January, 2022 archive
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
We are again reminded that politeness takes practice.
The story goes on to quote the local sheriff as saying that “target practice is not illegal” (those are the words in the report, not necessarily the sheriff’s exact words).
We are again confronted by one who knows not that “negligent” and “accidental” are not synonyms.
Devolution, Reprise 0
The Portland Press-Herald’s Greg Kesich sees an ominous trend (emphasis added):
At some point, the party went from hating Democrats to hating democracy . . . .
Follow the link for his reasoning.
Aside:
I can’t tell you exactly when the tipping point came about, but I can tell you when the tipping started: When Richard Nixon implemented the “southern strategy” (an idea, by the way, that he did not originate) and welcomed overt bigotry and racism into the Republican Party.
Devolution 0
Rex Huppke is less than optimistic about the fate of the polity; he fears that glorification of stupid which has taken root in some quarters does not bode well. Here’s just a tiny a bit from his article (emphasis added):
You can draw a straight line from the glorification of numbskullery and the rejection of facts to the Jan. 6 attack.
Yet somehow, since Jan. 6, the stupidity being peddled has only gotten worse. Trump and an astonishing array of Republicans and right-wing media types continue to insist the 2020 election was stolen. There is zero evidence to support that and, in fact, even the former president’s most loyal flunkies who have ham-handedly “audited” election results in various states have come up with zilch.
Twits on Twitter 0
Just when you thought that the twits on Twitter couldn’t get any more stupid, they prove you wrong . . . again.
One more time, “social” media isn’t.
A Picture Is Worth, Facebook Frolics Dept. 0
Don’t believe me? See for yourself.
Supply Change 0
Now this is too much to bear . . . .
Uncomfortable Truths 0
At The Roanoke Times, Rob Neukirch reminds us that, taught honestly, history is not about feelings.
It’s about stuff that happened.
Stray Question, Diagnostic Dept. 0
Does this remind you of anyone?
The Futurist 0
At the Des Moines Register, Jim Chrisinger offers a vision of what the future might look like if Donald Trump and his dupes, symps, and fellow travelers get their way.
No summary or excerpt can do his work justice. Follow the link to read it in its entirety.
Repairing the Disinformation Superhighway 0
In an article syndicated by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, three scholars speak out on the role of “social” media in spreading mis- and disinformation, suggesting possible remedies to the flood of falsehoods pouring out of our screens. Here’s a bit of what one of them, a Michigan State professor, has to say (emphasis added); follow the link for the rest.
The bit I put in bold reinforces something I’ve observed since my earliest days participating in computer bulletin board systems and Usenet: For some reason, persons will believe unquestioningly something they read on a computer screen when they won’t believe the same thing if if happens right before their eyes.
And the reverse is also true: persons will refuse to believe something that happens before their very eyes if some rando on “social” media tells them that it didn’t happen (see the link to Dan Casey’s article in the previous post).
We are a society of stupid willing to cling to the stupid if being stupid makes us feel better, regardless of the harm it will bring in the end.
I am not sanguine.
School Daze 0
A teacher calls Sam to discuss what it’s like to be a teacher in these viral times.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
We are again reminded that a polite society is a clean society.