Well
now that is seriously off-base.
David
To compel a man to subsidize with his
taxes the propagation of
ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and
tyrannical.--Thomas
Jefferson
On 8/24/2013 10:37 PM, [email protected] wrote:
from the site :
Rev Left
Posted by "Radio Raheem 84"
The radical center, from racist
hipsters to faux investigative journalists....
When I watch videos with these types of yuppie hipsters
going from country to country outlining the whole nature of
the problem these nations face as cultural or ideological, I
tend to think that there is an emergence of what Tariq Ali
called "the radical center". These are types that literally
use humor, sardonic and sarcastic quips and faux investigative
journalism to creative a narrative that puts them at the moral
center battling between the "extremes" of society.
I enjoy some of their shows like Vice but hate The Young
Turks, The John Stewart Show, Bill Maher, and Don't Tell My
Mom with the smug Diego Bunuel. I hate it when they use words
like "far left" and make socialism out to be this great idea
on paper but always assert that we just have to work with what
we have by promoting progressive policy.
It isn't just effecting journalism or the media, but academia
and politics too, especially with the younger generation.
What I've noticed about attending a top school is that they
can be less intellectually stimulating than your local
flagship. If you're not an Economist reading policy wonkish
academically trendy technocratic ally minded faux-liberal then
you're just not going to get heard in areas like the social
sciences. I remember going against the Microfinance trend
during it's height, even as a liberal, but was told I was
going against the grain. It's as though that radical spirit of
college, that innovative social changing spirit has been
quelled and people are just coming up with "market solutions"
or NGOs to fix problems when they know they're band aids on
gun shot wounds. No one thinks systemically/structurally
anymore at these colleges and all of my classmates were just
trying to come up with the next Toms Shoes like idea.
How do you combat this radical center that seems to have a lot
of media flare, cultural legitimacy and seems to command
respect by making their ideology hip and intimidating to
people with different views?
----------------------------------------
Comments
That's not the radical center,
though. Michael Lind defines it has having economically
progressive or more leftist views, but also as being
socially moderate or "soft" conservative (personally not in
favour of abortion, but not in favour of toppling pro-choice
laws, and generally eschewing "identity politics").
---
Now comes VICE Magazine and one
of it's creators Gavin McInnes who represents the growing
trend of lolbertarian hipsters. They disguise racism,
homophobia and pro-market, anti-left wing rhetoric with
irony and cynical sardonic humor.
It's a pain in the ass to read that hipster rag but the show
on HBO is not that bad of a watch. It's pretty good.
But man oh man it seems like if you critique Gavin and VICE
than you will be labeled a overly PC sensitive liberal type
that's gone haywire. Their influence surprisingly stretches
from Sarah Silverman to David Cross to band Interpol to
Snoop Lion.
I mean it's all pop culture BS but still they made headway
because of their reactionary supposedly no holds barred
journalism that is really just angsty wannabe iconoclast
hipster chauvinism.
The only Marxist that I think that counter their sardonic,
sarcastic dry humor is Brendan McCooney from Kapitalism101
Wordpress, who I wish would get more exposure considering
his rather funny and informative videos seems to take a
sideswipe to capitalism in the exact same manner that these
reactionary chauvinistic jackasses assert themselves.
These hipster lolbertarian jerks remind me of the Futurist
movement in pre-fascist Italy, along with the Dadaists and
Salvador Dali who loved the iconoclastic allure of being
anti-liberal/left wing. It's mixing porn with conservative
values and reveling in Western supremacy.
---
I think the only solace we'll
have is they'll probably burn themselves out much like we
did (unfortunately) in the 60s and 70s. It seems mainly a
problem of identity right now with middle-class youth
trying to figure out politics that fit them when the
current democrat-republican dicthomy doesn't apply to them
all that well. Unfortunately some of them are going to
have some batshit crazy ideas and notions, of course its
easy to preach those when you haven't been on the other
side of it.
---
I don't see any reason to be
surprised or get angry. Yeah liberals have ideological
convictions, and moderates aren't communists. Take it for
what it is worth and critique their ideological assumptions
... I don't think we should expect moderates to agree with
us any more than conservatives (Also, one might say that
anyone who disagrees with socialist theory is probably
operating with a straw man view of socialism )
Liberals, conservatives, moderates and others have written
funny, creative satires or reported on interesting phenomena
even if they get their fundamental interpretations wrong.
Instead of expecting these people to wave a red flag, why
not just view them with the knowledge that their ideological
assumptions are flawed? Some of the greatest philosophers,
writers and artists in history had despicable political
ideologies, and that won't change ... if we can appreciate
the filmography or ontological insights of National
Socialists, why is some satire which mocks the "loony left"
so offensive?
Also, your "radical center" actually represents the
pro-Democrat "progressive" liberal left ... that seems to be
the case Jon Stewart and TYTurks who are on the left of the
Democratic party (perhaps Bill Maher is a more centrist
figure with his more conservative economic positions). I
guess Jon Stewart occasionally makes silly calls for
bipartisanship, but it seems that this is more out of
naivete than some kind of anticommunist program on his part.
In a way, it's asking too much for them to report away from
the given line on issues like the DPRK, in part because
everyone in America believes that narrative and the fact
that everyone in America believes that narrative means that
the narrative is constantly confirmed. I would challenge the
narrative, not the brainwashed masses (of which, we must
remember, journalists and media personalities are
actually a part of) who all accept it unquestioningly.
That is why there is NO good reporting on these issues in
the American media, aside from the occasional leftwing
socialist party rag. I think as leftists, if we are ever to
convince the world of our agenda, must acknowledge that most
people disagree with it, and not make moral judgements at
everyone who interprets reality differently. Instead we must
try to address the root causes of their misunderstandings.
I agree with you about Yuppie youth though. They really ARE
annoying. I don't know if its worse than any other
generation ... it's just this generation is armed with a
seeming nonchalance and independence (i.e "hipster"
culture), meaning that they seem so much more hypocritical.
--
--
Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community
<[email protected]>
Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism
Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community"
group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it,
send an email to [email protected].
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
--
--
Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]>
Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism
Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
|
