Gullibility

[johnridley]

Was watching the Daily Show yesterday. They were talking to some amazingly stupid people outside a Palin rally. I realize that it's the job of the Daily Show to find morons to parade, but it was still scary.

These people seemed to be completely serious when they said that if Obama was elected, he'd walk into the White House in a turban, drop the border security and we'd be overrun with islamic terrorists overnight, and America as we know it would fall immediately. They really seemed to honestly believe every piece of ridiculous garbage that's been fed to them.

Not only that, but they seem to believe that the president would even have the power to do such a thing.

The amount of misinformation that seems to be spreading underground is absolutely amazing. There is a whole underground out there that believes that neither Obama nor McCain are eligible to run for president because Obama was born in Kenya (he wasn't) and McCain was born in Panama (true, but on a US base, so that's OK).

These people are really working themselves into a froth. The sad part is, I can see what's underneath it. They're terrified of black people and won't admit it.

Comments

[kevinnickerson.livejournal.com]

To be fair, they found a bunch of idiots at an Obama rally too. (Monday ep, I haven't seen Tuesday yet)

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

True, they're always able to find idiots everywhere. But the things the people at the Obama rally were saying weren't nearly as jaw-droppingly moronic.

[c0nsumer.livejournal.com]

I was just going to reply making both of these points. The best Obama person, in my opinion, was the guy going on about McCain not knowing about all the random Web2.0 apps, by name.

Well, that and the typically uninformed front-line-at-the-barracade fangirl.

[billroper]

Having seen neither episode, I am nonetheless confident that a McCain supporter would have exactly the opposite opinion of yours -- that is, that the things the people at the Palin rally were saying weren't nearly as jaw-droppingly moronic.

I mean, come on. Given the things that have been said about Palin, I would be just as justified to say that "I can see what's underneath it. They're misogynists and won't admit it."

And I'd be equally likely to be right.

Or wrong.

[kevinnickerson.livejournal.com]

You'd probably be wrong, at least in terms of that episode. The Daily Show is very definitely left wing, and I'm sure they made sure that they had picked more moronic McCain supporters and only moderately moronic Obama supporters.

Fox tried a right wing version of The Daily Show. The 1/2 Hour News Hour IIRC. I had hopes, but the presenters and writers just weren't up the the task. Pity, I'm sure a right wing version could be done and be just as much of a hoot as The Daily Show.

[rmeidaking.livejournal.com]

I wrote a response, but decided I didn't want to submit it to eternity. The synopsis is: They're worried that blacks aren't going to be the underclass anymore, and that leaves, er, themselves to be in that position.

Both black people and white people have gotten a lot of mileage out of the idea that black = poor. Barack Obama is challenging that equation.

[drsulak.livejournal.com]

Having grown up in a mixed family - we had our union organizers and we had our union disorganizers - I've seen both sides of the foamers and well as the more moderate folks.

I don't know if it is so much a fear of , as opposed to the "other". The "other" often having buckets of fears and projections heaped up on them.

That's why it is so corrosive when the candidates tack labels (either directly or via code words) onto their opponents. At the end of the election, it makes it that much more difficult to get the opposing sides to stand down. And certain labels are more corrosive than others.

[isherempress.livejournal.com]

FWIW, I believe that McCain was not born on the US base in Panama, but in Panama City proper, and the idea was that it didn't matter because his parents were both Americans. This is a point of law that if Push came to Shove could be a problem for the old guy, because at the time he was born, Panama apparently did not count as a US territory. It's one of the issues that has been swept under the rug.

Now you know, John, that the producers of the Daily Show have no problem going out to find those frothing-at-the-mouth idiots, right? In fact, a large number of them probably are neighbors of either you or me, and in my case, relatives, too. Well, tough. As the songman said, the times they are a-changing.

What I don't get is the fear of islamic terrorists... sure, they made their mark on NYC, but come on, people, Tim McVeigh was a home grown weasel! Not that I mean to give weasels a bad name, but most of the school shootings we've had over the past few years have been with good old white boys who had their fingers on the triggers. The terrorists who scare me look a hell of a lot like the kids I grew up with, not like people from some country across the pond.

Teaching people how to make good choices for themselves and their communities makes more sense than just cutting them out wholesale from the so-called land of opportunity.

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

Well, nearly all americans who die violent deaths are killed either by friends & family or by drunks.