Jesus Christ:
I'm not sure there's been a less silenced group in all of history than modern conservatives. They have their own TV network. They have the entire AM radio dial. They have social media networks for their own private use. They have churches, CEOs, and think tanks at their beck and call. They own the Supreme Court. They have magazines, newspapers, and email chains. They are the loudest and whiniest political movement of my lifetime.
Silenced? I would jump for joy if they'd agree to shut up just for a single day. If there really is a conspiracy to silence them, it is the most bumbling goddamn conspiracy in all of human history.
Always loved the photo of noted pyscho and plastic-teethed Margie Taylor Greene on the floor in House, at the microphone, on TV, speaking at the heart of the most powerful government on the planet with CENSORED on a mask across her face.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election-2020/marjorie-taylor-greene-mask-trump-impeachment-b1786952.html
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Conservative voices are being silenced.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPNZTtoQBmA
If you thought COVID was an pandemic, The Silencing™ must be a ultra-mega-pandemic.
[Spanky voice on] And how!
Screaming about being silenced does (at least) two things for them. It gets the rubes angry enough to identify even more with them and drown them in money, plus it makes the non-Fox/OAN/in the tank media cower reflexively and beg them to tell the world about how they're being silenced. It's a great grift.
I'd say the non-Fox/OAN/in the tank media are doing anything but cowering, though they love to hide behind that by now completely-threadbare excuse.
They're both-sidering and on the other handing. It may not be traditional cowering, but it serves.
They're both-sidering and on-the-other-handimg, both as a deliberate policy to retain viewers, and because editors hew to the dictates of their owners. Or else. The supposed cowering is just an excuse to cover up much more despicable behaviour,
"I'm not sure there's been a less silenced group in all of history than modern conservatives. They have their own TV network. They have the entire AM radio dial. They have social media networks for their own private use. They have churches, CEOs, and think tanks at their beck and call. They own the Supreme Court. They have magazines, newspapers, and email chains. They are the loudest and whiniest political movement of my lifetime."
All that noise and yet there' still the same number of conservative now (36 percent according to the Gallup Poll) as there were back in 1992 before that loud machine was created.
A lot more liberals though.
Sorry; the conservatives of 1992 were not the "conservatives" of today.
Well, they certainly are being heard. They certainly whine a lot. And it's mainly bonkers.
But I will propose that they are not being seen. Or maybe refuse to recognize that they are being seen, so lash out.
Kids go off to college--then never come back. That hurts.
When they were in high school, they could be anything. Now that they are adults, they resent that they are not a millionaire by now, and it's their turn to pay taxes.
Their towns are dying, except maybe for the immigrants that don't speak English.
Preachers go on and on--and now it's the Prosperity Gospel--they're not rich because they didn't give enough to the pastor.
The rail against new jobs--they'll kill off their livelyhood...unless the new jobs pay a lot less. (Can't have renewable energy in West Virginia).
etc....
In other words, Obama was right. They cling to their guns and religion. When we had waves of immigration in the late 1800's and early 1900's, they built churches which served as community centers helping the immigrants. Today, churches have lost their way--they can't accept criticism, got hooked on power, and some seem to be fleecing their flocks. As for guns--another cry for help.
I think you're right about the pissed-off small-dollar donors and small-business types like the ones who invaded the Capitol on 1/6, but they're the prey of media sharks like MTG and the other crisis (of-the-non-metro-area) actors and other performance artists.
For my money, and from my experience living in one of those areas, what really fires these people up is that their kids have to move away in order to have a chance at a future, and they and the kids have to build up huge debts on top of it. I see it as ultimately the fruits of industrial and financial consolidation, combined with increased population concentration where the work has been consolidating. It's been going on in some ways since the 50s but accelerated after the 1990s.
It's been happening to some extent throughout the NATO world but it's most dramatic in the UK and US. We're the countries that do the least to protect our people, where they already are, from the downsides of changes in macro circumstances. In fact we've accelerated the changes in some ways, and that tells these people they're much less important than the people and sectors that benefit from these trends or aren't much affected by them.
the kids have to build up huge debts on top of it.
The reason that there are few affordable options in a lot of states for higher ed is that Republican legislators have spent the past several decades removing subsidies for public universities. You can either pay for college through taxes that subsidize tuition for in-state students, or you can pay when you have to take out massive loans to get your kid through school. Only the dimmer among us think paying for massive loans is a more rational way of funding education.
I think the kids aren't just moving away to have a future, they can start businesses and do plenty of things locally -- they choose not to. Culture probably plays a role there, wider selection of mates, wide selection of leisure activities...lots of opportunities for a more active lifestyle.
And I agree that it's happening across the globe, there is similar unrest across multiple countries and youth and young families migrate to places they find more interesting or offer greater prosperity. Our 21st century global world is leaving a lot of people behind as technology radically opens the doors of opportunities of other places. I don't think anyone in history has been able to move about with the ease we have had for the past 30 years.
Don't like where you are? The grass is always greener... This can't help but have a destabilizing impact, but is that a bad thing? Depends on your viewpoint.
"I think the kids aren't just moving away to have a future, they can start businesses and do plenty of things locally..."
Um, no. Most modern-day businesses need lots of customers to function well, and you get those either (1) by locating where lots of customers live or (2) by locating where you can access lots of customers scattered all over the place. By definition, small towns and rural areas don't have (1) lots of customers living there... and, through constant rounds of tax cutting and starving government of funds, the infrastructure doesn't exist anymore in most small towns or rural areas to allow businesses to access lots of customers scattered elsewhere. So small towns and rural areas stagnate.
I should have been more specific, yes, brick and mortar doesn't work in low population areas but there are technology startups all over the place that aren't tethered to location. True, if you start to scale and need staff you'll have to move, but you could certainly start small (assuming you have stable internet access.) Where there's a will, there's a way.
"I think the kids aren't just moving away to have a future, they can start businesses and do plenty of things locally..."
Um, no. Most modern-day businesses need lots of customers to function well, and you get those either (1) by locating where lots of customers live or (2) by locating where you can access lots of customers scattered all over the place. By definition, small towns and rural areas don't have (1) lots of customers living there... and, through constant rounds of tax cutting and starving government of funds, the infrastructure doesn't exist anymore (or ever did) in most small towns or rural areas to allow businesses located there to (2) access lots of customers scattered elsewhere. So... small towns and rural areas stagnate.
A-fucking-men
Kevin's being a bit glib here. I agree Republicans in the House are (as usual) engaging in BS for political purposes. HOWEVER, we continue to see a never-ending stream of controversies involving someone getting in trouble with the Woke Police, often at the cost of losing a job. (The latest one involves an adjunct professor in Minnesota getting non-renewed for offending Muslims in her art history class). I doubt very much this woman was a political conservative, but that's a minor detail to Matt Gaetz and Rupert Murdoch. They can and do group all of this stuff under "Conservatives getting silenced."
https://www.foxnews.com/us/hamline-university-professor-fired-showing-images-of-muhammad-warned-students-syllabus
So, sure, Republicans are going to try and make political hay out of this stuff. Because it often helps them win elections.
"getting in trouble with the Woke Police" Like saying something sexist, racist, or just flat-out hateful and being called out for doing so?
What a terrible crime it is to be recognized! It's pretty simple "don't be a jerk" stuff your mom should have drilled into you.
Like +15.
The Hamline case was/is ridiculous. The instructor should sue and handily win a good settlement. She had every right to be discussing these paintings in an educational context. They're part of Islamic history and she gave any student who might feel uncomfortable advance warning. Would they have fired an instructor who showed an image that offended some fundamentalist Christian student? I highly doubt it.
The people who may get silenced or cancelled are mostly well-meaning people who say something politically incorrect or not "woke" enough, or have done something in the past which is now considered unacceptable. Although most stories of this are exaggerated, this kind of thing can be difficult for people who are not dedicated conservatives.
But dedicated conservatives have a support network. Those who deliberately speak out against anti-racism or other progressive things will not lack for job offers. You can't really cancel or silence people who are willing to support the Republican agenda.
They also have their own closed-system book-publishing empire (Regnery Books, etc.).
There is one point I think most are missing in this conversation. I've lived in conservative areas and among very conservative people for--well, basically, for my entire life. And I've noticed two traits that seem to be universal amongst very conservative people.
First, they are absolutely stymied that anyone they know does not reflexively agree with their "standard" understanding of America. Part of this may be strengthened by the Fox News silo, but the truth is I've seen this for many decades, including times before the Fox News arrival. The expectation always was that anybody normal would agree with the most conservative voices out there. If I raised any objection--and I mean ANY opposite view--the first result was silence. They simply did not know how to handle it. The next response, of course, was to say it again only louder. I could point out that the family with the Spanish shounding name down the street was, in fact, a family born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, and I would STILL get the pause and then the assertion that it was a shame they only came here to take away OUR jobs. (Occasionally I let slip that I don't watch Fox News at all, and I earn the same silence. It's just inconceivable that one does not do this.)
The second trait HAS increased since the arrival of Fox and its worsening clones. Namely, any organization (journalism, academic, scientific, etc.) that speaks a word of opposition to the standard conservative party line is SILENCING that standard conservative party line. That's right. A counter argument is itself the act of silencing. They can call it indoctrination; they can call it "woke." Whatever, the very existence of such a counter argument is itself an attempt to silence the truth. For years, I had to explain to one friend that parliamentary rules, properly enforsced, required equal debate time on any action, only to be reminded that the Founders apparently never intended that to be the case. By taking up debate time, the opportunity for the TRUTH to be spoken was curtailed, clearly a violation of the Constitution.
Anyway, them's the facts of conservative life as I've seen them. If you disagree with me, clearly you are out to silence me. 😉
The demand not only the right to say what they think, but also that everyone else accept it as well. I think you're right -- this idea that they have to actually *make* a case for something rather than just regurgitate talking points and then bask in the adulation of everyone's enthusiastic agreement is something relatively new. It certainly has to do with the siloing of people's media consumption. They spend all day in the AM-radio-Fox News echo chamber and are simply stunned when some small speck of contrarian information punctures the bubble.
My background is more politically liberal, but conservative in the sense that my folks didn't get out much (not much education, strict religious teaching). I grew up with the same attitude that no other opinions were even possible. Just moving out of my rust belt hometown was practically blasphemy, even though half the population eventually did the same to find work. My guess is that the people you are talking about also think that their lifestyle preferences - what foods they eat, what shows they watch, what sports they follow - are all somehow really American in ways that the Spanish-surnamed family's aren't.
Look, the far right/Republicans say a lot of horse puckey, probably 98% of it's disingenuous nonsense and not worth your time or arguing with.
And yet, silence implies assent.
Those of us who live outside of major urban areas see this every day. I can't go into any bar, the Y, or other public space without having to endure Fox News on the TV. Local newspapers have been decimated, and the remaining few cater to the local real estate and car dealers who still purchase ads. These business owners are all Republicans so the news is that taxes are evil, business is being harmed by red tape, and nobody wants to work anymore (because of government payments). It is Gospel that your tax dollars are all going to support the lavish lifestyles of inner city people with funny names. Since land gets more votes than people this misinformation flood is drowning the country.
Local newspapers have been decimated, and the remaining few cater to the local real estate and car dealers who still purchase ads.
Or restrict 90% of their coverage to local high school sports. Because that's all that's happening and it doesn't cost/require anything to cover. And it won't result in a flood of angry letters to the editor.
This goes their rejection of empiricism, that is empirical facts:
I would STILL get the pause and then the assertion that it was a shame they only came here to take away OUR jobs.
And this goes to their rejection of reason; and in fact outright hostility directed at any organization of professionals, matter how respe :
Namely, any organization (journalism, academic, scientific, etc.) that speaks a word of opposition to the standard conservative party line is SILENCING that standard conservative party line. That's right. A counter argument is itself the act of silencing.
Folks, these are some the core tenents of the Enlightment; you cannot separate democracy from empiricsm and reason and still have a functional democracy. The people you speak of literally have a pre-enlightenment world view.
Just because conservative voices are having difficulty getting their stories into publications that have fact checkers doesn't mean their viewpoint is being censored.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease. A LOT of grease...
Well said. Maybe it's time for the dems to begin shouting.
Tee Hee. Best Blog Post Ever. 😉
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