the insider traders of the attention economy
July 22, 2016 11:26 AM Subscribe
Laurie Penny (So many good previouslier posts.) writes about attending a rally at the RNC and how performative bigotry and ignorance have created such fertile feeding ground for the trolls.
This is a story about how trolls took the wheel of the clown car of modern politics. It’s a story about the insider traders of the attention economy. It’s a story about fear and loathing and Donald Trump and you and me.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Let's keep additional RNC reaction stuff to yesterday's thread for now. -- cortex
Sophie Yanow has a comic for The Nib about the same event: “Mean Streets Day 3: The Alt-Right Gay Party”
posted by Going To Maine at 11:45 AM on July 22, 2016
posted by Going To Maine at 11:45 AM on July 22, 2016
Wow that was depressing. Although "we're here, we're queer, your politics are really weird" is definitely winning my Best Political Chant of the Week award.
On the other hand, it was nice to have it confirmed to me that Boris Johnson has bizarre, terrible hair - that hair has confused me for all of Brexit, but I haven't wanted to bring it up and the British commenters I've read have largely been silent on the subject. I suppose they're used to it.
On a third hand: someone once described me as one of the least British people they'd ever met, but I didn't get a chance to ask why. Penny has illuminated me - I have no ironic distance and an excess of sincerity and that's probably the reason.
posted by Frowner at 11:46 AM on July 22, 2016
On the other hand, it was nice to have it confirmed to me that Boris Johnson has bizarre, terrible hair - that hair has confused me for all of Brexit, but I haven't wanted to bring it up and the British commenters I've read have largely been silent on the subject. I suppose they're used to it.
On a third hand: someone once described me as one of the least British people they'd ever met, but I didn't get a chance to ask why. Penny has illuminated me - I have no ironic distance and an excess of sincerity and that's probably the reason.
posted by Frowner at 11:46 AM on July 22, 2016
It's odd how they're all just saying what people really think, but also any individual statement is not meant as a serious, evaluatable expression.
“Everyone’s a good person deep down,”
nope!
The rush to humanize 'monsters,' gave us the 'they're a good person' contradiction: if someone can be a good person outside of their actions, then of course there must also be 'bad people' ouside of their actions.
The disassociation of the universal good framework from it's religious underpinnings (specifically in the West, Chrsitianity), has allowed the promulgation of 'good person' without any framework1 to evaluate 'good/bad.'
Rather, we should evaluate actions, good and bad, but here in the land of moral relativism, that has become impossible.
I keep returning to Frowner's comment about how certain critiques of the Enlightenment consensus, meant to expose the contradictions of and inadequacies (and eventually, expand their meanings to) in things like "all men are created equal," were and are used to attack that consensus.
1: right thought, right word, right action
EDIT: Hi Frowner!
posted by the man of twists and turns at 11:47 AM on July 22, 2016
“Everyone’s a good person deep down,”
nope!
The rush to humanize 'monsters,' gave us the 'they're a good person' contradiction: if someone can be a good person outside of their actions, then of course there must also be 'bad people' ouside of their actions.
The disassociation of the universal good framework from it's religious underpinnings (specifically in the West, Chrsitianity), has allowed the promulgation of 'good person' without any framework1 to evaluate 'good/bad.'
Rather, we should evaluate actions, good and bad, but here in the land of moral relativism, that has become impossible.
I keep returning to Frowner's comment about how certain critiques of the Enlightenment consensus, meant to expose the contradictions of and inadequacies (and eventually, expand their meanings to) in things like "all men are created equal," were and are used to attack that consensus.
1: right thought, right word, right action
EDIT: Hi Frowner!
posted by the man of twists and turns at 11:47 AM on July 22, 2016
One journalist from a major mainstream outlet breaks down in tears.And that's what this is all really about and it's why I still worry about the election despite the right's campaign being a literal dumpster fire. Hating is just so god damn easy and seductive. It's their fault and we're going to get rid of them. Never mind I know these groups they talk about. I know people in them. I love the people in them. There's going to be bad people in any sub-group but on the whole the vast, vast majority of these groups really just want to get along and live in peace. But they are the other to the monsters of the political arena and it's just so easy to blame them for everything and just so easy to go along with them thinking if we get rid of the other things will go back to "normal".
“It’s just — there’s so much hate,” she says, as a couple of glitterpunks move in to comfort her. “What is happening to this country?”
posted by Talez at 11:49 AM on July 22, 2016
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posted by SansPoint at 11:44 AM on July 22, 2016 [1 favorite]