#cowplop — Public Fediverse posts

6/x

#USpol #Auspol #USHistory #AustralianHistory
#Trump #MAGA #CowPlop #Hanson

still finding this book illuminating… and can’t recommend it highly enough. it’s free, but i hope this price does not suffer the giffen effect and put people off

Why Intolerance and Extremism Happen
Teri Kanefield

after discussing yellow journalism, the psychology of rage in news etc, Teri says

“Enter Stage Right, the Performance Master of Outrage, Donald Trump
 
[SHE MIGHT JUST AS WELL BE DESCRIBING PAULINE HANSON]

Into this environment came Donald Trump, a product of the current media environment. Before running for President, he was a reality TV show host. He therefore understands how this all works. Among the things he understands is that the way to get more media coverage is to be as outrageous as possible. Remember that Trump is not conservative. He doesn’t want to conserve anything. He wants change, and he wants it fast. He therefore benefits from continually stoking outrage. He pulls people into an outrage cycle that looks like this:
 He does something outrageous that shocks or enrages his critics.
The same act thrills his supporters because it carries symbolic significance. The act, in some form, lands a blow on the liberal establishment.
When his critics exhibit a strong reaction, his supporters feel an even greater thrill because he is proving he can take on the enemy. “Trump is a radical,” they say approvingly. “He is upsetting the applecart. He is fighting for us.”
Meanwhile, Trump keeps himself center stage and controls the conversation”

…

“In Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump, Texas A&M University professor Jennifer Mercieca stood against the crowd of Trump-mockers and argued that Trump’s gaffes are not gaffes. She pointed out, for example, that he effectively uses a device known as ad populum (“appeal to the crowd”) by deliberately positioning his lack of political correctness as genuineness. He positions speaking in a manner acceptable to the mainstream as being “scripted,” which he then equates with going along with corruption. The result is that the more outrageous his comments, the more “truthful” he appears to his supporters and the more they admire him.”

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[imo, there is a trap australian labour has fallen into, and is exacerbating by refusing to move even one inch back to the left — the more people feel dis-enfranchised by inaction on important issues, indifferent legislation and indifference to the decay of the public service, the greater the risk people will start to admire the seeming frankness of people with even more shit values than labor]