All posts tagged "mainstream media"

One of the most evocative examples of how media bias towards novelty works in politics has to be the way that mainstream media is covering the teabagger movement. Any fool could see from the outset that the teabaggers are a bunch of Fox News-addled right wing nuts that are sore losers whose anger is exacerbated by racist resentments. But the mainstream media insists on covering it like it's an exciting, fresh shift in the political landscape. I don't think they're carrying Republican water on this issue, though. I think the eagerness to run with this "teabaggers are fed-up independents" narrative is stoked by a desire for novelty above all other things. But it defies common sense. You can look with your own eyes and see that the teabaggers aren't really a collection of spring chickens. But should your eyes deceive you, then you should also note a) that the average age of Limbaugh and Fox News' audience is past retirement age and b) that enough of them were so far out of the loop, slang-wise, that they initially called themselves "teabaggers" without realizing how that would cause a nation to titter wildly. The point here is not to bash old people, but to point out that human beings aren't known for our willingness to change our habits and beliefs suddenly in our golden years. It happens, of course, but it's rare enough that if you see a big group of people with an average age older than 40, you can safely assume they didn't all just wake up to their brand-new political beliefs. The far more likely explanation is that the people you're seeing have been nursing their grievances for a long ass time, and were activated by some flagrant violation of long-held beliefs. My money's on the most obvious explanation. There was a one-two hit of shit happening they thought would never happen: a black man elected President and the passage of health care reform.