Timely essay. Orion makes a good point. For so long the responsible media as you note gave equal time and gravitas to candidates, includiong Trump. MSNBC changed, then CNN, and now the NYTs. For so many years the media treated Trump as good copy that helped attract readers and watchers without critical analysis. In fact, CNN continues to feature 'the other side' on its discussion panels as if defending Trump was legitimate.
I couldn't agree more completely and more emphatically, both with regard to Trump and to the dismal failure of the media to portray him accurately. As I argued in my own treatment of Trump and the media (https://tonygreco.substack.com/p/trump-and-the-media-iii), Trump would almost surely not have won the GOP nomination in 2016 had the media treated him as the unfit and unserious candidate that he was, and is.
I can recall about a decade's worth of effort to paint Trump as a fascist, and Paxton in particular has been at it for maybe half that time. Those attempts, as well as this more recent stunt coordinated among legacy media outlets, have gone over like a lead balloon: in each of his three elections, the guy's been pulling numbers that would make Hitler blush, and his share of the minority vote has grown dramatically since his first run. Why do you think that is?
A long, complex and grim analysis of the state of the American public, its resentments, the relationship of tribalism to belief, the siloing effects of social media, and a very shallow fund of political information.
I have just cancelled my subscriptions to the Washington Post and to Amazon Prime. I intend to boycott all fascist-aligned businesses until saner minds prevail.
If all Democrats stopped buying from Amazon even for only a few weeks, the message would be unequivocal.
It boggles the mind, but it can happen here in part because of big money and a captured media. But let’s not ignore religious fanaticism. I prefer to call Trump a would-be dictator to a fascist because it’s a meaningless term to most Americans. (Trump has called Harris a fascist). Also, Hitler wannabe isn’t too strong for me.
How can you be afraid of something you can’t define? I bet most Trump supporters don’t know what a fascist is! And why would we expect those who do know to care?
There is an component of fascism which this otherwise brilliant discussion overlooks. The willing complicity of corporate and monied interests goes a long way toward explaining the lack of critical insight on the part of main stream media, which itself is a captured industry owned entirely by six or seven megacorporations or or wealthy families. Alarms have been ringing all throughout independent media for months if not years. The fact that the venerable "gray lady" has chosen to ignore these warnings until it is arguably too late may be the result of a careful calculation on the part of her publisher. Don't be so surprised.
Excellent point! If one looks at fascist regimes, Nazi Germany and others, a major dynamics was the tight collusion between the state and powerful corporate enterprises. As with so much in our society, the media has long become big business, eager to augment its economic interests as its highest priority.
Timely essay. Orion makes a good point. For so long the responsible media as you note gave equal time and gravitas to candidates, includiong Trump. MSNBC changed, then CNN, and now the NYTs. For so many years the media treated Trump as good copy that helped attract readers and watchers without critical analysis. In fact, CNN continues to feature 'the other side' on its discussion panels as if defending Trump was legitimate.
I couldn't agree more completely and more emphatically, both with regard to Trump and to the dismal failure of the media to portray him accurately. As I argued in my own treatment of Trump and the media (https://tonygreco.substack.com/p/trump-and-the-media-iii), Trump would almost surely not have won the GOP nomination in 2016 had the media treated him as the unfit and unserious candidate that he was, and is.
Thoughtful case for calling Trump a fascist
I can recall about a decade's worth of effort to paint Trump as a fascist, and Paxton in particular has been at it for maybe half that time. Those attempts, as well as this more recent stunt coordinated among legacy media outlets, have gone over like a lead balloon: in each of his three elections, the guy's been pulling numbers that would make Hitler blush, and his share of the minority vote has grown dramatically since his first run. Why do you think that is?
A long, complex and grim analysis of the state of the American public, its resentments, the relationship of tribalism to belief, the siloing effects of social media, and a very shallow fund of political information.
That does indeed sound long, complex, and grim. A more straightforward take might focus on the failings of the people he runs against.
Spot on. Thank you Joe
I have just cancelled my subscriptions to the Washington Post and to Amazon Prime. I intend to boycott all fascist-aligned businesses until saner minds prevail.
If all Democrats stopped buying from Amazon even for only a few weeks, the message would be unequivocal.
Indeed! Very good work!
It boggles the mind, but it can happen here in part because of big money and a captured media. But let’s not ignore religious fanaticism. I prefer to call Trump a would-be dictator to a fascist because it’s a meaningless term to most Americans. (Trump has called Harris a fascist). Also, Hitler wannabe isn’t too strong for me.
How can you be afraid of something you can’t define? I bet most Trump supporters don’t know what a fascist is! And why would we expect those who do know to care?
I suspect that it is worth caring about because of the extraordinary dangers that fascism and fascists bring to the nations they seek to dominate.
There is an component of fascism which this otherwise brilliant discussion overlooks. The willing complicity of corporate and monied interests goes a long way toward explaining the lack of critical insight on the part of main stream media, which itself is a captured industry owned entirely by six or seven megacorporations or or wealthy families. Alarms have been ringing all throughout independent media for months if not years. The fact that the venerable "gray lady" has chosen to ignore these warnings until it is arguably too late may be the result of a careful calculation on the part of her publisher. Don't be so surprised.
Excellent point! If one looks at fascist regimes, Nazi Germany and others, a major dynamics was the tight collusion between the state and powerful corporate enterprises. As with so much in our society, the media has long become big business, eager to augment its economic interests as its highest priority.