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The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

theintercept.com

1–10 of 43 posts

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#3
post #2

Could it possibly be aggravated by the media telling us things that are obviously and immediately contradicted from what we see of raw, first person video accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube?

It might be their narrative based journalism and their beliefs for what will happen if they tell their tall tales.

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#4
While very resonating and personal, I wish he had included data in comparison with the rest of the world. Data on where the US falls short, relatively, could give better insight into identifying the problems and getting to the solutions.

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#5
post #2

Could it possibly be aggravated by the media telling us things that are obviously and immediately contradicted from what we see of raw, first person video accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube?

Do you think that's true of both sides? As a progressive, a lot of my frustration with "the other side" is that they seem to ignore what I'm seeing in the first person video accounts.

However, I'm wondering if people on the other side feel the same way about me.

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#6

While very resonating and personal, I wish he had included data in comparison with the rest of the world. Data on where the US falls short, relatively, could give better insight into identifying the problems and getting to the solutions.

My general assumption these days is that, if an article portraying something as a uniquely American ill or failing hasn't bothered to put the stats it's using in context by comparing them with other countries, it's because those comparisons would get in the way of the article's thesis. Though maybe I'm getting cynical from having followed your media's coverage of Covid-19 over the past few months.

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#7
Robert Putnum has studied this extensively and was considered the domain expert until his results didn't match the ever changing requirements of adherence to political correctness. His work is still out there but even the linked article didn't bother to reference it. His data concluded the wrong thing so now it is to be shoved to the side so everyone can shrug their shoulders and pretend not to see what's at the heart of society's unravelling.

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#8
post #2

Could it possibly be aggravated by the media telling us things that are obviously and immediately contradicted from what we see of raw, first person video accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube?

Do you think that's true of both sides? As a progressive, a lot of my frustration with "the other side" is that they seem to ignore what I'm seeing in the first person video accounts. However, I'm wondering if people on the other side feel the same way about me.

Maybe those who identify as a truth seeker instead of as a progressive or a conservative find it easier to see what is happening in the world. Where do your first person video accounts come from? Are the edited? Are the missing content at the start or at the end that other first person video accounts include? Would your sources ever admit this or would you have to go to "the other side" to find the video in its entirety? Would you even know that the other side has a video with a more complete view of what happened? There are many ways to lie with video, lies of omission being quite common these days.

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#9
post #2

Could it possibly be aggravated by the media telling us things that are obviously and immediately contradicted from what we see of raw, first person video accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube?

Do you think that's true of both sides? As a progressive, a lot of my frustration with "the other side" is that they seem to ignore what I'm seeing in the first person video accounts. However, I'm wondering if people on the other side feel the same way about me.

One of the sources for "raw info" that I follow is the No Agenda Podcast (co-hosted by former MTV VJ and co-inventor or podcasting Adam Curry and former tech columnist John C. Dvorak). They position their podcast as "media deconstruction" and contrasting what the media say versus what is actually going on, and they slam Fox News every bit as much -- if not more -- as anyone else.

I'll tell you what gives me hope though: podcasts like the Joe Rogan Show where Joe, who is very progressive, will talk with ANYONE in order to discuss and understand differences. And this is one of the biggest weakness of mass media these days: if it cannot be condensed to a sound bite it's ignored. A thriving democracy is supposed to be a place where differing points of view are debated vigorously but with mutual respect between the parties debating. Unfortunately, these days it seems to be a race to get to the point where you can dehumanize your opponent, and this is a fault of both the left and right.

You ask who people on the other side think about you: I'm not a progressive but I don't think it's black and white either. I think we could probably agree on 80%+ of RELEVANT political issues... assuming we don't let a polarized media exaggerate what is actually relevant. We all want to be happy, we all want to be loved, we all want the next generation to prosper... I think that's universal.

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#10
post #2

Could it possibly be aggravated by the media telling us things that are obviously and immediately contradicted from what we see of raw, first person video accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube?

I see no reason to believe that. What is an example where videos on social media contradict the news reporters? It does seem likely though that these videos on social media are showing media are showing one perspective that easily misleads people who then don't receive the context of the situation or view sfrom other angles that news media provides far better.
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