Well, respectfully, it presupposes that some people feel like they are under attack by the state.
that's true, i'm sure. but that you chose that particular expression is significant.
conspiracy theories presuppose that there is some
conscious organisation behind these currents. but everyone is the subject of forces beyond their control. some have the good fortune, like us in the modern west (democrats and republicans all), to be on the right side of the tracks. but in a few generations that can easily change.
it's easy to fall for the idea that we are victims of someone else's cunning - but it's largely an illusion. and that's why i don't buy lorde's argument in fact - and why i don't think it's a helpful one for anyone to think that they are actively under attack.
here's a good example. i just read
edward bernays "propaganda" - it has a glowing review from noam chomsky on the cover because, applauding bernays for his "honesty", it tells him EXACTLY the bad news that he wants to hear.
but actually the book is nothing more than bernays' most ambitious sales pitch for his services. like david ogilvy's books it's a purely promotional gimmick designed to give the impression to various bodies that bernays can control the public's mind. and that they should hire him and pay his fees. bullshit from start to finish - i doubt bernays believed a word of it and only a sucker would fall for it.
also, as i think i've mentioned here in the past, i went to school with these people and while they are myopic, greedy and self-interested - brilliant minds they are not. they struggle valiantly to maintain the status quo and try (through ceremony) to reassure themselves and create the impression that they are succeeding by their own agency - but they're just riding the currents like everyone else.