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Comment by dymk | Hacker News Reader

10? We’ve been getting steadily more polarized since at least the 80s.

Possibly true, but I'm sure you'd agree that it can't really be called steadily since around 2010-2014

There is a straight line through 70s Falwell, 90s Limbaugh, tea party, to MAGA. All fueled by a self-reinforcing rage machine.

Reminds me of this quote: "The system itself could not have intended this in the beginning, but in order to sustain itself it was compelled to go all the way." -They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45[0] [0] https://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/511928.htm

Reminds me of the Ukraine war. The original intent was clearly a very short intense “operation” and then a quick annexation. Nobody planned to grind hundreds of thousands of bodies through a war machine, but “here we are” and now everyone is “forced” to go through the motions.

Left leaning folks are swept up in rage machines too.

Leaf through the BoingBoing BBS sometime to get a sense for it.

One only needs to observe societies response to Covid to see how “left leaning folks get swept up into rage machines”. People were cheering on cars getting towed from popular hiking spots, skate parks getting filled with sand, crazy people “protesting” beachgoers, etc. if you dared to suggest schools should open you were a grandma killing MAGA hat wearing pariah. Don’t forget the level of censorship, vaccine passes, wishing death upon those who didn’t get vaccinated, etc.

No sir, people of all tribes are fully capable of getting swept into rage machines. At the end of the day we are animals operating on animal instinct. No tribe gets to claim otherwise.

I mean, some people reacted how you describe, but the vast majority did not regardless of political leanings. Are you going to pretend that was the dominant reaction among left-leaning people just so you can be mad about it?

There were indeed surveys showing that a fascist stance (like throwing unvaccinated into camps or taking their children) was, indeed, dominant (60% and more support) among American "democrats". So much for your "vast majority".

And the internet hijacks our brains so effectively; since it became ubiquitous, it is almost impossible for regular users to see how they are being conditioned.

Wait, in my media bubble the American left is the one consumed by rage.

The right is stupid or craven or greedy or just evil, but true righteous fury is reserved for those who saw a woman's rights not getting respected one time.

I find the right goes into rage machines and sees their way of life changing and double down on keeping things the way they have been.

I find the left goes into anger machines and ends up suggesting overzealous steps for necessary changes that take many people aback.

But that’s not new. What’s not new is that now we have social media and mainstream media that wants to fan the flames by giving voices to the most extreme.

They aren't obstructing Congress. That has been ongoing since 1994 when rational negotiation by civic minded leaders was replaced with hostage taking to suit an ideology without regard for public benefit.

I don’t think you understand these groups and their motivations very well. Fear and concern for the future are much more significant than “rage”.

So basically since when cable TV came into mainstream existence.

Turning attention away from each other and toward images of each other

I think you're confusing the issue. Cable TV wasn't coming into mainstream that was the problem. The issue was the 1996 Telecommunications Act that was the starting gun.

- Huge shift in (near-total abandonment of) antitrust enforcement starting in the late 70s, driven by Chicago school assholes. Centralized economic power.

- Fairness Doctrine killed in the 80s, resulting rise of partisan AM radio and, somewhat later, Fox News.

- Media ownership concentration rules neutered in early ‘00s (iirc). More centralization, again in the hands of big capital.

- None of those rules ever applied to the Web, so when its power as a propaganda and agitation tool skyrocketed with increased use by normal folks (rise of Facebook; usable smartphones with the iPhone) that immediately headed bad directions.

Now we have LLMs, which are at their most-useful by far when you don’t care about accuracy or reputation—so, scams and propaganda getting a big boost in productivity.

i remember when Obama took office Rush Limbaugh was worried that he would try to restore the fairness doctrine but it turned out Obama did nothing. Democrats never acted like they were in a battle while Republicans were executing on a media domination plan over decades to dismantle the propaganda safeguards put in place by post war politicians.

That's because despite the right wing propaganda that will tell you Obama is a staunch far-left communist, Barack Obama is a committed centrist, and a representative of the Corporate Party.

He did nothing because he had no interest in doing anything to limit corporate influence or power. They put him in power, after all.

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