MEMPHIS / STORYLINE: Which tribe's Storyline had it right?

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2023

Quite often, the answer is neither: As we noted yesterday, David French offered some sound advice in his debut column for the New York Times.

His advice was especially good and sound at this time of "massive partisan divide." 

"How do we fight past our partisanship to become truly curious about the truth?" French asked, near the end of his column. This is the answer he gave:

FRENCH (2/6/23): The lesson I’ve taken has been clear: Any time my tribe or my allies are under fire, before I yield to the temptation of a reflexive defense, I should apply my principles and carefully consider the most uncomfortable of thoughts: My opponents might be right, my allies might be wrong and justice may require that I change my mind. And it may, in all likelihood, require that I do this again and again.

On its face, French's advice seems extremely sound. 

When partisan disputes arise, we should refuse to "yield to the temptation of a reflexive defense," he says. We should consider an uncomfortable possibility:

We should consider the possibility that, in the instance under review, our opponents—i.e., the other tribe—may actually have it right. We should even consider the possibility that our own tribe might be wrong!

On its face, that seems to be sound advice. That said, we'll disagree with a suggestion which lurks within that formulation—the suggestion that, in any given tribal dispute, one of the tribes will in fact be "right" while the other tribe will be fundamentally "wrong."

Is that really the way the world works? We're going to say that it isn't.

In his column, French was talking about the recent event in Memphis in which Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by five police officers. Because Nichols was black, as were his five principal assailants, the videotape of this event produced a challenge to the prevailing Storylines of our warring political tribes.

As a conservative, French says he's been inclined to follow his tribe in matters involving claims of police misconduct. He described the situation in this part of his column:

FRENCH: [R]espect for police officers has long been vital to the very identity of conservative Americans. Men and women in uniform are ours. They’re part of our community, and—as the Blue Lives Matter flags in my suburban Nashville neighborhood demonstrate—we’ve got their backs...

There are good reasons for respecting and admiring police officers. A functioning police force is an indispensable element of civil society. Crime can deprive citizens of property, hope and even life. It is necessary to protect people from predation, and a lack of policing creates its own forms of injustice.

But our admiration has darker elements. It causes too many of us— again, particularly in my tribe—to reflexively question, for example, the testimony of our Black friends and neighbors who can tell very different stories about their encounters with police officers. Sometimes citizens don’t really care if other communities routinely experience no-knock raids and other manifestations of aggression as long as they consider their own communities to be safe.

Members of French's political tribe have been inclined "to reflexively question" the testimony of black citizens concerning their encounters with (some) police officers.

French says that he was once part of that tribal syndrome. In this passage, he says he has "changed his mind" about this important area of concern:

FRENCH: I used to fit that partisan mold. As a conservative, I could clearly see the problems in American universities...When it came to the police, however, I was skeptical. I knew there were some bad apples. But was there a systemic problem? I was doubtful.

I have since changed my mind, but it took shedding my partisanship and applying my principles to allow me to see more clearly.

According to French, he was once inclined to believe that there were "some bad apples" with American police departments, full stop. He doubted that there was "a systemic problem." 

He says he has changed his mind. This seems to suggest that he now believes that there is a "systemic problem," though he never tries to explain what he means by that claim.

We offer three very loud cheers for French's overall admonition—for his suggestion that we should all attempt to avoid reflexive tribal thinking. We'd only suggest that he seems to oversimplify the situation in his otherwise helpful piece.

For starters, there plainly are a certain number of "bad apples" within American police departments—people who should never have been police officers in the first place. 

Presumably, though, there are "bad apples"—unprincipled actors—within every field of endeavor. Does that mean that there's "a systemic problem"—whatever that means—within American policing?

The statement is hard to define. It isn't clear what French means when he says he has come to accept it, and vague accusations of this type will inevitably produce a lot of unhelpful partisan pushback.

So how about it? Is there some sort of "systemic problem" within American policing? Unless we're simply trafficking in accusatory Storyline, there's no way to answer a question like that until the person making the claim says what he or she means.

In every current matter of dispute, we tend to encounter dueling Storylines from our red and blue tribes. In the general area of police conduct, the red tribe has tended to adopt the "some bad apples" talking point. 

The blue tribe has tended to rail against "systemic problems."  Rarely the twain has met.

Absent attempts at specification, our blue tribe's "systemic problem" Storyline seems to lodge a sweeping complaint against American police. We're not sure it really helps to abandon the talking point in which police departments include "a few bad apples" in favor of a talking point which is quite hard to define.

Alas! At aggressively polarized times such as these, it will often be the case that the Storyline of neither tribe is perfectly right. It may not be especially helpful to switch from the Storyline of one warring tribe over to the Storyline of the other.

In many areas, it may be that there are elements of truth found within the hardened viewpoints of each of our warring tribes. Applying French's overall plea, the person seeking a helpful consensus should try to keep that fact in mind.

With respect to police misconduct and police culture, French has learned to look beyond the reflexive behaviors of his own red tribe. Can we in our blue tribe do the same? Our tribe's track record in such endeavors is often extremely poor.

Tomorrow, we'll start to look at some of the ways the vicious beating of Tyre Nichols was discussed within our own tribe. 

We'll look at the standard talking points our blue tribe reflexively brings to discussions of this important topic. We'll also start to look at some of the things we can imaginably learn from events on the ground in Memphis.

Our own blue tribe quickly stopped discussing what happened in Memphis. We love to say how much we care, though it sometimes may seem that we don't.

An innocent person was beaten to death by a gang of Memphis police officers. Our own blue tribe tends to fall back on Storyline when such events occur.

Tomorrow: The New York Times editorial board


48 comments:


  1. Meh. There is no "partisan divide", dear Bob.

    Outside of your brain-dead tribe we haven't met anyone who would boast -- like you and your brain-dead comrades do -- about voting for the same letter on a ballot all 100% of the time.

    No, dear Bob, there is no "partisan divide". There are normal ordinary people, aka 'deplorables' -- and then there's your brain-dead tribe...

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  2. The perverseness of French’s column is that he says he now agrees with liberals about policing, but he still chooses to center his column around the partisan divide over this issue.

    It’s clear that French himself contributed to the partisan divide by denouncing the liberal view for years. His take on this issue helped drive the conservative view and hence their mistaken views on policing.

    At this point, he needs to write a column in support of the idea that there is a systemic problem with policing, rather than waste his and everyone’s time with this bothsider crap.

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    1. mallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallwrdsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallards

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    2. Duck off, 12:06.

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  3. "So how about it? Is there some sort of "systemic problem" within American policing? Unless we're simply trafficking in accusatory Storyline, there's no way to answer a question like that until the person making the claim says what he or she means."

    Actually, there are other ways to answer such a question besides the person making the claim clarifying it. After Michael Brown was shot, the DOJ sent a team to investigate policing in Ferguson. They examined all aspects of the system there and issued a report that documented systemic problems and suggested changes to how things were done.

    The facts at hand exist independent of French's opinions. Somerby places all the response with French, when the Department of Justice, a team of experts in policing, were the ones who ultimately clarified the systemic problems in Ferguson. Somerby wants this to be a duel of competing beliefs but FACTS do not rely on anyone's belief. They exist outside the minds of partisans and non-partisans and have a life of their own. Discovering those facts is available to all, but it won't happen as long as Somerby thinks this is a matter of French clarifying his opinion, not looking at reality.

    If a person does not have the time to dig out the facts, to research every proposition, he or she will do better by believing the left than the right. The right propagandizes by spreading disinformation, deliberate lies to attract voters. The left tries to stick closer to the truth, respects expertise and tries to get things right. That's why Somerby can only find trivial nit-picks when he sets out to criticize the left. You'll have to ask Somerby why he so rarely criticizes the left, why he keeps directing readers to Tucker Carlson.

    The Catch 22 in Somerby's argument is that one must already know what it true before deciding which of the bilge spewed by the right is true and which is not. When it is a matter of trust, believing Republicans can be fatal -- ask those who refused to be vaccinated or wear masks, caught covid and died -- oh, you can't do that because those folks are dead. They might still be alive if they had trusted Democratic news sources instead.

    And yes, an innocent person was beaten to death by Memphis police officers. Is there any doubt about that? Somerby calls it storyline -- but what matters is whether that storyline is true, not whether a report is arranged in a narrative format, which is all that a storyline is. Somerby pretends that stories cannot be true -- but when they are being told on the left, most likely even the details are true, leaving Somerby only irrelevant complaints, such as that newspapers are no longer focusing on Memphis because new events have occurred.

    "Our own blue tribe quickly stopped discussing what happened in Memphis. "

    No, we haven't stopped discussing Memphis. The NEWS may have switched to talking about that massive earthquake in Turkey, but liberals still care about police shootings of unarmed citizens. We don't need the newspaper to remind us that such things happen, and the idea that we are somehow fickle is a made-up non-fact arising from Somerby's hostility toward our "blue tribe" (whatever that means), not a real thing.

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  4. "With respect to police misconduct and police culture, French has learned to look beyond the reflexive behaviors of his own red tribe."

    What is the evidence of French's change of opinion, besides his own word? The true test of whether French has learned anything at all is how he approaches the next controversy ginned up by Tucker Carlson. What does French believe about the Chinese balloon? What does he believe about the debt ceiling? Has he changed his mind about any other controversies being promoted by the right? Has he examined any of those and changed his opinions about them? Has he listened to any opinions held by the left and found that they have merit? This is what French needs to "clarify."

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  5. "a few bad apples"
    People still use this saying without understanding what it means.
    It doesn't mean "I have a huge bucket of apples, and only a few are rotten, so no biggie."
    It means, having a few rotten apples in your bucket turns the whole bucket rotten. Just as having a few bad cops, turns the whole police force rotten.

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    1. Thank you. The complete phrase is: "One bad apple spoils the bunch (or barrel)."

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    3. 11:24,
      Stick around. We're doing basic arithmetic next.

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    6. mallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallwrdsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallardsmallar

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    7. lambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambs

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      Delete
  6. "With respect to police misconduct and police culture, French has learned to look beyond the reflexive behaviors of his own red tribe. Can we in our blue tribe do the same?"

    This all depends on whether the behaviors of the blue tribe are actually reflexive. Somerby has presented no evidence that liberal believe mainstream news reflexively, without thinking, out of partisanship. First, the mainstream media is not a liberal organ in the same way as Fox is the mouthpiece of conservatism. Second, Somerby is not part of "our blue tribe". No one who excuses Trump and other right wingers can call himself that. Third, studies have documented that liberals tend to read a wider variety of media than conservatives do, that they are consequently better informed on current events and less likely to believe propaganda. Liberals also tend to be better educated, which is at the heart of questioning partisan sources.

    On what basis then does Somerby equate liberals and conservatives when it comes to reflexive partisanship? Somerby has provided no evidence whatsoever that liberals deserve the harsh chiding Somerby hands out every day.

    Somerby wants to say that neither views about policing are correct. If he thinks that, he needs to provide some arguments and evidence to support his beliefs. It may seem like common sense to say that the truth lies somewhere between competing beliefs, but there is no reason why that should be so, and like all platitudes, it must be examined using facts. Somerby never facts because that takes work. But he could try...

    What evidence is there that the black police officers were acting as they did because they were bad apples? Have their records been examined and found to be full of worms? If they were not racist, because black, why did they mistreat Nichols? What alternative explanation is there for what they did? Why were the police reports falsified compared to the video? Is it common practice for the police to write such reports in Memphis? What accounts for the statements of the EMTs who were relieved from duty and why did they delay attending to Nichols' injuries for so long? Has this happened in other cases?

    What does Somerby know about this death that would lead him to mistrust the news report, in his knee-jerk fashion, without giving it a chance? Isn't that partisan too, just in the opposite direction. And if Somerby says he misbelieves the right-wing accounts, what specifically does he think is wrong with them? What facts does Somerby know that were not in either versions of what occurred?

    Somerby never says. He is just content to float in the middle between two opposing sides, cawing at others without doing the hard work of explaining his own beliefs. That isn't any more responsible thinking than what Somerby accuses the right and left of doing. It is just different (without Somerby ever specifying what he thinks others have gotten wrong). This is lazy nonsense and there is nothing the least bit helpful about it.

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    1. Simple answer is lambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambslambs

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      Delete
    3. cut it out -- I have reported you to blogspot for violating terms of service

      Somerby, as owner of this blog, should weed out this kind of thing.

      Delete
  7. "Tomorrow, we'll start to look at some of the ways the vicious beating of Tyre Nichols was discussed within our own tribe."

    As lefties, we know how the beating has been discussed within our own tribe.

    Why doesn't Somerby instead tell us how the beating has been discussed within the red tribe and what knowledge they have about the beating that we on the left have gotten wrong. Then we can discuss the points of difference of opinion.

    Or perhaps Somerby might point out the ways that both sides have it wrong, describe what that truth in the middle consists of. Except I don't think he has any facts not already provided by the media. Why would he? And I don't think he is really up to comparing and contrasting (or otherwise analyzing) the differences in coverage between the mainstream media (which is not the left) and Fox News (and other extremist right sources).

    Somerby says he is "musing" on his masthead because he doesn't know how to actuallty analyze the media. What he is actually doing is attacking the left from a faux-left stance in order to undermine faith in the media and promote right wing storyline (narratives, talking points, memes, disinformation).

    ReplyDelete
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      Delete
    2. Why is Somerby allowing one person to entirely disrupt conversation here?

      Delete
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      Delete
    4. My apologies. I didn't think the Right could come up with a good economic idea, but after reading 11:42's well thought out response, I've been proven wrong.

      Delete
  8. One tribe says 6+6=12.
    The other tribe says 6+6=10.

    Somerby says, if the two statements above are true, 6+6 must equal 11. This is the kind of logic Bob is bringing to the discussion.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Can it also be viewed as a systemic problem that people in some communities kill each other at a higher rate than other communities and yet never show any outrage?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://priceschool.usc.edu/students/gang-prevention-programs-in-greater-los-angeles/

      It is an aspect of racism that some people believe that black people do not care about gang violence (the main source of homicides in black neighborhoods) in their communities. There are nationwide and local efforts organized by black people, including mothers who have lost sons to gun violence, especially in large cities. Some have been operating for decades with some success in lowering the homicide rates. Los Angeles and San Diego are notable examples.

      It is definitely a systemic problem. The programs that are most effective have the cooperation of police and local officials and agencies (including schools and family services) to address such violence in a coordinated way.

      Why would you believe there is no outrage when black youth are killed by each other, or especially when bystanders are shot? I think the outrage and the solutions may be less visible to YOU specifically because there is no need for an organization like BLM because no one is defending the gangs and there is little controversy that something needs to be done to address such shootings. Even so, the mothers who are involved in nationwide crusades to stop gang violence are perhaps not getting the same press attention so they aren't on your radar. They definitely exist and they are certainly outraged.

      Delete
    2. Using systemic solutions to systemic problems works better at preventing violence, especially compared to the approach that just locks up the shooters, which is what has been happening (infrequently) when police shoot an unarmed person at a traffic stop. Preventing young black kids from joining gangs and addressing gang activity works better than simply locking up shooters. Proactive measures are better than punitive ones because someone doesn't have to die, careers won't be ruined, lives won't be wasted. Police need to buy into such approaches.

      Delete

    3. @12:05 PM,
      They actually are fed up with rampant crime, and their judges and juries tend to punish their criminals ('super-predators', to quote the Psycho-Witch) to the full extent.

      ...which is then described by brain-dead liberals as 'systemic racism'...

      Delete
    4. Black on black crime is largely caused by economic conditions. This is why providing reparations to black Americans is a win-win situation.

      Delete
    5. Yes. Providing reparations for black people will reduce black on black crime, which the Others feel is very important. I'm not sure what is taking so long. Everyone supports it.

      Delete
    6. All crime is caused by the same factors (worldwide), which may be present to a greater or lesser degree in different communities. Race is not one of them.

      Delete

    7. Yes, every criminal should be paid off, handsomely. And then -- no crime! Yeah, that's the ticket.

      Delete
    8. Mao,
      If it's good enough for your bosses (the Establishment), it's good enough for the rest of us.

      Delete
    9. Reparations is politically impossible. Sorry.

      Delete
    10. 1:20,
      Poverty is the factor. Race is how we get there in the USA.

      Delete
    11. 1:30,
      Like Universal Healthcare and free education, the money is available, but we lack the political will.

      Delete

    12. Haven't you heard, dear dembots: it's all because of lead in gasoline.

      Delete
    13. "Reparations is politically impossible."
      It wouldn't be if the Others had honest concerns about black on black crime.
      Alas, we run the nation with the Others we have, not the others we wish we have.

      Delete
    14. Mao,
      The Right's problem with electric vehicles is probably the fear we'll take their sniffing of gas away. I hadn't thought about that, until you mentioned it.

      Delete
    15. "...we'll take their sniffing of gas away."
      That's where the Right gets most of their economic ideas.

      Delete

    16. Whoa, good new confessions, dear psycho-dembot.

      ...those boosters really work, eh?

      Delete
    17. Science is something, Mao.
      That reminds me of the time Donald Trump tried to gaslight a viral pandemic, like it was some common NY Times political reporter.
      Good times!

      Delete

    18. Yawn. Confess more about gas-sniffing, please, dear Gyorgy.

      Delete
    19. I haven't hung-out with 3rd graders, since i was 8-years old. Remind me again, which one of us is glue?

      Delete
    20. When I read the NY Times, or other mainstream news sources, I do not consider it my tribe's news. I consider it to be reports of what has happened nationally and around the world. I do not feel the same way about Fox News -- that is a propaganda vehicle for the right wing. Since I have read some of the news also discussed at Fox, I can see huge differences in how stories are reported, including blatantly paranoid conspiracy theories, speculation without fact, and gross mischaracterizations of figures such as Biden and members of congress.

      There is no balance between the two, no equivalence and if there is some distance between what is reported and actual fact, it seems obvious that mainstream media is MUCH closer to fact than Fox. No possibility that much of what Carlson says has any basis in fact, any more than what Alex Jones and Steve Bannon say. I am not the least bit tempted to believe anything I hear on Fox.

      Somerby's suggestion that we should set aside partisan considerations and give Fox a chance is thus ridiculous to me. I would sooner step off a garage roof to test gravity.

      I am not the only one who feels that way. When you look at the chart of media biases at:

      https://adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/

      Fox News is down where there are reliability issues and opinion, whereas the NY Times is center top, in a green box among sources that reliably report news, as are CNN and MSNBC and the Washington Post. Tucker Carlson is even further down on the reliability scale, in a category called opinion and "high variation in reliability", skewing right.

      This does not support Somerby's view of the media at all. Rachel Maddow is in the "reliable for news but high in analysis and opinion content" category, and skews left, not hyper-partisan left. In other words, she is a more reliable version of Carlson, with opinion but reliable fact reporting (unlike Carlson). Maddow skews less to the left than Carlson does to the right. This is moot, since she no longer does her nightly show.

      Delete
  10. So now Bob is saying "our side" is tribal because they STOPPED talking about an incident of police brutality?
    I guess it's just as well the guestbook got vandalized today....

    ReplyDelete