An essay into Austrian legacy media focusing on right-wing extremism at the Covid anti-mandate rallies (pt. 1) in comparison to Neo-Nazis in Ukraine (pt. 2, forthcoming)
Much appreciate your text parsing analysis. Shame that it's not more common practice.
I have been reading all your posts though haven't had a chance to engage in comments in a while. . Am currently feeling rather discombobulated by media's dizzying pivot to Ukraine and substitution of the unvaccinated with "Putin" and the "Russians" as the new figures of hate.. indeed it is a strange mix of Orwell's 1984 - Ministry of Truth propaganda - with a healthy dollop of Huxley's Brave New World - and at soma of constant digital pleasures..
Your hypothesis about the political use of guilt by association (or simply assertion) with the far-right seems aposit. We saw this at ridiculous levels in the UK media around the Labour Party leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. Independent journalist Johnathan Cook has covered this well.
And I have seen it up close and personal through my participation in the anti-mandate/restriction protests (Spaziergänge) here in Bavaria. I have aIso been shocked at the level of reticence, self-censorship and even fear family, friends, and colleagues have of this labelling, othering, and dangers of guilt by association. Many simply parrot media talking points unable or unwilling to engage on the content of various arguments.
Hi again, I very much appreciated your kind words, and I'm very happy you find my writings interesting.
You're spot-on with the ludicrously hypocritical allegations hurled at Mr. Corbyn, which I also followed via Jonathan Cook's pieces (among others). I'd just add that the desolate state of 'Labour' in the UK is perhaps perfectly illustrated by the fact that a knighted MP (Sir K. Starmer) is now the leader of a self-identifying-as-left (whatever that means these days) faction.
Your experiences in those anti-mandate Spaziergänge is very well noted, and I commend you for doing so. If it 'helps' (I sincerely do), my own parents and brothers wouldn't even consider participating in the much-larger rallies: I've talked to them repeatedly about this, and even though my mother appears to by somewhat fed up with these mandates etc., she also claims that she doesn't want 'to be associated with these [right-wingers]', never mind the comparatively much larger cross-sections of society that isn't.
Most people--my parents included--also do not think about the agit-prop fed to them via state and de facto state media; they do, as you point out, simply parrot the talking points.
(OT: when my parents came for a visit over Christmas, my mother brought up the topic literally twice a day and three times on the weekends; she knows what my wife and I think about this entire mess, but after being 'exposed' to our arguments and experiences for two weeks, she kinda relented and voiced some more agreements--needless to say, once my parents returned home, the effect of being with us 'contrarians' evaporated quickly. I feel like a strager in a strange world by now.)
I spent my youth in a small Christian denomination (maybe not that unusual by American standards, but close to a sect by European ones) that practiced guilt by association. If assembly A broke with assembly B, all other assemblies had to break with B as well, or else they would be broken with. This process leads, over the centuries, to a bouquet of sub-denominations; and the only way to keep the thing going is by having lots of children.
I am not German, so Kontaktschuld and its historical significance does not evoke in me any personal reaction but I see daily how powerful it is for those around me.
What I find so difficult to understand is that so few recognise the importance of speaking out in the face of injustice and discrimination against your fellow citizen - to me their silence signals tacit approval.
My personal theory is that the psychological/sociological need most individuals have to belong, to be accepted to their conmunity/tribe is simply so strong, so primal it easily overrides everything else. It extends so far that individuals (willfully) ignore or remain silent about issues which contradict or bely the consensus/groupthink for fear of being ostracised.
For most people (out of sociological expediency and self-preservation) inconvenient truth or injustice comes second to belonging and acceptance.
Oh, there is quite a lot of speaking out in the face of injustice and discrimination - just not the one against your fellow citizen, but the big thing of the day.
Much appreciate your text parsing analysis. Shame that it's not more common practice.
I have been reading all your posts though haven't had a chance to engage in comments in a while. . Am currently feeling rather discombobulated by media's dizzying pivot to Ukraine and substitution of the unvaccinated with "Putin" and the "Russians" as the new figures of hate.. indeed it is a strange mix of Orwell's 1984 - Ministry of Truth propaganda - with a healthy dollop of Huxley's Brave New World - and at soma of constant digital pleasures..
Your hypothesis about the political use of guilt by association (or simply assertion) with the far-right seems aposit. We saw this at ridiculous levels in the UK media around the Labour Party leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. Independent journalist Johnathan Cook has covered this well.
And I have seen it up close and personal through my participation in the anti-mandate/restriction protests (Spaziergänge) here in Bavaria. I have aIso been shocked at the level of reticence, self-censorship and even fear family, friends, and colleagues have of this labelling, othering, and dangers of guilt by association. Many simply parrot media talking points unable or unwilling to engage on the content of various arguments.
Hi again, I very much appreciated your kind words, and I'm very happy you find my writings interesting.
You're spot-on with the ludicrously hypocritical allegations hurled at Mr. Corbyn, which I also followed via Jonathan Cook's pieces (among others). I'd just add that the desolate state of 'Labour' in the UK is perhaps perfectly illustrated by the fact that a knighted MP (Sir K. Starmer) is now the leader of a self-identifying-as-left (whatever that means these days) faction.
Your experiences in those anti-mandate Spaziergänge is very well noted, and I commend you for doing so. If it 'helps' (I sincerely do), my own parents and brothers wouldn't even consider participating in the much-larger rallies: I've talked to them repeatedly about this, and even though my mother appears to by somewhat fed up with these mandates etc., she also claims that she doesn't want 'to be associated with these [right-wingers]', never mind the comparatively much larger cross-sections of society that isn't.
Most people--my parents included--also do not think about the agit-prop fed to them via state and de facto state media; they do, as you point out, simply parrot the talking points.
(OT: when my parents came for a visit over Christmas, my mother brought up the topic literally twice a day and three times on the weekends; she knows what my wife and I think about this entire mess, but after being 'exposed' to our arguments and experiences for two weeks, she kinda relented and voiced some more agreements--needless to say, once my parents returned home, the effect of being with us 'contrarians' evaporated quickly. I feel like a strager in a strange world by now.)
"I feel like a strager in a strange world by now."
dito
I spent my youth in a small Christian denomination (maybe not that unusual by American standards, but close to a sect by European ones) that practiced guilt by association. If assembly A broke with assembly B, all other assemblies had to break with B as well, or else they would be broken with. This process leads, over the centuries, to a bouquet of sub-denominations; and the only way to keep the thing going is by having lots of children.
Now the whole world is behaving like this.
I am not German, so Kontaktschuld and its historical significance does not evoke in me any personal reaction but I see daily how powerful it is for those around me.
What I find so difficult to understand is that so few recognise the importance of speaking out in the face of injustice and discrimination against your fellow citizen - to me their silence signals tacit approval.
My personal theory is that the psychological/sociological need most individuals have to belong, to be accepted to their conmunity/tribe is simply so strong, so primal it easily overrides everything else. It extends so far that individuals (willfully) ignore or remain silent about issues which contradict or bely the consensus/groupthink for fear of being ostracised.
For most people (out of sociological expediency and self-preservation) inconvenient truth or injustice comes second to belonging and acceptance.
Oh, there is quite a lot of speaking out in the face of injustice and discrimination - just not the one against your fellow citizen, but the big thing of the day.