Stephen_Coyle
Really Experienced
- Joined
- May 4, 2017
- Posts
- 233
So, it had been about 35 years since the last time I had read 1984 by George Orwell. I was re-reading it recently and I was noticing something disturbing.
In 1984, there is a mandated activity every citizen of Oceania must participate in daily. It’s called the Two Minute Hate.
Now, when I first read about the Two Minute Hate, I was just a teenager, and I’d never seen anything quite like what George Orwell described in the book. In the book, citizens were packed every day into a large stadium or auditorium of sorts, and they stared at a Jumbotron-style screen, whereupon they were presented with images of “Enemies of the People” at whom they were supposed to scream invective and become enraged. Chief among these “Enemies of the People” was Emmanuel Goldstein, a former high-ranking member of the Party, who at some point committed heresies like denouncing the dictatorship of the Party, demanding the immediate conclusion of peace with Eurasia, advocating freedom of speech, freedom of the Press, and freedom of assembly.
People would scream in furious anger at images of Goldstein and throw things at the screen. People would become red-faced with anger as they saw the “Enemy of the People” and fly into a murderous rage.
When I was a teenager, I had never seen anything quite like that. Our high school had pep rallies, but that was almost the exact opposite, where we stomped our feet, clapped our hands and cheered words of support for our high school football team.
Now, I’m a middle-aged man, and my collection of experiences is much larger. I’ve seen things now, and some of them closely parallel the Two Minute Hate Orwell referenced in his book.
Donald Trump’s hate-filled rallies where he’s railed against Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Jim Acosta, CNN, the Washington Post, the New York Times and other “Enemies of the People” mirror Orwell’s Two Minute Hate so closely that it’s scary.
Ann Coulter, Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson and other right-wing extremists who spew venomous hate on Fox “news” Channel and other media outlets come close.
Domestic terrorist Cesar Sayoc mailed pipe bombs to Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Senator Kamala Harris, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, actor Robert De Niro, former U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as well as other public figures who have been critical of Donald Trump.
Much more recently, a group of right-wing terrorists who call themselves the Wolverine Watchmen plotted to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and ignite a “civil war”.
And more recently still, a group of armed criminals stalked a campaign bus that was in Texas to promote Joseph Biden’s candidacy. They used pickup trucks to box in the campaign bus and tried to force it off the road. They also rammed an SUV that was traveling with the campaign bus.
All of these incidents have at least one thing in common. Trump has repeatedly and publicly attacked the victims of these crimes, calling them things like “crooked” “tyrant”, “human scum”, and “an enemy of the American People.” Fox “news” and other right-wing media outlets have echoed Trump’s words and acted as accomplices in Trump’s hate mongering.
George Orwell’s book was supposed to be a warning. It was supposed to be a cautionary tale. However, right-wingers like Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson and Alex Jones seem to think that it was an instruction manual. They’re copying techniques that Orwell warned us to be on guard against.
In 1984, there is a mandated activity every citizen of Oceania must participate in daily. It’s called the Two Minute Hate.
Now, when I first read about the Two Minute Hate, I was just a teenager, and I’d never seen anything quite like what George Orwell described in the book. In the book, citizens were packed every day into a large stadium or auditorium of sorts, and they stared at a Jumbotron-style screen, whereupon they were presented with images of “Enemies of the People” at whom they were supposed to scream invective and become enraged. Chief among these “Enemies of the People” was Emmanuel Goldstein, a former high-ranking member of the Party, who at some point committed heresies like denouncing the dictatorship of the Party, demanding the immediate conclusion of peace with Eurasia, advocating freedom of speech, freedom of the Press, and freedom of assembly.
People would scream in furious anger at images of Goldstein and throw things at the screen. People would become red-faced with anger as they saw the “Enemy of the People” and fly into a murderous rage.
When I was a teenager, I had never seen anything quite like that. Our high school had pep rallies, but that was almost the exact opposite, where we stomped our feet, clapped our hands and cheered words of support for our high school football team.
Now, I’m a middle-aged man, and my collection of experiences is much larger. I’ve seen things now, and some of them closely parallel the Two Minute Hate Orwell referenced in his book.
Donald Trump’s hate-filled rallies where he’s railed against Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Jim Acosta, CNN, the Washington Post, the New York Times and other “Enemies of the People” mirror Orwell’s Two Minute Hate so closely that it’s scary.
Ann Coulter, Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson and other right-wing extremists who spew venomous hate on Fox “news” Channel and other media outlets come close.
Domestic terrorist Cesar Sayoc mailed pipe bombs to Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Senator Kamala Harris, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, actor Robert De Niro, former U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as well as other public figures who have been critical of Donald Trump.
Much more recently, a group of right-wing terrorists who call themselves the Wolverine Watchmen plotted to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and ignite a “civil war”.
And more recently still, a group of armed criminals stalked a campaign bus that was in Texas to promote Joseph Biden’s candidacy. They used pickup trucks to box in the campaign bus and tried to force it off the road. They also rammed an SUV that was traveling with the campaign bus.
All of these incidents have at least one thing in common. Trump has repeatedly and publicly attacked the victims of these crimes, calling them things like “crooked” “tyrant”, “human scum”, and “an enemy of the American People.” Fox “news” and other right-wing media outlets have echoed Trump’s words and acted as accomplices in Trump’s hate mongering.
George Orwell’s book was supposed to be a warning. It was supposed to be a cautionary tale. However, right-wingers like Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson and Alex Jones seem to think that it was an instruction manual. They’re copying techniques that Orwell warned us to be on guard against.
