"Realists do not fear the results of their study." -- Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Professional Left Podcast with Driftglass and Blue Gal
Ep 866: 'Polarization' Is The New 'Both Sides Do It'
Recorded January 7, 2025
We discuss how mainstream media continues to normalize extremism while Vice President Harris certifies her own election loss. How the media landscape is shifting in concerning ways, from the Washington Post's 'troubles' to Meta's new MAGA-friendly policies.
- The contrast between VP Harris's honorable certification of results versus the events of January 6th, 2021
- Historical parallels: Rush Limbaugh's "rooting for failure" approach during Obama's presidency
- Major changes at Meta/Facebook, dropping fact-checkers and relaxing content restrictions = we're OUT.
- Media coverage of the January 6th anniversary uses the passive voice, as well as the Webster's Dictionary word of the year for 2024, "polarization." UGH.
Programming Note
Thursday marks the podcast's FIFTEENTH-anniversary show!
Stay in Touch!
- Email: proleftpodcast@gmail.com
- Website: proleftpod.com
- Support via Patreon: patreon.com/proleftpod
- Mail: The Professional Left, PO Box 9133, Springfield, Illinois, 62791
Not safe for work.
Links:
The Professional Left is brought to you by our wholly imaginary
"sponsors" and real listeners like you!
4 comments:
Absolutely. As you've pointed out countless times, when the media (sic) says "congress is gridlocked", the proper response is "it's the Republicans, stupid!".
Now when they say the country is polarized, the proper response is "it's the reprogrammable meat bags, stupids!"
If I see the word "polarized" in an opinion piece, I don't waste my time reading it. It's my signal for someone who just regurgitates conventional wisdom in the approved words. "Polarized" isn't just both-sides, it also (a) normalizes the cult by putting them, with us, on a spectrum; and (b) postulates a spectrum with no one in the middle - pushing the Overton window way to the Right. In actuality, two-thirds of the population are on a Bell curve of general democratic thought around the corporate-right "middle," and the other one-third are wholly off the spectrum in a realm of delusion.
The other code word is "partisan." "Partisan" means taking sides via affiliation to a group. Those aligned with the Republican party are "partisan" - they go with the team without regard to substantive reasoning about working toward a nation's aspirations. Those aligned with the Democratic party aren't "partisan" - we support the Democrats because the only other option is baldly pathological and earth/humanity destroying.
I know it is not the democratic party's nature to do it but, I think they should for 4 years not vote for any spending bill. Not a one.
Shut the government down and let GOP and Trump flounder.
Do not make any deals to help pass spending to cover items they are for but allowing republican ills as well.
Then, we could say the GOP failed. Oh, and that now burh sides done it.
Thanks for the cast as always, ya'll.
Sharing a knee-jerk response as I listened:
At 40:44, DG speaking: "And so we have to act as are an occupied country run by monstrously evil people who want to do us harm."
Me, speaking out loud to an empty office, "ACT AS IF?!"
(I know what you were saying. I'm feeling a sense of dizzy unreality about all of this.)
Thanks for all you do.
Post a Comment