On Not Hating Donald Trump Enough

By Dom Nozzi

An example of how toxic our society has become is that about four years ago, one of my best friends since high school (we remained reasonably close since 1975 until four years ago) abruptly and apparently permanently ended our friendship. He unfriended me and I have not heard from him since.

Why?

As far as I can tell, it was because I did not vigorously and at the top of my lungs hate Trump 24/7. I “only” disregarded him and did not take him seriously.

And this is not the first time, either.

Similar things have happened with other friends of mine (and family members) over Trump, by the way.

Given this, I believe one of the most terrible outcomes of the Trump era is what it has done to friendships, conversations, and how much we loathe others who are not part of the “tribe.” Those that know me know that ordinarily, I’m never shy about expressing my opinions. But in the past 3-4 years, I am regularly biting my tongue for the first time in my life.

I believe that this toxicity is largely fueled by the US mainstream media — a media that has learned that there is a lot of money to be made in inducing FEAR, OUTRAGE, and ANGER. The over-riding mission of the US media: to write news that obligates a great many of us to say to others, “OMG, did you hear xxxxxxx in the news???? WHAT AN OUTRAGE!! or I’M SCARED TO DEATH! Or I HATE THAT PERSON! We must tell everyone we know, and tune in more, or read more to learn more details!!!” The emotions of outrage, fear, and anger do that better than anything else.

One of the ways I address this in my own life is to avoid, as much as possible, watching TV news (where the news is particularly likely to provoke strong emotions). I have not watched TV news for about 40 years, and these days tend not to read any of the print media articles about national politics.

I do, on the other hand, read an enormous number of books about national politics, and commentary from what I consider to be the few remaining trustworthy news sources.

Media Hysteria!

By Dom Nozzi

To survive the loss of advertising to the Internet, the US media has ramped up its use of words designed to make people crazed with hysteria, paralyzed with fear, apoplectic with outrage, and staggered with tantrums. The media is engaged, in other words, in an obsessive effort to maximize what is, in the Internet age, euphemistically called the proliferation of “clickbait” or “viewership.”

The more clicks and views the media gets with its terrifying, outraging headlines, the more money the media makes.

Tragically for those of us on the political left, fear-mongering is known to move a society toward the political right because fear is the mother of right-wing thinking.

Here are some examples of headlines we see on a daily basis.

SNOWPOCALYSE IN NEW YORK!

TRUMP TO MAKE DEAL WITH RUSSIA! UKRAINE! NORTH KOREA!

TRUMP USES A BAD WORD!

KILLER FLEES! STILL AT LARGE IN SAN DIEGO!

BOMB CYCLONE HITS NEBRASKA!

SNOWMAGEDDON BURIES IOWA!

HURRICAN WINDS CAUSE POWER OUTTAGES IN 349 CITIES!

ALL-TIME LOW TEMPERATURES SET IN 4,366 TOWNS!

KILLER BEES FOUND IN MEXICO!

16,000 STRANDED AT AIRPORTS DUE TO FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS COAST TO COAST!

GREAT WHITE SHARK SPOTTED OFF COASTLINE!

HEROIN OVERDOSES AT RECORD LEVELS AS HEROIN KINGPINS TIGHTEN THEIR GRIP IN DETROIT!

FLESH-EATING BACTERIA SPREADS IN AFRICA!

UNPRECEDENTED FLOODING IN THE MIDWEST!

MAN CAUGHT VIEWING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY IN TOLEDO!

RACISTS AND FASCISTS INCITE VIOLENCE IN DALLAS!

SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATOR TO BE HOUSED IN NORTHRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD!

CHILD MOLESTER RELEASED FROM PRISON IN OKLAHOMA!

GLACIERS MELTING AT UNPRECEDENTED RATE IN GREENLAND!

LEADING SCIENTISTS FIND SPECIES EXTINCTION AT ALL-TIME RECORD RATES!

WITCHES SEEN FLYING ON BROOMS IN OHIO!

What is the underlying, rightwing-breeding message of all of this fear-baiting? HIDE UNDER YOUR BED BECAUSE THE COMMUNISTS ARE COMING! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE BECAUSE DEPLORABLE BAD PEOPLE ARE AFTER YOU! SUPPORT MORE TRILLIONS FOR MILITARY AND POLICE SPENDING! I’M SO AFRAID OF DEATH THAT YOU MUST SAVE ME, JESUS! FAVOR MORE EXECUTIONS FOR DRUG PUSHERS AND RAPISTS! CUT GOVERNMENT SPENDING FOR LOW-PRIORITY SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS!

The end result of all this is an increasingly dysfunctional, reactionary, irrational society. I don’t see any way our society can divert itself from this downward path in my lifetime.