The mainstream media lied to me about conservatives
By: Adam B. Coleman
Another Black man who proves that Blacks are not monolithic Democrat voters.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
From the inception of my political curiosity in my mid-20s, the people around me appealed to my race by labeling Republicans and conservatives unabashed and habitual racists. And the media I was consuming reinforced that as being the foundation of their political motivations.
Being a racist is supposed to be our agreed-upon social sin of the modern era. If you wholly believe that one large swath of people has racism cemented to the core of their being, their policy positions no longer matter, even if they conceptually make sense.
This demonizing strategy was like placing mold on my curiosity to understand the other side, spoiling the possibility of having a good-faith consideration of conservative ideals.
For nearly a decade, I consumed false framing of policy positions and outright lies about people on the political right. Even worse, I was being fed half-truths while believing I was undoubtedly being informed.
I was being propagandized to the point of ignoring my own personal experience of living in five states and in a variety of environments, ranging from rural to urban. At one point, I was one of four black children in a majority-white rural middle school and was for the most part treated like everyone else. The immoral people I’m supposed to be constantly scared of, I find, are rare in our society, and that was my experience in rural conservative America.
The mainstream-media bubble I resided in shielded me from understanding varying perspectives, but that’s the point of propaganda: to mentally restrict your curiosity so you stay a loyal customer of consumption.
Once I no longer believed in the bad-faith preconceived notion that was implanted into my psyche, I became open to listening to what conservatives had to say and matched their actions to their rhetoric.
After leaving the fortress of mainstream propaganda, I began seeing the narrative creation firsthand — even about events I was part of. Last year, I attended my first conservative conference, Turning Point USA’s Americafest, to listen to the different speakers and partake in some of the festivities. Speakers discussed the importance of family, protecting their children, holding Republicans in political positions accountable and made countless references to their unwavering love for America despite our political gripes.
Juxtapose the narrative being formed on left-wing Twitter and mainstream media: that it was a new-era KKK rally, filled with white supremacists. I was physically there, though, and race was barely mentioned by any of the speakers, let alone in any hateful manner.
If this was to be a KKK rally, it was the lamest KKK rally ever organized. Because for a group whose central theme is supposed to be oppressing and hating people of my complexion, it never once came up.
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He uses a lot of words to not say much
[deleted]
How racist of you.
I agree with you that Mr. Coleman uses quite a number of complex words and concepts that some people wouldn't understand.
No, I understand perfectly. He is not using any complex words that I don't understand or grasp or any concepts that I don't understand. Just using lots of words to not say much of anything except to say that the 'mainstream media' lied to him about alleged conservatives.
Well, since I didn't specifically mention you in my comment 1.1.4 you're wrong about that, even though it took you 48 words to explain it.
Did you actually count the number of words in that comment? That seems obsessive really and a waste of time. (Don't waste your time counting my words) I want to use your time better.
Thanks for sharing this.
Who is this monolithic 'mainstream media' that he is referring to? From this far right leaning source, no less?
As much as I hear Republicans complaining about the Mainstream media i find it hard to believe they would care much about what they say. So why even address it?
We distrust the media, but they lied? Who cares.
Can we just give you a stuffed animal from the fair and be done with this compelling conversation?
I will give the article credit for what it is, an op-ed by someone who appears to have no more qualifications or expertise to speak on such issues than the average Newstalkers member has.
What this guy does have is the financial support of the political right which is publishing his "memoir" and will probably promote it as best they can also.
The New York Post is a right wing rag and publishing this article in order to be part of that process.
Does all that make him a "token" ? Not necessarily , but there is no convincing reason to believe that he isnt either.
The mere thought of pontificating in a comment whether or not discounting the value of another human with racist overtures is racist? The answer is it is absolutely racist. I would hope this site is better than that, I would hope more for you too. You sound like you know better, you should do better.
Could you rephrase that. I dont think you were very clear.
What you did there was not slick, it was racist. You need to try harder, do better. The back handed token reference is not acceptable. No one wants to be referred to in such manner especially based on the color of their skin. Whether you like what he has to say is not the issue, he is a human like all of us.
So you think there is no such thing as a token? Its in the dictionary
token
2 of 2adjective
Really? Maybe they've not been far left enough for your particular predilections. Feel free to research where he's written/published and spoken for yourself; you'll be surprised at his diversity.
In the meantime, discuss the article itself instead of criticizing the source or author. ONLY WARNING.
A "respected historian" on MSNBC said we are six days away from the end of democracy and our kids being killed.
Progressive are completely rational.
Someone needs to tell MSNBC's "respected historian" that the USA has never been a "democracy".
The rule of law apparently ends in six days as well if the Republicans win. Which is another completely rational argument to make
So.... we should probably make reservations for dinner while we still can? Finish off all the whiskey and cigars?
I dunno. What's the protocol here?
In another world, so to speak, the simple fact of republicans gaining the congressional majority would be more of a pendulum swing than a disaster. We dont live in that other world though, we live in this one.
When Congress reconvenes in January , and assuming the Republicans are the majority in the House, well over half of the majority party will be made up of people who deny the results of the 2020 election.
300 such people on the ballot next Tuesday.
I know you dont care about that, you dont care about what Trump has done to this country, you dont care about any of it.
What does that say about America? Any future glowing testimonies to the "founders" will be very hypocritical to say the least.
As per CoC rules, I am now locking this article and will unlock it tomorrow. Thanks to all who've commented.