The dotard is not strategic, but his language is not accidental, especially heading into another hate rally in the deep south. It is absolutely elemental to his own deep insecurities, and those of the cultists, to phrase this situation -- entirely of his own making -- as one of victimization and persecution.
(It also links to their larger feelings of victimization and persecution; while most reasonable people can empathize with the crisis of people in their forties and fifties suddenly getting their jobs outsourced or commodified and being told to learn to code or whatever, it also begs the question of what exactly they did do when that job crisis hit them -- did they do anything at all to broaden their skill set, or improve their existing skills, or did they just retreat into a cocoon of Fixed Noise jabber in between the stream of court shows that show what those people do with their free time.)
Of course, some of the response to this ugliness is to offer the usual don't get distracted counsel, which is nonsense. We're functional adults with triple-digit IQs (hopefully), so we have the bandwidth to pay attention to all of it. And this is something that deserves attention, because the mentality that underpins that language is pervasive, and populates a politics composed of imaginary grievances.
And the corporate media continue to enable that bullshit narrative, with their Cletus safaris and their endless plaints about economic anxiety and such. The people in that crowded room in Sevierville, Tennessee are not good people making bad choices or whatever. They know exactly what they're doing and what they support, and they are not going to be persuaded by some focus-grouped idiocies cooked up by the usual gang of overpaid, weasel-faced consultants.
Frankly, at this point, I'd be more inclined to vote for a candidate that promises to enact policies to help them along to their ultimate destinations as quickly as possible, than one who spouts the usual pablum about "helping" them. Help them what, spend another twenty miserable years bullying everyone who isn't exactly like them, pretending that an entire system of violent oppression didn't permeate the region for a full century, that Emmett Till had it coming? These people don't do a goddamned thing besides suck up oxygen and health-care resources.
People on both sides of the issue keep dancing around the idea of "having to apologize" for the heinous acts of long-lost generations. But they're asking the wrong question. It's not that they think it's unfair being asked to apologize for the sins of their great-great-grandfathers, it's that they're not sorry about it. At all. They're still pissed that they lost. That's it. That's all there is to it. That's all it's ever been, and ever going to be. Stop trying to find "better angels" in people who really don't have them. It's not that complicated. Write them off and move on.
In the meantime, yes, this deserves attention, and no, it is not a distraction. Pay attention to the people defending the comment, and treat them accordingly moving forward. Lindsey Graham, who is the avowed Baghdad Bob for this administration, and a certifiable disgrace to the institution in which he holds office, is old. Make him retire in disgrace. Give every nickel you can spare to Jaime Harrison, and boycott every corporate media outlet that gives Graham air time to spread his shame. Hogan Gidley is young, thinks he has a career of some sort ahead of him. Remove that hope from him any way you can, again by boycotting any media outlet or company that gives him exposure or a job or any sort of recognition beyond a square kick in the balls. That little prick should spend the rest of a very long life knowing that he will never have respectable employment again.
I hate to sound like one of my long-passed elderly female relatives, but they were right about people. It comes down to two very simple principles:
(It also links to their larger feelings of victimization and persecution; while most reasonable people can empathize with the crisis of people in their forties and fifties suddenly getting their jobs outsourced or commodified and being told to learn to code or whatever, it also begs the question of what exactly they did do when that job crisis hit them -- did they do anything at all to broaden their skill set, or improve their existing skills, or did they just retreat into a cocoon of Fixed Noise jabber in between the stream of court shows that show what those people do with their free time.)
Of course, some of the response to this ugliness is to offer the usual don't get distracted counsel, which is nonsense. We're functional adults with triple-digit IQs (hopefully), so we have the bandwidth to pay attention to all of it. And this is something that deserves attention, because the mentality that underpins that language is pervasive, and populates a politics composed of imaginary grievances.
And the corporate media continue to enable that bullshit narrative, with their Cletus safaris and their endless plaints about economic anxiety and such. The people in that crowded room in Sevierville, Tennessee are not good people making bad choices or whatever. They know exactly what they're doing and what they support, and they are not going to be persuaded by some focus-grouped idiocies cooked up by the usual gang of overpaid, weasel-faced consultants.
Frankly, at this point, I'd be more inclined to vote for a candidate that promises to enact policies to help them along to their ultimate destinations as quickly as possible, than one who spouts the usual pablum about "helping" them. Help them what, spend another twenty miserable years bullying everyone who isn't exactly like them, pretending that an entire system of violent oppression didn't permeate the region for a full century, that Emmett Till had it coming? These people don't do a goddamned thing besides suck up oxygen and health-care resources.
People on both sides of the issue keep dancing around the idea of "having to apologize" for the heinous acts of long-lost generations. But they're asking the wrong question. It's not that they think it's unfair being asked to apologize for the sins of their great-great-grandfathers, it's that they're not sorry about it. At all. They're still pissed that they lost. That's it. That's all there is to it. That's all it's ever been, and ever going to be. Stop trying to find "better angels" in people who really don't have them. It's not that complicated. Write them off and move on.
In the meantime, yes, this deserves attention, and no, it is not a distraction. Pay attention to the people defending the comment, and treat them accordingly moving forward. Lindsey Graham, who is the avowed Baghdad Bob for this administration, and a certifiable disgrace to the institution in which he holds office, is old. Make him retire in disgrace. Give every nickel you can spare to Jaime Harrison, and boycott every corporate media outlet that gives Graham air time to spread his shame. Hogan Gidley is young, thinks he has a career of some sort ahead of him. Remove that hope from him any way you can, again by boycotting any media outlet or company that gives him exposure or a job or any sort of recognition beyond a square kick in the balls. That little prick should spend the rest of a very long life knowing that he will never have respectable employment again.
I hate to sound like one of my long-passed elderly female relatives, but they were right about people. It comes down to two very simple principles:
- When someone tells you who they are, believe them.
- People will treat you how you let them treat you.
1 comment:
Jesus, Haywood. I was, of course, aware of Tulsa and know about Sundown Towns and all that awful stuff. But the litany of violence and yes, I agree with him, the War of White Aggression, is rather eye opening. (the Harrington link) Definitely not a part of any history I was taught..
I am not a fan of lefty Purity Policing, and I am ashamed? to admit that I sometimes find Bill Maher amusing. But his White Guilt rant the other month kinda sound silly when you look at what happened...and what is happening now.
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