From Pine View Farm

Spin City 0

At SFgate, Erin Rode explores how the right-wing media machine turned a nothing-burger into the conservative* cause celebre.

The topic of the piece is a bridge designed to allow wild animals, including endangered species, to safely cross a busy highway, a project which is slightly behind schedule and slightly over-budget, something that never ever happens with big, years-long projects except when it does.

Rode traces how the events, all of which had been reported as they happened, were repackaged, tied with a bow, and turned into fodder for the wing-nut rage machine.

Here’s a tiny bit, describing one of the outcomes of this process:

Beth Pratt, a longtime conservation and wildlife advocate in the state who played a major role in organizing efforts to build the bridge, became the target of much of this online outrage. Pratt, a regional executive director at the National Wildlife Federation and president of the Wildlife Crossing Fund, said she’s received threats of violence over the story. She’s turned over threatening voicemails to local law enforcement, and the National Wildlife Federation is considering new safety protocols for upcoming public events.

It is an inside look into the workings of the right-wing hate factory.

____________________

*And, yes, I know they are not “conservative” in any traditional sense. They are somewhere between reactionary (as in back to 1859) and anarchistic.

Share

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

From Pine View Farm
Privacy Policy

This website does not track you.

It contains no private information. It does not drop persistent cookies, does not collect data other than incoming ip addresses and page views (the internet is a public place), and certainly does not collect and sell your information to others.

Some sites that I link to may try to track you, but that's between you and them, not you and me.

I do collect statistics, but I use a simple stand-alone Wordpress plugin, not third-party services such as Google Analitics over which I have no control.

Finally, this is website is a hobby. It's a hobby in which I am deeply invested, about which I care deeply, and which has enabled me to learn a lot about computers and computing, but it is still ultimately an avocation, not a vocation; it is certainly not a money-making enterprise (unless you click the "Donate" button--go ahead, you can be the first!).

I appreciate your visiting this site, and I desire not to violate your trust.