"Make no mistake: this transformation is not accidental. The current wave of protests represents one component of a broader, strategically supported effort in which foreign adversaries—China foremost among them—seek to exploit internal divisions to weaken American cohesion, confidence, and institutional legitimacy."
During the height of the Occupy Wall Street movement, I wrote a column examining the makeup of the protesters who filled public spaces in the name of economic justice. I observed that many participants appeared driven less by a genuine understanding of financial systems or economic policy than by a desire to attach themselves to a cause larger than their own lives.
Their presence was rarely rooted in a coherent critique of capitalism or Wall Street's role in a free-market economy. Rather, it was about participation—about belonging. For many, the protests offered identity, community, and a temporary sense of purpose. Collective grievance provided a convenient outlet through which personal frustrations could be redirected outward.
The Sandbag Experience: A Personal Comparison
I once contrasted this dynamic with an experience from my youth, when my friends and I volunteered to fill and stack sandbags during local flooding along the Missouri River. Our motives were not entirely altruistic. Media coverage had shown young volunteers working to hold back rising water, and volunteering offered a socially acceptable excuse to skip school and socialize. Whether our efforts materially altered the flooding is debatable, but the experience bonded us and briefly placed us in service of something larger than ourselves.
Today's Civil Unrest: The Same Pattern
Fast forward to today's widespread civil unrest, particularly in Minneapolis, and similar patterns are evident. Many participants appear motivated less by a working knowledge of the policies, agencies, or legal frameworks they oppose than by the social experience of protest itself. Demonstrations become venues for connection, validation, and shared identity rather than forums for informed civic engagement.
A notable number of protesters demonstrate little understanding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), its statutory mandate, or the fact that its authority derives directly from laws enacted by the United States Congress. Chants and slogans replace substantive knowledge, while emotional performance substitutes for civic literacy.
Academic Activists and Ideological Guidance
Protests are frequently shaped and guided by ideological activists and academic figures whose professional lives have unfolded almost entirely within insulated institutional environments—often removed from private-sector accountability, military service, or operational responsibility. These figures supply messaging, moral framing, and strategic direction that reinforce group cohesion rather than encourage independent analysis or critical examination of facts.
The Return of the "Belongers"
This phenomenon is not new. These participants represent the latest iteration of what I previously described as "Belongers"—individuals who surface repeatedly whenever a cause presents itself. Their allegiance is transient, shifting effortlessly from one movement to the next. Understanding the underlying issue is secondary; participation itself is the objective.
For the Belonger, the intrinsic merit of a cause is largely irrelevant. What matters is that, for a time, life feels purposeful. The collective provides affirmation, shared language, and emotional reinforcement. The cause functions as a social structure, not a solution.
Foreign Financial Support and China's Role
It is also notable that many contemporary protest movements benefit from sustained financial and logistical support. Investigative reporting has documented that some of this support originates from ideologically aligned organizations and donors with international connections, including ties to the People's Republic of China. One frequently cited figure in this ecosystem is U.S.-born billionaire Neville Roy Singham, now residing in Shanghai, who has been reported to financially support a network of activist organizations in the United States that openly promote Marxist and anti-capitalist ideology while consistently advancing narratives favorable to the Chinese Communist Party.
In parallel, public endorsement of these movements often comes from aging celebrities seeking renewed relevance through association with fashionable causes, further amplifying messaging while avoiding accountability for outcomes.
A Predictable Pattern in Modern Activism
This pattern has become a predictable feature of modern American activism. Community organizers and ideological networks rely on it to advance long-term objectives that include reshaping foundational political, economic, and social structures—often framed in abstract language such as "fundamental transformation."
China's Strategic Exploitation of Internal Division
Make no mistake: this transformation is not accidental. The current wave of protests represents one component of a broader, strategically supported effort in which foreign adversaries—China foremost among them—seek to exploit internal divisions to weaken American cohesion, confidence, and institutional legitimacy.
Such efforts require a steady supply of participants willing to mobilize without demanding clarity, accountability, or measurable outcomes. Unfortunately, modern society provides no shortage of individuals searching for identity, meaning, and belonging.
For them, truth is optional. Consequences are secondary.
Membership is everything.
To belong is enough.
