"He is careful of what he reads, for that is what he will write. He is careful of what he learns, for that is what he will know."
— Annie Dillard
This is why censorship is so dangerous. This is why those who still trust the NYT, WaPo, CNN, NPR and MSNBC (and FOX on the right) believe so strongly in things that are demonstrably untrue (if only they would expand their range of reading).
The corporate news media hard at work. Another excellent mashup by Matt Orfalea.
I have friends who still think the TV news is there to inform them & give them “news”. Americans are the most propagandized people on earth & they have no idea they are.If the TV new actually did inform people about what is going on in the world & who actually runs things it would cause a revolution, which is why they never tell you the truth about anything important.
Their job is to manufacture consent for the agenda of Oligarchy & the handful of Billionaires who actually run things.
They’ve pushed EVERY war in my lifetime. EVERY WAR.
Can you imagine Anderson Cooper coming on TV and saying:
“The government is lying to you about this war, it’s complete bullshit just like Iraq & Vietnam, it’s built on lies to enrich a handful of people at the expense of everyone else, this is about money & power & stealing natural resources for western corporations & everyone should immediately oppose it”.
And STILL people turn to them for news & information as if they’ve turned over a new leaf & rejected their funding from weapons manufacturers, Wall st. & Oil companies.
We are living in a world that is a mixture of Orwell’s “1984” & Huxely’s “Brave New World” & it’s amazing how perfectly comfortable people are with that.
Michael Shellenberger discusses the mind of the censor with Glenn Loury:
I have come to the conclusion that not only is there something wrong legally and morally with people who want to censor their fellow citizens, there's also something wrong psychologically. Where the desire to discuss and debate is healthy, the desire to censor and silence betrays a kind of mental or even spiritual sickness.
I'm sorry to be so blunt, but the moment requires it: if you want to censor people you hate, there's something wrong with you. You are suffering from a toxic mixture of entitlement, arrogance, and insecurity. Go on a long walk. Talk to an elder. Seek help.
We live in a free society. Get used to it. Talk back to the voice in your head telling you that you have the right to shut people up. If you're too insecure to engage in free and open debate, then you have no right to demand censorship.
Consider also these excerpts from Robert Corn-Revere's book: The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder.
At City Journal, Ilya Shapiro offers this toolkit in case you are cancelled:
As the writer Jonathan Rauch has observed, criticism, or “expressing an argument or opinion with the idea of rationally influencing public opinion through public persuasion,” can be distinguished from canceling, which is “organizing or manipulating a social environment or a media environment with a goal or predictable effect of isolating, deplatforming, or intimidating an ideological opponent.” . . . What follows is a guide for what to do if it happens to you.
The most important task when facing a cancellation campaign is to define your goals. Obviously, you want the mobbing to stop and for things to return to “normal.” But ask yourself what, specifically, that means. Do you want to keep your job? Get the position on the law review that you deserve? Become famous? Deter further publicity? Make money off an unexpected opportunity? Retain your reputation for integrity, intelligence, and friendliness? Your strategy will follow from your ultimate aim.
Locking down your message means articulating a cohesive and consistent response to the charges against you and providing the context that the mob maliciously ignores. Once you know your goals, you can form a plan for achieving them and think through contingencies based on different ways in which the cancellation attempt unfolds. Those aims will also determine the answer to such key questions as, “Should I apologize?” Any strategy needs to adapt as events develop, but an anti-cancellation plan should always maintain a focus on your goals.
Full article at City Journal.