09-11-2024, 12:49 AM
Everybody showing their asses these days:
Making excuses for Trumpers like Nate Silver.
BoTh SiDeS
https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/you-have-to-be-an-absolute-lunatic wrote:I find the rise of BlueMAGA very disturbing, and I’m surprised more people don’t. Or perhaps I’m not surprised; within progressive circles there can be a strong social prohibition against speaking frankly about this tendency, for fear of giving support to the enemy. Just mentioning this cadre of deranged obsessives, who frequently express violent sentiment towards Donald Trump, his family, and Republicans in general, reliably gets me shouts of “FALSE EQUIVALENCE! BOTH SIDES-ISM!” and similar. I suspect that this mostly stems from progressives deliberately looking away from the pro-Dem online cesspool that’s developed in the past decade, or barring that, from thinking that team blue needs an abusive and psychotic online cult of its own. One way or another, they’re out there, in great numbers, and they exhibit all of the ugly elements of online extremism that we’ve grown accustomed to. Yes, yes, I’m sure regular MAGA is worse. That doesn’t erase the problem, and you should want better than that.Defending the far-right NYT.
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This is the kind of thing that I write that reliably results in a bunch of readers groaning and saying, “Yes, of course you’re right, but why do we have to talk about this? This doesn’t matter.” But I simply don’t agree - I find this kind of rabid Democrat tribalism to be increasingly hard to avoid, and it exhibits all of the ugly elements of binary thinking, vicious rejection of dissent, willingness to traffic in conspiracy theory, and loose grasp on the truth that many people have rightfully fretted over when it comes from the conservative side.
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The most widespread BlueMAGA behavior, currently, is an absolutely rabid dedication to the idea that any polling that does not show a decisive lead for Harris is the product of Russian disinformation or the evil of Nate Silver or the machinations of The New York Times, which is alleged to be a dedicated anti-Kamala publication despite publishing five pieces a day with headlines like “How a Kamala Harris Victory Could Create a Time Loop That Would Prevent the Assassination of Medgar Evers.” There are so many people right now who dismiss any poll that doesn’t show Kamala dominance, it’s remarkably - especially because Democrats have spent several election cycles mocking Republicans for their belief in “skewed polls”! It seems like the desire for Harris to win is so enormous that people just can’t allow themselves to admit that this election is currently a total tossup. New York magazine can’t stop running essays about how Kamala is guaranteed to win because of THE POWER OF LOVE or whatever. But winning requires thinking, thinking clearly.
This whole thing creeps me out. If you’re the party that’s opposed to tribalism and misinformation and conspiracy theory, maybe do a little policing of your own coalition in that regard? Yes, Trump is worse. But so what?
Making excuses for Trumpers like Nate Silver.
BoTh SiDeS