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The forgotten American conservative & the condescending American liberal


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Same Reddit thread from earlier left me with a few questions and I thought I'd seek a broader opinion here.

A common theme throughout the thread was that many conservatives in our country currently feel underserved and/or flatly disrespected or misrepresented by the broader American media, including both mainstream news and contemporary entertainment media like movies, TV, etc. Apparently many conservatives feel ostracized and under attack for holding their political views  by our society in general but in particular liberals speaking down to them.

 

Obviously this is where claims of mainstream media having a liberal bias comes into play. This feeling of being left out or actively demonized has created a space for a conservative counterculture of sorts wherein young conservative media figures like Ben Shapiro & Tomi Lahren can thrive. 

 

Liberals, on the other hand, were described as pressing for things like lax immigration enforcement, abortion, gun control, religion, etc. by appealing to minorities as the "majority of tomorrow" along with sympathetic white folks by moralizing to them about "doing what's right" as if it's a given that what's right is liberal positions on these issues. At worst, liberals were described as outright ignoring or being hostile to the needs of conservatives and/or white people because their share of the electorate is shrinking and they won't have as much of a voice in the future.

 

They went so far as to claim liberal claims of racism as a motivating factor for, say, Trump voters could be dismissed outright as liberals not wanting to tolerate conservatives differing views.

I don't agree with all of these assertions but they struck me as interesting enough to warrant discussion.

How accurate is this assessment?

 

Are conservatives truly done a disservice by the news media? The entertainment media? By politicians? Society as a whole?

 

Are liberals condescending to conservatives? To voters as a whole? 
 

Sorry for the length of the post - feel free to discuss any of these questions or whatever you feel is relevant.

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14 minutes ago, Clifford Franklin said:

Same Reddit thread from earlier left me with a few questions and I thought I'd seek a broader opinion here.

A common theme throughout the thread was that many conservatives in our country currently feel underserved and/or flatly disrespected or misrepresented by the broader American media, including both mainstream news and contemporary entertainment media like movies, TV, etc. Apparently many conservatives feel ostracized and under attack for holding their political views  by our society in general but in particular liberals speaking down to them.

 

Obviously this is where claims of mainstream media having a liberal bias comes into play. This feeling of being left out or actively demonized has created a space for a conservative counterculture of sorts wherein young conservative media figures like Ben Shapiro & Tomi Lahren can thrive. 

 

Liberals, on the other hand, were described as pressing for things like lax immigration enforcement, abortion, gun control, religion, etc. by appealing to minorities as the "majority of tomorrow" along with sympathetic white folks by moralizing to them about "doing what's right" as if it's a given that what's right is liberal positions on these issues. At worst, liberals were described as outright ignoring or being hostile to the needs of conservatives and/or white people because their share of the electorate is shrinking and they won't have as much of a voice in the future.

 

They went so far as to claim liberal claims of racism as a motivating factor for, say, Trump voters could be dismissed outright as liberals not wanting to tolerate conservatives differing views.

I don't agree with all of these assertions but they struck me as interesting enough to warrant discussion.

How accurate is this assessment?

 

Are conservatives truly done a disservice by the news media? The entertainment media? By politicians? Society as a whole?

 

Are liberals condescending to conservatives? To voters as a whole? 
 

Sorry for the length of the post - feel free to discuss any of these questions or whatever you feel is relevant.

Their problem is this victim mentality you detailed throughout your post. Its not about them, but they make it about then 

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1 hour ago, Clifford Franklin said:

Are conservatives truly done a disservice by the news media?

I don't think anyone is done a disservice by the news media.  At the same time, I think "news" has changed.  The media briefly reports "news", but then spends a majority of the time on commentary and opinion.

 

In my social circles, I've heard less political discussion in the past year or two than anytime in recent memory.

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One thing to consider is what conservatives are we talking about here? If we are talking about supporters of the current GOP, maybe there is a reason for the bias and feeling attacked. If you believe in Fox and our lyin' POTUS, then I really don't have sympathy for you feeling attacked. I have more sympathy for you being duped. 

 

To expound, reasonable conservatives on this board such as TG and BRB don't seem to feel under attack or feeling forgotten. Just in disgust of this terrible administation and its hurtful self-serving policies. Im surprised more conservatives out there aren't fed up with their party at this point. I would be embarrased to say these people represent my political views. 

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2 hours ago, TheSker said:

I don't think anyone is done a disservice by the news media.  At the same time, I think "news" has changed.  The media briefly reports "news", but then spends a majority of the time on commentary and opinion.

 

In my social circles, I've heard less political discussion in the past year or two than anytime in recent memory.


I still talk politics with people in casual situations, but it's definitely a risk being unabashedly opposed to Trump & mainstream GOP policies when meeting new people in Nebraska. :lol: I've actually found a pretty good proportion of people I talk to that are otherwise conservative really dislike Trump as POTUS.

There's a ton to unpack re: the bolded. I totally agree with you, FWIW. Punditry is awful. It's tricky, though, because with the amount of information out there now between TV, print & the internet, anybody can find something that supports their pre-existing views, and it seems that's all a lot of people really want anymore.

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2 hours ago, Nebfanatic said:

One thing to consider is what conservatives are we talking about here? If we are talking about supporters of the current GOP, maybe there is a reason for the bias and feeling attacked. If you believe in Fox and our lyin' POTUS, then I really don't have sympathy for you feeling attacked. I have more sympathy for you being duped. 

 

To expound, reasonable conservatives on this board such as TG and BRB don't seem to feel under attack or feeling forgotten. Just in disgust of this terrible administation and its hurtful self-serving policies. Im surprised more conservatives out there aren't fed up with their party at this point. I would be embarrased to say these people represent my political views. 

 

Most didn't really explicitly state whether they were pro or anti-Trump or indifferent, it was more people that held traditional GOP positions (pro-life, pro-gun, Christian, anti gay marriage; even anti-immigrant which is anti-immigrant which is now somewhat GOP orthodoxy under Trump) feeling ostracized in society.

You see it to some degree on this board, as a couple of the more enthusiastic pro-Trump conservatives have stopped frequenting P&R & said it's because they didn't feel welcome, though I don't think they were here in good faith in the first place.

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10 hours ago, Dbqgolfer said:

I don't know about society as a whole, but I don't think there's any question that there is a liberal bias in the news and entertainment media, as well as higher education.

Is it "liberal bias" or that those are people that have been exposed to more diverse ways of thinking, have met and socialized with people different than themselves, have travelled and have learned about different cultures?

 

I disagree on your broad generalization of the fact that "there's no question".  Perhaps you can better explain why you feel that way.

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12 hours ago, Clifford Franklin said:

A common theme throughout the thread was that many conservatives in our country currently feel underserved and/or flatly disrespected or misrepresented by the broader American media, including both mainstream news and contemporary entertainment media like movies, TV, etc. Apparently many conservatives feel ostracized and under attack for holding their political views  by our society in general but in particular liberals speaking down to them.

 

Liberals, on the other hand, were described as pressing for things like lax immigration enforcement, abortion, gun control, religion, etc. by appealing to minorities as the "majority of tomorrow" along with sympathetic white folks by moralizing to them about "doing what's right" as if it's a given that what's right is liberal positions on these issues. At worst, liberals were described as outright ignoring or being hostile to the needs of conservatives and/or white people because their share of the electorate is shrinking and they won't have as much of a voice in the future.

 

They went so far as to claim liberal claims of racism as a motivating factor for, say, Trump voters could be dismissed outright as liberals not wanting to tolerate conservatives differing views.

How accurate is this assessment?

 

Are conservatives truly done a disservice by the news media? The entertainment media? By politicians? Society as a whole?

 

What an interesting thread Clifford.  Thanks for starting it.

 

I think it's an interesting phenomenon that right now conservative folks (and sadly, like everything else, the loudest ones aren't necessarily speaking for the whole) seem to think they are the victims of some conspiracy of the left, rather than taking a step back and thinking perhaps mindsets and perspectives are evolving, and theirs just haven't done so.  And that rather than saying, "hum, this is a topic I need to learn more about, to think through why I think the way that I do" they shift to "the MSM is more heavily weighted with liberal thoughts that are attacking my way of thinking".  To think that every news station but one and all news papers are against you is just crazy.  So no - I don't think there is a effort to disrespect or misrepresent conservative thinking.  I think there is a misperception by conservatives that there are more liberals writing news articles and broadcasting than conservatives.  And I think there's a misperception that just because someone votes R or D they then cant' do their job without those political beliefs coming into play.  

 

I think the message about the MSM/media is just stupid.  It's been drilled into minds by the conservative media and conservative thinkers.  For whatever reason they seem to have great success at messaging - simple, repetitive, often abbreviated catch phrases become "truths" to their followers.  I'm in sales and we work with the knowledge that it takes hearing something at least 8 times for it to become "fact" or to be perceived a ones own mindset or idea.  The GOP has done a great job with this.  But what we've lost is one of the most valuable check & balance for the states.  People have become absolutely oblivious to what is news, what is opinion, what is punditry and what is infotainment.  How many people read a local paper or watch local news?  How many watch one of the basic three news casts (ABC, NBC, CBS) and not cable?  Fox and MSNBC are not news stations.  When did it become normal (seriously asking because I don't recall when this changed) for the Sunday shows to have surrogates so flagrantly messaging?  I used to watch Tim Russert every Sunday and his show had experts who came on and spoke from their experiences but were not plugging for a particular politician or action.

 

Now, I do agree that liberals can be condescending to conservatives (and vice versa) instead of asking "why do you think that way" we have just said "that's ignorant, and wrong and you must be dumb/incompetent/racist/etc to think that way".  We could all be better about not dismissing people that disagree with us, but rather to ask more and understand why.  Also, to be ok with saying, "that's something I've not thought of in that way".  It's ok to evolve and not be fully bought in to something that aligns to your voting history.  I'm a proud liberal - and I am not sure I disagree with the death penalty.

 

I need more comment to understand how liberals are hostile to white people's needs because they are cognizant and fight for minorities equal treatment - I'm not sure I understand this argument.

 

We should all be equal participants in the US.  So the conservatives playing victims is just rich in my mind, especially when there are so many other very real examples of people here who are not being given fair treatment, who are disrespected and underserved and have been for years, and don't even get me started on the immigration situation.

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14 hours ago, Dbqgolfer said:

I don't know about society as a whole, but I don't think there's any question that there is a liberal bias in the news and entertainment media, as well as higher education.

My sister teaches at a state university in Minnesota, a swing state (a lot would actually call it liberal).  She has to be careful about what she says because of the extreme conservatism of her male colleagues.  She's actually been told how impressed they are that she can do her job and raise a family, especially as a woman.  Higher education promotes thought and our place in a general society, maybe it isn't a coincidence that people leave there with a better understanding of the world outside our borders.

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23 minutes ago, RedDenver said:

The conservative trope that higher education is somehow more liberal is one that strikes me as incredibly tone-deaf. If the most educated people in our society are more liberal than conservative, then shouldn't conservatives start questioning their own ideology? I've found most conservatives instead choose to attack higher education.

 

 

Yep.

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This reminds me of the Merry Christmas - Happy Holidays topic.

The Right is good at conjuring up attacks from nothing, then fighting against them. i.e. they're good at rallying the troops even when there isn't a fight.

 

The transgender bathroom topic is another example. That started with North Carolina inventing a problem and then creating a bill to solve the problem - then a bunch of people complained about transgender people when they didn't start it at all.

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23 minutes ago, Moiraine said:

This reminds me of the Merry Christmas - Happy Holidays topic.

The Right is good at conjuring up attacks from nothing, then fighting against them. i.e. they're good at rallying the troops even when there isn't a fight.

 

The transgender bathroom topic is another example. That started with North Carolina inventing a problem and then creating a bill to solve the problem - then a bunch of people complained about transgender people when they didn't start it at all.

 

I have to admit as somebody who's liberal in most regards I do find it humorous when the right tries to slander the left as culture warriors or for playing identity politics.
 

Republicans to me seem to do it just as much, they just have different targets.

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26 minutes ago, Clifford Franklin said:

 

I have to admit as somebody who's liberal in most regards I do find it humorous when the right tries to slander the left as culture warriors or for playing identity politics.
 

Republicans to me seem to do it just as much, they just have different targets.

you mean " i don't see color, unless I'm complaining about the plight of white, hetero, Christian males" ?

 

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