Hate Sells category archive
Republican Family Values 0
Values voters* keep phoning it in. And phoning it in.
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*So they themselves think.
The Silent Satisfaction of Base Desires 0
Thom decodes de code.
The Blank Check 0
Today’s Republican Party and its dupes, symps, and fellow travelers, along with evangelical they-call-themselves Christians, have issued blank checks for bigotry.
This fellow tried to cash his.
Freedom of Screech 0
At AL.com, Kyle Whitmire argues forcefully that unfettered freedom of speech, of the sort espoused by Elon Musk and others of his ilk, can quickly become corrosive. He makes a comparison to a bar owner of his acquaintance, who did not hesitate to eject troublemakers. Here’s a bit of the article; follow the link for the whole delightful article (emphasis added).
Only now they’re giving up.
At Twitter, King Troll has opened the gates of hell, letting back in all the riffraff the previous owners kicked out.
At Facebook, the platform seems to have decided the easiest way to suppress fake news is to suppress news altogether.*
This isn’t a free speech crisis. It’s a crisis of mutual civility. And without it, real speech dies.
And, remember, “social” media isn’t.
And it’s becoming less so.
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*Given that I spend about five minutes a month on the Zuckerborg, I don’t know what he’s talking about, but this may provide some context.
The Toadie Pool 0
Mike Littwin marvels at how major Republican figures seem to fear cutting ties with Trump, even as he proceeds from one outrageous deed to another. He refers to Trump’s dinner with “the nation’s most prominent antisemite of the moment as well as with a Holocaust-denying white nationalist” inner and to Republicans’ lukewarm reaction. A snippet:
The Commodification of Education 0
Be sure to listen to the quotation that starts at the 7:19 moment, which begins “We are in danger of creating an educated proletariat . . . .”
An educated proletariat is what they fear.
Aside:
If I had the money, I’d get a Lamborghini. Ever since I read that review in Motor Trend all those many years ago, I’ve wanted one. They don’t look like much, but I’d take one over a Ferrari any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
I don’t have the money, oh, well, but I do have a Mustang convertible.
I wouldn’t call it the poor man’s Lamborghini by any stretch, but it is fun to drive.
Stray Question 0
Who would have thought that, if you conspire to overthrow the government, you could be found guilty in court of conspiring to overthrow the government?
The Bullies’ Pulpit 0
Sam and his crew discuss the right-wing’s demonization of LGBTQ persons, the Colorado Springs shooting, and the hypocrisy of Republicans’ reaction thereunto.
Dis Coarser Discourse 0
Arnie D. Fielkow and Tracie Washington, writing at NOLA.com, have a history of political disagreements. However, writing at NOLA.com, they report that there is one thing on which they do agree. Two snippets:
(snip)
Clearly, the actions and dog-whistles of certain political leadership have empowered and legitimized bigots. Most thought neo-Nazis and the KKK were in the past, but frighteningly they have publicly re-emerged with new allies from QAnon, the Proud Boys, and others. Who would have ever thought that our nation’s Capitol would be attacked or, maybe worse, that some would try to justify one of the worst days in US history? Is this really the America we all want?
Meanwhile, Will Bunch offers a theory as to the underlying cause; follow the link for his complete essay:
Cored Values 0
Michael in Norfolk notes that Republicans, particularly evangelical they-call-themselves Christians have redefined “freedom of religion” to “freedom to religion.” A nugget from his article:
(Broken link fixed.)
“Look in the Mirror, Boy” 0
A reader of the Portland Press Herald channels Pogo in her letter to the editor.
(Syntax error corexxted.)
Devolution 0
Methinks my old Philly friend Noz is on to something that is indeed rather disquieting.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
At the San Francisco Chronicle, journalism professor Edward Wasserman argues that algorithms employed by “social” media to “attract eyeballs” and “promote engagement,” may serve to foment hate and hate-fueled violence by feeding those inclined to hatred and bigotry more of the same. He argues that, in too many cases, this has lead to hate-fueled violence and offers multiple examples thereof.
He also notes that the Communications Decency Act, passed in 1996, “when the internet was young,” shields internet platforms from liability for user-generated content.
Then he looks at the difference between then and now (emphasis added).
Nowadays, the argument (in a lawsuit he refers to elsewhere in the article–ed.) goes, the entire business of internet services has undergone a radical transformation. No longer docile whiteboards, social media are mega-businesses built on aggressively monitoring and manipulating user behavior — dangling incentives and promoting content with pitch-perfect lures, all to maximize the time users spend online and goose the ad revenue their engagement brings in.
I commend his article to your attention. And, remember, “social” media isn’t.
One Thing Is Not Like the Other Thing 0
The writer of a letter to the editor of The Roanoke Times calls him out some whataboutism.