VOM TAG

The Radicalization of my Father

By John Collins | December 26, 2025

My father is a rare person indeed, due to having lived his entire life offline. Now in his mid-seventies, he has never owned a computer, never been online, has no wi-fi in his house, and has never even owned a cell phone.

Put simply, he hates technology and gets stressed when he must interact with it in any way.

He only pays in cash, and has never owned a credit card, let alone used any kind of mobile payment methods.

He consumes all his media in physical formats, including DVDs, books, and newspapers.

And as he has never been online, he has naturally never used social media and never had any online profiles to speak of: He is a digital ghost; his online footprint is non-existent.

You may be thinking that this sounds idyllic, and he is probably a contented man having lived such a peaceful offline life, free from the toxicity of social media and online divisions. You would, however, be wrong: my father is one of the most politically radicalized men I know!

How the hell did that happen?

The Relentless Pursuit of the Vorschlag

By John Collins | November 7, 2025

In the German School of swordsmanship, the concept of Vorschlag (the "Before," or Initiative) is the heart of the aggressive stance. It is not merely about striking first; it is about establishing a dominating presence that forces the opponent to react, rather than act. If you are defending, you have already lost the positional advantage. Our goal, therefore, is relentless, educated pursuit of the opening strike.

This aggressive mindset applies universally. In any endeavour - business, debate, or training - waiting for the other party to define the terms is a mistake. The Vom Tag philosophy dictates that you must constantly be moving, creating threats, and exploiting the moment of transition.

It is the focused pursuit of this mindset that inspired me to create this blog.