gotsnowgotslush
skates like Eck
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2007
- Posts
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Donald Trump and lying.
Yes, he lies ― constantly, badly and ridiculously ― but the assembled lies create a whole that is greater and more awe-inspiring than the parts. Massive lies for mass audiences are a tool of what author and political scientist Corey Robin calls “reactionary populism.” He writes in “The Reactionary Mind”: “From revolutions, conservatives also develop a taste and talent for the masses, mobilizing the street for spectacular displays of power while making certain power is never truly shared or redistributed. That is the task of right-wing populism: to appeal to the mass without disrupting the power of elites or, more precisely, to harness the energy of the mass in order to reinforce or restore the power of elites.”
Consider some of Trump’s most flagrant lies: that the “real” unemployment rate is 42 percent, not 4.9 percent; that inner-city crime is reaching “record levels”; that global warming is a hoax invented by the Chinese; that he witnessed thousands of Muslims in Jersey City celebrating the collapse of the Twin Towers; that millions voted illegally in the last presidential election; and that the Obama administration was supporting al Qaeda in Iraq.
“Lies” doesn’t quite capture the distance between these statements and truth. Staid, boring, newspaper language has gotten editors tied up in knots. What do you call a lie that causes you to pause and rewind? What do you call a claim that is so patently and verifiably false that you feel insulted for even being expected to debate it? What do you call a sudden shift in position that demands that you ignore both your “lying eyes” and the official record? “Brazen dishonesty” does not quite do it. Neither does saying that he goes “beyond lying.” It’s not even “bullshit,” which is a lie thrown off carelessly, with no power dynamic at play.
Hip-hop has a better word for it: fuckery.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fuckery-donald-trump-lies_us_588126a8e4b096b4a230a23f
Yes, he lies ― constantly, badly and ridiculously ― but the assembled lies create a whole that is greater and more awe-inspiring than the parts. Massive lies for mass audiences are a tool of what author and political scientist Corey Robin calls “reactionary populism.” He writes in “The Reactionary Mind”: “From revolutions, conservatives also develop a taste and talent for the masses, mobilizing the street for spectacular displays of power while making certain power is never truly shared or redistributed. That is the task of right-wing populism: to appeal to the mass without disrupting the power of elites or, more precisely, to harness the energy of the mass in order to reinforce or restore the power of elites.”
Consider some of Trump’s most flagrant lies: that the “real” unemployment rate is 42 percent, not 4.9 percent; that inner-city crime is reaching “record levels”; that global warming is a hoax invented by the Chinese; that he witnessed thousands of Muslims in Jersey City celebrating the collapse of the Twin Towers; that millions voted illegally in the last presidential election; and that the Obama administration was supporting al Qaeda in Iraq.
“Lies” doesn’t quite capture the distance between these statements and truth. Staid, boring, newspaper language has gotten editors tied up in knots. What do you call a lie that causes you to pause and rewind? What do you call a claim that is so patently and verifiably false that you feel insulted for even being expected to debate it? What do you call a sudden shift in position that demands that you ignore both your “lying eyes” and the official record? “Brazen dishonesty” does not quite do it. Neither does saying that he goes “beyond lying.” It’s not even “bullshit,” which is a lie thrown off carelessly, with no power dynamic at play.
Hip-hop has a better word for it: fuckery.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fuckery-donald-trump-lies_us_588126a8e4b096b4a230a23f