Mavericks, Mobs and the Cameras That Love Them

By allowing the seething minority of hate-filled sociopaths to vent their anti-Obama fury via constantly televised exposure, the media itself is poised for a plummet not unlike the tumbling economy and the people's collective distrust in its now comically corrupt government.

Violent, froth-flecked outbursts are the media's latest fetish and---true to form--the spewers themselves love a lens the way a seal loves a tossed fish. What other entities can simultaneously condemn and exploit the basest, most self-destructive of human instincts (aside from John McCain himself) other than the news/entertainment outlets which have a decidedly low-brow corporate slant on information dissemination? The fomenting of anti-intellectualism and barely controlled hatred in a cornered and confused demographic is no different than shouting "Fire!" in a home for unrepentant pyromaniacs. McCain and Palin's fear mongering and xenophobic shit-stirring is the stuff of beer hall putsches and the cameras are trained on them steadier than the ones mounted on tripods at the rear of a Portland bookshop on C-Span. It's no different than TMZ waiting to catch Britney shaving some part of herself or Paris texting her parole officer. But much worse than such shallow reportage about pop culture clods, the news media is purposefully setting up a political Armageddon in the form of the cultural showdown between Obama and his Hopers and McCain and his Haters. Potentially sky high drama, sky high ratings and sky high casualties.

And the hysterical hecklers themselves? Since politics has about he same credibility as a Jerry Springer installment, the yahoos, bigots and trogs who yell "Off with his head!" and "Kill him!" and then immediately take umbrage at the idea that civilized Americans would condemn their behavior just love the attention. It gives them a visceral high as spiked as when they huff WD-40 from their favorite brown paper bag. It provides the illusion that they matter, even if it only for a moment, leaving their mark on the world before they vanish into the ether not by helping humanity or contributing to society, but by linking arms with the same mentality that chains a man to the bumper of a truck and drags him through the streets to his death.

And yet, there seems to be a quiet, collective resistance to all the bleating, all the raree. It is as patient as the Democratic nominee himself during the debates, cool and collected while observing Mac launch his sputtering attacks, each salvo falling to the floor with a hollow thud. It's the smart tactic and potentially shows how Obama will govern even the ungovernable mob being stoked by the Republican ticket and the media itself: by reeling out enough rope for the lynchers to hang themselves.

It's appointment viewing!

Comments

[ERose]

It's true. The corporate owned media is entirely culpable and that was planned. I wonder what they teach in university journalism programs these days. How to twist the facts to please the corporation that writes your paycheck? Still, a part of me wants to fight back at the twisted logic and outright lies coming from the neocons. I admire Obama for taking the higher road, but someone in his campaign must be itching to expose and sensationalize Palin's scary extremist and discriminatory religious ties the same way Obama was raked over the coals for his church affilliation.

Last summer we had a visit from a long-time friend of my partner. Today we got an email about Sean Hannity on Fox news gleefully spewing "the ugly truth all Americans should know about Obama". I want to take my hospitality back and burn the sheets he slept on. Which is probably not what Obama would do.

[bluevillage]

Does no one else feel that the people asking questions that belie prejudice, ignorance or fear -- especially Gayle Grinnell, the woman who said she had read that Obama's an Arab (the interview with her later, on YouTube shows she's been receiving chain emails), or the man who said he's scared of an Obama presidency -- are the victims of misinformation, dupes, who are entitled to some sympathy? I place the blame squarely on the agents -- the McCain campaign -- and not (necessarily) on those who have been fed this stuff. (Some are worse than others, of course. But some seem to be innocent.) So while I think it's important to stay on the story of the McCain campaign's responsibility for setting these fires, I think that we shouldn't jump all over people like Gayle Grinnell who parrot what they're being taught. This only fans the flames of the culture war. It's a huge mistake -- and liberals make it all the time -- to trash people who are simply "hoodwinked." See liberal elitism for what it is: being snide about true ignorance. Expressing that, with no compassion for the easily-influenced, is just preaching to the choir, as the New Yorker Obama-as-terrorist cover did.

-- 58-year-old liberal Obama devotee

[aznurse]

I'm torn. Part of me wants to ignore them and not feed into their negativity, but another part wants to keep an eye on them.
When I hear Palin blab on the news I feel that she is fueling hatred and division and when I see the videos of the crowd that go to see her I can see her danger.
I'll be so glad when this election is over.
I'm mentally, physically and just about spiritually spent.

[whit4brains]

Tell me about it. This is going to be the longest three weeks ever.

[sunny123]

Great post. The MSM is no longer "news." It is opinion, hateful, anti-Christian and deploringly sick. The only way one gets the news now is to check with the posts from bloggers like Salan, Huffington Post, Newser.

[americanwhocares]

MSM long ago abdicated their responsibility under the First Amendment of the Constitution to hold government responsible for their actions. MSM is now totally about profit and inane shows. An excuse for this is because Americans do not educate themselves or their children, except in front of a TV screen. MSM just panders to the uninformed.

[customgreen]

Having a completely partisan crowd cheer your every word can lead one to think they are loved universilly (sp lol) So when a Palin feeds the angry crowd red meat of distrust, red meat of hatred she gets cheered wildly. She rides a euphoric high at her stump spots, thinking that the whole country believes in the same hateful, hurtful speech. Flash forward to Philidelphia and the ceremonial throwing of the puck. Relentles boos. What a eye opener for her and the idiots who thought it was a good idea to bring Miss I hate Obama to the event. The real America (hockey mom's and dad's included) don't like the Sarah Palins of this world and that was brought out very strongly in Philly.

[Levittown]

The media would like to make the final decision as to who gets elected. So they decided to select
ten from the right and 10 from the left. The right wants only property owners and no Harvard graduates. The left wants those who have worked for what they have. If after three votes and no
finality they will have their mightiest warrior fight it out man to man, as the Greeks did it many years ago. The liberals will probably choose Achilles, because they will have Angelina Jolie in the audience and the conservatives will probably have their hero ride in on the John Wayne stagecoach, with Dick Cheney riding shotgun. And it will be televised in HD.

[TexanJane]

And the incredible irony is that this hate-speak comes from the self annointed keepers of the Christian faith.

They are makin' Jesus proud, fer sure.

[susaw]

Another great post! It seems as though the press, in its eagerness to inform us, always goes just a little too far. The flap over the negative McCain ads resulted in McCain receiving hours of free ad time on legitimate news broadcasts. Fortunately, Obama's cool, non-reactive demeanor has seemed to quash most of the virulent stuff. (His coolness also shows those McCain rally-ers to be exactly the wack jobs they are).

I attended Obama's Dayton, Ohio rally Thursday; his calm, steady manner is just what this country needs in this time of great uncertainty. It's almost impossible to perceive what a force of nature he is until you have actually seen him in person. He exudes confidence and trust. We are indeed fortunate to have such a leader to emerge at this particular time in our history.

[paragrafH]

It's good for someone to finally hold the media responsible for their share in this. While it was informative to learn what's going on out there, and may very well stir some undecided's better intincts, there is definitely a tipping point into fomenting more of the same -- legitimizing it through repetition. I was also glad to hear you apply Obama's reserve as a leadership tool to this crisis. On other blogs today I've heard predictions of more Oklahoma city bombings if the militia types are thwarted in the election. And can't you just hear the Fox spinners blaming Obama if something like that did happen?

[23000Days]

Another excellent post, Steve. Thanks for pointing out how rightly we're responding.