Hate Sells category archive
The Transmogrification 0
Dick Polman marvels at the state of today’s Republican Cult of Trump Party. A snippet; follow the link for the rest.
All That Was Old Is New Again 0
A reference in a Philo Vance mystery led me to pull out my old copy of The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology* the other day.
As I was idly thumbing through it, it occurred to me that there are many similarities in the events it recounts and the current Republican-fed hysteria over “grooming,” trans kids, and LGBTQ+ in general. Both are based on fiction, feed on ignorance and fear, and persecute the innocent and faultless, while empowering the despotic and tyrannical, who cynically exploit them.
I’m sure more parallels will come to me over time.
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*I’ve had the book for years. I got it in connection with a research paper I was doing back in the olden days, when I was a young ‘un.
A Notion of Immigrants 0
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Will Bunch makes a strong case that Texas Governor Abbott is simply being mean for the sake of mean.
I think a pretty strong case can be made that, if the majority of immigrants at our Southern border were white like me, they’d not be greeted with such hostility.
“But It’s the Only Possible Explanation” 0
Writing at Psychology Today Blogs, sociology professor Jeffrey Carl explores recent research that indicates clinical narcissists may be particularly susceptible to conspiracy theories. Here’s a bit; follow the link and read the whole thing, then check whether his piece reminds you of anyone in the news (emphasis added).
It’s also easy to see how collective narcissism could promote conspiratorial thinking in addition to individual-level narcissism. Here, similar factors are conducive to being receptive to conspiracy claims, but they operate at the group level instead of a strictly individual one. In this case, someone believes that their group is special, superior to other groups, and deserving of particular privilege or recognition. If they perceive that their group is not experiencing the preferential status it deserves, it is easier to blame a conspiracy than to question their belief in its superiority.
Speaking of Questions . . . . 0
May it be that persons who loudly pat themselves on the back while proclaiming their patriotism, wear American flag do-rags while waving the Stars and Bars, and call for the imprisonment of those who do not look or think like them, may it be that those persons do mot fully embrace the concept expressed by the Founders that, in the phrasing of their day, “all men are created equal”?
Real Big Men 0
At the Portland Press-Herald, David Salvail is just asking a question.
Precedented 0
Al.com’s John Archibald considers the current kerfuffle over books and libraries and suggests that it’s a case of life imitating art. Here’s a bit of his article:
Trouble. With a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool.
Forgive me if you don’t know the reference from “The Music Man.” It’s not just a show for the ages. Turns out it’s one for the aged.
In it the music man realizes that if he is to gain the trust of the townspeople of River City he must manufacture a threat, stoke fear and lather up loathing for a common foe. In his case, the perfect foe was a pool hall.
And today, Archibald goes on to argue, it’s libraries.
Twits Own Twitter 0
Self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk demonstrates that actions proclaim louder than words:
(snip)
On Tuesday afternoon, hours after this story was first published, X began reversing the throttling on some of the sites, dropping the delay times back to zero. It was unknown if all the throttled websites had normal service restored.
Details at the link.
And, in case you needed more evidence that “social” media isn’t . . . .
The Courage of Their Conniptions 0
Honest to Betsy, you can’t make this stuff up.
Precedented 0
Gene Lyons sees a precursor of the laughing misnamed “Moms for Liberty.” Here’s a bit from his article; follow the link for the rest. You’ll be glad you did.
Back in the ‘70s, when a former Miss Oklahoma named Anita Bryant and the Rev. Jerry Falwell were running a similar scam, they used to say that because “homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children … they must recruit our children.” That’s not actually true, of course, but it sounded right to a lot of yokels.
But back to the Moms. I love how they call it “Liberty” when they’re demanding censorship and conformity.
The Golden Rule, per Evangelical
They-Call-Themselves Christians
0
Do unto others.
Aside:
They worship no Jesus that I know.
A Unified Theory 0
Methinks F. T. Rea may be onto something.
Base Desires 0
At the Kansas City Star, Melinda Henneberger argues that Donald Trump poses a much greater danger to the survival of democracy than most politicians and pundits are willing to admit. She presents compelling evidence and I commend her piece to your attention.
One bit, in particular, caught my eye: an explanation of why, despite Donald Trump’s long and documented history of duplicity and venality, despite his fomenting an insurrection, despite his demonstrated disdain for the rule of law, his base continues to support him with such fervor and enthusiasm:
Follow the link for the complete article.