The American Press Is Destroying Itself

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

Quote

 

Sometimes it seems life can’t get any worse in this country. Already in terror of a pandemic, Americans have lately been bombarded with images of grotesque state-sponsored violence, from the murder of George Floyd to countless scenes of police clubbing and brutalizing protesters.

Our president, Donald Trump, is a clown who makes a great reality-show villain but is uniquely toolless as the leader of a superpower nation. Watching him try to think through two society-imperiling crises is like waiting for a gerbil to solve Fermat’s theorem. Calls to “dominate” marchers and ad-libbed speculations about Floyd’s “great day” looking down from heaven at Trump’s crisis management and new unemployment numbers (“only” 21 million out of work!) were pure gasoline at a tinderbox moment. The man seems determined to talk us into civil war.

But police violence, and Trump’s daily assaults on the presidential competence standard, are only part of the disaster. On the other side of the political aisle, among self-described liberals, we’re watching an intellectual revolution. It feels liberating to say after years of tiptoeing around the fact, but the American left has lost its mind. It’s become a cowardly mob of upper-class social media addicts, Twitter Robespierres who move from discipline to discipline torching reputations and jobs with breathtaking casualness.

The leaders of this new movement are replacing traditional liberal beliefs about tolerance, free inquiry, and even racial harmony with ideas so toxic and unattractive that they eschew debate, moving straight to shaming, threats, and intimidation. They are counting on the guilt-ridden, self-flagellating nature of traditional American progressives, who will not stand up for themselves, and will walk to the Razor voluntarily.

They’ve conned organization after organization into empowering panels to search out thoughtcrime, and it’s established now that anything can be an offense, from a UCLA professor placed under investigation for reading Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” out loud to a data scientist fired* from a research firm for — get this — retweeting an academic study suggesting nonviolent protests may be more politically effective than violent ones!

Now, this madness is coming for journalism. Beginning on Friday, June 5th, a series of controversies rocked the media. By my count, at least eight news organizations dealt with internal uprisings (it was likely more). Most involved groups of reporters and staffers demanding the firing or reprimand of colleagues who’d made politically “problematic” editorial or social media decisions.

 

https://taibbi.substack.com/p/the-news-media-is-destroying-itself

 

This is a small beginning excerpt from a long Taibbi article.. while I don't agree with the entirety of his piece, the guy nonetheless is really hitting home runs of late.

 

Self reflection is the only way to go when the media is effectively full of useless trash.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

2 hours ago, Burnt Reynolds said:

https://taibbi.substack.com/p/the-news-media-is-destroying-itself

 

This is a small beginning excerpt from a long Taibbi article.. while I don't agree with the entirety of his piece, the guy nonetheless is really hitting home runs of late.

 

Self reflection is the only way to go when the media is effectively full of useless trash.

I really like him as a journalist... I don't like alot of his politics but overall he has very thought out decisions on why he thinks things. Which is funny because Tim Pool just did a segment on him saying that the Left has gone utterly crazy....

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

😍

 

 

 

 

[Rosalind F 178]

45 minutes ago, Burnt Reynolds said:

😍

 

 

 

 

These posts are missing an important detail: protesters for BLM/police demilitarization wear masks. Far right protests, MAGA rallies attendees are against masks, will at best get a pack of bleach, flashlight, and HQ. 

[Ban Hammer 13,550]

11 minutes ago, Rosalind F said:

These posts are missing an important detail: protesters for BLM/police demilitarization wear masks. Far right protests, MAGA rallies attendees are against masks, will at best get a pack of bleach, flashlight, and HQ. 

apparently social distancing isn't that important only at select events.
(i also find it amusing the police aren't wearing masks)

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

48 minutes ago, Rosalind F said:

These posts are missing an important detail: protesters for BLM/police demilitarization wear masks. Far right protests, MAGA rallies attendees are against masks, will at best get a pack of bleach, flashlight, and HQ. 

Your post is missing numerous important details: 

- There are still many not wearing masks

- The local authorities were lightning quick to use authorities against people doing drive-in church services, make a living, and so on..

- .. yet as soon as George Floyd dies all bets are off and millions march all over the country, with countless NOT wearing masks, still employing supposedly unsafe habits, lack of social distancing, etc., these authoritarians step down and let people trash cities. 

- Meanwhile, lockdowns are still being extended

 

Not that it's necessary, but it might be mentally healthier if the left would just admit they made all this stuff up and the "rules" only exist as a weapon to use against political opponents. It would go a lot further in bridging gaps, at this point, no one believes the left has any ounce of honesty about this, not even the few honest leftists.

Edited June 15, 2020 by Burnt Reynolds

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

 

[Oliversmom 250]

I live in Palm Beach County and cases are rising rapidly each day.  I really wish they would mandate wearing a mask when in public.  I know it won't happen but I can wish can't I?  We had a work meeting.  Everyone was wearing masks so I felt somewhat safe.  But as the meeting went on everyone (but me) took off their mask. 

[laylalex 7,300]

11 minutes ago, Oliversmom said:

I live in Palm Beach County and cases are rising rapidly each day.  I really wish they would mandate wearing a mask when in public.  I know it won't happen but I can wish can't I?  We had a work meeting.  Everyone was wearing masks so I felt somewhat safe.  But as the meeting went on everyone (but me) took off their mask. 

It's such a small act of decency and respect for each other. I'm so sorry you have to work with people who don't respect the risks.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

9 hours ago, Rosalind F said:

These posts are missing an important detail: protesters for BLM/police demilitarization wear masks. Far right protests, MAGA rallies attendees are against masks, will at best get a pack of bleach, flashlight, and HQ. 

Yeah that isn't the case here at least locally. The local protests have been about 50/50 in regards to masks with no social distancing either. Some protesters shut down a major highway here and a local news site took a picture of them sitting down on the highway with no masks on. All the while the very same people are vilifying the Reopen protesters. 

 

I also live in the same area where the racetrack did their race/protest while getting vilified by those on the Left

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

51 minutes ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

Yeah that isn't the case here at least locally. The local protests have been about 50/50 in regards to masks with no social distancing either. Some protesters shut down a major highway here and a local news site took a picture of them sitting down on the highway with no masks on. All the while the very same people are vilifying the Reopen protesters. 

 

I also live in the same area where the racetrack did their race/protest while getting vilified by those on the Left

Indeed. The left don't even try to hide hypocrisy. It's broadly an exercise of how much people will cave to social pressures. 

 

Think of it like a 21st century Milgram experiment. If they sit there and shout nonsensical garbage at you, throw tantrums, etc. how quickly will you cave? Obviously agreeable people won't need to cave, they're on board. Others, however, are weak and topple over at just a little bit of pressure. This hearkens to the "Simpsons"/"can I have a pool dad?" reference I've made before. Then you have people that are more unlikely to, but on the other hand, as more people get coerced to join the left the social pressures mount and some cave because it becomes harder to argue against the more people they have on their side. Even consensus is used in an authoritarian fashion, which is why you see it unjustifiably on the climate issue even though agreement has nothing to do with "fact". They don't care though, it's just about giving them their way.

 

Psychologically, the point is (artificially) increasing the amount of cognitive dissonance a person feels. Add onto it the barrage of media and other stuff singing the same chorus, and the Milgram experiment becomes "how much pressure do I need to put on people before they give me what I want?".

 

This is largely what the "social marketing" world comprises of. How can we convince people we're right? And if we can't convince them we're right, how do we psychologically increase the amount of cognitive dissonance filling their head? And for those who are really principled and don't cave to social pressures, we have enough people/power/consensus to pass laws and get what we want done anyways. This is the idea of the "Show Me", "Help Me", "Make Me" model of social marketing that utilizes normal marketing segmenting like diffusion of innovation in order to move people from "disagrees with me"->"doesn't give me what I want" to "obeys"->"gives me what I want", and hopefully does so henceforth. 

Edited June 16, 2020 by Burnt Reynolds

[laylalex 7,300]

2 hours ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

Yeah that isn't the case here at least locally. The local protests have been about 50/50 in regards to masks with no social distancing either. Some protesters shut down a major highway here and a local news site took a picture of them sitting down on the highway with no masks on. All the while the very same people are vilifying the Reopen protesters. 

 

I also live in the same area where the racetrack did their race/protest while getting vilified by those on the Left

Interesting -- reports I have seen from the big Pride/BLM protest in WeHo this weekend (including from friends who attended) are that the vast majority of people were wearing face coverings. It's hard to tell of course -- it's all sort of anecdotal -- but pictures I have seen make it look like people were keeping it covered. 

 

I do find it hypocritical to not wear a mask when protesting but demand that others wear one in other places.

[OriZ 3,157]

2 hours ago, laylalex said:

Interesting -- reports I have seen from the big Pride/BLM protest in WeHo this weekend (including from friends who attended) are that the vast majority of people were wearing face coverings. It's hard to tell of course -- it's all sort of anecdotal -- but pictures I have seen make it look like people were keeping it covered. 

 

I do find it hypocritical to not wear a mask when protesting but demand that others wear one in other places.

Wearing a face mask doesn't provide excuse, reason, or justification for not adhering to social distancing. In fact, imo social distancing is alot more important than mask wearing(but we've had that conversation before).

 

so: wear  a mask with no social distance = bad

social distance but don't wear a mask = pretty good on my scale

don't wear a mask  and no social distance = the worst.

Edited June 16, 2020 by OriZ

[TBoneTX 46,122]

Face-diapers = wearying.

Face-codpieces = new fashion trend.

[Dashinka 24,793]

On 6/15/2020 at 7:58 PM, Burnt Reynolds said:

Indeed. The left don't even try to hide hypocrisy. It's broadly an exercise of how much people will cave to social pressures. 

 

Think of it like a 21st century Milgram experiment. If they sit there and shout nonsensical garbage at you, throw tantrums, etc. how quickly will you cave? Obviously agreeable people won't need to cave, they're on board. Others, however, are weak and topple over at just a little bit of pressure. This hearkens to the "Simpsons"/"can I have a pool dad?" reference I've made before. Then you have people that are more unlikely to, but on the other hand, as more people get coerced to join the left the social pressures mount and some cave because it becomes harder to argue against the more people they have on their side. Even consensus is used in an authoritarian fashion, which is why you see it unjustifiably on the climate issue even though agreement has nothing to do with "fact". They don't care though, it's just about giving them their way.

 

Psychologically, the point is (artificially) increasing the amount of cognitive dissonance a person feels. Add onto it the barrage of media and other stuff singing the same chorus, and the Milgram experiment becomes "how much pressure do I need to put on people before they give me what I want?".

 

This is largely what the "social marketing" world comprises of. How can we convince people we're right? And if we can't convince them we're right, how do we psychologically increase the amount of cognitive dissonance filling their head? And for those who are really principled and don't cave to social pressures, we have enough people/power/consensus to pass laws and get what we want done anyways. This is the idea of the "Show Me", "Help Me", "Make Me" model of social marketing that utilizes normal marketing segmenting like diffusion of innovation in order to move people from "disagrees with me"->"doesn't give me what I want" to "obeys"->"gives me what I want", and hopefully does so henceforth. 

Motte and Bailey?