None of the freepers I work with have ever heard of Libby, Plame, Abramoff, Hookergate, etc

[rudy23]

And these are people who watch FOX and listen to Rush, and like to beat their chests, and claim to be up on everything.

And honestly, many of the people I talk to, even Dems don't know anything about the Libby trial.

I know, it's time to get a new job, and some new friends. But these are not classically uneducated people. Most of them have Masters degrees.

Just throwing a dose of reality on the idea that Fitzmas is going to solve all of our problems. It's gonna take a lot more work than this. Lots more.

[Catherine Vincent]

1. That's true in my case also.

I am sure most of my department don't know anyting about this Plame, Abramoff, Foley business. But they all knew about Monica Lewinsky!

[SpiralHawk]

14. Do they know about Jeff Gannon, the Bush White House male prostitute?

I mean, if they are into sniffing around other people's sex lives, they must have some curiosity about why a male prostitute with a totally salacious web site and a notorious reputation visited George W. Bush's White House over 200 times, some visits apparently overnight.*

*According to the official Secret Service records. Look it up. That's a fact, Jack.

[TerdlowSmedley]

2. Bet they can give you a play-by-play of the Monica Lewinsky scandal

and -- ooooh, scary -- Travelgate and Whitewater. Real important, Constitutionally relevant shit. Uh-huh.

[Bjornsdotter]

5. ...that's "blow by blow"

....I think that's how they phrase it. :evilgrin:

[jedicord]

3. Bet they haven't heard of Project for a New American Century either.

I work with the same types here. But they are really good at sending BS e-mails about how the Clintons are murderers, Iraq is going just fine, thank you, and liberals are going to ruin the country.

[rudy23]

31. Nope, hardly anyone I know has. They all think it's some conspiracy stuff or something nt

[BlueJazz]

4. Good grief...Everybody knows Libby makes canned Vegtables...Where in the hell...

...do these idiots shop??

[SoCalDem]

22. Yep. when it says Libbys, Libbys, Libbys on the label, label, label.. n/t

[LSK]

6. they still think we are chasing down a few terrorists in Iraq

They are seriously uninformed.

Ask them about Sunni or Shia and they go blank.

[pdrichards114]

7. Many Non-Repug's who I work with, and they vote Dem, have never heard about this stuff either.

[kimmerspixelated]

8. Ignorance is really scary!

[LynzM]

9. Same here. It's easy to forget, when you hang out at DU....

That many, many people don't know (or care?) who most politicians are, and what they're up to. Sadly, often these same people can tell you in great detail about the goings-on in any number of TV shows. I'm all for moderation in all things, but all "reality tv" and no "reality" really irks me.

[LibDemAlways]

34. True. A few years back I was commenting to a

neighbor that the new teacher at my daughter's school reminded me of then Minnestota Governor Jesse Ventura. She gave me a blank stare, so I said "You know the one who used to be a wrestler." Her exact response was, "I have no idea who you're talking about." That's when I realized that not everyone is as interested in politics as I am.

I still find it difficult to get a good political discussion going with most of the people I know because they're completely clueless and want to change the subject.

Another problem is that because people have never heard about things like PNAC that are common knowledge on DU, they assume you're making it up or buying into weird conspiracy theories.
I have a friend who works for a local tv station in LA. Every time I see him, I ask when his bosses are going to start putting some truth on the air. Even though he knows it's all car chases and celebrity gossip, he still gets offended and tells me they are only giving the public what it wants.

[Crabby Appleton]

10. Libby-Plame seems to have a limited audience

political junkies and court junkies

[stanwyck]

11. Doesn't surprise me. The freepers I work with

had never heard of the Anbar province. How can we be at war for four years, with explosions and fire fights daily in the Anbar province, and these red-blooded "support the troops" guys have never even heard of a place as big as Texas where my son has been for three tours?
I mentioned Tikrit and one said "Crete? Why are we fighting in Crete?"
Sigh.
However, they can name all the famous battles of the Confederacy.
Well, this is Georgia.

[mmonk]

12. It's why impeachment is the only thing that will get their attention.

[Alamom]

18. But they won't know WHY !!!111!!!...They will never catch up. n/t

[mmonk]

28. Doesn't matter, they'll just know it's serious.

You're talking about a population that can't distinguish the constitution from a roll of toilet paper.

[SoCalDem]

13. "Most" people do not follow politics much. They get interested

every 4 years when they choose the guy with the best looking hair or the one who's "cute".

I have always thought that the fault is public high school.

Civics/government, when it's even taught, is so "dry" and boring and loaded with "founding fathers" lore, that kids just zone out, memorize what they must for the tests, and that's it.

That LAST thing that politicians want is a populace that's tuned in and interested.

Stop 10 people at random at a mall or grocery store and see how many know the following:


1.. their congress person
2.. the vice president
3.. the north korean leader
4.. Putin
5.. Chris Matthews
6.. the capital of Afghanistan
7.. who owns their newspaper
8.. Russ Feingold
9.. Brian Lamb
10. Ann Coulter


now ask them:

1.. Howey Mandel
2.. Brittney Spears
3.. Julia Roberts
4.. Brad Pitt
5.. Angelina Jolie
6.. Simon whatshisname
7.. Rosie O'Donnell
8.. Shaquille O'Neal
9.. Dolly Parton
10.Jim Carrey

[Greeby]

15. Thing is, take out No.1 from the bottom list

And I know both. There is a happy medium being knowing your politics and knowing your mindless celebrity gossip. Hell, given how dark and depressing the political situation is, a little diversion for a couple of hours helps keep me sane

[SoCalDem]

19. You know them all because you are a well-rounded person AND

you hang out at DU, but I fear that "most" people are not like us :)

My own bestest friend has to be shamed into voting, and then makes me tell her "who to vote for" because she's too busy to read up on it.. :grr:

(but it IS like getting TWO votes ) :evilgrin:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

30. I had a sociology prof once that asked about that.

He said to a class of about 50 or 60 rich college kids, "How many of you know who your two senators are?"

Two of us raised our hands. Yours truly and another kid.

I said "Lloyd Bentsen and John Tower".

He was a cool dude, and the token liberal in this school full of rich bored preppies.

The best thing he ever said in class was, "You know, some of the things you frat boys do during rush make me want to puke." :evilgrin:

I had no use for fraternities, sororities or any of their members when I was in college. I couldn't understand why somebody would want to dress exactly like and act just like a bunch of other kids. I went to one sorority rush party. I remember some girl saying, "Oh you meet such NICE PEOPLE here!" in her little singsong voice. I decided that 1)there was no intelligent life here; 2) there were no boys there (since intelligent life=boys when I was in college, 98% of the time), so I left.

[Cerridwen]

16. Not so unusual and not just freepers.

Most here in the U.S. are too busy with their lives to track the ins and outs of the political process and usually only key into the political scene during a major election.

A young woman I worked with was battling it out in the courts for custody of her children. She was dealing with a judge who had a long history of being extremely abusive to women in his court room with special vitriol saved for mothers fighting for custody. Which judge, I asked, had she voted for during the last election? She didn't know, just picked some names. Which judge, I asked her, was she going to vote for in the coming election. I'll probably just pick some names, she said. I advised her (after I bit my tongue and did some serious breathing), gently but firmly, that she might want to think about that a bit.

In her mind, as well as in the minds of many, there is the idea that politics doesn't effect us; even when it's right in our face. (I believe the late, great Molly Ivins wrote about this.)

Politics is, unfortunately, an acquired taste. Many will turn their noses up at it as though it is something dirty or too exotic rather than taking a small bite especially when there are so many other dishes on the table upon which to gorge; soccer practice, bills, dentist appointments, work, kids, house repair and health issues to name just a few. Getting people to sample politics is tricky. You can't give them the nasty stuff first and then expect them to suddenly decide wow! I liked that. May I have some more? Either they have to be starving (something has happened which greatly impacts them) for them to even try a bite or they have to have developed the taste along the way; perhaps through their school or parents for example.

To carry on the food analogy; I have read, that during the middle ages, people died of anemia rather than eat liver which was "prescribed" to them to combat anemia. I don't know the validity of this; but it's a good analogy of how people will, in some cases, die rather than eat what's good for them if what there is to eat isn't palatable.

I see the same thing with educating people about politics.

[KurtNYC]

17. People don't have to be aware of something for it to be true or for it

to bite them in the butt. Call me an optimist but things have started to change. How long has it been since someone in Congress raised the idea of reviving thr Fairness Doctrine and now it happens. The Dixie Chicks were shunned by radio stations 4 years ago that now play this John Mayer song all the time:


Now if we had the power
to bring our neighbors home from war
they would have never missed a Christmas
no more ribbons on their door
and when you trust your television
what you get is what you got
cause when they own the information, oh
they can bend it all they want

that's why we're waiting
waiting on the world to change

It has been said that 'the revolution is over when the singing stops' so perhaps the opposite is true now.

[Lex]

20. The more Fox Noise they watch, the less actual information they have.

There was even a non-partisan, non-political study done on that very fact.

[EST]

21. All my life, I have been frustrated and disgusted by people who

simply have no clue. They wander blissfully through life with little more awareness of their surroundings and responsibilities than that which is concerned with sex and cold beer.

Yet, on sympathetic reflection, I can understand and somewhat appreciate their disconnection.

In order to have the convenience of electric power in my home, there is no real need that I learn a lot about power generation or customer billing, or hi-line repair or even who is in charge, except for being able to find the service number should there be problems.

I want to hire good people to run the whole thing and then not bother me with the details; just send me a bill each month and keep enough juice available for my needs and those of my community.

Politicians should not have to know much about my job and I should not have to be involved to any great degree in theirs--ideally.

The problem is that the government functions have been even more taken over by crooks and liars and it can't be treated any more as it used to be. Somehow, we have to find a way to demonstrate, on a sex and cold beer level, the importance of learning enough to be uncomfortable and involved.

Unfortunately, the only way that humans seem to be able to see reality outside their experience is through major calamity. It has always been this way, sadly, and it's likely to continue.

[driver8]

23. You should see the blank faces I get when I mention "PNAC."

One of the idiots told me that "the PNAC is probably a 'liberal conspiracy.'".

[sallyseven]

24. They are lying to you.

They know about it because the rights are trying to tamp it down. You cannot tamp down nothing.

[sallyseven]

25. They are lying to you.

How could they not know? Even rush is trying to tamp this down so they are worried.

[PoiBoy]

26. I leave articles on the table in the break room...

:evilgrin:

...not the posts from DU unfortunately, because they would cry bias... but thankfully DUers post links to the original article most of the time, and I print those out and "forget" them in the breakroom... I also leave my copy of Rolling Stone behind... it appeals to the younger crowd who pick it up to read about the music and hip hop content, and end up reading the political articles as well... and it's starting to have an effect... people are talking about the articles... there's a higher level of awareness of current events among my co-workers and over 3/4 of our staff are volunteering for community cleanup day and voter registration drives....

small steps... but small steps forward...

:hi:

[blogslut]

33. That's the way to do it!

Look for opportunities to inform and do some informing.

[pdrichards114]

35. I left a copy of The Nation, Mother Jones, and The Economist on my old employers breakroom table

Guess which two were thrown away?

Ignorant savages.

[tom_paine]

27. Like asking Nazis if they've heard of Mengele's Experiments

Nazi: "That's Jewish Propaganda."

Bushevik: "That's Liberal Propaganda."

These mindsets are DEEPLY related. Second cousins, at least. NEVER forget that.

[HuffleClaw]

29. or are they pretending to not know?

[rudy23]

32. I wish they were, but I promise they're not. nt