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Politics in Media - The Good, the Bad, and the Preachy

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This thread's purpose is to discuss politics in works of fiction/media. Please do not use this thread to talk about politics or media in isolation from each other.

REMINDER: US politics is a banned topic. Mentioning or alluding to it will get you thumped or suspended

     Original OP 
I felt we needed a place to discuss this because a lot of us love discussing the politics behind stories both intended or unintended. We all love discussing it and its nice to have a place to discuss it in these charged times.

I was thinking of asking what people thought were the most interesting post-election Trump related media.

The Good Fight on CBS Access devoted their entire second season to dealing with the subject.

Edited by kory on Feb 26th 2025 at 5:46:51 AM

Ultimatum Disasturbator from The Wiggle Room (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#36801: Dec 7th 2022 at 2:46:54 PM

they hate everyone and there's even some self hate involved too probably

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#36802: Dec 7th 2022 at 2:54:48 PM

Sorry, wrong post

Edited by unknowing on Dec 7th 2022 at 6:55:09 AM

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
m-95 SauaS GoodooG from my place of residence Since: Jun, 2021 Relationship Status: Loves me...loves me not
SauaS GoodooG
#36803: Dec 7th 2022 at 5:22:50 PM

In the case of the far right, I'd say they're often openly misanthropic.

Yet they more often than not target specifically minorities and in general victims of corrupted policies, while trying to deflect by saying "I just hate everyone".

Frankly "far-right" can be a nebulous term, but I'm pretty sure that the people typically considered far-right won't try to deflect from their hatred of minorities. Especially not by saying "I just hate everyone". White supremacists for instance have no issue admitting that they hate out-groups, and the reasoning they give is crap about "muh evolutionary in-group strategy" or something like that.

People who outright want to kill people from minority demographics are pretty open about the fact that they hate them. Getting them to admit that they hate in-groups as well is much harder. You seem to have it flipped around.


[down] Assuming that "far-right" here means racial supremacists and the like, I'd mostly agree, but with a caveat. I notice that white supremacists tend to be more fond of "the white race" as an abstract concept than they love actual white people. It's why the idea of a "race traitor" exists among them.

Edited by m-95 on Dec 7th 2022 at 8:52:22 AM

JustForFun.How To Be An Anti Hero
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#36804: Dec 7th 2022 at 5:28:32 PM

The far-right don't hate humanity as a whole. They love humanity.

They just have a very limited and nebulous definition of humanity, and consider anyone outside of said definition not human.

Edited by M84 on Dec 7th 2022 at 9:29:12 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
LoneCourier0 The Wandering Geek from A Diverse Land (Unitroper) Relationship Status: How YOU doin'?
The Wandering Geek
#36805: Dec 7th 2022 at 11:34:06 PM

Ergo; a really shallow definition of love that doesn't really count.

Because if they they love it more as a concept than something as another living being then they're just really misanthropes deep down.

"Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#36806: Dec 7th 2022 at 11:47:03 PM

The point is that you really shouldn't be conflating bigotry with misanthropy. Misanthropy's actually quite nuanced in ways that bigotry is not.

For a start, here's the Wikipedia page on Misanthropy: Misanthropy

Edited by M84 on Dec 8th 2022 at 3:51:14 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
LoneCourier0 The Wandering Geek from A Diverse Land (Unitroper) Relationship Status: How YOU doin'?
The Wandering Geek
#36807: Dec 7th 2022 at 11:49:41 PM

I see then.

But still, I don't find misanthropy to be a healthy mindset, even when you're not with others to interact with.

"Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#36808: Dec 7th 2022 at 11:51:22 PM

One big difference between bigotry and misanthropy is that bigotry, deep down, is rooted in fear instead of hatred. Genuine misanthropes don't really fear other people — they're just genuinely disgusted with what they perceive to be intrinsic moral flaws and failings of humanity. The bigot otoh, is afraid of the "Other".

Disgusted, but not surprised
Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#36809: Dec 7th 2022 at 11:51:48 PM

Hatred (while human) is never healthy.

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#36810: Dec 7th 2022 at 11:53:50 PM

[up]You'd be surprised. The Power of Hate is actually rooted in reality.

If this 2010 Harvard study is to be believed, thinking angry thoughts actually gives you more of a boost than happy thoughts.

That's part of why hatred is so dangerous. It's not that it's bad for us, it's that it's too good for us.

Edited by M84 on Dec 8th 2022 at 3:54:52 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
LoneCourier0 The Wandering Geek from A Diverse Land (Unitroper) Relationship Status: How YOU doin'?
The Wandering Geek
#36811: Dec 7th 2022 at 11:55:14 PM

Even so, one must tame it instead of letting go rampant.

"Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#36812: Dec 7th 2022 at 11:56:43 PM

Easier said than done. There's a reason a lot of people have trouble resisting the urge to "doom-scroll" through bad news or participate in arguments on social media even though they know it's just making them angry.

Disgusted, but not surprised
LoneCourier0 The Wandering Geek from A Diverse Land (Unitroper) Relationship Status: How YOU doin'?
The Wandering Geek
#36813: Dec 7th 2022 at 11:59:16 PM

That sounds dangerously close to a drug addiction.

"Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try."
RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#36814: Dec 8th 2022 at 1:27:14 AM

I mean, it is. I'm sure there have been studies done on the dopamine properties of instant-gratification that scrolling gives you and how unhealthy it is.

It's been fun.
LoneCourier0 The Wandering Geek from A Diverse Land (Unitroper) Relationship Status: How YOU doin'?
The Wandering Geek
#36815: Dec 8th 2022 at 2:42:13 AM

In fact, things like this is what makes me explore those kind of topics in my novel involving how an Alien Invasion may play out with today's politics. In fact, said Aliens are highly advanced beings who thinks that bigots like white supremacists and such aren't being honest in who they are; narcissistic and cowardly backstabbers using different veils to hide the fact they're driven by the cowardice of not just the "other", but also themselves, of how their complacent attitudes made them into "weak" and "feeble" beings who are unfit to "evolve" and instead of solving the issue, they deflect by targeting those deemed as "weak" by them, also considered as a form of cowardice. Hence why the Aliens create an experiment that not just makes them into cyborgs, but also attempts to force them to admit the "truth" about themselves.

Edited by LoneCourier0 on Dec 8th 2022 at 11:47:35 AM

"Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#36816: Dec 8th 2022 at 2:44:19 AM

Again, stop conflating misanthropy with bigotry. They really aren't the same thing.

Edited by M84 on Dec 8th 2022 at 6:44:43 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
LoneCourier0 The Wandering Geek from A Diverse Land (Unitroper) Relationship Status: How YOU doin'?
The Wandering Geek
#36817: Dec 8th 2022 at 2:45:58 AM

I didn't really quite say it in my recent post tho.

That aside, thoughts on the Aliens' logic behind the bigots's actions?

"Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#36818: Dec 8th 2022 at 2:46:32 AM

[up]You did.

narcissistic and cowardly misanthropes

Disgusted, but not surprised
LoneCourier0 The Wandering Geek from A Diverse Land (Unitroper) Relationship Status: How YOU doin'?
The Wandering Geek
#36819: Dec 8th 2022 at 2:47:03 AM

Ah ok.

"Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try."
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#36820: Dec 8th 2022 at 4:39:33 AM

I mean, it is. I'm sure there have been studies done on the dopamine properties of instant-gratification that scrolling gives you and how unhealthy it is.

There has been. I brought it up a few weeks ago in the social media thread, but the summary was:

  • Researchers had two groups used in a test. Group 1 was told to not use Facebook for four weeks, Group 2 was left alone. At the end of the test, Group 1 reported higher life satisfaction and happiness. It was even equated to having spent some time in therapy. Which was interesting on many levels, because for one: using Facebook was not making these people happy, and two: therapy costs money, not using Facebook is free.
  • Group 1 reported much less polarization on political matters without the news content being fed to them by social media. The caveat here though was that they were less informed about breaking news in general.
  • They were more likely to spend their new free time on social activities rather than other social media.

LoneCourier0 The Wandering Geek from A Diverse Land (Unitroper) Relationship Status: How YOU doin'?
The Wandering Geek
#36821: Dec 8th 2022 at 4:42:18 AM

So, more or less what I thought. Good thing I'm spending most of my time on TV Tropes and Discord... As long it's not overly political thread or channels.

"Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try."
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#36822: Dec 8th 2022 at 5:40:56 AM

Frankly "far-right" can be a nebulous term, but I'm pretty sure that the people typically considered far-right won't try to deflect from their hatred of minorities. Especially not by saying "I just hate everyone". White supremacists for instance have no issue admitting that they hate out-groups, and the reasoning they give is crap about "muh evolutionary in-group strategy" or something like that.

Oh no, this isn't true in the slightest. The far-right has quite a few people who are willing to hide their beliefs, that's the whole point of "hiding their power levels". They're well aware that their views are unpalatable to the general public and thus obfuscate it whenever possible.

Some are stupid or deranged enough to not hide it (see: Kanye West) but they're not the only ones.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#36823: Dec 8th 2022 at 5:42:54 AM

[up] This is part of the reason holiday gatherings can be so fraught. Your horrible relatives are generally smart enough to shut up about their horrible beliefs, but they get any level of alcohol into them and they start spewing their horribleness for the whole world to see.

Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#36824: Dec 8th 2022 at 6:13:13 AM

People might misuse the term far right somwtimes by applying it to just milquetoast centrists or neocons or something (not something that i've personally seen) but i dont think far righters these days are very nebulous. They have very clear stances on ultranationalism, xenophobia, militarism, contempt for the people who arent the dominant social class, frequently flaunt social norms of political correctness by saying sexist/racist/etc things. If youre dealing with a far righter youll probably know right away.

Edited by Draghinazzo on Dec 8th 2022 at 12:22:12 PM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#36825: Dec 8th 2022 at 6:15:57 AM

Only thing nebulous about them is their definition of what's the "right" kind of person. Race is a pretty arbitrary social construct.

Edited by M84 on Dec 8th 2022 at 10:16:32 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised

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