When will America turn "Blue" ?

[Kätzchen]

[Kätzchen]

[Kätzchen]

[iamkeri1]

In my opinion there are two main issues that keep people in the "red" column. Guns and abortion. I don't think I need to elaborate on either of those.


There is a third; Rupert Murdock and Fox Disinformation Network.
Until a few years ago, i used to spend summers in Michigan. Comcast would always offer some special cable deal for when school was out. One summer I went cheap and got a plan that had only 22 channels. Of those 22, SIX were Fox. No MSNBC, No CNN No CSPAN, unless you paid for extra channels.


Over a period of about thirty years of constant slanted news reporting and disinformation, my beautiful home state morphed from one that was very forward thinking and progressive, to a conservative, pro-assault weapon, anti immigrant conservative quagmire.
Smooches,
Keri

[Cin]

I think some of the other things that are important to a lot of people that keep them voting red are immigration, the economy and foreign policy. There is a perception that Trump will handle Iran and China better, that his stance on immigration will stop the indiscriminate flow and protect the country from the bad actors that eek through, and that he will be much better for the economy. I doubt any of that is true, with the exception of perhaps the handling of Iran, but what can you do.

People believe what they want to believe. But it isn't all that helpful on either side if we continue to think that those who vote differently than us are stupid and voting for someone because they are idiots and have not thought it through or they are simply misinformed or easily duped.

The basket of deplorables comment as true as it was/is didn't help Hillary one bit. Fortunately Harris and her team are smart and learned from other's mistakes. I think she will handle it differently.

The perception of Republicans and Trump supporters is that they are gun loving, women repressing, bigoted yahoos who can't wait to start a revolution. That is the flip side of media bias, the Fox opposite, slanted news in the other direction.

I know it's hard to imagine that progressive media would do such a thing. But I have been watching CNN and others over the past year with an ear to what they are not saying and an eye to what they are NOT showing us. I have noticed how they slant the news. How they report what they think is important and how they deliver it in careful ways and in language designed to encourage a certain thought process.

All media does that (follow the money, who owns which media will tell you what version of reality you will be getting). What is true? Who knows. What I do know is that it isn't productive to buy into the belief everyone who votes Republican is a stupid gun toting bigot. As seductive and right feeling as that is. Even as I write this I have to fight my feelings that Republicans are horrible and Trump supporters are Satan's minions. But I am trying to look at it from a different perspective. Any way this isn't going to be a slam dunk for either side. And if it is that close we have to imagine that half the country isn't made up of idiots, horrible people, and the simply misinformed. I'm sure they believe just as strongly that they are right as we do. I wonder how to move on from that. That is what keeps me up at night.

[Kätzchen]

Years ago, while recovering from nearly being killed in a work related accident, my time spent healing involved solving word puzzles in books I bought at the grocery store (etc). So I did a little research back then and discovered that puzzles in these cheap puzzle magazines were actually penned by Republican operatives whose side hustle was printed puzzles for puzzle solvers. Even local newspapers owned by Pamplin media group is owned by a local businessman who is a Republican and also in big trouble for his Ross Island mismanagement and tax evasion.

Even two of three local tv stations are owned by Republican backed operatives.

Be careful what you read and see and what you listen to. Nine times out of ten chances is that you’re reading, seeing and hearing misinformation or disinformation that is steeped in Republican narratives which simply are not true. They operate their misguided thinking by repeating it over and o er again as if it’s true — which of course, it isn’t.

Thanks for you post Cin.

And thanks for your post too, iamkeri1.

[Cin]

Lies are fairly easy to spot, narratives that simply are not true are not too difficult either. If these lies and narratives are in line with what you believe to be true it just reinforces these beliefs. But for that to work you need to already believe the lies and the narratives that are being pushed. I doubt those lies and narratives will bring someone over to the dark side who isn't already moving in that direction.

However when news stations tell the truth but spin it in such a way as to completely change how it will be interpreted or understood that is much more problematic. And it is grossly unfair and treacherous because then it is possible to change someone's mind who didn't already feel that way to begin with. This type of slanting is a purposeful way of spreading misinformation and I find it more dangerous than outright lies. Reporting only some of what has happened is one way of slanting. Picking and choosing how and what to report is pretty powerful. Language is also very powerful. For example if you say a person was found dead that elicits one type of emotion. However if they were actually murdered you have taken away some of the power of what actually happened when you report that they were found dead. There are all kinds of ways to slant and spin and encourage people to think a certain away about something. To me an outright lie is less dangerous because it is easier to spot and avoid unless you want to believe it. This spinning and slanting is more insidious and ultimately more perilous.