Comments on: A Vaster Right Wing Conspiracy… http://brophinator.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/a-vaster-right-wing-conspiracy%e2%80%a6/ Words and stuff .... Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:16:58 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Alex H. http://brophinator.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/a-vaster-right-wing-conspiracy%e2%80%a6/#comment-547 Alex H. Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:31:07 +0000 http://brophinator.wordpress.com/?p=130#comment-547 Of course, that's exactly what they will do. They'll do this in part because the names are a letter apart, and in part because they've been encouraged to think of Obama as dangerous. (BTW, Firefox thinks it should be "Obadiah.") The current critique of Obama from the right is two fold. First, he is inexperienced. Perfectly valid concern. The second, however, is a concerted effort to paint him as "the other." Easy to do: he's not white, he's not no longer middle class, and he has a funny sounding name. So, you play on those stereotypes. You refer to him as Osama on broadcast news. You mention his wife ought to be lynched, as O'Reilly has. You seek to make him not quite American. This is the politics of propaganda. I won't be hyperbolic--it's reprehensible, but it is also normal in American politics. Normal and disappointing. Of course, that’s exactly what they will do. They’ll do this in part because the names are a letter apart, and in part because they’ve been encouraged to think of Obama as dangerous. (BTW, Firefox thinks it should be “Obadiah.”)

The current critique of Obama from the right is two fold. First, he is inexperienced. Perfectly valid concern.

The second, however, is a concerted effort to paint him as “the other.” Easy to do: he’s not white, he’s not no longer middle class, and he has a funny sounding name. So, you play on those stereotypes. You refer to him as Osama on broadcast news. You mention his wife ought to be lynched, as O’Reilly has. You seek to make him not quite American. This is the politics of propaganda. I won’t be hyperbolic–it’s reprehensible, but it is also normal in American politics. Normal and disappointing.

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