Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Today In Both Sides Do It: The Return of the Pope of the Church of Both Siderism



In which Mr. David Brooks of the New York Times returns once again to his factory default setting.

Once again Mr. Brooks finds New and Exciting Ways to indict Both Sides:
We’ve had a tutorial on worry this year. The election campaign isn’t really about policy proposals, issue solutions or even hope. It’s led by two candidates who arouse gargantuan anxieties, fear and hatred in their opponents.

Educated-class anxiety can often be characterized as a feeling overabundant of options without a core of convicting purpose...

This election has also presented members of the educated class with an awful possibility: that their pleasant social strata may rest on unstable molten layers of anger, bigotry and instability. How could this guy Trump get even 40 percent of the votes? America may be not quite the country we thought it was...

Among the less educated, anxiety flows from and inflames a growing sense that the structures of society are built for the exploitation of people like themselves. Everything is rigged; the rulers are malevolent and corrupt...

It is a well-established fact that people who experience social exclusion have a tendency to slide toward superstitious and conspiratorial thinking...
Once again Mr. Brooks memory-holes the shit out recent American political history to eradicate any mention of how Conservatives have treated the Left for years:
We’ve seen a level of thuggery this election cycle that is without precedent in recent American history. Some of the anti-Trump demonstrators seem more interested in violence than politics. Some of the Trumpians are savage.
Once again Mr. Brooks is overflowing with pious alarm and botheration over the Shocking Discovery that his Republican Party is full of beasts...

...now that those beasts have finally shown up at the door of people like David Brooks:
David French wrote a shocking essay for National Review describing the appalling online abuse he suffered because of his anti-Trump stance.
And once again Mr. Brooks sings his plutocrat benefactors to sleep with a bedtime story about how, any day now, his Republican party will spontaneously grow opposable thumbs and climb down out of the Stupid Tree:
If you’re worrying, you’re spiraling into your own narcissistic pool. But concrete plans and actions thrust us into the daily fact of other people’s lives. This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return.
Once again, our elite media is gearing up to drive this latest Republican atrocity out to the swamps and bury it in the same Memory Hole down which it has shoved every other Republican atrocity.

And once again, the same ragged line of dirty hippies will be the only ones standing athwart the roaring river of Strategic Forgettery coming our way, shouting "Stop!"

Just you wait and see.
Behold, a Tip Jar!


7 comments:

dinthebeast said...

Wait, how did we end up being the ones standing athwart something and shouting "Stop!"? Perhaps we should try another tactic, that one didn't work all that well for the conservatives.
I'll let you know if I come up with anything.
You know, for someone with so little actual insight, DFB sure is a pompous ass.

-Doug in Oakland

trgahan said...

"Educated-class anxiety" can more accurately be described as white professionals who damn well know it's all bullshit, but are too lazy, scared, and greedy to let go of the fairy tale version of American Brooks et al. sells them every day so they can sleep at night.

"...and governing, thank God, will soon return."

Mr. Brooks,

Congressional Republicans have already stated they will be doing more of the same obstruction under a President Clinton. Also, American, Chinese, and Russian right wing oligarchs who fund your party have prospered mightily since Republicans decided to ratfuck our government because the President's skin hue was incorrect. Please provide supporting evidence that the people who sign you paychecks want governance?


RUKidding said...

"This election has also presented members of the educated class with an awful possibility: that their pleasant social strata may rest on unstable molten layers of anger, bigotry and instability."

This election just "presented" the edumacated "betters" with the reality of the swamp-pit that the GOP has always been, at least since Nixon?

Bitch, please! Show some self-respect, at least.

You've all known this since the days of Nixon. You just didn't want your snooty snobby noses rubbed in it. You are all no better than the loathsome racist, rabid, sexist, nasty, fugly, hateful, xenophobic, bigoted, homophobic, Trumpies out there. And I mean you, too, DFBs. You are the King of this deplorable shit heap, no matter how much you try to run away from it with your snobby nose all wrinkled up at the smelly Nazi white supremacists that you tried so hard to ignore, whilst also fluffing them because it meant filthy lucre in your pockets.

Rugosa said...

people who experience social exclusion have a tendency to slide toward superstitious and conspiratorial thinking It's hardly superstitious or conspiratorial to recognize that you are are experiencing social exclusion. In fact, if you are experiencing such, it's a good idea to have a healthy skepticism toward the ruling class. They don't have your interests in mind.

Pagan in repose said...

A question for DFB:

If “Some of the anti-Trump demonstrators seem more interested in violence than politics.” Is true, and “David French wrote a shocking essay for National Review describing the appalling online abuse he suffered because of his anti-Trump stance.” Is true, then David French would be “…more interested in violence than politics.” At least by DFB’s logic gate mash up. So what does DFB think about David French since this new shit has come to light, man, sir…hasn’t this occurred to you?

jim said...

Sourcing the sudden surge of thuggery?
Apparently an epic lift that's beyond even Bobo's pay grade.

That people experiencing increased social exclusion have historically often been doing so while being the prime targets of real conspiracies - or that a smorgasbord of superstitions are sold to them explicitly to keep them excluded - are of course far beyond the space (quiet, well-lit rooms?) where Serious People have their discourse.

dave said...

i see so many 'both sides do it, two terrible candidates, emails, benghazi, joe-ghazi, tom-ghazi, dick-ghazi, dis-respectful potus, bare armed, husbands a hound, obamacare, locker room, etc. etc.'

not very shiny, not distractive, not relevant, snoozeroo!

trump is a crap human being and if you favor what he says the mainstream gop can't give you cover, not this time...the group that liked george wallace, baby bush, palin and the rest of the monsters don't have your back. not this time--you are on your own.