link Ferguson Decision Protesters Target Black Friday Sales.
One of the most useful techniques employed in the influencing of public perception is the shrewd use of language. As we all know by now, nobody ever calls a spade, a spade. It’s called a personal dirt removal apparatus, or a suit other than hearts, clubs or diamonds as the case may be. When you go to rent a car these days, the “mid size sedan” is actually a Mini Cooper. It’s hard to buy a plain hamburger anymore, the entry level is always the “deluxe” burger. The Rolling Stones go on their farewell tour…number 4.
In politics, the labelling of policies with Orwellian gibberish is standard operating procedure. Take for example, the “Affordable Care Act”; “Global Warming”; “man caused disaster” and of course, “Democratic Party”.
The recent violence in Ferguson, Missouri erupted after a grand jury verdict found no fault with the police officer involved in a deadly shooting of a black man. This provided the news starved media with 24 hour coverage that has been shamelessly portrayed through their prism. Despite overwhelming testimony by eye witnesses that Mr. Brown was shot dead because of his criminal actions and not because of his race, the narrative has morphed into a case of institutionalized racial oppression. What’s amusing is that the perpetrators of burning buildings and police cars and destroyers of businesses are benignly labeled as “protesters”. This is akin to calling the thugs who went on the riotous tear through Vancouver after a loss in a Stanley cup game years ago, hockey fans. In labelling the thugs who are destroying their community, “protesters”, they dignify the jerks who happen to enjoy a good wilding under pretext of a legitimate cause.
I’m not so sure that the public would be so accepting of their actions if they were labeled as what they actually are: criminal activities. What if the headlines read “Missouri town invaded by looters and hooligans”? Or how about “All you can smash day declared for Ferguson”. Or they could simply rename the town of Ferguson; call it Mad Maxville.
What if people had a bad meal at PF Chang’s and decided to ransack the town— and towns all over the country? What about annoying people who are only doing their Christmas shopping? People have cut these “protesters” lots of slack because the media has portrayed them as exponents of a festering racial issue. But they’re not; they’re simply criminals being allowed to run amok. I wonder if the media can be sued for aiding and abetting? It’s also going to be curious to see how long the thugs can go on creating havoc under cover of their cause. We’re not sure what the statute of limitations is on legitimate protest versus garden variety breaking and entering. I wonder if people can still run around causing havoc in “protest” over the O.J. Simpson verdict.
link Wearied by partisan warfare, many women desert Obamas Democrats – Yahoo News.
The headline reads that women deserted the Obama Democrats because of partisan warfare. That’s a big slice of round processed meat. As politicians have learned (or not) over and over again in all societies, the only issues that really matter are the ones that affect personal pocketbooks and circumstances.
The political left have consistently employed one classic tool in their on going efforts to harvest the hearts and minds of the populace. That tool is the balkanization of the population. If there are aggrieved groups to pander to, the political left will position themselves as their champions, to be their voice in the larger oppressive society. The rise of the Obama phenomenon was a perfect storm in the history of the United States since he was anointed with the role of savior of all aggrieved groups, not to mention fixer of the weather. When he was elected, the populace lavished the kind of adoration upon him that would make 12 year old girls at a Justin Bieber concert wince. The ebullient period of his ascent in 2008 and through to the 2012 vote was a time when every aggrieved group felt that their particular gripes would be addressed.
Only they weren’t. Instead, the agenda consisted of ideological programs that were wanted by no one except the ideologues. From government mandated health care, to EPA lunacy, to porous borders to ill advised withdrawal of troops from the Middle East, all of these were botched resulting in the worst possible outcomes for Americans. When the realities of having to govern a complex society within a complex world became evident, it became more and more obvious that he was woefully ill equipped for the role. It’s as if Justin Bieber was asked to run the country. With the inventory of failed policies and initiatives piling up like crashed cars in fog storm, even the most ardent followers and supporters deserted the ship. When it became obvious that individuals’ circumstances were not only not improving but deteriorating, something had to change. The results of the recently held mid term elections were a resounding repudiation of the Obama programs; by all of his constituencies.
Women didn’t desert because of bickering, nor did the blacks, the latinos, the gays or students. That’s non sensical. Why wouldn’t they desert the Republicans? That’s as logical as opening the windows because you feel a draft. It wasn’t because they wanted the battling to stop; it’s because they wanted to stop Obama. In an article written here a few years ago, we commented on the aftermath of the 2012 vote and its implications: 2012 vote . The thesis was that the vote then did not signal a massive ideological shift of the population since core American values hadn’t changed. It appears that assumption was correct. In an interview the day after this most recent vote, the President claims to have heard the people, invoking his own famous quote from his election victory years ago, “elections have consequences”. Interestingly, he claims to have also heard the 2/3 of the population that didn’t vote. What that quote tells you is that the President has moved to another state after the election—the state of denial.