{"id":49744,"date":"2022-11-06T17:45:40","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T01:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=49744"},"modified":"2022-11-06T17:45:40","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T01:45:40","slug":"everyday-erinyes-343","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2022\/11\/06\/everyday-erinyes-343\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyday Erinyes #343"},"content":{"rendered":"

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”<\/p>\n

As important as this topic is, I almost bypassed the article because of the rampant bothsiderism in the introduction and first section. But eventually, the author has to admit that all the actual violence and threats of violence today are indeed coming from the right. And that this violence and threats of violence can be traced to the deliberate manufacture of political delusion. Conservative thinkers appeas to have replaces Descartes (“I think, therefore I am”) with “I think, therefore it is so.”
\n==============================================================<\/p>\n

Political violence in America isn\u2019t going away anytime\u00a0soon<\/h1>\n
A member of the National Guard patrols the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2021.
\nBrendan Smialowski\/AFP via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Richard Forno<\/a>, University of Maryland, Baltimore County<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

A warning<\/a> about the threat of political violence <\/a> heading into the 2022 midterm elections was issued to state and local law enforcement officials by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 28, 2022.<\/p>\n

The bulletin was released the same day that Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi\u2019s husband was hospitalized after a home invasion<\/a> by a lone right-wing extremist seeking to harm her.<\/p>\n

This incident is the latest in an increasing stream of extremist confrontations<\/a> taking place across the United States in recent years. These incidents have primarily targeted Democrats, including a plot<\/a> to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020. But threats from both sides of the political spectrum are up significantly<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And, of course, there was the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection<\/a> at the U.S. Capitol, where supporters of a defeated Republican president, acting on a widespread lie<\/a> he perpetuated, violently attempted to prevent the certification of electoral votes. According to well-documented public evidence, some rioters planned to find and execute both Speaker Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Such incidents reflect a disturbing trend that targets the very fabric, foundation and future of U.S. democracy. But what led to this point?<\/p>\n

As a researcher taking a critical and apolitical eye toward security issues, I believe the rise in contemporary right-wing political extremism \u2013 and violence \u2013 began with an outdated focus in national communications policy.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Police take measurements around House
\nSpeaker Nancy Pelosi\u2019s San Francisco home after her husband, Paul Pelosi, was assaulted inside the home on Oct. 28, 2022.<\/span>
\nTayfun Coskun\/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Media-induced slow burn<\/h2>\n

Until the late 1980s, the Federal Communications Commission\u2019s Fairness Doctrine<\/a> required traditional licensed broadcasters to offer competing viewpoints on controversial public issues. But these rules did not apply<\/a> to cable or satellite providers. As a result, the rise of cable news channels in the 1990s led to highly partisan programming that helped divide<\/a> American society in the ensuing decades.<\/p>\n

This programming fueled increasing polarization in the public and political arenas. Bipartisanship was abandoned in the 1990s, when the Republican Congress under Speaker Newt Gingrich embraced<\/a> a \u201cscorched-earth\u201d policy of governing. That meant treating the minority party not as the loyal opposition and respected elected colleagues who had differences over policy, but as enemies.<\/p>\n

In addition to emerging partisan cable television networks like MSNBC and Fox News<\/a>, in the early 2000s, an increasingly polarized Congress and the public received a new source of division: social media.<\/p>\n

Internet platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and 4Chan allowed anyone, anywhere, to create, produce and distribute political commentary and extremist rhetoric that could be amplified by other users and drive the day\u2019s news cycle.<\/p>\n

Political pundits and influencers across the spectrum became less concerned about correctly informing the public. Instead, they stoked outrage<\/a> in the search for money-generating clicks and advertising dollars. And political parties exploited this outrage to satisfy and energize their voting base or funders.<\/p>\n

\"A
Philadelphia city commissioners display a voting machine in Philadelphia City Hall on Oct. 24, 2022.<\/span>
\nEd Jones\/AFP via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Moderation or censorship?<\/h2>\n

To combat online extremism, social media companies reluctantly began moderating user posts<\/a> and sometimes banned<\/a> prominent users who violated their community standards or terms of service.<\/p>\n

In response to what it dubbed \u201ccensorship<\/a>\u201d from Big Tech, the right wing splintered<\/a> into numerous niche platforms catering to their conspiracy theories and extremist or violent views such as Truth Social \u2013 run by former President Trump \u2013 Gab, Parler, Rumble and others.<\/p>\n

Compared with Democrats, Republicans have mastered this form of gutter politics. One example: Right-wing political figures have mocked<\/a> Paul Pelosi for being attacked, spread baseless conspiracy theories<\/a> about his personal life and used the incident for applause lines at campaign rallies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, today\u2019s voters and politicians end up confronting one another in the public sphere not on matters and substance affecting the future of the country, but on fundamental facts and conspiracy theories, or to address distractions often generated by their respective media ecosystems. This is only exacerbated by a prolonged nationwide decline in media literacy<\/a> and civics education<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Rioters outside the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, clash with police.<\/span>
\nRoberto Schmidt\/AFP via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Law enforcement\u2019s unique problem<\/h2>\n

Against this backdrop, federal law enforcement has become more vocal in warning about the dangers of domestic political extremism, including a bulletin<\/a> issued in February 2022. The Oct. 28 DHS bulletin further underscores this concern.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s hard for law enforcement to effectively address political extremism, because speech protected under the First Amendment<\/a> is a major consideration. Phrases like \u201cI\u2019m fighting for you!\u201d or \u201cSaving our country!\u201d might seem like typical political bluster to one person. But they could be seen by others as an implied call for intimidation or violent action against political opponents, election officials, volunteer poll workers and even ordinary voters.<\/p>\n

How does speech turn into violent action? Security specialists and scholars use the term \u201cstochastic terrorism<\/a>\u201d to capture how a single, hard-to-locate person might be inspired or influenced toward violence by broader extremist rhetoric, as appears to have been the case<\/a> with the man who allegedly tried to kill Paul Pelosi with a hammer.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement\u2019s problem is made worse by right-wing lawmakers who normalize or actively praise the actions of violent extremists, calling them \u201cpatriots<\/a>\u201d and demanding their prison sentences be overturned or pardoned<\/a>. This helps obscure the actual reasons for such incidents, often by deflecting them into broader conspiracy theories involving their opponents.<\/p>\n

Certainly there are controversial left-leaning politicians, pundits, activists and talking points too.<\/p>\n

But few \u2013 if any \u2013 openly disregard the fabric of American government, scheme to overturn democratic elections by force or plot to assassinate politicians.<\/p>\n

By contrast, there are over 300 Republican election deniers<\/a> running for office this year, including many incumbents \u2013 the vast majority of whom endorse political violence such as the Jan. 6 attack either by their actions or their silence.<\/p>\n

Hope for the best; prepare for the worst<\/h2>\n

Tensions are high heading into the 2022 midterms. Politicians are making final arguments, and the online messaging machines are spreading campaign information, fundraising requests \u2013 and plenty of disinformation as well.<\/p>\n

Americans expect a peaceful transfer of political power<\/a> after elections, but recent history shows we must prepare for the worst. It\u2019s clear that the modern Republican Party is openly and successfully embracing and exploiting misinformation, outrage and attacks on democracy and the rule of law.<\/p>\n

Until Republicans actively disavow their extremist rhetoric and the misinformation contributing to it, I believe the likelihood for political violence in America increases with each passing day.\"The<\/p>\n

Richard Forno<\/a>, Principal Lecturer in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

==============================================================
\nAMT, the fact is, yes, we need the fairness doctrine or something like it. But we need even more to demand truth in journalism – and in education. Truth – facts – speak for themselves. And what they say is often counter-intuitive. Applying a fairness doctrine to interpretations of fact should take a back seat to actual evidence. And the differences between pure fact, interpretations of fact, and pure opinion need to be recognized and clearly delineated. Just how feasible it is to get to that point from where we are today remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

The Furies and I will be back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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