Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

calimary

(80,693 posts)
25. It's VERY true. Trump gives it acceptability. Actually, more acceptability.
Mon Aug 29, 2016, 05:07 PM
Aug 2016

But he's just the latest in a long and rather hideous string of this shit.

I think it started with hate radio, that, itself, began when reagan started deregulating broadcasting, late in his reign of terror and proud ignorance. He started it by lifting ownership restrictions. There's a long-winded story about that but in the interest of not boring you, suffice it to say that reagan cleared the way for broadcast owners (read: greedy gluttonous corporations) to gobble up as many TV and radio properties as they wanted. Another part of that was that they no longer had to prove any sort of responsive programming to local interests, issues, and concerns. So that led to a feeding frenzy like fresh meat thrown to a roiling pool of hungry sharks.

Lots of my friends at the local level lost their jobs because business being what it is, the new bosses wanted to cut costs. And it was far cheaper just to pipe in some syndicated programming from New York or wherever else. It was cheaper to do talk radio, because you didn't need a music director, you didn't need a staff of jocks and their assistants, and on AM talk sounded better than music anyway. The AMs that played music were usually "full service" stations which usually included personality deejays (the morning drive jock was invariably some power talent or big cheese and cost a LOT more), as well as a working news department, live traffic reports, and more - including a public affairs department. All that overhead was expensive, and business being what it is, hey, let's do it as cheaply as possible. Besides, the government has now told us we no longer HAVE TO do a certain amount of news & public affairs per broadcast day or broadcast week, either! Deregulation ROCKS!!!

Meantime, less news & public affairs mean listeners who aren't as well educated about local and national goings-on because there's less coverage overall. But that syndicated crap is great! And a lot of it was talk-show related. This fellow Jeff Christie started rising out of somewhere in America, kicked around the deejay scene in various small markets around the country, changed his on-air name to rush limbaugh and somehow wound up at the local AM in Sacramento. Where he did talk. CONservative talk. Which back then was WAY new. It got ratings. And when something proves to be a hit, as you see on TV all the time, suddenly there are many many clones of it.

What I think was really happening was - ol' rush tapped into something that had been locked away in a closet. Like that proverbial wacko reactionary uncle you keep in your attic til you kinda have to bring him down to share Thanksgiving dinner with the rest of the family. But otherwise, he's kept away from normal people, and thereby muzzled, because of the jerky-ass things he says and believes, that you really can't or shouldn't say in polite company. Like why you hate Jews and those individuals described using the "n-word," and why you think women are the "c-word" and you think every Latino currently breathing oxygen is dismissed as "Mexican." Because "Mexican" is somehow a derisive word, too. As is "liberal." As are the words "women's libber" and all manner of disgusting labels for the gay community. But hate radio, captained by the likes of rush limbaugh and all the other little junior limbaughs he spawned from coast to coast, brought all that shit out into the open. It was no longer closeted. It was no longer not okay to say in polite company. You not only could still think that way and hold onto those views, but now you could be out in the open about it. You could be loud 'n' proud.

And the GOP, ever the opportunistic infections that they are, noticed that this was an under-served demographic - one from which could be harvested LOTS of votes, and so there they went, with slobbering chins and bibs on.

Hate radio and its eventual devil-child, Pox Noise, brought all of that shit out of the closet, out of hiding, and made it respectable. Gave it not just a seat at the table that it had been denied (because, honey, we don't say those things in public, or honey, that's not nice - you're not supposed to think that way). Hate radio and Pox Noise made it acceptable, respectable, and financially rewarding. It was okay not just to spout that shit, but to believe it with all your heart, because rush said so on the radio and bill o'really says it on TV every night, just adding to its validation.

This utterly demonic shift in public policy starting with fucking reagan not only did NOT admonish those who thought or felt that way to keep it to themselves, don't say that in public - they told you it was okay to do so. That you had GOOD REASONS to feel that way. And no, you shouldn't have to get over it and come into modern times. You DON'T have to accept changing times and conditions and demographics if you don't want to. It's not only okay, we have your back, and we'll shout it to the rooftops! It's OKAY to be racist! It's okay to be sexist! It's okay to be homophobic! It's okay to be anti-Semitic! YOU'RE the victim here! You're being told to shut up just because it's not politically correct. But you don't have to! And I agree with you, too! So shout it! Loud and proud!

Anyone notice how, at the Trump rallies in particular, many of his fans love how politically INCORRECT he is? My mother kept company with one of them while she was still alive and he knew she might leave him something. He'd send emails around complaining - "why can't I say the 'n-word'?" Disgusting.

Unfortunately, seems to me this is bad behavior that's encouraged and reinforced. You're entitled to say any ol' "n-word" you want! That's OKAY! YOU'RE okay, too! SO shout it! Be in their faces - all those nanny-staters who tell you you can't say that shit in public because it isn't nice. If YOU think it's nice, well, that's your right! You're entitled!

It used to be "you can't say that on the radio" (or on TV). Now, though, it's become - "go ahead and say ANYTHING you damn well want! It gets ratings! So be as bad and as shitty and nasty and mean-spirited and bullying as you think you can get away with being! And be damned proud of it! You're entitled! Besides, it's gonna get ratings! And we can charge more for commercial time! There's money to be made! Or as CBS chieftain Les Moonves said not too long ago about how this election season has just deteriorated to shit and allowed the rise of Donald Trump: "it's bad for the country, but it's GREAT for business!"

THIS is the mentality that reagan seeded, deregulation and greed watered and fertilized, and hate radio and and its devil child Pox Noise have been harvesting with great joy ever since. When you start with that sickly recipe, you wind up with a toxic cake.

T for Toxic.

T for Teabaggers.

And T for Trump.

(Aw, crap, I was gonna avoid being long-winded... sorry)

.... bigwillq Aug 2016 #1
Great post. Thanks for posting. n/t MicaelS Aug 2016 #2
k&r unblock Aug 2016 #3
i hope they kicked out that racist woman. she should not be allowed to shop there. trueblue2007 Aug 2016 #4
She stormed of on her own accord. Lobo27 Aug 2016 #6
Wonder if she learned anything from this. progressoid Aug 2016 #22
My hope is that she did. Lobo27 Aug 2016 #23
Your dad sounds like a wonderful person. And he understands that we ALL would benefit from pnwmom Aug 2016 #5
I am a white woman and this one black woman friend has several times said derogatory things about Maraya1969 Aug 2016 #7
Something many don't like to discuss. Behind the Aegis Aug 2016 #42
Idiots in every color and creed ... Dr Rise Aug 2016 #45
The older you get , the more you realize packman Aug 2016 #8
on a side note - I love your sig line gif nadine_mn Aug 2016 #16
You speak for me, nadine_mn. 3catwoman3 Aug 2016 #33
Racism exists in all races and cultures I imagine. jalan48 Aug 2016 #9
Thanks for posting this hibbing Aug 2016 #10
You're so right. Sad times for all of us. Lobo27 Aug 2016 #11
It's VERY true. Trump gives it acceptability. Actually, more acceptability. calimary Aug 2016 #25
Yes, he normalizes the mindset and the M$M doesn't treat it with the level vitriol it deserves... uponit7771 Aug 2016 #34
Isn't "mayate" a derogatory term for a homosexual? oberliner Aug 2016 #12
It starts with an m too. Lobo27 Aug 2016 #13
No, it is not. Throd Aug 2016 #18
You're thinking of 'maricon'. ColesCountyDem Aug 2016 #26
Good sig line GeoWilliam750 Aug 2016 #27
Thank you! ColesCountyDem Aug 2016 #29
That MLK quote is amazing. mountain grammy Aug 2016 #48
Thank you! ColesCountyDem Aug 2016 #55
Rise above! True Dough Aug 2016 #14
+100 narnian60 Aug 2016 #17
The people who spoke up and out, including your father, are true American heroes. Liberal_Stalwart71 Aug 2016 #15
Others speaking out needs to happen more. Good on this stores patrons Person 2713 Aug 2016 #53
You know I agree! Liberal_Stalwart71 Aug 2016 #54
Touching malaise Aug 2016 #19
Thank you for this post. Your father is a great man, and I expect you will follow in his footsteps. brush Aug 2016 #20
Maybe we can all marginalize racists the way your father did lunatica Aug 2016 #21
I grew up in Dallas OriginalGeek Aug 2016 #24
If only more people were like your father. GeoWilliam750 Aug 2016 #28
I can relate to your father. Once anther customer ahead of me at a grocery store Enoki33 Aug 2016 #30
"Eat sand" or "pound sand"? ProudToBeBlueInRhody Aug 2016 #31
A difference, perhaps Maynar Aug 2016 #39
What I wrote. Enoki33 Aug 2016 #50
Amen, we're all human ... I pray the woman notices her mindset is not the norm uponit7771 Aug 2016 #32
Thanks Pedro. woofless Aug 2016 #35
Thanks for this. dakdirty Aug 2016 #36
It always surprises me too when I am on line yuiyoshida Aug 2016 #37
Thank you Yui Maynar Aug 2016 #40
Amazing, isn't it? Behind the Aegis Aug 2016 #44
Oh god yes! yuiyoshida Aug 2016 #49
this probably happens more often than people think JI7 Aug 2016 #38
It's people like your Dad that make the country GREAT! eom LittleGirl Aug 2016 #41
Sounds like something off of "What Would You Do?". Behind the Aegis Aug 2016 #43
It's unfortunate you had to face that. Not to marginalize your experience; as a black woman... vaberella Aug 2016 #46
Very profound story, Pedro. Hugin Aug 2016 #47
Kudos to your Dad. We need more people to stand up for our values. demigoddess Aug 2016 #51
Ill be damned Ill let people ruin that for me or anyone else. Person 2713 Aug 2016 #52
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»When you see unexpected r...»Reply #25