Dennis the menace continuously defeating Mr Wilson’s newest plan.
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: March 24, 2017, 1:29 pm
RushBabe: you bet. I should have mentioned. Just queuing it up now.
Comment from Wolfus Aurelius
Time: March 24, 2017, 2:15 pm
Comment from Durnedyankee
Time: March 24, 2017, 8:20 am
It’s sorta like watching Dennis the menace continuously defeating Mr Wilson’s newest plan.
*
*
Or like Otter and the Delta House animals outflanking Dean Wormer!
Comment from durnedyankee
Time: March 24, 2017, 4:07 pm
Wolfus, I like yours better, it more accuratley captures the zany flavor of 4chan’s attack. Things done just to show they CAN be done.
Like the deathmobile destroying the parade.
Still, isn’t Shia more suited to this quote (paraphrased)
“What? Over? Did you say “over”? Nothing is over until I decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! “
Comment from Ric Fan
Time: March 24, 2017, 4:17 pm
It’s amazing that they have operatives in the UK.
Comment from Weaseltablet3
Time: March 24, 2017, 4:32 pm
My experience of trolls is that the phenomenon is international.
Comment from Weaseltablet3
Time: March 24, 2017, 4:33 pm
And yes, I really have three tablets. Unkle B is good to me.
Comment from durnedyankee
Time: March 24, 2017, 7:28 pm
“And yes, I really have three tablets. Unkle B is good to me.”
How do we know you’re not “The Russians” – they’re everywhere ya know.
I think there needs to be a Congressional Weasel investigation!
Oh….
Wait……..
Comment from Hutch
Time: March 24, 2017, 7:50 pm
The only place that they can safely fly the flag now. Heh!
http://hewillnotdivideus.xyz/
Comment from Ric Fan
Time: March 26, 2017, 10:03 pm
This guy is looking for help lambing. Sounds like fun. Probably will be neck deep in placenta since he has 270 expectant mothers. 🙂
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