i think what we'relearningthough is that the much maligned "political correctness" over the past twenty years have really achieved something, important culturally, because this shit is really backfiring. they thought they could turn it on and boom, the hateful psyche of the white american middle class would just overflow and it would be full of fasho bloodlust, and the elites would be attracted to the transgressiveness of saying naughty things. not so. the majority are really feeling just revulsion, aghast, just looking at this circus with contempt.
"Worse even still (for the Right), Americans say that Obama’s selection of Joe Biden makes them more likely to vote for Obama by a margin of 11% (34-23%), but say that McCain’s selection of Palin makes them less likely to vote for McCain by a margin of 8% (32-40%) (Fox 8-9). And in the last month alone, the percent saying that McCain’s selection of Palin has made them less likely to vote for McCain has increased substantially (31% to 40%).
Even worse (for the Right), Obama the Terrorist now has the highest favorability rating of any of the four candidates (60%), while Palin the New Reagan Superstar has the lowest (47%). And even Biden’s favorability rating (57%) is higher than McCain’s (53). More revealingly, Palin has the highest unfavorability rating (42%), followed by McCain (40%), Obama (34%) and Biden (29%) (Fox 13-16).
And in the last month — as the McCain/Palin campaign began spewing their bile — Obama’s favorability rating has increased (57% to 60%) while his unfavorability rating has declined (36% to 34%). By contrast, McCain’s favorability/unfavorability ratings have plummeted during this same time (60/33 to 53/40), as has Palin’s (54/27 to 47/42). Standing next to Sarah Palin in that debate has turned Joe Biden — Joe Biden — into a wildly popular politician in America, with a 57/29 favorability rating.
In sum, the more Americans see of and hear from Sarah Palin and are exposed to her filthy smear politics, the worse she looks to them. And the more the McCain/Palin campaign attacks Obama with ugly, despicable smears, the worse McCain/Palin look, while Obama’s popularity with Americans continues to solidify and even gradually increase (Americans believe Obama is “trustworthy” by an overwhelming margin of 60-32%) (Fox 36)."
I think it's a little different. This kind of xenophobic, racist message is supposed to remain hidden, it's there for the people who want to find it and not there for the others.
But now you see two things happening; on the one hand, perhaps a result of "political correctness", those who are not supposed to see it, notice it anyway. And, on the other hand, the intended audience somehow feels that dogwhistles that they alone can hear aren't good enough anymore, and they start screaming "terrist", "traitor", "Arab" etc.
So the whole thing breaks down: you can actually see it in McCain's face in this clip. When the woman says, I do not believe we can trust Obama, McCain nods, because that's exactly what his campaign is about, insinuate that there is something wrong with him. But when she says "Arab" out loud, the double meaning collapses, and he is left no choice.
yeah you're right - itslike they pitched too wide. the christocrazies and freemarkeets know it's just between us; also the scapegoating and demonisation is too broad and opportunistic in a way, people had to say it out loud, terrorist-arab-black man. because that sequence is kind of precarious, new, its not a single cliché, its a couple of different clichés, a mashup of figures and images.
but also the mass media this time pulled the curtain - chris matthews said out loud it's a dogwhistle, it's an insinuation, and so there is was, the topic of the dogwhistle placed in the spectacle.
its like they worked so hard at refining the image of "arab" and "terrorist", those islamix, its features, then trying to make the mash up with barack obama, whom the right worked to fit at first into another image, another code, and they are straining to put them together people have to say it, sort of ask for help on this one. "hussein"; its struggling. for the most-voting generation today, in their young adult years, the most famous american in the world AND in the US, more recognisable than any president, higher q score than any politician, the figure that was most identifiable as the image of American Greatness, was named "Muhammad Ali".
i think what we'relearningthough is that the much maligned "political correctness" over the past twenty years have really achieved something, important culturally, because this shit is really backfiring. they thought they could turn it on and boom, the hateful psyche of the white american middle class would just overflow and it would be full of fasho bloodlust, and the elites would be attracted to the transgressiveness of saying naughty things. not so. the majority are really feeling just revulsion, aghast, just looking at this circus with contempt.
ReplyDelete"Worse even still (for the Right), Americans say that Obama’s selection of Joe Biden makes them more likely to vote for Obama by a margin of 11% (34-23%), but say that McCain’s selection of Palin makes them less likely to vote for McCain by a margin of 8% (32-40%) (Fox 8-9). And in the last month alone, the percent saying that McCain’s selection of Palin has made them less likely to vote for McCain has increased substantially (31% to 40%).
ReplyDeleteEven worse (for the Right), Obama the Terrorist now has the highest favorability rating of any of the four candidates (60%), while Palin the New Reagan Superstar has the lowest (47%). And even Biden’s favorability rating (57%) is higher than McCain’s (53). More revealingly, Palin has the highest unfavorability rating (42%), followed by McCain (40%), Obama (34%) and Biden (29%) (Fox 13-16).
And in the last month — as the McCain/Palin campaign began spewing their bile — Obama’s favorability rating has increased (57% to 60%) while his unfavorability rating has declined (36% to 34%). By contrast, McCain’s favorability/unfavorability ratings have plummeted during this same time (60/33 to 53/40), as has Palin’s (54/27 to 47/42). Standing next to Sarah Palin in that debate has turned Joe Biden — Joe Biden — into a wildly popular politician in America, with a 57/29 favorability rating.
In sum, the more Americans see of and hear from Sarah Palin and are exposed to her filthy smear politics, the worse she looks to them. And the more the McCain/Palin campaign attacks Obama with ugly, despicable smears, the worse McCain/Palin look, while Obama’s popularity with Americans continues to solidify and even gradually increase (Americans believe Obama is “trustworthy” by an overwhelming margin of 60-32%) (Fox 36)."
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/10/10/polls/index.html
granted in a country as big as the US, even those numbers of people supporting this garbage are pretty scary, tens of millions, but still.
I think it's a little different. This kind of xenophobic, racist message is supposed to remain hidden, it's there for the people who want to find it and not there for the others.
ReplyDeleteBut now you see two things happening; on the one hand, perhaps a result of "political correctness", those who are not supposed to see it, notice it anyway. And, on the other hand, the intended audience somehow feels that dogwhistles that they alone can hear aren't good enough anymore, and they start screaming "terrist", "traitor", "Arab" etc.
So the whole thing breaks down: you can actually see it in McCain's face in this clip. When the woman says, I do not believe we can trust Obama, McCain nods, because that's exactly what his campaign is about, insinuate that there is something wrong with him. But when she says "Arab" out loud, the double meaning collapses, and he is left no choice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKUovpF9LWU
ReplyDeleteyeah you're right - itslike they pitched too wide. the christocrazies and freemarkeets know it's just between us; also the scapegoating and demonisation is too broad and opportunistic in a way, people had to say it out loud, terrorist-arab-black man. because that sequence is kind of precarious, new, its not a single cliché, its a couple of different clichés, a mashup of figures and images.
ReplyDeletebut also the mass media this time pulled the curtain - chris matthews said out loud it's a dogwhistle, it's an insinuation, and so there is was, the topic of the dogwhistle placed in the spectacle.
its like they worked so hard at refining the image of "arab" and "terrorist", those islamix, its features, then trying to make the mash up with barack obama, whom the right worked to fit at first into another image, another code, and they are straining to put them together people have to say it, sort of ask for help on this one. "hussein"; its struggling. for the most-voting generation today, in their young adult years, the most famous american in the world AND in the US, more recognisable than any president, higher q score than any politician, the figure that was most identifiable as the image of American Greatness, was named "Muhammad Ali".
ReplyDelete