Tuesday, May 5, 2020

When you lose Sean Hannity

You've lost the battle.  So Sean Hannity came out - that's Sean Hannity - and criticized those who are showing up at protests armed to the teeth.  Supposedly they are there to protest the draconian measures implemented by various governors, most specifically Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer.  Granted, that level of overreach she engaged in will provoke extreme reactions.  Extreme measures often do that.  Perhaps that was her goal.  I don't know.

But don't play her game if it was.  Don't come out as if you have a checklist of 'stereotypes of racist murderous gun worshiping Right Wing terrorists' and made sure you had it completed. 

I realize it isn't easy.  If a million conservatives showed up to a march and one person brought a confederate flag, the press would spend three days covering Nazis in Moose Lake.  A million women gathered to celebrate the glories of abortion in order to have gobs of sex and money, while working with racists and antisemitic leaders, will see the press focus on the most sane and balanced and restrained representatives imaginable.  You'll have to go to Social Media to see the ugly.

Such is propaganda.  But don't help it out for crying out loud.  I get that some things - like 'we need haircut' signs - were meant to be clever or witty, but have instead been used to mock those concerned about freedoms and low income earners hurt by the quarantines.  No matter what you do right, the press will happily find the worst spin imaginable if you're not part of the Revolution.  But that doesn't mean go the whole-hog and decide to help them out. 

You can leave the guns and body armor and mainline battle tanks at home.  Show up, even wear a mask to show you're not just flipping the bird randomly at any and all rules.  The press will still find the worst and spin the worst.  Those who are part of the Revolution will jump on whatever bad they can find.  But at least it will be despite what you've done, rather than because of it. Remember, at times it's not a case of right and wrong, but smart and dumb.

4 comments:

  1. Well the haircut thing was a "take that" because the governor (or maybe it was a legislator, I forget) was seen getting their hair cut. So the haircut sign was a "rules for thee but not for me" kind of protest.

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    1. I had no clue exactly why. I knew it had to be something like that. I just know that now it has become a meme to attack those who are protesting, as if they are saying 'I'd rather people die so I can get a haircut.'

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    2. Yeah, what is usually being glossed over in these things is that a lot of people are getting annoyed at the double standards. "If I can't get a haircut without killing someone, then why is [politician] getting a haircut? Isn't [politician] putting people at risk too?"

      It's like the global warming/climate change thing. If it's so bad and dangerous, why aren't the conferences telecommute affairs, etc etc.

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    3. Unfortunately, we live in an age where activists increasingly demand solutions that are sure to impact anyone but the activists demanding the solutions.

      But as for being glossed over, I've come to realize that right now, 90% of the news of the world is being glossed over. Basically we hear the same five stories repeated every day in some form or another, and that's it: the 2 stats; focus on 'front line' workers, with heavy emphasis on medical pros; debates about loosening restrictions (almost always critical of doing so); criticism of President Trump's handling of the virus; happy stories about people doing nice things - almost always from decidedly upper middle class or better surroundings. That's it. Much of that coverage is out of context and with not many details being mentioned.

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