Fox "News" is poisoning their viewers' minds with hate and fear.

[mwb970]

I found an article in the Columbus Dispatch this morning headlined "Run-up to election becomes stressfest" (a pickup of this AP story). Here's how it starts:

Victoria St. Gelais is panicky. Tami Brewster-Barnes feels the nerves in the pit of her stomach. Steven Valentine is losing sleep as his mood rises and falls with John McCain's poll numbers.

Voters around the country, whether they support McCain or Barack Obama, say they are experiencing nail-biting, ulcer-inducing anxiety ahead of next week's election and all that's riding on it.

"I have kind of a general feeling of near panic on occasion," says St. Gelais, a 48-year-old McCain supporter in Ormond Beach, Fla. "The thought of Obama winning right now is scaring me to death. ... I'm just anxious and even a little depressed."

At this point I paused in my reading to ponder the mindset of the panicky Victoria St. Gelais. Where would she get this bone-chilling fear of a candidate that represents hope and joy to the majority of Americans? Why is she so out of step? Then it hit me. Of course! Victoria must watch nothing but Fox "News" for her information, meaning that most of what she "knows" about Obama is dead wrong. Oh well, I thought, we'll never know for sure, but I'll just bet that's it. Then I read the next paragraph:

St. Gelais, like many, says she's not sleeping well, is watching Fox News nearly all day, and "lives on her computer," following all of the polls and the latest news. If Obama wins, she'll be devastated. "I would equate it to a death," she says.

BINGO! Watching Fox "News" "nearly all day" has this poor, ignorant woman equating Obama winning with her own death.

There is a sickness abroad in America, and its name is Fox.

[H2O Man]

1. Interesting.

I was thinking about posting an essay on the role of fear in this election. Glad to see this OP.

Thank you.

[tedoll78]

2. Wow.

Sounds like some of those McCain supporters are going to need some healthcare soon. :P

[lamp_shade]

3. Great observation. n/t

[Marsala]

4. Devil's advocate here...

Are we any different with our fear of a McCain victory? Granted, we are right and they are wrong, but don't we take the fear and demonization almost as far? John Oliver did a segment on this phenomenon of mutual fear on the Daily Show last night.

[whitewomenforobama]

6. I agree

and I was about to mention the Oliver sketch if no one had already. If you switched out the name "Barack Obama" with "John McCain" in the article above, you'd have an approximation of how I feel too. Even the tiniest thought of a McCain, and particularly Palin, victory scares the bejeezus out of me, and I'm just grateful that that's probably not a reality I'll have to deal with. Which is why we must continue to work our donkeys off for the next 7 days.

[Smuckies]

8. Good point.

Not saying Fox News isn't bad or the supporter is right, but we are fearful too.

[mwb970]

10. Yes, I thought of that too.

I would be appalled to find a hothead and an airhead voluntarily put in charge of our country by ignorant voters. It would make me sick to my stomach (and my heart) to face the prospect of four more years of bush, only much, much worse.

But for all that, I honestly can't say that I am quaking with fear for my very life the way Victoria and her Fox-watching ilk are. Clearly, they deeply, truly believe that Obama is an evil anti-American Muslim terrorist with dastardly plans to destroy the nation on purpose the very moment he takes office. As bad as the Palin/McCain ticket is, I for one am not crippled with the kind of mind-numbing terror that Fox "News" has whipped up in its viewers.

So no, I don't think we Democrats are anywhere near as frightened as Fox viewers. We don't have the only information sources we trust scaring us to death 24/7 like they do.

Fox "News", along with the legions of right-wing hate radio gasbags, have been dripping poison into the veins of American democracy for years. We see the results: a skinhead assassination plot, "Kill him!" shouted at rallies, a mutilation hoax, a southern man with a Sean Hannity book in his pickup truck killing people in a liberal church. Do you see anything remotely corresponding to this coming from the left? I don't.

[CrispyQ]

24. You make a good point.

As much as we feel our fears are well grounded & theirs are not, they feel exactly the same about their fears vs. ours.

My fear is that if McCain/Palin are (s)elected, we will see nuclear war. I think McCain is itching to set off a nuke just to show the world that he is in charge. Remember that video where Pat Buchanan is quoted as saying (regarding McCain) "This guy makes Cheney look like Gandhi"? Holy shit, the fact that Buchanan is saying that makes it even more frightening! And Palin? Holy fuck! She's a batshit crazy wacko who wants to bring about Armageddon so her beloved savior will sweep her up into the sky. How do you reason with someone like that?

These are real fears, based on the reality of these two personalities, that will have serious repercussions for the entire world, if they should come to pass. Their fears are mostly made up fears that aren't even based in reality. They fear that Obama might be a Muslim. Or that he will try to end the war in Iraq. Or that he will try to negotiate with Iran without preconditions. :eyes: And that is the difference. Most of their world view is not based in reality.

I frequently hear people say that you shouldn't let politics get in the way of your relationships, but how do you even find a common ground with people who view the world this way? I have no idea how we are ever going to overcome these differences & become a united nation. These people are going to resist Obama every step of the way. They will perpetrate a witch hunt against him just like they did Clinton, perhaps with even more vigor, since he's black. I think they will have a more difficult time finding anything against him, because I believe Obama is a better man than Clinton, but it will not stop them from trying. They are inherently fearful, mean people who cannot 'live & let live.'

Much as I hope Obama wins, I don't have much hope that this deep chasm between the two sides will ever be bridged. :cry:


BTW, here's the video I referenced above. It should be required viewing. What Scott Ritter says is absolutely terrifying! "Pick your city."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdJUCU1UH2w

[ecstatic]

25. But our fear is based on facts, her fear is based on smears and lies

There is a difference.

McCain would be a horrible, warmongering president. He is old and he supports republican policies that have proven to be devastating.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

28. So true.....

I mean, I don't think I could take it if he won.

[colonel odis]

5. perhaps when obama wins, these guys should just stay home, drop out of society,

and stop dragging down our country.

remember ... if you're not with us, you're against us. must support president in time of war.

[geckosfeet]

7. I expect FOX news to be in the business of fear and hate - NPR - not so much.

I expect it from FOX. What really pisses me off is when I hear NPR carrying John McLames water like I did last night. They are taking talking points right from the campaign staff now. Playing campaign stumps speeches and joining in the hand wringing.

NPR - you will never get another dime from me.

[1776Forever]

9. FOX - FAR OUT XENOMORPHICS!

xenomorphic - having a strange form.



Unfortunately FOX won't go away after Halloween - Sicko's!

[five_horizons]

11. Now they know how we felt in 2000 and 2004

[frickaline]

12. It is time for America to face its fears head on

I guess aside from Kleenex stock we should all invest in Eli Lilly - the makers of Prozac.

[Alter Ego]

13. Good, I hope she fucking drops dead when Sean Hannity has to choke through his tears

that Barack Obama is now the President-elect.

[mitchum]

23. I wholeheartedly agree

[mwb970]

31. That's why I want to watch Fox "News" on election night! /nt

[Peacetrain]

14. That is the operation that the right wing has been pulling for years.. Fear

That is the base of everything they roll out.. fear.. they are a fear based party

[Lerkfish]

15. to the title I say "duh!"

of course they are: that's the entire purpose of Faux news.

[Laelth]

20. I had the same reaction.

The OP's headline is definitely not latest breaking news. (In fairness to the OP, it wasn't posted as such.)

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[Jello Biafra]

16. It's an issue with what channels are available....

I know co-workers of mine who have Verizon FIOS and MSNBC is not on their system. So they watch Faux News. It's really part of the problem.

[mwb970]

29. Fox also seems to be the "default channel" in doctors' offices, etc.

I hear people say that it's the only thing on at fitness centers, stores, car-dealer waiting rooms, and so on. There seems to be an assumption of "Well, it's a public place, so we'd better put it on Fox to be safe."

:shrug:

[old mark]

17. Fox is owned by Rupert Murdoch, a billionaire from Austrailia

who personally owns a large percentage of the "news" media in the USA, and in other places around the world.

mark

[faithfulcitizen]

18. Fox News = bad for your health.

[Patiod]

19. And this is news to us how?

On a less sarcastic note, fewer televisions that are out in public, like in airports, are tuned to Fox anymore, at least in the Northeast and in major airports. One of the posters on DU had to ask the bank manager at his local Walmart to turn to something less incendiary (and they did), so it's still on in public, but MUCH less than it was 7 years ago.

[bullwinkle428]

21. I feel like a part of me has been dead for the last 8 years -

I've just never had the slightest inclination towards any act of violence, in an effort to act out against Republicans.

[mitchum]

22. Suicide is painless

[Essene]

26. welcome to the last 10 years?

this isnt new.

[sofa king]

27. It really is all about hate and fear.

It turns out that fear is a primary motivator for right-wing authoritarians, according to Yost, Glaser, et. al. It's why the Department of Homeland Security's Terror-O-Meter was so important to Karl Rove: he could program his "base" by broadcasting his fear as regularly and as ubiquitously as the weather. Getting busted for another crime? Kick up the fear a couple o' notches, that'll keep 'em busy until next news cycle.

http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~hannahk/conservatism.html


Obama's really got his shit together, and very well may be a two-term President. In eight years, you watch, the number of Americans who believe Obama is a Muslim will grow from whatever it is today. That's because the other half of the conservative feeding trough is hate. Hatred, in particular, of social outgroups. It doesn't matter to them whether or not he really is of a particular religion, they'll believe it because they've already been programmed from birth to know that Obama is black and liberal--both of which are minorities to them. Fox News is going to get even more bizarre in coming years, as they will have to create an even larger fantasy for their viewers: the fantasy that America is still mostly comprised of white male heterosexual Christians. Those people are going to be very, very unhappy.

I think there is a chance that Obama can win some of those authoritarians, by forcing them to redefine the majority of which they are a part to include a bad motherfucker like Obama and themselves. It won't make them responsible voters, but it might make them happier, less fearful, and less hateful.

[last1standing]

30. It must be Tuesday, then.

Each of the other days Fox restricts itself to one or the other, but on Tuesday, well.......

[yurbud]

32. Oddly, I didn't feel the way those Fox viewers do before Bush won the first time--

but I should have.

What nitwits.