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BillBrasky Memorial Political Chat Thread

PhDeac said:
Which social media explanation do you believe?
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Not sure I follow your question exactly? It's not something I've thought about a ton. But I think outrage drives clicks, and maybe more cynically/conspiratorially, the people who control the tiktok algorithms have a vested interesting in sowing discord in the US. And so I think people are disproportionately fed a lot of negative propaganda about economic conditions in the US, and our leadership.
 
tiltdeac said:
I guess I think there is value in celebrating objectively great economic news, especially when it is concentrated at the bottom of the income distribution. Of course there is still individual hardship, and the intent is not to tell any individual they should be happy about their own personal circumstance. But when most people are much better off, it's a good thing to report that, especially when so much of reporting, and particularly social media, is so gloomy. Can't prove it of course, but I really think social media is a big reason for the huge split between the economic realities and polling sentiment.
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I’d blame larger factors like home, car, and college affordability that skew perceptions among younger people before blaming the whole of social media.
 
It’s great there are macroeconomic indicators that look good, but relative to what? Sure, people in the middle and latter end of their careers are pleased the stock market has turned around, the job market has stabilized, and inflation is back in hand, but it’s still an economic reality that it’s really hard for young people to afford college or homes or cars, compared to a generation ago.

Perhaps the social media angle is that younger people have more (if skewed) political consciousness because of places like Twitter and TikTok. Of course some of those communities are toxic, but the ability to converse in political speak is democratized more than it was a generation ago, and you pair those two things together, and you’ve got a decent narrative for why young people might be less than satisfied with your objective numbers.
 
Social media makes it easier to spread negative propaganda about the economy AND to see that others share your individual struggles. What's missing is turning that into collective action beyond "Biden is old. Blame him."

The other social media explanation I see is that a "keeping up with the Joneses" effect breeds jealousy and discontent among relatively successful people. I'm not as much of a fan of that one.
 
PhDeac said:
Social media makes it easier to spread negative propaganda about the economy AND to see that others share your individual struggles. What's missing is turning that into collective action beyond "Biden is old. Blame him."

The other social media explanation I see is that a "keeping up with the Joneses" effect breeds jealousy and discontent among relatively successful people. I'm not as much of a fan of that one.
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Oh man these IG influencers sure look like they got it made
 
I think the effectiveness of right wing messaging has an impact. They aren't constrained by trying to make a message that has any relationship to reality so they just continuously pound their propaganda, and I think it takes hold in the minds of joe q public.

Inflation that literally started right at the inaugeration is BIden's fault and caused by BIden spending.

That and endlessley screaming about how terrible the economy is even if it isn't. This stuff sadly works.
 
For whatever it’s worth I came to political consciousness just as social media was being invented, right around my freshman year at Wake, and I appreciate how some on the left have not only mobilized via the channel and grown a following, but also how they can advertise events and spread their message to new audiences. I also recognize that it artificially creates bubbles that are hard to escape, the algorithm showing you what you want to see. And that’s simply not happening exclusively on the right. The left just hasn’t met the moment for insinuating its own brain worms the way the right has with Facebook and Fox News.
 
tiltdeac said:
I guess I think there is value in celebrating objectively great economic news, especially when it is concentrated at the bottom of the income distribution. Of course there is still individual hardship, and the intent is not to tell any individual they should be happy about their own personal circumstance. But when most people are much better off, it's a good thing to report that, especially when so much of reporting, and particularly social media, is so gloomy. Can't prove it of course, but I really think social media is a big reason for the huge split between the economic realities and polling sentiment.
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it would be great if journalists and the media more generally could report on this stuff

but most of the lobbying i see from folks on the internet is directed towards shaming individuals on the internet for not being happy enough
 
TownieDeac said:
Looking forward to the parade of Democrats falling over themselves to give Kissinger a glowing sendoff
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This is true. It's easy to memorialize awful people. "He lived a long life and I'm sure he will be missed by his family. Our hearts go out to his loved ones." Instead, they try to pretend awful people were good.
 
It's not like nobody's ever said anything derogatory about him over the past few decades.
 
A friend texted me about Kissinger as I was leaving the game. What a night!
 
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