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Originally Posted by Surreal Farber  The thing that really bothers me in this thread is the us vs. them dynamic.
If you aren't against Fox, then you must be for Fox.
If you aren't for Media Matters, then you must be against MM.
If you don't agree with <holder of view> then you must be against them.
Isn't that one of the great problems we're having right now in the US? Democrat or Republican, Left or Right, Black or White... |
Very well put. This forum is a good example of why half this country has almost killed the other half in the last two elections. It's stupid. Nobody's allowed to have an opinion if it doesn't agree with me? I've managed to live a long, full life without realizing that. I'm happy to be disabused of my inveterate skepticism and start swallowing whole whatever a bunch of people on an internet forum tells me is true. They noes de troof.
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For example, we have a bi-racial candidate running for President, which instead of being a wonderful opportunity to realize that he has a foot firmly in each genetic and cultural camp, seems to be an opportunity for polarized communities to either claim him or reject him by ignoring one half or the other of his parentage.
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What I find amusing - or it would be if it weren't so serious - is that neither of the candidates has yet engaged in the sort of gutter mudslinging that I see from leftwing blogs and rightwing talk shows. I honestly don't give a flying fuck if Obama's father or stepfather may have been Muslim, who cares? What counts is his character, here and now. And the same for McCain - the notion that a few wingnuts have actually been chipping at his military service makes me sick to my stomach.
None of that is about issues. It's about hyperbole and rhetoric, and the last I checked hyperbole and rhetoric don't set national policy, control taxes or see to the health and education if our citizens. It's just noise. Annoying, overpowering white noise.
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People seem to be more comfortable if they can easily label you and either count you as part of their tribe or as an enemy.
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This thread is a great example.