Re: Why are we afraid to call a duck a "duck"?Posted By Erwin Miller |
Do the math!
Posts Made By: Erwin Miller
November 21, 2009 04:22 AM
Forum:
Politics
February 9, 2010 04:57 PM
Forum:
Politics
You gotta admit...Posted By Erwin Miller |
" I never thought I'd miss Richard Nixon."
With each progressively worsening Republican installed in the White House I cannot visualize the situation getting any more worse. During the Nixon administration I though his was most definitely the low tide of American politics, but then along came Ronald Reagan. Again I reasoned this has to be the nadir of presidential low life, but then along came GW Bush. Now we have Sarah Palin to look forward to and I am certain she will "out shine" her predecessors.
Tea Bags, Taxes, & Productive Citizens
By Chip Berlet
Monday, February 01, 2010Chip Berlet's ZSpace Page
Join ZSpace
A conundrum of right-wing populist movements like the tea bag and town hall protests is that they often mobilize in ways that undermine the economic self-interest of participants. The solution to the puzzle is that these folks are simultaneously defending their existing relative power and privilege in other spheres, such as race and gender—or at least they think they are in some conscious or unconscious way.
To understand how this works, sociologist Rory McVeigh suggests using a Power Devaluation Model in which right-wing movements emerge to defend their interests in three arenas: political power, economic power, and social status. The importance of these spheres varies over time. In right-wing populism, economic power often takes a back seat to political power and social status, but not always. Hard economic times can lead anti-abortion and anti-gay Christian Right adherents to vote for Democrats who offer a clearly articulated and believable plan to fix the economy—at least for the middle classes.
In Right-Wing Populism in America, Matt Lyons and I argued populism was built around four interwoven elements:
•Producerism
•Demonization
•Scapegoating
•Conspiracy Theories of Power
We hear the tea bag and town hall protestors spewing conspiracy theories about death panels and impending government tyranny. Their rhetoric is full of demonization and scapegoating of targeted groups, especially immigrants. Their palpable anger and self-righteous excitement exemplifies the apocalyptic idea that time is running out to save society—an idea that fuels millennial visions of a needed coming confrontation with evil forces.
Producerism, however, is not a word used by most progressive activists, although its storyline might sound familiar. Producerism describes a world view in which people in the middle class feel they are being squeezed from above by crippling taxes, government bureaucracies, and financial elites while simultaneously being pushed around, robbed, and shoved aside by an underclass of "lazy, sinful, and subversive freeloaders." The idea is that unproductive parasites above and below are bleeding the productive middle class dry.
The producerist dynamic spawns conspiratorial allegations about parasitic elites manipulating society and this leads to anger being directed up the socioeconomic ladder. The list of scapegoats among the alleged elite parasites can include internationalists, Trilateralists, bankster plutocrats, socialists, Jews, Bilderbergers, liberal secular humanists, government bureaucrats, or any combination of this list. The underclass parasites include the freeloading "undeserving poor," sinful sex-obsessed perverts, and sinister subversives.
Those scapegoated as lazy freeloaders by white middle class producers include blacks and other people of color, immigrants, and welfare mothers (who are often visualized as "illegal" immigrants, non-white, or both). The "sinful" are abortionists, homosexuals, and feminists (and the pathetic wimpy men who defend them). Rounding out the usual suspects are left-wing social and political activists organizing impoverished and disenfranchised sectors of the population—especially "community organizers."
Producerist anger is directed upward at the alleged elite parasites—as witnessed by the rhetoric at the tea bag and town hall events. This anger, often harnessed by right-wing politicians, tends to also produce more direct and aggressive actions targeting demonized and scapegoated groups lower on the socio-economic ladder. As scholar Catherine McNicol Stock points out, the two key themes in historic U.S. populist movements are "the politics of rural producer radicalism and the culture of vigilante violence."
In the United States, the overall outcome of the producerist model of populism is a broad social and political movement some analysts call "middle American nationalism," "the radical center," "middle American radicals," or "white nationalism." Whatever the label, this form of repressive populism with a producerist frame is a common feature of right-wing organizing across the U.S. political right. Historically, it involves conscious or unconscious racism against people of color, especially immigrants.
Things are not that simple, however. Abby Ferber and Michael Kimmel point out that much of the racial rhetoric among neo-Nazis is rooted in gendered narratives involving patriarchy and fear of race mixing. Masculine identity and other gender issues are central to the militia movement—along with economic anxieties. In fact, all movements on the right or left incorporate critiques involving race, gender, and class politics.
There are different autonomous sectors of the political right and they overlap at their boundaries. The way they use populist rhetoric is shaped by their key issues and major frames as well as the demographics of their target audience. None of these movements offer a systemic, institutional, or structural critique of class oppression, but reflect varying forms of right-wing populism.
The Christian Right appears to be largely composed of successful upwardly-mobile suburbanites, including many managers and small business owners. Populist producerism in the Christian Right centers on mobilizing "godly people" against secularized elites seen as controlling the government and media, but the grievances are frequently related to gender—abortion, homosexuality, and the feminist movement.
The armed citizens' militias and the broader Patriot movement attract people who have suffered or feel they will soon suffer some type of economic reversal. Populist producerism in these movements constructs narratives using anti-government or anti-regime rhetorical frames built around conspiracy theories.
In the ultra right, neo-Nazis and white supremacists weave a story of populist producerism in which "lazy blacks, crafty Jews, and predatory immigrants" of color are stripping the white race of its rights.
Producerism was used to mobilize poor and working class whites against newly-freed black former slaves after the Civil War. It was utilized by George Wallace in his presidential campaigns in the 1960s, then borrowed by Richard Nixon and the Republican Party to implement a racist "Southern Strategy" to gain the presidency.
Producerism in other countries and other historic periods often links a conspiracy theory of history with xenophobia, racism, and religious bigotry. People in various countries develop different narratives and pick different scapegoats, but the basic paradigm leads to an attack on the "parasites" by the "producers." Economic libertarians blast the government for high taxes and too much regulation of business. Anti-immigrant xenophobes blast the government for letting "illegals" steal their jobs and increase their taxes. Christian fundamentalists blast the government for allowing the lazy, sinful, and subversive elements to ruin society.
This is not a recent phenomenon, but part of a long tradition. As the right-wing populist sectors grow, politicians and activists within electoral reform movements try to recruit the populists to participate within electoral political frameworks. As they seek votes, some politicians begin to use populist rhetoric and pander to the scapegoating. This explains the popularity of Sarah Palin, Lou Dobbs, and Glenn Beck.
Watch for producerism to be a central frame used by Republicans in the 2010 congressional and state elections. It is important for us on the Left to make sure we do not adopt or reinforce frames or narratives used by the right-wing populists and their producerist blame game.
Z
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chip Berlet is senior analyst at Political Research Associates (publiceye.org) and a vice-president of Defending Dissent (www.defendingdissent.org). The views here are his own.
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PEACE CONFERENCE - The Peace & Neutrality Alliance has scheduled an international peace conference on War, NATO, and the Lisbon Treaty, September 5 near Shannon Airport in County Clare, Ireland.
Contact: PANA, 17 Castle Street, Dalkey, Co.Dublin, Ireland; [email protected]; www.pana.ie.
ANARCHY FEST - The fourth annual Victoria Festival of Anarchy & Bookfair is planned for September 4-13, with the Bookfair on the last two days.
Contact: [email protected]; www.victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca.
ENCUENTRO - The Fifth Annual Encuentro of the Student/ Farmworker Alliance is scheduled for September 10-12 in Immokalee, Florida.
Contact: Student/Farmworker Alliance, PO Box 603, Immokalee, FL 34143; 239-657-8311; [email protected]; www.sfalliance.org.
CLIMATE CONVERGANCE - The West Coast Convergence for Climate Justice and Action (September 18-20 in Richmond, California) is part of an annual series of climate convergences & climate camps all over the world. Multiple climate events will occur this fall, leading to N30 and the COP15 (November 30 anniversary protests & an important UN conference).
Contact: west.climateconvergence.org; www.climateconvergence.org; www.risingtidenorthamerica.org; www.actforclimatejustice.org.
G20 PROTESTS - The Bail Out the People Movement (among many groups) has called for a major mobilization and actions September 20-25 during the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Contact: Bail Out the People Movement, Solidarity Center, 55 W. 17th St. #5C, New York, NY 10011; 212-633-6646; www.BailOutPeople.org.
For other G20 actions, see: www.organizepittsburgh.org, www.resistg20.org, www.g20media.org.
SPACE NUKES - The annual International Week of Protest to Stop the Militarization of Space is scheduled for October 3-10; resources to help plan events & demonstrations are available.
Contact: Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, PO Box 652, Brunswick, ME 04011; 207-443-9502; [email protected]; www.space4peace.org.
CONFLICT RESOLUTION - The Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) will hold its 9th Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, October 7-10.
Contact: ACR, 5151 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 20016; 202-464-9700; www.acrnet.org.
FILM FEST - The 6th Annual Artivist Film Festival is scheduled for October 8-11 at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, California.
Contact: The Artivist Collective, Inc., PO Box 910, Hollywood, CA 90028; 310-712-1222; [email protected]; www.artivists.org.
See other September Zaps hereZNet | ZMagazine | ZSpace | ZBlogs | ZWriters | ZMI | ZEO | ZVideo | Contact Us
With each progressively worsening Republican installed in the White House I cannot visualize the situation getting any more worse. During the Nixon administration I though his was most definitely the low tide of American politics, but then along came Ronald Reagan. Again I reasoned this has to be the nadir of presidential low life, but then along came GW Bush. Now we have Sarah Palin to look forward to and I am certain she will "out shine" her predecessors.
Tea Bags, Taxes, & Productive Citizens
By Chip Berlet
Monday, February 01, 2010Chip Berlet's ZSpace Page
Join ZSpace
A conundrum of right-wing populist movements like the tea bag and town hall protests is that they often mobilize in ways that undermine the economic self-interest of participants. The solution to the puzzle is that these folks are simultaneously defending their existing relative power and privilege in other spheres, such as race and gender—or at least they think they are in some conscious or unconscious way.
To understand how this works, sociologist Rory McVeigh suggests using a Power Devaluation Model in which right-wing movements emerge to defend their interests in three arenas: political power, economic power, and social status. The importance of these spheres varies over time. In right-wing populism, economic power often takes a back seat to political power and social status, but not always. Hard economic times can lead anti-abortion and anti-gay Christian Right adherents to vote for Democrats who offer a clearly articulated and believable plan to fix the economy—at least for the middle classes.
In Right-Wing Populism in America, Matt Lyons and I argued populism was built around four interwoven elements:
•Producerism
•Demonization
•Scapegoating
•Conspiracy Theories of Power
We hear the tea bag and town hall protestors spewing conspiracy theories about death panels and impending government tyranny. Their rhetoric is full of demonization and scapegoating of targeted groups, especially immigrants. Their palpable anger and self-righteous excitement exemplifies the apocalyptic idea that time is running out to save society—an idea that fuels millennial visions of a needed coming confrontation with evil forces.
Producerism, however, is not a word used by most progressive activists, although its storyline might sound familiar. Producerism describes a world view in which people in the middle class feel they are being squeezed from above by crippling taxes, government bureaucracies, and financial elites while simultaneously being pushed around, robbed, and shoved aside by an underclass of "lazy, sinful, and subversive freeloaders." The idea is that unproductive parasites above and below are bleeding the productive middle class dry.
The producerist dynamic spawns conspiratorial allegations about parasitic elites manipulating society and this leads to anger being directed up the socioeconomic ladder. The list of scapegoats among the alleged elite parasites can include internationalists, Trilateralists, bankster plutocrats, socialists, Jews, Bilderbergers, liberal secular humanists, government bureaucrats, or any combination of this list. The underclass parasites include the freeloading "undeserving poor," sinful sex-obsessed perverts, and sinister subversives.
Those scapegoated as lazy freeloaders by white middle class producers include blacks and other people of color, immigrants, and welfare mothers (who are often visualized as "illegal" immigrants, non-white, or both). The "sinful" are abortionists, homosexuals, and feminists (and the pathetic wimpy men who defend them). Rounding out the usual suspects are left-wing social and political activists organizing impoverished and disenfranchised sectors of the population—especially "community organizers."
Producerist anger is directed upward at the alleged elite parasites—as witnessed by the rhetoric at the tea bag and town hall events. This anger, often harnessed by right-wing politicians, tends to also produce more direct and aggressive actions targeting demonized and scapegoated groups lower on the socio-economic ladder. As scholar Catherine McNicol Stock points out, the two key themes in historic U.S. populist movements are "the politics of rural producer radicalism and the culture of vigilante violence."
In the United States, the overall outcome of the producerist model of populism is a broad social and political movement some analysts call "middle American nationalism," "the radical center," "middle American radicals," or "white nationalism." Whatever the label, this form of repressive populism with a producerist frame is a common feature of right-wing organizing across the U.S. political right. Historically, it involves conscious or unconscious racism against people of color, especially immigrants.
Things are not that simple, however. Abby Ferber and Michael Kimmel point out that much of the racial rhetoric among neo-Nazis is rooted in gendered narratives involving patriarchy and fear of race mixing. Masculine identity and other gender issues are central to the militia movement—along with economic anxieties. In fact, all movements on the right or left incorporate critiques involving race, gender, and class politics.
There are different autonomous sectors of the political right and they overlap at their boundaries. The way they use populist rhetoric is shaped by their key issues and major frames as well as the demographics of their target audience. None of these movements offer a systemic, institutional, or structural critique of class oppression, but reflect varying forms of right-wing populism.
The Christian Right appears to be largely composed of successful upwardly-mobile suburbanites, including many managers and small business owners. Populist producerism in the Christian Right centers on mobilizing "godly people" against secularized elites seen as controlling the government and media, but the grievances are frequently related to gender—abortion, homosexuality, and the feminist movement.
The armed citizens' militias and the broader Patriot movement attract people who have suffered or feel they will soon suffer some type of economic reversal. Populist producerism in these movements constructs narratives using anti-government or anti-regime rhetorical frames built around conspiracy theories.
In the ultra right, neo-Nazis and white supremacists weave a story of populist producerism in which "lazy blacks, crafty Jews, and predatory immigrants" of color are stripping the white race of its rights.
Producerism was used to mobilize poor and working class whites against newly-freed black former slaves after the Civil War. It was utilized by George Wallace in his presidential campaigns in the 1960s, then borrowed by Richard Nixon and the Republican Party to implement a racist "Southern Strategy" to gain the presidency.
Producerism in other countries and other historic periods often links a conspiracy theory of history with xenophobia, racism, and religious bigotry. People in various countries develop different narratives and pick different scapegoats, but the basic paradigm leads to an attack on the "parasites" by the "producers." Economic libertarians blast the government for high taxes and too much regulation of business. Anti-immigrant xenophobes blast the government for letting "illegals" steal their jobs and increase their taxes. Christian fundamentalists blast the government for allowing the lazy, sinful, and subversive elements to ruin society.
This is not a recent phenomenon, but part of a long tradition. As the right-wing populist sectors grow, politicians and activists within electoral reform movements try to recruit the populists to participate within electoral political frameworks. As they seek votes, some politicians begin to use populist rhetoric and pander to the scapegoating. This explains the popularity of Sarah Palin, Lou Dobbs, and Glenn Beck.
Watch for producerism to be a central frame used by Republicans in the 2010 congressional and state elections. It is important for us on the Left to make sure we do not adopt or reinforce frames or narratives used by the right-wing populists and their producerist blame game.
Z
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chip Berlet is senior analyst at Political Research Associates (publiceye.org) and a vice-president of Defending Dissent (www.defendingdissent.org). The views here are his own.
Search Current Issue
Feb 2010
Jan 2010
Dec 2009
Nov 2009
Oct 2009
Sep 2009
Jul 2009
Jun 2009
May 2009
Apr 2009
Z Magazine Archive
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcements
Events from Zaps
PEACE CONFERENCE - The Peace & Neutrality Alliance has scheduled an international peace conference on War, NATO, and the Lisbon Treaty, September 5 near Shannon Airport in County Clare, Ireland.
Contact: PANA, 17 Castle Street, Dalkey, Co.Dublin, Ireland; [email protected]; www.pana.ie.
ANARCHY FEST - The fourth annual Victoria Festival of Anarchy & Bookfair is planned for September 4-13, with the Bookfair on the last two days.
Contact: [email protected]; www.victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca.
ENCUENTRO - The Fifth Annual Encuentro of the Student/ Farmworker Alliance is scheduled for September 10-12 in Immokalee, Florida.
Contact: Student/Farmworker Alliance, PO Box 603, Immokalee, FL 34143; 239-657-8311; [email protected]; www.sfalliance.org.
CLIMATE CONVERGANCE - The West Coast Convergence for Climate Justice and Action (September 18-20 in Richmond, California) is part of an annual series of climate convergences & climate camps all over the world. Multiple climate events will occur this fall, leading to N30 and the COP15 (November 30 anniversary protests & an important UN conference).
Contact: west.climateconvergence.org; www.climateconvergence.org; www.risingtidenorthamerica.org; www.actforclimatejustice.org.
G20 PROTESTS - The Bail Out the People Movement (among many groups) has called for a major mobilization and actions September 20-25 during the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Contact: Bail Out the People Movement, Solidarity Center, 55 W. 17th St. #5C, New York, NY 10011; 212-633-6646; www.BailOutPeople.org.
For other G20 actions, see: www.organizepittsburgh.org, www.resistg20.org, www.g20media.org.
SPACE NUKES - The annual International Week of Protest to Stop the Militarization of Space is scheduled for October 3-10; resources to help plan events & demonstrations are available.
Contact: Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, PO Box 652, Brunswick, ME 04011; 207-443-9502; [email protected]; www.space4peace.org.
CONFLICT RESOLUTION - The Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) will hold its 9th Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, October 7-10.
Contact: ACR, 5151 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 20016; 202-464-9700; www.acrnet.org.
FILM FEST - The 6th Annual Artivist Film Festival is scheduled for October 8-11 at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, California.
Contact: The Artivist Collective, Inc., PO Box 910, Hollywood, CA 90028; 310-712-1222; [email protected]; www.artivists.org.
See other September Zaps hereZNet | ZMagazine | ZSpace | ZBlogs | ZWriters | ZMI | ZEO | ZVideo | Contact Us
April 1, 2010 01:10 AM
Forum:
Bad to the Bone Autos
I got a supercharged engine sittin under my hoodPosted By Erwin Miller |
My very recent purchase (last month) does not have a supercharged engine. It was not manufactured by Government Motors, or Ford, or Chrysler. The media of late will tell you that it is a death trap subject to recall, but I have had not one iota of trouble with it. Not once have I traveled at 94 mph without touching the accelerator. OK so now you have guessed it, I bought a 2010 Toyota Prius. Never before have I been so satisfied and happy with a new car purchase. This is my 11th new car in my life. Rothschild said, "Do not buy until blood is flowing in the streets". Toyota wasn't exactly hemorrhaging in February however it was the darkest moment in their history. And Rothschild's investment advice paid off. I got it for less than dealer invoice and with an interest rate lower than the advertised promotional one. Such a sweet deal and now I can confidently tell the oil companies to, "bring it on"! It is a beautiful car in lovely Blizzard Pearl. It is something like a metallic white. The fine Japanese craftmanship is flawless and I know that I will be happy for a long time to come. When you see the herd being stampeded in one direction wisely head off in the other. 
By the way the futures for unleaded gasoline hit $2.31 today. The dollar weakened so oil started an upward move again. To $2.31 you must add on state and federal tax and delivery costs. It is well over $3.00 per gallon in Chicago. Now that I have my hyper miler I am not worried one bit.
By the way the futures for unleaded gasoline hit $2.31 today. The dollar weakened so oil started an upward move again. To $2.31 you must add on state and federal tax and delivery costs. It is well over $3.00 per gallon in Chicago. Now that I have my hyper miler I am not worried one bit.
April 27, 2010 02:02 PM
Forum:
Investment Discussions
Pirates working for Goldman??Posted By Erwin Miller |
Of course the pirates will go to jail while Goldman Sachs continues to prosper. Reminds me of some enduring wisdom I saw painted on a wall in Berkeley, "the big thieves put the little thieves in jail". And Goldman Sachs are without question the biggest thieves.
Their connection with piracy stretches back for decades as recounted in Mat Taibbi's, "The Great American Bubble Machine". It is a bit dated from July 2009, but worth a read. Going back even further could Goldman Sachs be the snake that Eve took pleasure from and for all time corrupted man?
Their connection with piracy stretches back for decades as recounted in Mat Taibbi's, "The Great American Bubble Machine". It is a bit dated from July 2009, but worth a read. Going back even further could Goldman Sachs be the snake that Eve took pleasure from and for all time corrupted man?
May 7, 2010 12:29 AM
Forum:
Investment Discussions
That was... differentPosted By Erwin Miller |
Paul Kammueller said:
Sooooo a 1000-point drop, and bounce back, on no news to speak of. Financial sites just pointing to the Greek/Portugal/Spain debt crisis but the market's known about that for days/weeks, everyone's been talking about it. Opinions? Is there a really big shoe about to drop that the market just caught wind of?
There are a couple of theories being put forward on CNBC. "1. The Rise of the Machines" they are blaming it on high frequency computer trading, 2.a major investment company (who dat? G&S probably) made an errant trade.
There has been a major ongoing effort to artificially prop up the market and restore confidence so that 1000 point spike was certainly not orchestrated. It seems far more likely that the boys at the top of the food chain are partial to some negative information that made them drop their socks. My guess is that they have discovered a European implosion is imminent.
Any bets on which bubble the gold or dollar pops first? I am going with the dollar collapsing first and then later will you be able to trade an ounce of gold for a head of lettuce?
December 7, 2010 04:17 PM
Forum:
Politics
Flight suit versus Bomber jacketPosted By Erwin Miller |
There must be someone out there with a response to this thread. Oh come all ye defenders of GW! Oh come all ye defenders of Obama!
June 18, 2011 07:54 PM
Forum:
Landscape Photography
The Golden Gate BridgePosted By Erwin Miller |
Excellent photo. Looks like a portrait. You should get some shots of Golden Gate Park in B&W. It is heavily populated year round and the B&W pics will give it a Depression Era look. "It's the economy stupid!"
December 20, 2011 09:10 PM
Forum:
Deep Sky Observing
Anybody ever make an occulting bar for an EP?Posted By Erwin Miller |
Ken Fiscus said:
Just beginning to think about finding the Pup (Sirius B) for the 1st time. I'm going to get the Horsehead too. Is finding either of these objects made easier by an occulting bar in the EP? How does one go about making a bar? (I was thinking a piece of black electrical tape.)
Back in August of 2003 during the close Mars approach (my targets of course were Phobos and Deimos) I decided to make an occulting eyepiece. I used a thin strip of metal from an old windshield wiper blade. I simply epoxied it across the field stop and then painted it with flat black paint. I used an old 26mm Meade plossl (Japanese) that had a scratch in the center of the eye lens. It worked in an exemplary manner.
January 28, 2012 12:51 AM
Forum:
DVDs and Music and Books That You Recommend
Animal FarmPosted By Erwin Miller |
Lee Spain said:
Animal Farm by George Orwell. It's short. It's relevant. It's about America.
1984 is about America. Animal Farm is about that "other" failed system.
October 7, 2012 05:14 PM
Forum:
DVDs and Music and Books That You Recommend
One of the best ever ..Posted By Erwin Miller |
Herb York said:
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2012/mar/08/joe-bonamassa-beacon-theatre-live-new-york/
Some of the best things in life are free. However if Count von Count wins the election entertainment such as this will be at end. The audacity of that savage to show such disrespect for one of the finest news anchors in television history. For the public to swallow that this vacuum cleaner salesman won the debate illustrates the overt political illiteracy of the American public. Romney should not be running for president, but should be running from the wrath of all of those he bilked and laid off.
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