RE: Mass Media Propaganda Is The Only Thing Keeping Us From Rising Like Lions
Situation 1: the Metaphor
This almost happened in 2005 after Kerry's loss.
I was pretty active on the Daily Kos, and back then it was a pretty solid Lefty rag. We had some amazing writers and the Lefty journos would drop by. Anyway, the mask fell off or they lost the leash after losing with John "There Is No War / Swift Boat" Kerry.
The masses of Democrats were seething. What happened? Obama put us to sleep I think. I don't know.
Situation 2: the Real Deal
I was the guest of a circus act at a Ringling Bros circus. We met the Big Cat guy. He had a problem with a kitty and had to rush the young cat out before he lost control.
As a practical behaviorist who lives with 12+ dogs, it was terrifying. We saw it shaping up for several minutes. Talk about being on edge...
Metaphors Rock
Anway, lovely metaphor. Take it further:
Media as Whip
Media as Chair
Media as Meat on a Stick
Media as Cage
Stockholm Syndrome
lol... that is super disappointing.
Daily Kos ignored the fact that we had actual forensic data on the defrauded Ohio election. We tried going to the blogs when we had on the ground reports of election fraud. They thought we were conspiracy buffs. I never trusted Kos or TPM, or any Dem blog after that. I was an election observer, observed the recount in 2004, and then in Jan 2005 helped organize three ballot justice groups in Ohio. One, the J30 Coalition, went on to photograph ballots and collect evidence from 66 of the 88 counties, We also started the Ohio Election justice Campaign, and we enjoined the District Court case as plaintiff intervenors in the King Lincoln Bronzeville case against Bush and Rove http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/klbna.php
Just saying Kerry DID win in 2004, the vote totals were flipped in Ohio, which is why Bush won in the morning with the exact % that Kerry was wining by in the evening as people went to bed. 4.5% We had all the data, but it was obviously a political, not criminal, case, and there were a few dead bodies left in the trail before it was over.
I live in Canada now, I saw enough. Never once thought of returning during the Obama period of world peace.
Yea, the pursuit of "respectability" looked like a standard political choice; many political activists see courting corporate media as the path to acceptance. Which is completely the case if your political MO is palatable to management, but completely impossible if your political demands harm anyone of consequence's profits.
I thought this was the case through the first purge and was disabused of that notion over the next few years as Lefty after Lefty was chased off site.
After that first purge I started to sense that it was more than just a political tactic. It looked like the fix was in. Come 2010, there was no doubt in my mind that dKos was a veal pen as far as ownership went.
It's too bad. That place was smoking with energy and ideas at that time.