WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2022
...Morning Joe debates "who we are:" The Morning Joe program began today with a lengthy, utterly pointless pseudo-discussion of the race for the GOP Senate nomination from the state of Pennsylvania.
As matters stood, the race was an unresolvable dead heat between the two leading candidates. There was absolutely no way to cipher out the basic question of who would eventually win.
Still and all, the topic carried the familiar thrill of an ongoing horse race. So Steve Kornacki stood before "the big board" and wasted astonishing amounts of time, speculating about what additional votes might still come in—or, of course, might not come in—from a wide range of Keystone State counties, large and small counties alike
It was the ultimate waste of time. Or so it might have seemed, until the gang began discussing what President Biden said yesterday—what he said about white supremacy and its role in American life.
The discussion didn't start until roughly 6:55 A.M. Eastern. But when the discussion finally started, it went on roughly forever.
What gave the discussion its high elan? It was the utterly pointless scripted claim, adopted by several members of the gang, that last weekend's murderous rage by one (1) teenager does in fact demonstrate "who we really are as a nation."
The claim could hardly be more pointless. True to form, the pundits loved it.
The later Wittgenstein seemed to think that most of our most highly exalted "philosophy" was really just meaningless pseudo-assertion. We're glad the later Wittgenstein didn't live to see this morning's pseudo-discussion.
If one deranged teenager shoots and kills ten people, can that crazy behavior actually show, in some sense, "who we really are?" If you think a question like that makes some sort of actual sense, you should perhaps be kind enough to abstain from further public discussion.
We expect to discuss this lengthy conversation in greater detail at some point. We're waiting for MSNBC to post the transcript from Monday evening's 11th Hour program, where a different pundit went on and on, then on and on, in a similar ludicrous vein, with the grossly disappointing Stephanie Ruhle dumbly agreeing and posturing.
(For reasons which strike us as perfectly obvious, MSNBC continues to slow-walk its production of transcripts. Generally speaking, the channel now waits roughly a week before allowing the world to see what its employees have said.)
Over at Mediaite, Tommy Christopher thought today's Morning Joe discussion was worth transcribing and recording. We're very glad that he did.
Thanks to Christopher, you can watch 17 minutes of this utterly pointless pseudo-discussion. You can even see short transcriptions of some of the pundits' comments, though Princeton peacock Eddie Glaude somehow escaped this fate.
(Further note: Eddie Glaude is a good, decent person.)
The woods are lovely, dark and deep. The rhetoric of our self-impressed tribe is routinely well past pathetic.
You should very much stop assuming that our tribal leaders are fundamentally intelligent, insightful or wise. First and foremost, they're reflexive performers of memorized script—and their performative scriptings routinely make societal matters worse. It's mandated Storyline, pretty much all the way down.
The other tribe has lost its mind. Our own flailing and floundering tribe is stunningly faux and unimpressive on the corporate "cable news" end.
Does a murderous rage by one teenager show "who we really are as a country?" You really can't ask a dumber question than that.
Our corporate pundit corps loves such games. This is who, and what, they are.
"The rhetoric of our self-impressed tribe is routinely well past pathetic."
ReplyDeleteWithout a doubt, dear Bob, your tribe deserves its moronic rhetoric.
...come to think of it, you too deserve it dear Bob. Huffing and puffing -- for years! -- about Commander's alleged mental condition, fantasizing about "Mr Trump's War", and then, when all your terrible suspicions fully materialized during Veg's presidency, suddenly you see nothing.
So, 'pathetic rhetoric', dear Bob? You're just as guilty of the condition of your shitlib tribe as any other of your fellow tribesmen. Oh well.
Mao, in fairness, Mr. Trump's constant goebbelsian campaign to upend our democracy (such as we have it) with his claims that he 'won' the 2020 election, as a result of a vast conspiracy, without any proof other than conclusory conspiracy BS, earns him the animosity directed at him by TDH and anyone else.
Deletewait i thought woke progressives could not win, i want my money back
ReplyDeleteGendron's derangement may not show "who we are as a country," but his easy access to an AR-15 sure does.
ReplyDeleteoof
ReplyDeleteA quick check of the link Somerby provides of the "who we are" discussion obliterates Somerby's dumb claim; no one made the claim that the Buffalo right winger's behavior is who we are. Somerby as usual is just putting his thumb on the scale.
Amazingly, while making his bad faith claim, Somerby says if you disagree with his stance "you should perhaps be kind enough to abstain from further public discussion".
Bwahahahahahahaha
I am not holding my breath until Somerby does not make a ridiculous, nonsensical argument or claim - I would die.
No he didn't say it's if you disagree with his stance.
DeleteHe wrote:
"If one deranged teenager shoots and kills ten people, can that crazy behavior actually show, in some sense, "who we really are?" If you think a question like that makes some sort of actual sense, you should perhaps be kind enough to abstain from further public discussion."
At least get your facts right before attempting to criticize something, otherwise it makes you look foolish.
Let's move on to your other claim, out of curiousity, that no one made the claim that the Buffalo incident represents who we are.
So, perusing the article, just about right off the article gets to this quote from Barnicle:
"One of the more shopworn phrases that we’ve heard repeatedly over the past few days with reference to Buffalo, this the latest example of who we are, is the phrase “This is not who we are.”
That’s not true. This is who we are."
Followed by Brzezinski agreeing “It is.”
Huh, weird. Let's scroll up to the article title again, how is this all framed?
Joe Scarborough Wages Epic Battle With Morning Joe Crew Over Whether White Supremacy ‘Is Who We Are’
Oh dear.
"I am not holding my breath until Somerby does not make a ridiculous, nonsensical argument or claim - I would die."
You have it backwards, you are the one making nonsensical arguments as usual. And likely projecting your inadequacies onto Somerby.
"Does a murderous rage by one teenager show "who we really are as a country?"
DeleteDoes the killing of one Nagasaki citizen by an atomic bomb in 1945 really show "who we really are as a country?"
This downplay thing is easy.
Love how riled up you get at my "inadequacies".
DeleteLove the passion.
And you are correct, it is extremely important to get the facts right, especially with something so non trivial like this.
Problem is, this mostly comes down to interpretation, and then there is some context to consider, oh lordy, we are already deep in the woods.
First, though, Somerby's stance is that it does not make "actual sense" to ask that question, that question no one really asked, that if that question makes any kind of "actual sense" then ""you should perhaps be kind enough to abstain from further public discussion."
I think I pretty much nailed it the first time, if you disagree, then I think you should put that pointy hat on you wear sometimes and go sit in the corner.
Somerby says that the discussion was about how that right wing shooter in Buffalo's behavior showed who we really are; however, my take on the discussion was that "who we are" (and this was clearly qualified later in the discussion) can give rise to such behavior. For some this difference may seem subtle. but it is about as subtle as your average snake oil salesman.
You quote the title, which also does not support Somerby's claim. It questions if White supremacy is who are, not if a right winger shooter is who we are. And as far as White supremacy goes, there is some evidence that that notion holds sway with many in our society.
"Oh dear."
uh, that, my friend, is a tell, and I will stop here for now.
Think about the radical jump in Republican rhetoric recently. It went from thinking "people who drink Starbucks are snooty" to "every single person of color in this country is a demographic threat" a la an Arab in Jerusalem. They're making sure the violence happens because they're hitting all the right notes.
ReplyDeleteBeyond that there's way too many guns in the country, and the we don't have anything in place right now keeping the culture stable. Anything the government does to help is phased out within a year. Parents are overworked and teenagers are raised by the internet.
Criticizing this dumb show is too easy, a waste of energy.
ReplyDelete