The Victim Blaming Has Begun
The Daily Beast has published an article titled, "Blame Millennials for President Trump."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/16/if-america-elects-a-pre...
Brilliant job, American media. You created the Trump monster by giving him billions in free coverage because it was good for your bottom line. You did everything that you could to prop up the uninspired candidacy of Hillary Clinton (who, in the latest polls, is losing in Florida, Ohio, Iowa, and Missouri, while barely hanging onto Nevada, Colorado, and Virginia by spreads of 0.5 to 3 points), and now that you're staring into the abyss of a looming Trump presidency, you don't like what you see and you have to find someone to blame. So, the millennials are the new Naderites.
Yet despite running against a candidate who combines the racial divisiveness of George Wallace with the pro-Russian sympathies of Henry Wallace, Hillary Clinton has barely been able to break 48 percent in any national poll. She does significantly better in head-to-head match-ups than in the actual four-way race, thanks to the not insignificant number of voters expressing support for Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party standard-bearer Jill Stein. Support for these minor candidates is most pronounced among a crucial demographic, my demographic: millennials. Twenty-six percent of voters aged 18-29 say they will vote for Johnson; 10 percent back Stein.
What explains the millennial willingness to risk a Trump presidency? A lot of it stems from cynicism towards, if not downright hatred of, Clinton and everything she represents. Seventy-seven percent of voters 18-34 find Clinton untrustworthy, compared to 65 percent of all likely voters. There’s also not a small degree of lingering bitterness from those who supported Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, only 52 percent of whom, according to an Economist/YouGov poll, plan to back the party’s nominee (Sanders won millennials overwhelmingly, and Saturday will be in Ohio to try and convince voters there to hold their noses with one hand and pull the lever for Clinton with the other).
[...]
But there’s something deeper, and darker, about millennial opposition to Clinton and the attendant blitheness towards the prospect of a Trump presidency. It’s best described as a mix of moral relativism, historical ignorance and narcissism.
Millennials are the first post-war generation to have come of age after the Cold War. Baby boomers, by contrast, grew up listening to their parents’ tales of American heroism in World War II and read about the depredations of international communism every day. Throughout their formative years, the United States was locked in Cold War struggle against an expansionist Soviet empire, and the world lived under threat of nuclear holocaust. The anti-Vietnam War movement may have bred skepticism about America’s global role, but the notion that American power was necessary to protect freedom in the world remained a majority one.
Millennials, by contrast, spent their early years blissfully unaware about the world and its dangers. That changed, of course, on 9/11. But unlike other age groups, over half of us believe U.S. actions might have provoked those attacks. “Older people think, ‘We’re a great people, we got attacked by these crazy people, and now we are dealing with it and we have to be careful,’” Trevor Thrall, co-author of a study on millennials and foreign policy, told Voice of America last year. “Millennials are the only generation the majority of which think the U.S. must have done something to provoke 9/11.” Thrall’s study concluded that millennials “perceive the world as significantly less threatening than their elders,” “are more supportive of international cooperation than previous generations,” and “are also far less supportive of the use of military force.” Millennials are also deeply skeptical—like Trump—of American exceptionalism. A 2011 Pew poll found that only 32 percent of millennials believe America is superior to other countries, compared to 64 percent of baby boomers.
But the main reason for millennial apathy towards the possibility of a Trump victory, I suspect, is a lack of historical understanding. Millennials, particularly American ones, are too young to have any memories of the Cold War, never mind World War II, when fascists ruled Europe and millions of people died as a result. Trump’s echoes of fascist movements past has no resonance with us.
Moral Relativism? Narcissism? Historical ignorance? You, Mr. Kirchick, can go fuck yourself. Millennials are more informed than any other generation thanks to technological advances, globalization, and the presence of the internet. They understand the neoliberal status quo perfectly well, and they can see what will happen to them no matter who becomes president because both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are two sides of the same putrid, corporate coin.
All of this fearmongering bullshit about "fascism" and "socialism" doesn't work on this generation, and it scares the shit out of the media, because they can't control the largest segment of the voting public (next to the baby boomers).
Do you really want to know why millennials refuse to support Hillary Clinton? As someone on the older end of the millennial spectrum, let me speak frankly. It's because we don't give a shit about candidates that don't give a shit about us. We will not vote for the lesser of two evils. We're not going to go to the polls to protect your pocketbook and sense of security. We've grown up with this garbage all of our lives and we know where it leads. We're sick of it. Instead of listening to the people and choosing a candidate that represents our interests, the Democratic Party decided to nominate the quintessential establishment politician during a "change" election cycle. Yet, it's our fault that Hillary might lose to Trump? If you don't nominate a candidate that we can support, don't be surprised when we don't vote.
This entire article makes excuses for the worst excesses of American militarism, neoliberalism, and frankly, conservatism. The fact that this is what passes for "liberal" intellectualism these days disgusts me. America has become a failed state ruled by corporations. Thanks to Bush and Obama, we live in the Surveillance Society. If you haven't gotten the message yet, establishment folks, here it is: we don't like it, we don't want it, and things need to change, right now. The vast majority of the population has felt that the country is moving in the wrong direction for more than a decade, yet the political and media elite choose not to listen. When a huge number of Americans are so upset that they are waging a figurative war against the status quo through every kind of political and cultural surrogate imaginable, Trump included, our leaders would do well to listen instead of blaming the victims of their policies.
Comments
I hear ya.
I think there are ways but it would take a lot of people really wanting to change the power structure, turn it upside down as I said to We the People, not We the Rich. I think we have to reject their power source which is our political system that does not represent us and never will. If we want to change things, first we need the power and that has to come with a new political system that gives us the power. Because trying to play within this system ain't gonna cut it.
I've said many times in debates about what we can do, it depends on what you want.
Write a new constitution
before we fight the revolution?
I've lots of ideas for a different, hopefully better governmental structure. But, before one establishes a new order, one must overthrow the old, yes?. And revolutions are ... bloody.
Further, I have far fewer ideas as to how to successfullly overthrow, dis-establish the current establishment. Of course, most revolutions are guerilla warfare against a more powerful, organized military. So, there's that.
Still, Al, which comes first, the overthrow of the established order or the establishment of a new order?
Only connect. - E.M. Forster
How about changing the culture?
The Koch brothers try to ingrain college students with their way of thinking, the Rush Limbaughs of the country try to brainwash the right wingers.
We've made some progress with woman voting, civil rights, gay marriage. It takes years though. What was once radical, is now everyday.
If a principle becomes part of the fiber of our culture, then a bloody revolution won't be needed.
How, though, do we influence culture?
I agree with you
What kind of travesty choice did we have in 1980 when the slide began in earnest? Reagan vs Carter? Neocon v Neolib, although those terms were yet to be coined.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Well--
I do wish there hadn't been a big shift to Reagan in 1980, even if Carter were the other choice--
yeah, I know, I'm always opposing lesser-of-two-evils voting, but back at the beginning, the lesser of two evils was a lot more lesser than it is today. Not that I don't disagree with a lot of Carter's policies, but he was not an MIC puppet, and he wasn't the puppet of the oil barons, and he actually pushed the idea of human rights, which would never happen today (even when the media talks about people killed by sarin in Syria, they don't talk about rights. Even BLM isn't talking about rights, but about white privilege, as if we should consider the ability to walk to the 7/11 without being shot a "privilege."I'm pretty sure that defining that as a privilege gives the victory to the oppressor.)
I don't like his pro-business side, his deregulatory side, and I also dislike that he didn't stick with his initial impulses regarding El Salvador. He ended up supporting some wretched foreign policy on that account, and it hurt and killed a lot of people.
But imagine for a minute that any of the subsequent Presidents had been in charge during the hostage crisis. Can you imagine any of them NOT using it as an excuse to go to war? Whatever else you might say about the guy, when it came down to it, he was willing to sacrifice his political career to save lives. I remember that election well. At any moment, if he had started with some red-blooded bellicose "America won't take this shit from anybody!" rhetoric, and backed it up with military action, he would have won the election.
I don't idealize Carter--he has some serious flaws and blind spots, and he's friends with Baker, of all people. And in retrospect, I'm not sure the Israel/Egypt peace accord was as great a thing as I originally thought (I was just so happy to have any ME peace at all...). That said, I'd *much rather* have had him from 1980-84 than Reagan from 1980-88.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
You have a point.
But it was still "lesser of two evils".
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
No argument.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
conservas all around
Conservative vs conserva- "Dem", with nary a genuine liberal in sight.
Were Markos Moulitsas alive back then, he'd be in hog heaven.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Shill of course.
They use the drug dealers excuse,"if it wasn't me some one ele would be doing it".
Solidarity forever
Brilliant!
So true even for us older degenerates.
Screw the system. Let it burn.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
I agree, great essay and spot on comment
Thank you for sharing and pointing out the root cause of the problem, not the voters but the candidates and political system. I am so happy the next generation (if they stay true to themselves) will bring about transformational change in our society. However, I feel sad for them because they will have to clean up the mess.
Woe is us
the young generation isn't as gullible as their elders. The old propaganda isn't working, even with the 3.0 update of islamo-fascists replacing godless communists replacing classic European fascists. Don't they realize that we've always been at war with Eastasia? How dare they refer to selfless sacrifice by the World's Policeman as Imperialism?
There must be something wrong with them.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Sounds like the blame on the Brexit?
The sky is falling , don't you deplorables see that ?
Sheesh-
this crap didn't work in the UK, so you think it will work here?
It's like when they try to make an American version of a BBC
program....it is just not as good.
She must really be tanking, or, the body double is not gaining weight fast enough?
Peace -
Murph
Thank you cloudy_skies
A thoroughly refreshing view from a young'un.
As a boomer I can't say how much time I have left. But you , on the other hand, have much more of a future. You have what the current Oligarchs do not, TIME.
Use this knowledge to threaten, not the uber wealthy, but their offspring after they are gone. Make it clear that their children will pay for what the Oligarchs alive today have wrought.
Time and long memories. Make them fear, for a change.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Just saw that you are a millennial--that's great. Hope that
you go far and wide with the message that you're brought here. We definitely need young people like yourself to get your message out, non-stop, between now and the election.
I've noticed that the MSM FSC stories regarding her 'health problems' have almost completely dropped off my cell phone feed. CNN's David Gergen stated yesterday that this story would be just a 'blip.'
IOW, there is still very much a chance that the MSM can catapult her into the Presidency. If they don't, it won't be for lack of trying. Again, it will take a lot of voices to get over the din of Dem Party luminaries, who are once again on the campaign trail for FSC. (PBO started again this week.)
So, thanks for writing this essay. It's a keeper. I'm going to use a couple of hash tags to try to get it out to as many folks as possible.
Mollie
“I believe in the redemptive powers of a dog’s love. It is in recognition of each dog’s potential to lift the human spirit, and, therefore, to change society for the better, that I fight to make sure every street dog has its day.”
--Stasha Wong, Secretary, Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
52%
See what Happens HilLarry?
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
The lack of historical understanding is the author's. The
behavior of the US and its political class during the cold war was abominable. We weren't a force for good then and certainly haven't been since. Knowledge of history enables the millenials to see exactly what and who Hillary is, to understand her real agenda, and to reject her and it.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
But there's a bear in the woods, EL
I mean, some people think there might not be, but isn't it better to play it safe?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
A twofer, that spot carried the NRA pro-gun message as well. n/t
My friends did nothing but mock that ad.
But I'm not sure we were in the majority for our generation. There were a lot of us who, for some reason, bought into the whole Reagan thing.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Well, as a Cal gradute, I am bound to look fondly upon Bears,
the more of us there are out there the better, at least if they are of an appropriate age.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
But there's a bear in the woods, EL
I mean, some people think there might not be, but isn't it better to play it safe?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
When all else fails, I guess.
I don't plan to vote for either Billary or her heel opponent, the Walking Toupee. Billary makes about as good a babyface as Roman Reigns, especially after the Royal Rumble fiasco not even The Rock (Bernie Sanders) could salvage.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
Bless you, Aspie Corner--
nice to see another wrestling fan around
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Utter BS
How are the dead people in Iraq, Libya, Syria all the places that Obama is dropping bombs from drones enjoying their freedom?
And how about the people in Ukraine enjoying the protection of their freedom they got after the US overthrew their elected government and installed a government that was friendly to neo nazis?
And that goes back to the people whose countries the US and the CIA overthrew their governments and installed brutal dictators that then committed heinous human rights abuses and the US did nothing as long as US 'interests' could steal their country's resources.
And don't even start about all the soldiers that died for our freedoms bullshit. Our freedoms haven't been threatened by any country since we kicked out the British.
BTW, wasn't it the Patriot act that removed most of our freedoms? Yes.
And where is our Habeus Corpus?
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
So We've Got 50% of Drumpf's Red Hat Brigade
and all the Millennials who are "to blame" for Hillary & the DNC's political ineptitude.
Hell of a GOTV plan there...
This situation is totally insane.
BTW, I, and several others have mentioned the gaslighting of the Left. That feeling is getting stronger.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Gaslighting - I agree
Gaslighting, bullying, lying, twisting the truth, denying, victim blaming, telling us how and what we should think, devaluing us and our opinions, calling us racists, misogynists, haters and idiots. Mocking us! Sure sounds like abuse to me.
Gaslighting of the left.
It's not a feeling. It's a fact.
Sad thing is, the MSM -- dinosaurs that they are -- don't know how transparent their efforts are. Fortunately for us, we see right through the attempted revisions of recent history.
You know, it just occurred to me: the MSM is nothing but a macrocosm of GOS. A giant, sucking echo chamber.
For the Last Few Years, Since the Rise of the Internet and
the filter bubbles it creates, the media has been purposefully confusing the public.
It's no longer 'misinformation' or 'disinformation', it's confusion. Just throw it all at the wall and shift gears on a dime so nobody can trust the information.
It wasn't until the middle of this year, just a few months ago, that I started to see this as gaslighting the American people.
I know we've been lied to and brutalized, that's bad, but the gaslighting is another step down the path of brutalization. It's like moving from cold war to hot war. I'm not at all hopeful for our future.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
I hear you.
We need to find hope in the fact that we can collectively recognize the gaslighting and -- at least for now -- counter it.
In relationships, gaslighting works because the abused is, for the most part, isolated and has no greater frame of reference. For now, we benefit from a broad community of people who see these tactics for what they are, and can reassure each other of the truth in what we have seen.
Probably time for people way smarter than I to figure out how we can communicate outside channels that will ultimately be censored or outright shut down -- to isolate us.
Filter Bubbles Isolate Us. The Only Common Info We Have
is corporate.
So we talk, over the watercooler, about common info: TV Shows, Movies, Sports -- politics and religion, the most filter bubbled topics, are dangerous due to no common information, and so they're verboten. Increasing isolation.
I agree with your comments here. I think a decent response at this time is to hyperbolize the talking points. Make the manipulation transparent across filter bubbles:
"I'm powering through my Netflix cue."
"Millennials and their tyranny over the American political system MUST STOP!"
It shouldn't be too hard to get a quick response out there in viral fashion.
The best thing about this is that the social media algorithm could be defeated by coopting the propaganda message and the corporate advantage could be dramatically reduced.
Hopefully this makes sense.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
I think I'm getting you.
Might be worth an essay - a how-to of sorts beyond your two examples. Because if we could rally the troops so to speak, in a counter-CTR force, there may be hope.
I'll Give It a Shot While I'm Powering Through Talking Points.nt
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Speaking of which, is anyone
Speaking of which, is anyone else going to try boycotting Youtube for Google censoring (I gather predominately, at this point, via demonetization) anything corporations advertising on there might not like - as in actual news? Or encourage progressive news to twin or transfer to some alternative, should there be a good one (or more) out there?
Somebody did post alternatives to Youtube in a comment I'm pretty sure was on C-9, although I can't currently recall on which thread or find them, but for now I'm just trying to search out anything that carries music I like that isn't Youtube and so far (just looking for the 1st to come up just now) finding only download sites which play typically a single tune or the odd album, if I can still use the term. The real boycott officially starts on my next CClean, though - I'm going to miss the mixes and political stuff that used to turn up sometimes...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
This site really helps to
This site really helps to counter the effect of the gaslighting for me. We are not isolated, we can share information that the MSM withholds, we can discuss trends, and we can build a collective BS detector!
A big thank you to the time and effort folks put in, bringing fresh essays to this site every day!!
Thanks, ThoughtfulVoter--I concur!
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Which is why we need to preserve NetNeutrality.
Because once that's gone, we're all screwed.
Speaking of neutrality, I don’t like the sound of this
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-socialmedia-news-idUSKCN11J2Q3
Facebook, Google, and the New York Times colluding on what is “fake” and what is “real”? What could possibly go wrong?
A cartel with quality controls — where quality is defined, not as devotion and fidelity to the truth, but as assurance that only 1% approved narratives are disseminated.
Interesting
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Yup, sucks hard and blows
Yup, sucks hard and blows asbestiform rocks highly hazardous to health.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Great righteous indignation, thanks. Right there w/ Jimmy Dore..
You eviscerated this clown from Mother Jones, another of the many Neoliberal lackey media who have now been revealed forevermore as courtiers of power, not speakers of truth to power. The hypocrisy is staggering.
Dore is on fire lately about it too, just like you are here:
Thanks again. Made my day.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Dore nails it!
Thanks for the video, Dore does nail it, we need trump to win to have the best outcome down the road, but still I'm voting for #Jill.
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Hillary is to blame for not running a campaign
other candidates have stood for something: the new deal, the new frontier and so on. Hillary's campaign is "isn't he ridiculous?" That's not a real campaign. It makes everyone wonder who she is, what she plans on doing. It's totally a turtle in a shell. "Look at him, not at me!"
It reminds me of Jimmy Carter, going around with a Ronald Reagan LP, saying "how can you vote for this guy?" At least Carter had a record as President. Hillary has nothing. She did nothing in the Senate (except vote for war), nothing as Secretary of State (other than cackle about killing). The lasting memory of her from the 90s is her putting Tammy Wynette into a basket of deplorables.
What is her vision of America? It's "whatever you want to think it could be". It's worse than Obama. At least Obama ran on some great values. He didn't govern that way but at least he said things that people could agree with.
And don't get me started on Bernie.
All she does is blather on about how bad he is.
Bernie does the same thing when campaigning for her - same with her husband. No one has anything good to say about her including her.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Brovo!
Keep telling millennials that they are morally vague, self-centered and have no concept of history or America's place in the world. See what that gets you. I'll tell you what it gets you - President Trump. Millennials saw religious fanatics crash planes into the World Trade Center only to see American contemporaries do everything they could to disparage other religions, treat homosexuals as criminals, watch as black people are slain by cops and now seeing their transgender friends demonized. The reason why millennials are not frightened by Trump is that they have to deal with crap all of the time and they do not see how Hillary is going to make anything better than Trump will. The moral superiority, self centered bravado lies with the boomer Hillary supporters.
Democrats, we tried to warn you. How is that guilt and shame working out?
blame it on the press not Hillary's character
The spin on this Politico piece by Todd S. Purdum is that the media is responsible for Hillary's tendency to withhold the truth. (The writer must have forgotten what she did in her 20s working on the Nixon case before the press followed her as first lady.)
He builds his case over years of Clinton situations, but his logic is faulty and makes me see red. Gotta look it over for yourself:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/hillary-clinton-media-tra...
And then he uses the press excuse to set us up for a secretive (potential) Presidency:
Todd Purdum is Dee Dee Myer's husband, and she
is one of WJC's former Press Secretaries.
(Apparently, Purdum wrote a pretty tough story about WJC, and was flogged by him for doing so. Guess he now figures that it's safer to carry the C's water, than to cross them.)
Wikipedia, Todd S. Purdum
Mollie
“I believe in the redemptive powers of a dog’s love. It is in recognition of each dog’s potential to lift the human spirit, and, therefore, to change society for the better, that I fight to make sure every street dog has its day.”
--Stasha Wong, Secretary, Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
And the excuse would make
And the excuse would make that OK for her to '... run the most secretive White House in presidential history. ...' because her enemies might be out to get her? But she'll have access to the nukes, so there! Watch out, you evil Millennials! She knows where you are and the NSA knows what everybody did - if it wasn't buried in the global haystack of needles.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
"Blissfully unaware of the world and its dangers?"
What a fucking load of shit you're spreading, Mr. Kirchick. That goes for Trevor Thrall too. By the way, Dr. Thrall, (who works here: http://www.cato.org/people/trevor-thrall), I want to see your raw data and how your study was designed before it gets used by any more witnesses to the Holy PNAC Gospel of Washington Consensus. (Also, the organization you work for is comprised of fucking hypocrites--"libertarians" opposing Net Neutrality, pffft.)
How about catastrophic climate change, you bastard, you Cold War nostalgia hound. How about worldwide famine and poisoned water.
Oh, wait, I haven't introduced myself.
I'm Gen X. You know, one of the two generations you media access types always forget, because obviously America consists of Greatest Generation, Boomers, and Millenials, and nobody else.
I'm one of the two Cold War generations in this country. Born into it, grew up in it, saw it end. That's what we share with the Boomers.
So I think I'm in a pretty good position to discuss the relative value of knowing it's a Big Bad World Out There, Full of Dangers Like the Red Menace. I know all about the Monroe Doctrine, OK? I know there's a bear in the woods.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpwdcmjBgNA]
But guess what? I don't fucking care that there's a bear in the woods, because people like Hillary Clinton are clearcutting the woods, poisoning the water, and salting the earth. That's what she's doing in my part of the woods. On the other side of the woods, where other people live who speak different languages and worship different gods than me, she doesn't bother with clearcutting and poison--she just bombs the woods out of existence, leaving rubble, smoking wood fragments, and large piles of dead bodies (She says it's all in the good cause of stopping the bear, but I see a lot of guys in expensive suits behind her smirking, and I think somehow they must all be making money off the wreckage). She, and they, are also doing a lot of crap that seems to involve pushing most people down the economic ladder as far as possible, so that the people who *do* survive end up with much worse lives than their parents or grandparents had.
And you want me to be afraid of the Red Menace? Or, if not them, who? Scary Arab terrorists? China? North Korea?
Why should I be more afraid of them than my own ruling class? Because my own ruling class, while they have obliterated the legal differences between the United States and those other, more forthright police states, have not yet obliterated the customs of a civil society with guaranteed, legally defended, basic rights?
Now talk to me about how Black people and others were denied those rights, so it makes the very idea of those rights a bunch of elitist garbage.
Because obviously Black people are doing so great in this Brave New World your chosen candidate has spent the last 25 years helping to build.
Take your fake morality into your bomb shelter and watch reruns of Red Dawn, and stuff this attempt at generational warfare up your ass, you bootlicker of war profiteers, you smirking opinion-manager-for-pay.
EDITED because I keep thinking up new insults.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
more like "blissfully unaware of blowback"
apparently we have to keep killing people. That's worked so well that we have an eternal war. I used to be bewildered by The Hundred Years War. How could it go on so long? Now I know. There must have been the same sorts of dunces, sycophants and assorted clueless, uncaring dopes back then that we have now.
If I may:
FUCK. YEAH.
GenXer here. I know we haven't always agreed, but this is ON POINT.
Saving it. I may have to use it, and soon.
Dude, when have two Gen-X-ers
ever ALWAYS agreed?
I'm not aware we've got any problem.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I don't think we have a problem at all.
But I seem to recall that I've (hopefully respectfully) differed with you in the past. Which makes your point.
(Also, my memory may be shit!).
This makes me so mad I want to turn my rant
into a diary and pimp it on Twitter, but I don't want to distract from this diary, which is way more substantive.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Please do!
Try Medium! They accept bad words and everything!
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
This is something I haven't heard of...please share?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
It's medium.com -- a site with some interesting writers.
anyone can contribute (I think). I don't know much more than that. But I've read some great pieces there, including a few by Amy Casil about the shady dealings of the Clinton Foundation, which were outstanding!!
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. William Shakespeare
Exellent rant! Thanks CSTS
You're welcome, Shaz--
That guy done pissed me off.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I like your thinking and your
I like your thinking and your insults - they're far more concise, nicely constructed yet WAAAAAAY less obscene than most of mine. You need to work on that last!
Edited a reconstructed sentence to remove a redundant word. It got severance pay, though.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
LOL--I'll try to fix that.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Interesting
So Millennials are the only generation that has actually been paying attention to current events and not drifting into a dream world where our actions have no consequences.
Good for them.
I ascribe it to their skepticism about corporate media
and their tendency to get information from (many) other places, some better than others.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Bingo!
As I posted above, millennials have highly developed bullshit meters.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
I had given up on the millennials a few years ago.
I thought "If they're not willing to fight for 60 years of their future, then why should I"? (I recently joined the over 60 year old set.) Then came Occupy Wall Street. Then came Bernie. Then I changed my tune to "The Kids Are Alright".
"Just call me Hillbilly Dem(exit)."
-H/T to Wavey Davey
Occupy
was where I met a number of millennials and got a chance to talk to them one on one. They impressed the heck out of me. I think they have their priorities straight, at least the ones I met. And I am over 60 too.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Heya, gulfgal!
Been a while!
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Hi there!
You are still one of my two sig lines along with Dr. Cornel West. You are in good company, in my opinion, CSTS! I probably should update the attribution tho.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
I've noticed, and
I'm still flattered.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Why would anyone of sane mind
vote for this?
"Certainly, a great deal of the blame for our terrifying circumstances lies with Clinton herself. She is an abominable candidate, a wooden speaker, a cynical triangulator, and—to put it kindly—ethically challenged."
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Because they have
been frightened successfully. Oh my God The Hairball is so scary. Oh my God let Hilary win or else we get this abomination . So what is my answer. They both suck and are both so scary who gives a shit which lunatic we end up as president. Oh yeah and then we get the Democrat's in congress who say Hooray for our side including Bernie and the so called progressives. Fuck this Shit.
They both suck, is an understatement
So ya fuck this shit.
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Amen. If only I
could convince my (boomer) generation - who are retiring at the rate of 10,000 every day - (btw, where are those jobs we are leaving?) - whom, for the most part are phat and happy, that all is not well in Mudville.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
And here's another one.
The DNC and Hillary must have given everyone a bug.
http://m.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/09/dont-hate-millennials-save-i...
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Blaming Bernie for exposing
Blaming Bernie for exposing Hillary's faults, when those faults are hers alone...is like blaming the hackers for exposing the DNC e-mails leaks, when the voter suppression and other tactics were theirs alone.
Or maybe millennials are actually paying attention
and don't want to spend the next 50 or 60 years of their life in a polluted world with no drinking water and unbreathable air, looking for a job that pays more than 9 bucks an hour, while they get hounded by student loan credit collectors. You are right on with this:
I'm from the media ignored "Generation X", so I guess the media and clinton spin machine will have to find different way to blame me when their crappy corporate-owned right-wing candidate loses to a racist idiot.
Me too.
We mostly don't exist; maybe if we're lucky it'll stay that way!
"I'm Nobody--who are you?
Are you Nobody--too?
Then there's a pair of us! Don't tell!"
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Ah, yes. Moral relativism.
Because how can you fulfill the neocon dream in a world without moral absolutism to show that you have some sort of deity-given right to subjugate half the world?
Get off my lawn you little fuckers!!!!
What a load of bullshit from Chirchick. Stein needs to spread the word on this article. Just some random thoughts.
The dem party establishment is utter clueless about young people across races and nationality and what their lives are like. I really think they see Chelsea Clinton as somehow the model of this generation--who once said she couldn't bring herself to care about money.
Politically not sure how or where younger people will move. But I can see how many will move away and out of the Democratic party. One of effects of the race based attacks on Sander supporters is that those attacks completely left off class and made every issue about race--which I think will have some effect in the next few years.
The stance at TOP was very similar to what Southern factory owners used to divide black and white workers. Even though white workers/younger people were suffering economically, they had their white privilege which trumped everything according to TOP and Southern factory owners. So the message to white Bernie sander supporters is that yes, you have no jobs, incredible debt, no health insurance, no future, nor marriage, nor kids, and you are seeing your parents and friends lose their jobs and swirl downward in drug addiction and early deaths, you have white privilege. But hey, vote for Hillary.
I thought Bernie's campaign was able to bring people together on issues of both class and race in a way that the Dem establishment will never be able to do. After every despicable attack on Bernie supporters, including race baiting from John Lewis, Hillary goes ahead and picks as her VP a privileged white guy (able to take a year off Harvard Law), and with the revelation of the DNC emails, campaign guidance to Congressional candidates on how to marginalize BLM. The one champion of all young people of all races is cheated and we get the vicious status quo.
This cynicism has to come around at one point and bite the Democrats on the ass with this generation of young people.
Begun, the victim blaming has.
Your essay seems to sum it up nicely. Good job. N/t
-Greed is not a virtue.
-Socialism: the radical idea of sharing.
-Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
John F. Kennedy, In a speech at the White House, 1962
Millennials are #3 on this blame list...
From Huffington Post, 9/19, Why Hillary Lost: A Premature Obit:
here's the list, 1-9
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