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“Outrage Fatigue” seems to be particularly prevalent on the liberal blogosphere. There’s not much evidence of it existing anywhere offline. So perhaps the solution is as simple as turning off the computer!
Posted by marcello09 on May 2, 2006 at 8:33 AM
That’s a negative, Marcello.
Posted by Harrower on May 2, 2006 at 9:34 AM
Its not outrage fatigue, it’s the realization that things might have gotten so bad that the energy and destruction required to change them endangers their survival more than the status quo. It is the ultimate corruption provided by the wage -slave system that it encourages us to believe that we are individual units in competition, and that turning from that competition in order to affect the rules of the game means losing out on material reward, means not being the one chosen for promotion, means endangering the success of your children, means facing the possibility of demise and ruin as a product on the market. It’s not something found only in the weak. It is found in the most noble and courageous. Tell Kurt its o.k. if he wants to rest, he has done his part. He succeeded where others failed and his fatigue is not the melancholy rejection of the necessity of dangerous action, but rather the fatigue of the old soldier who knows he might never see the fruits of his victories; who is tired of the incalculable cost of each life sacrificed to that end. Tell him I said thanks. Tell him there is at least one man, maybe a few from what I read here, who will gladly take the struggle on in his stead. Tell him there is hope. Tell him until victory always.
Posted by Phaedrus on May 2, 2006 at 9:58 AM
> That
Posted by marcello09 on May 2, 2006 at 10:23 AM
“Have you tried it?...etc.”
I have no internet connection at home, only at work, and I spend the majority of my time disconnected. The people I meet in “everyday life” tend to be either:
A. Indifferent to anything beyond their own immediate needs and wants.
B. Far too proud of their overzealous, overly simplistic analyses of complex socio-political issues. ( “Someone should call Immigration and tell them to get some busses down to those demonstrations.” )
C. Too quick to come to a conclusion based on a 60-second television news blurb.
That, alone, is enough to give me “Outrage Fatigue,” though I tend to just call it frustration.
Posted by Harrower on May 2, 2006 at 11:05 AM
Maybe I’m just lucky to have had friends and neighbors who are a bit more thoughtful than the average American. I’ve lived in an extremely liberal, multicultural college town and in an extremely conservative, white suburban enclave, and both environments have same problems that you mentioned: the indifference, the “simplistic analyses”, and the willngness to jump to hasty conclusions based on a small amount of information.
But I’ve also found that *most* people I come into contact with are willing to engage in friendly debate, and most of them actually have a solid rationale for their perspective, even if I don’t always agree with their conclusions. Most American taxpayers (including those who vote Republican) have legitimate concerns that Liberals need to respect and address before we start having any success with our agenda.
Posted by marcello09 on May 2, 2006 at 11:44 AM
“It is the ultimate corruption provided by the wage -slave system that it encourages us to believe that we are individual units in competition, and that turning from that competition in order to affect the rules of the game means losing out on material reward, means not being the one chosen for promotion, means endangering the success of your children, means facing the possibility of demise and ruin as a product on the market. “
Reading this makes me what would have happened if our hunter-gather forebearers had felt this way. Being a slave to killing animals or gathering food, being unable to change the rules or nature. I would include not being able to find a spouse to the list above, so perhaps those who did feel that way simply have been lost in the gene pool, at least mostly.
There is injustice, Life continues to not be fair. Tragedy befalls us all. All very characteristic of the human condition. (This is NOT to say we should not strive for better, only, perhaps, we should be grateful for what we do have.)
I think marcello09 is onto something. . .
Posted by wolf on May 2, 2006 at 12:16 PM
What ails us?
Well, for one thing the narrow idea expressed here that our problems are as recent as the last six years and caused by George Bush.
No, this is not a defense of Bush or the Republicans, rather it is my frustration of the continuing partisan bickering/blaming. It is a game dedicated to divert any organized threat to the status quo D.C. style.
The problem is more basic and broader than defined here as our cause for the rage. Ours is a rage born of years of frustration with the
Posted by whattheheck on May 3, 2006 at 7:09 AM
I’m not sure how “outrage syndrome” relates to the APA’s recommendations for dealing with Post Traumatic Stress after 911.
I don’t view the outrage as a post-post traumatic moment. It is simply outrage over poor political leadership and witnessing the disintregration of our society.
However, there is a psychological component to the current state of affairs. It induces in us a state of outrage that can very easily lead to
displaced anger. Rather than take your anger and frustration out on friends and family, stay focused on the Bush administration and its many accomplices.
Of course, the opposite of anger is fear. The Bush administration has maintained a climate of fear, not due to terrorism, but due to repressive measures against Americans, including intolerance to criticism, police harrassment, incarceration, threats by secret service, deportation, and losing employment
My advice is not to fall victim to anger and fear because that’s what the Bushites thrive on.
Posted by Epistrophy on May 3, 2006 at 8:32 AM
Falling victim to anger and fear has been a staple of American politics since the dawn of the revolution, that first American civil war which was fought within the framework of a world war between the French and the English and the Spaniards, when American colonial expansion was checked by a British reluctance to antagonize the French and their indigenous allies, who were understandably apprehensive at the prospect of losing their tribal territories to a technologically superior race of white European emigrants whose solitary source of social cohesion was their predictable ability “to fall victim to anger and fear”.
We’ve been falling victim to anger and fear ever since. It’s no accident that our animosity to our Soviet rivals was characterized by reference to “the reds”, or that our colloquial description for hostile territory, in Southeast Asia or Central America or the Middle East or Africa, is “Indian country”.
We are a nation of alienated, obsessively competitive hyper-individuals devoid of any common cultural roots other than a racial propensity to respond to the social stimuli of anger and fear.
Posted by Major Major on May 3, 2006 at 7:01 PM
I guess anger and fear are quite ubiquitous throughout history - in every case, destructive forces that undermine the security of our psychological foundations as well as our political and economic security.
I would imagine that being on the edge is integral to moving forward through life, as long as we are able to find firm footing once we recover from the fall. In some cases the fall is too steep and that is where the outrage comes in. The collective memory of past events, like the Civil War, is a reminder of how deep we fell into the abyss of human tragedy. As citizens we become filled with outrage because we can recall lessons from history, yet feel helpless because the powers that be refuse to learn from them.
Posted by Epistrophy on May 3, 2006 at 7:57 PM
Let’s see…
More people month by month have a harder time making ends meet, e.g. fuel costs, health insurance costs, etc. The middle class is shrinking.
Sectarian and insurgent violence have been escalating in Iraq, making a sick joke out of the words, “Mission Accomplished”.
The main justification pushed by the administration for even entering Iraq is pretty much a dead letter.
The “mission” in Afghanistan is still far from “accomplished”, and doesn’t look accomplishable to any but the most optimistic.
People are still reeling from the Katrina storm on the Gulf Coast… even if they’re not from the region, the entire debacle has the whole country pursing their lips in chagrin, to say the least.
Racial divisiveness endures, this during a period of history by which many of us who are old enough to remember had had what we thought was a realistic hope that it would have diminished by now.
Our communications might be getting tapped.
Schools are a wreck, fewer people than ever having any confidence in them at all.
Bin Laden, al Zarqawi, and the entire jihadist movement have been emboldened, rather than weakened.
America’s stature and respectability on the world stage have eroded to an appallingly low point.
And government is increasingly perceived as unresponsive, corrupt, or incompetent, or all 3 at once.
So, that’s 10 examples (there are more!) of developments that would damage Americans’ confidence, hopefulness about the future, and belief that, in the main, they are on something like a correct path. A certain giving-up response is not hard to understand. Sort of like depression, but en masse.
I hope depression converts to anger, not “I Give Up”, but “I’m Fuckin’ Fed Up!”, in November. Who gives a damn whether it’s a Dumbo or an Ass, vote anti-incumbent. Fire the mf’rs! What have we got to lose?
(come to think of it, in reference to the country being depressed, the malaise could also be explained in part by all the people dropping psych meds constantly, and inappropriately… that shit can really cut your wires!)
Posted by Kuya on May 3, 2006 at 10:40 PM
Kuya,
That
Posted by whattheheck on May 4, 2006 at 5:48 AM
I just this past minute saw a Bush blurb on MSNBC, “America has a problem…” was his opening to another subject subjected to Bush’s simplistic ramblings. I believe the subject was on illegal drug use in America, but it doesn’t really matter. I have less of “outrage fatigue” than just “Bush fatigue.”
As I was reading some of the blog comments here, I hear on the TV, Bush saying, “America has a problem…” And my instinctive reaction is to not even bother listening to the rest of his blather. I simply speak out loud, “Yeah, America’s problem is you! Why don’t you resign?”
Bush fatigue has had me talking to the TV images of Bush as well as yelling, pointing my finger, giving the finger, making jokes, swearing, etc. Sometimes I wonder if I look more like a football fan “enjoying” a TV broadcast of a Sunday game when I see/hear Bush on the tube.
Outrage fatigue may as well be overlapping “fear fatigue.” The Bush gang has been playing on Americans fears for so long that a person doesn’t know what to fear anymore or which fear is to take priority if we do decide to fear. Of course the TV media has a role in fear fatigue.
Geez, in less than one minute of MSNBC news at just past noon (this includes the running headlines at the bottom) were quick hits on a chemical fire somewhere, a brushfire in Florida, an earthquake in the Pacific, flash floods somewhere, another bombing in Iraq, Cheney threatening Russia about democracy sliding and two other things I couldn’t remember fast enough to write it. And this didn’t include the lately near around-the-clock Iran nukes crap.
Outrage fatigue, Bush fatigue, fear fatigue and a few other fatigues (cable news fatigue, politicians fatigue?) really are all just an overlapping of fatigues of our current American society.
Lefties may be outrage or Bush fatigued, but I’m betting that righties are outrage fatigued as well, think “War on Christmas,” gay marraiges, abortions, etc. And I’m surely betting they are getting “Defend Bush Fatigued.” With Bush’s polls slumbering below 40% for about a year now, the righties spend alot of time trying to defend Bush…
(I interrupt this post to relay the next MSNBC story, the possible bird flu epidemic. Another fear.)
..and particularily the Iraq War. Maybe another fatigue is “polarization fatigue.” Maybe our country has become fatigued with being so divided. I suppose one has to wonder if Americans are just America fatigued.
Posted by Jon B on May 4, 2006 at 9:36 AM
I am writing as an expatriot American in Europe.
The beating of pots and pans mentioned above is a good idea. The ritual took place for half an hour every night in the cities of Spain, for weeks, even months, in protest against the war in Irak. The right wingers and the left wingers, the grandmothers, the small children beat the pots and pans on their balconies. The motorists honked their horns in solidarity and the news media put it on the news every night. The street protests were enormous, over a million in Madrid and Barcelona - again, right and left, young and old, rich and poor participated. Whether you win or lose, these activities get the lead out and the blood going. It
Posted by barcelona on May 4, 2006 at 4:38 PM
Okay, I think I’m getting it—I’ve just read the first chapter of “Crashing the Gate” and I’m already fatigued. For those who don’t know, the book is supposedly a blueprint for returning progressives to power, written by bloggers Jerome Armstrong (mydd.com) and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga (dailykos.com).
It’s been noted many times that the biggest complaint about those of us on the left is that we don’t have anything to offer besides Bush-bashing. So what does the first chapter of this book consist of? Yup, you guessed it. It’s a dozen pages of “GWB is a doofus” and a dozen more of “neocons are evil” followed by the shocking revelation that “GWB is a neocon” with the startling conclusion of “GWB is an evil doofus”.
For levity, there’s smatterings of “Bill Clinton was wonderful oh yes gosh those were the good old days weren’t they?”
I mean, if this is what progressives are reading every day on the blogs then it’s no wonder they’re fatigued! It’s junk food, a Saturday morning cartoon show for liberals—which is fine on Saturday mornings, but consuming this stuff throughout the week is just plain unhealthy.
Come on, folks, we’re supposed to be *smarter* than the neo-cons. Let’s put that brainpower to work and figure out some *solutions* rather than just complaints!
Posted by marcello09 on May 4, 2006 at 8:05 PM
Marcello, the problem is there aren’t many solutions that will be consumated. First, even if we wanted Democrats (I’ll return to this) to take back Congress in 2006, the fact is that democracy has been hijacked from voters.
Between gerrymandering, millions of dollars political campaigns, electronic voting fraud, suppression of third party ballot access, corporate influence of politicians, elections that consist of mainly attack ads, the fact that we can’t even count votes accurately, and other election problems, I don’t consider our country a democracy. It’s a psuedo-democracy. It looks like democracy, but it doesn’t pass the smell test.
Consider the upcoming midterm elections. The House of Representatives has all its seats (435) up for election, but most analysts mention maybe 16 to 20 seats as contested. And for Democrats to assume just one seat more than the Republicans I believe they need to win 16 or 17 of those elections, basically sweep the contested seats. Gerrymandering has made all the rest of those House districts safe for one or the other party. Both parties are guilty of gerrymandering the districts over the last decade or so. That shows that approximately 4 to 5% of Americans are going to vote in a contested House of Representative election. That’s not democracy, that’s a waste of time.
Is it any wonder voters don’t think their representatives are responsive to them. The politicians don’t have to be with near guaranteed elections. Look at disgraced Duke Cunninghams’s seat. Instead of going Democrat like logic might expect, the district will just plug in a new Republican.
The Senate isn’t much better. With only 1/3 seats up for election every two years, experts already are saying the Democrats will need extreme luck to take enough seats to win back the Senate. They need 51 total for control as Cheney breaks tie votes. But that doesn’t take into account several Democrats that don’t seem to even vote Democrat (Lieberman for one). Our country has been sectioned off into red or blue, changing a color section is near impossible these days.
Even if Dems take control of either the House or Senate, will they really begin investigations of the White House and Bush/Cheney? They might not have enough support from their own party to get the votes for starting investigations. In fact, it may be seen as politically strategic to have the investigations stretch out for a year or so, to keep the issues in the news into the 2008 election cycle. Rather than do the right thing and impeach Bush for crimes, Dems may want to just leave them on the open table for a possible election issue for the next presidential candidate. There’s no guarantee that Dems if controlling part of Congress will even do anything. A small bare majority will probably produce alot of do-nothing legislation as Bush could start vetoing things.
Some would suggest that this political gridlock is good. That having one party rule is a bigger evil, which can be true. Yet when our president has polled below 40% approval for a year now and that doesn’t seem to change anything, one wonders is this democracy when we can’t remove the low poller? As well in Congress neither party is polling good even to there own constiuents, and our democracy can’t seem to remove them either. If we were in a real democracy the 2006 elections would sweep out plenty of politicans. “Throw the bums out” would have meaning, but it won’t.
What kind of fatigue am I describing? I guess political fatigue. We can complain all we want, but very few politicans are going to lose their jobs in 2006.
Posted by Jon B on May 5, 2006 at 3:46 AM
Hey all. I’m a conservative for the most part and just stopped in to see how the other side lives. I’m sorry to hear of your constant agony and fret, you live in the greatest country on Earth despite whatever you think about the people in power. I’m sure most of you will have a coniption about that statement, I must be some naive “non-citizen” of the world to think such blasphemy. So cheer up, live life and find some intellectual ground for your arguements beyond “he’s a war criminal” or “this is racist” or “I’m oppressed, whoa is me” rhetoric and just maybe you’ll win some voters over.
Posted by Hyjinx22 on May 6, 2006 at 7:35 PM
Hyjinx22: No. You are not so much naive or blasphemous. You are just one dimensional, narrow minded, and insensitive - some of the many qualities that make up the conservative ilk.
Yet, the argument also goes way beyond conservative or progressive. It applies to basic human character: people who are sensitive to the welfare of others, social and economic justice, and global peace, as opposed to those who are cold, callous, self-serving, autocratic, aggressive, and rude.
Posted by Epistrophy on May 7, 2006 at 8:18 AM
Epistrophy - I wouldn’t be on this site if I were one-dimensional and narrow-minded, I would have just written you people off. I’m trying to understand what makes you people believe the way you do. I always listen to the arguements of others, I’m actually a scientist by trade and that is part and parcel of science. I’m just completely bored with the incessant liberal attacks on the actions of others and the “pie in the sky” unrealism that liberal “solutions” embody. Whatever happened to JFK Democrats, they were so much more reasonable people, but I digress… I’m just as much for peace and social justice as the next good lib, but I completely disagree with your means to achieving the end.
Posted by Hyjinx22 on May 7, 2006 at 1:33 PM
To be perfectly honest, Hyjinx22, you’ve got a point, and there seems to be a growing number of *liberals* who are embarrassed by some of the more prominent whiners on the left. The vast majority of us want to find real solutions to real problems, and we recognize that Bush-bashing isn’t the way to get things done (although it’s good fun, eh?). Let’s hope that the hyperbole will soon subside and that smart thinking will win the day.
Posted by marcello09 on May 7, 2006 at 6:26 PM
marcello09, you are not a liberal. Please do not speak for us, as if you are one of us. Pretty sleazy.
It is not “outrage fatigue”. It is the realization that violent crazy people are in control of the US government. It’s like strangers are in your house with guns, and they are shooting people in the street. For the moment, they control your house, and they are promoting evil in your name. It is identity theft, and murder. It is not outrage fatigue, it is the desire to be somewhere else. So I say jump them. Attack. Don’t worry about feelings, the violation of natural laws eliminates any such conflict. Just attack. Bushadmin’s numbers are in the low 30s, probably 28 where Blair is. Something right is happening. Something is having an effect. The crazy people are not getting resupplied, their only plan is to do more murder, as if they’ve got some ammo left. Not exactly conserving for the long haul. So Mr. Bleifuss’s piece is fairly meaningless and distracting. What ever is going on, I think it’s working. When megamillion pollsters are forced to admit that Bushadmin is in the low 30s, you’re not in fatigue. They’re in trouble.
Posted by Dignitatum on May 8, 2006 at 6:43 PM
I don’t claim to speak for all liberals, just the intelligent ones!
Posted by marcello09 on May 8, 2006 at 6:54 PM
I no longer recycle. I grew tired of fighting to get landlords and cities to promote newspaper, can, glass, and plastic recycling for tenants.
I no longer attend community meetings or political activities because it has become difficult to walk or to bicycle except in recreational bases, and because public transit systems are mostly a farce.
I spent years fighting an inane policy that ran counter to everything in which I have held value of ideology for almost half a century. The total disrespect I received for what is not an insignificant issue and, indeed, has very significant consequences for the country, over five years of fighting, left me with no care, respect, or concern for virtually anyone or anything.
I lived in one apartment where I did not even bother to conserve water. Instead, I had to run the shower for hours each day as white noise to counter the loud noise coming from the tenant in the apartment above mine.
I am tired of being forced to attend city council meetings, policy group meetings, and other basic meetings just to find out what is going on because newspapers no longer cover the news.
I no longer try to avoid genetically-modified food in everything, or try to hunt down butchers in stores who know if their meat is irradiated, or try to live as a vegetarian and organic consumer. Nor do I make as many consumer complaints as I used to make, because it has become a nightmare trying to find headquarter and executive contact information for businesses.
I no longer have any energy or interest remaining to even care about the bigger issues, such as war in Iraq or the rest of the Middle East, about gay rights or civil rights, or even tax cuts.
When someone pops up who has not yet become worn out, someone who can inspire, offer a vision, and listen, then I will see about caring again. Until then, I really have a hard time caring whether George Bush is president or not.
Posted by SillyLeftist on May 8, 2006 at 8:47 PM
That sounds less like Outrage Fatigue and more like depression.
Posted by Kuya on May 9, 2006 at 3:49 AM
If it is depression, that explains the high prescription rates for anti-depressants in the United States.
I prefer to think of it as a strategic retreat. If the policies of our government and the expectations of our country’s citizenry is such that recycling is not important, that affordable and livable rental housing is not important, that transit beyond the automobile is not important, that businesses beyond Wal-Mart and Microsoft are not important then it becomes too hard to maintain supply lines to recycling centers, good jobs, and healthy food.
The result is to reduce enounters that expend personal resources until circumstances allow those resources to be renewed. I just have to retain faith that millions of other Americans are poking little holes in the beast that will, eventually and collectively, bring the beast down so that we can reconnect and reclaim our country.
As for Outrage Fatigue, look for the pattern behind the outrages. If we keep replaying the instances that outrage us, we just keep repeating our emotional responses. However, if we start placing those performances into categories, we remove emotion and gain understanding. Understanding leads to knowledge and knowledge can lead to power.
Posted by SillyLeftist on May 9, 2006 at 6:38 PM
Dignitatum - The only thing driving presidential poll numbers is the price of gasoline. The correlation is so strong it is absurd, you can actually translate pennies and dimes into approval percentage points. This has been mostly true since the seventies. It seems that since there is a continuous distribution of marginal utilities for gasoline, price change will inevitable expand the margins and make people feel “squeezed” despite all other economic indicators. This inevitable shifts people between approval and disapproval. I guess the gas shortages of the 70s were that traumatic and became forever tied to an economic indicator of “well-being.”
That being said, your belief that constantly blindly attacking, even if you start to sound like the brutal dictator of Iran in his letter to President Bush and think this will win over Americans and not make them sick your mistaken. In fact, it is the same mistake this side has been making for the last 12 years. Really, the entire letter that good ‘ol Ahmajimaid wrote is precisely Democrat/lib talking points for the past three years, this should be some kind of a wake up call.
Real discourse is an idea, for instance Joe Biden’s very real suggestions recently of ways to reconcile Iraq by creating autonomous regions. Rational arguement to which reasonable people could disagree on the finer points. BUT, good faith criticism, not demagoguery is what will move us all forward.
Posted by Hyjinx22 on May 9, 2006 at 7:14 PM
Hyjinx, the left complaints about the Bush Crime Family ARE good faith criticism. Take just recently when former CIA analyst Ray McGovern took on Rumsfeld about Rummy’s claim that he knew where the WMDs were two weeks into the Iraq War. Old Rummy immediately denies it, then starts backpedaling when McGovern quotes him verbatim. Legitimate questions, illegitimate answers, yet the media instead of discussing Rummy’s additional lies during the give and take begins to question McGovern’s agenda. As if Rummy’s “agenda” has no bearing on Americans, but McGovern’s is somehow tainted or evil. McGovern was only asking a question I’ve been “outraged” that the media hasn’t bothered to ask.
Even today with the low polling numbers that has plenty to do with the Iraq War and were plummeting PRIOR to rising gas prices, the press still goes easy on the Bush Gang of Thieves. You can call critizism of them as demagoguery if you want, the left is just pointing at the devil in the White House, so I guess the shoe fits.
Another cliche for footwear, “the shoes is on the other foot” applies. When Clinton was king Republicans spent plenty of time with the demogoguery thing, but now that we have king George the left is suppose to be nice? What a crock. Do as I say, not as I do, coming from the Republicans is so laughable.
Why is the left so outraged and pointing the attack finger? Well, how about, a war started with lies, torture, domestic spying (which has just been revealed to include multiple millions of phone records), rightwing lobbyists scandals, Katrina ineptitude, continued and increased favoritism to the ultra-wealthy, a kiss butt media covering the Bush Gang, and just the White House attitude that Americans are nothing but sheep to be manipulated with lies, coverups, fear, intimidation, and all the mental weapons of a good totalitarian state.
But why shouldn’t conservatives be outraged? If King Clinton had been doing these things, the right would be spitting and drooling outrage. So it really comes down to your “team” faithfulness. What you fail to understand is that “In These Times” is not part of team Democrat. Clinton got his criticism as well, but Bush is so ruthlessly anti-democratic that he deserves searing rebukes.
I’m certainly sick of being lumped into team Democrat whenever I Bush bash. I have plenty of abhorance of them, but the main focus must be the party in power. Republicans run Congress and the White House, we have one party rule currently and it is they that must answer for things. Bush has the bully pulpit, so I’m going to critize the bully.
Finally, the left doesn’t have the monopoly on “outrage fatigue.” It seems like everytime I accidently stop my TV flipping at FoxNews there’s some ranting conservative outraged at something, usually fairly stupid, like O’Reilly’s “War on Christmas” and then the subsequent “War on Easter,” fake outrages to get their sheepeople all lathered up with anger.
Posted by Jon B on May 11, 2006 at 4:40 AM
I do get outrage fatigue. Sometimes I just want to give up on the human race in general. It seems like most people are self centered, self serving and thick headed.
I don’t know what’s worse, someone who sticks there head in the sand and doesn’t pay attention at all, or people who do pay attention but play the right or left game.
What evil genius started that nonsense anyway? Why do I EVER have to get into an argument with some idiot over whether I am or am not a liberal?
I’m so sick of people dissmissing what other people have to say just because they think they are on a different team than them. The truth is the truth no matter who’s mouth it comes out of. If Hitler said that water is wet I wouldn’t dissagree. Does that mean I hate Jewish people? NO, for crying out loud!
I do have ways of combating all this “outrage fatigue” though. First of all I think about all the people that have changed the world for the better. Gandhi never said, “Oh, why should I care? It’s all going to hell anyway.”
Ha, ha, and Steven Colbert’s recent performance at the White House Press Dinner was priceless.
The thing is I’m crazy. I’m crazy enough to believe that as long as I never give up trying to get people to see the truth and trying to find a way to make a difference, I can never really be defeated. What can I say? I’m a hopeless idealist and I hope I always stay that stupid.
Posted by Backatchababy on May 11, 2006 at 8:39 AM
I love it ... nothing like watching a bunch of LIBERALS blowing a head gasket. Priceless !!!!
It won’t be long before you will see Libs start jumping off of building and bridges.
And they do it to themselves .... lol…
Posted by tina1 on May 12, 2006 at 7:53 PM
Yes, it’s true, Tina—liberals don’t always agree with each other, and sometimes we have heated discussions about the issues. That’s because we can think for ourselves, instead of blindly following whatever your corporate conservative TV masters try to make us believe.
It’s called “freedom”—you wouldn’t understand.
Posted by marcello09 on May 12, 2006 at 9:13 PM
One thing I find re-invigorating is the sort of opposition that people like tiny one and Hyjinx22 are so generous is supplying.
I don’t think tiny one is at all aware of how her childish mocking tone is a spur for one to re-assert one’s progressive values, or that Hyjinx can recognise how his self-interested optimism serves as a goad to re-awaken the motivations of human sympathy and solidarity that are the under-girding of the democratic spirit, but I for one am sincerely grateful that they feel the need to salt these discussions with their opinions. Otherwise, we would undoubtedly regress into the kinds of individual sniping over insignificant differences that have poisoned leftist discourse forever and usually lead to that liberal phenomenon known as the ‘circular firing squad’.
I must confess a profound empathy for the feelings of fatigue and depression that folks are expressing. It is nothing new among activists who have been battering against the monster of hierarchical tyranny since civilization began. It has always been so much easier, and, indeed, personally renumerative, to just give in and accept one’s status and station and just go with the flow. It is discouraging to note that every movement that has ever arisen in opposition to the unceasing tendencies of the established order of whatever society to encroach on human liberty have themselves, in the limited successes they have enjoyed, eventually degenerated into oppressive institutions. It has always been thus, two steps forward, one step back.
At the risk of seeming cliched, it’s always darkest just before the dawn. It’s trivial to say so, but Hyjinx is correct in saying this is the greatest nation on the planet. What he doesn’t say, because of the ideological blinders he wears, is that the chickens of global exploitation that have created this triumphalist sense of superiority are coming home to roost. As the unsustainability of our culture of suburban sprawl and unbridled consumerism becomes clearer, as the problems of Global Warming and Peak Oil become more and more apparent, along with the diminishing returns of the doctrines of muscular economic pressure and military domination to effectively control world events, we will, ineluctably, be faced with the choice of either submitting to hubristic decline and social disintegration, or embracing the progressive values of conservation and sustainability of resources, appropriate technologies and inter-dependent co-operation.
It isn’t too unreasonable to believe that we are rapidly approaching a critical point in human history. It gets wearisome watching the big picture and waiting for the next shoe to drop. We have to continually take some time to look inside ourselves and seek those sources of psychic renewal that are available to us. For some this might mean art, music and literature, for others, personal relationships, spiritual practices, gardening, recreational activities, or throwing ourselves into individual and locally centered projects. We all need to take some care for ourselves and others, and, as every moment of our lives is born anew, our hearts and minds will be naturally replenished.
Hyjinx, you are making a critical error in reducing these arguments to the narrow domain of the tactics of electoral politics and mere partisanship. It is one thing to say you are all in favor of peace and justice as long as your belief in your own moral superiority is unchallenged, another to seek peace and justice beyond the limiting constraints of personal, nationalistic or ideological emnity. If you really want to understand progressive thinking you will have to transcend both conventional wisdom and the desire to frame everything in purely objectified terms of self-interest and engage in some degree of subjective introspection. Entertain some doubt about knowledge you have recieved and pursue it to the bitter end. Hopefully, you will come to an understanding of the ineluctiblity of the residue of affective feeling no matter how logical and detached one attempts to be. True rationality is not the divorcing of one’s mind from feeling, but forever seeking equilibrium between heart and brain. Without sympathy reason is only cruel in its effectiveness and without reason, empathy is deprived of wisdom. Perhaps the seeds of such an understanding already exist within you and are only awaiting some expression in order to take root?
Namasté
Posted by luminous beauty on May 13, 2006 at 9:03 AM
Tina cracks me up.
I don’t know how many times I’ve seen those FoxNewsies blowing their gasket on stupid issue after stupid issue. “War on Christmas,” “War on Easter,” they sputter and spit. Immigration lately is a good one. “Build a wall, keep dem forners outta here!”
And now, they have this depressed tone to their voices on many issues, particularily talking about poll numbers and the midterm elections. I’ve seen many have this defeatist sound about those elections, I guess they are preparing their minds for the fall. The realist of the Republicans understand that they are losing parts of their base, like Libertarians and fiscal conservatives. Even the dean of conservatism William F. Buckley has declared the Iraq War a failure as others are jumping ship on that failed excursion.
So Tina thinks we’ve got problems? Ha Ha
Posted by Jon B on May 13, 2006 at 10:02 AM
I can see Jon B doesn’t get it.
First, we have been winning the court battles on the “War on Christmas” and the ACLU has been losing.
Alliance Defense Fund - http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/actions/victories/default.aspx
lol .... lol
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#1) Colorado school district drops “Winter Break,” returns to “Christmas Break”
A Colorado school district has decided to return to using the name “Christmas Break” instead of “Winter Break” for the name of its December Christmas vacation. A board member had contacted the Alliance Defense Fund in December asking for information affirming the school board’s legal right to reestablish the name
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/pressrelease.aspx?cid=3738
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#2) In Hanover Township, N.J., some parents were angered to learn that no religious songs would be included in holiday concerts at their public schools this year.
On Nov. 18, the Hanover board reversed its unwritten “consensus decision,” reinstating Christmas music — chiefly because of the overwhelming parental sentiment, the superintendent said.
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/articles/031229/29john.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#3) Christmas In July—
Looks like this city got an early Christmas present this year. You got to love it when the ACLU loses. It kind of rekindles some hope in the justice system. Alliance Defense Fund won this case for religious liberty against the ACLU. This is one organization you all should really look into becoming a part of. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again….being offended is not grounds to sue. When will the liberals get out of this victim mentality?
http://stoptheaclu.com/archives/2005/07/08/christmas-in-july/
Posted by tina1 on May 15, 2006 at 4:38 PM
> First, we have been winning the court
> battles on the
Posted by marcello09 on May 15, 2006 at 6:49 PM
Second,
You liberals are all jumping up and down about Bush’s poll numbers being so low ... and why are they so low? because some Conservatives don’t like some of what Bush is doing, or not doing.
See… unlike you liberals who just stick by your candidates no matter what, we the GOP will let our officials know when we don’t like what they are doing. Look at when Bush nominated Myers for the SC, what happened? we let him know we were not happy and then what happened? he nominated Alito. And this proves our voice makes a difference.
And now look at the border situation ... Bill O’Reilly and other Conservatives were saying to put troops on the border 5 years ago. Now what is Bush doing?
lol…
Again, this is way over your heads which is why you liberals keep losing elections.
lol….
Posted by tina1 on May 15, 2006 at 7:55 PM
Tina, that last one was just boring. The one about the “War On Christmas” was much funnier. Can you give us one about “The Battle Of The Easter Bunnies” or maybe “INtulijent Dizine: wy my theery iz butter then yorz LOL”?
I mean, if you’re not here to entertain us, what good are you?
Posted by marcello09 on May 15, 2006 at 8:29 PM
“Outrage fatigue”. If one read through the article you would think it is a condition only incurred by the anti-Bush crowd. There are millions of us fatigued by one-sided articles like this one.
Did any one of you reading these posts watch the Espys the other night? Were you encouraged and energized when the two girls from Afganistan won an award for their bravery? The clip showing their story spoke of the challenges they had to over come. And I found it ironic that so many standing and applauding would have been ready to jump into a war protest.
How do you think those girls had that opportunity? Do you think for one moment that under the regime that had been in power until our men toppled them would have let them on a soccer field? The clip showed one woman’s execution on the streets with no retribution to the killer.
So if you don’t want to be fatigued, then show that same piece of film on the 6:00 or 11:00 news. Show all the positive outcomes along with the negative - if you don’t want to be fatigued. But the truth is you do. You want the never-ending negative reports to justify your hatred of President Bush.
Posted by Eagle on Jul 24, 2006 at 9:57 AM
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Reader Comments
“Outrage Fatigue” seems to be particularly prevalent on the liberal blogosphere. There’s not much evidence of it existing anywhere offline. So perhaps the solution is as simple as turning off the computer!
That’s a negative, Marcello.
Its not outrage fatigue, it’s the realization that things might have gotten so bad that the energy and destruction required to change them endangers their survival more than the status quo. It is the ultimate corruption provided by the wage -slave system that it encourages us to believe that we are individual units in competition, and that turning from that competition in order to affect the rules of the game means losing out on material reward, means not being the one chosen for promotion, means endangering the success of your children, means facing the possibility of demise and ruin as a product on the market. It’s not something found only in the weak. It is found in the most noble and courageous. Tell Kurt its o.k. if he wants to rest, he has done his part. He succeeded where others failed and his fatigue is not the melancholy rejection of the necessity of dangerous action, but rather the fatigue of the old soldier who knows he might never see the fruits of his victories; who is tired of the incalculable cost of each life sacrificed to that end. Tell him I said thanks. Tell him there is at least one man, maybe a few from what I read here, who will gladly take the struggle on in his stead. Tell him there is hope. Tell him until victory always.
> That
“Have you tried it?...etc.”
I have no internet connection at home, only at work, and I spend the majority of my time disconnected. The people I meet in “everyday life” tend to be either:
A. Indifferent to anything beyond their own immediate needs and wants.
B. Far too proud of their overzealous, overly simplistic analyses of complex socio-political issues. ( “Someone should call Immigration and tell them to get some busses down to those demonstrations.” )
C. Too quick to come to a conclusion based on a 60-second television news blurb.
That, alone, is enough to give me “Outrage Fatigue,” though I tend to just call it frustration.
Maybe I’m just lucky to have had friends and neighbors who are a bit more thoughtful than the average American. I’ve lived in an extremely liberal, multicultural college town and in an extremely conservative, white suburban enclave, and both environments have same problems that you mentioned: the indifference, the “simplistic analyses”, and the willngness to jump to hasty conclusions based on a small amount of information.
But I’ve also found that *most* people I come into contact with are willing to engage in friendly debate, and most of them actually have a solid rationale for their perspective, even if I don’t always agree with their conclusions. Most American taxpayers (including those who vote Republican) have legitimate concerns that Liberals need to respect and address before we start having any success with our agenda.
“It is the ultimate corruption provided by the wage -slave system that it encourages us to believe that we are individual units in competition, and that turning from that competition in order to affect the rules of the game means losing out on material reward, means not being the one chosen for promotion, means endangering the success of your children, means facing the possibility of demise and ruin as a product on the market. “
Reading this makes me what would have happened if our hunter-gather forebearers had felt this way. Being a slave to killing animals or gathering food, being unable to change the rules or nature. I would include not being able to find a spouse to the list above, so perhaps those who did feel that way simply have been lost in the gene pool, at least mostly.
There is injustice, Life continues to not be fair. Tragedy befalls us all. All very characteristic of the human condition. (This is NOT to say we should not strive for better, only, perhaps, we should be grateful for what we do have.)
I think marcello09 is onto something. . .
What ails us?
Well, for one thing the narrow idea expressed here that our problems are as recent as the last six years and caused by George Bush.
No, this is not a defense of Bush or the Republicans, rather it is my frustration of the continuing partisan bickering/blaming. It is a game dedicated to divert any organized threat to the status quo D.C. style.
The problem is more basic and broader than defined here as our cause for the rage. Ours is a rage born of years of frustration with the
I’m not sure how “outrage syndrome” relates to the APA’s recommendations for dealing with Post Traumatic Stress after 911.
I don’t view the outrage as a post-post traumatic moment. It is simply outrage over poor political leadership and witnessing the disintregration of our society.
However, there is a psychological component to the current state of affairs. It induces in us a state of outrage that can very easily lead to
displaced anger. Rather than take your anger and frustration out on friends and family, stay focused on the Bush administration and its many accomplices.
Of course, the opposite of anger is fear. The Bush administration has maintained a climate of fear, not due to terrorism, but due to repressive measures against Americans, including intolerance to criticism, police harrassment, incarceration, threats by secret service, deportation, and losing employment
My advice is not to fall victim to anger and fear because that’s what the Bushites thrive on.
Falling victim to anger and fear has been a staple of American politics since the dawn of the revolution, that first American civil war which was fought within the framework of a world war between the French and the English and the Spaniards, when American colonial expansion was checked by a British reluctance to antagonize the French and their indigenous allies, who were understandably apprehensive at the prospect of losing their tribal territories to a technologically superior race of white European emigrants whose solitary source of social cohesion was their predictable ability “to fall victim to anger and fear”.
We’ve been falling victim to anger and fear ever since. It’s no accident that our animosity to our Soviet rivals was characterized by reference to “the reds”, or that our colloquial description for hostile territory, in Southeast Asia or Central America or the Middle East or Africa, is “Indian country”.
We are a nation of alienated, obsessively competitive hyper-individuals devoid of any common cultural roots other than a racial propensity to respond to the social stimuli of anger and fear.
I guess anger and fear are quite ubiquitous throughout history - in every case, destructive forces that undermine the security of our psychological foundations as well as our political and economic security.
I would imagine that being on the edge is integral to moving forward through life, as long as we are able to find firm footing once we recover from the fall. In some cases the fall is too steep and that is where the outrage comes in. The collective memory of past events, like the Civil War, is a reminder of how deep we fell into the abyss of human tragedy. As citizens we become filled with outrage because we can recall lessons from history, yet feel helpless because the powers that be refuse to learn from them.
Let’s see…
More people month by month have a harder time making ends meet, e.g. fuel costs, health insurance costs, etc. The middle class is shrinking.
Sectarian and insurgent violence have been escalating in Iraq, making a sick joke out of the words, “Mission Accomplished”.
The main justification pushed by the administration for even entering Iraq is pretty much a dead letter.
The “mission” in Afghanistan is still far from “accomplished”, and doesn’t look accomplishable to any but the most optimistic.
People are still reeling from the Katrina storm on the Gulf Coast… even if they’re not from the region, the entire debacle has the whole country pursing their lips in chagrin, to say the least.
Racial divisiveness endures, this during a period of history by which many of us who are old enough to remember had had what we thought was a realistic hope that it would have diminished by now.
Our communications might be getting tapped.
Schools are a wreck, fewer people than ever having any confidence in them at all.
Bin Laden, al Zarqawi, and the entire jihadist movement have been emboldened, rather than weakened.
America’s stature and respectability on the world stage have eroded to an appallingly low point.
And government is increasingly perceived as unresponsive, corrupt, or incompetent, or all 3 at once.
So, that’s 10 examples (there are more!) of developments that would damage Americans’ confidence, hopefulness about the future, and belief that, in the main, they are on something like a correct path. A certain giving-up response is not hard to understand. Sort of like depression, but en masse.
I hope depression converts to anger, not “I Give Up”, but “I’m Fuckin’ Fed Up!”, in November. Who gives a damn whether it’s a Dumbo or an Ass, vote anti-incumbent. Fire the mf’rs! What have we got to lose?
(come to think of it, in reference to the country being depressed, the malaise could also be explained in part by all the people dropping psych meds constantly, and inappropriately… that shit can really cut your wires!)
Kuya,
That
I just this past minute saw a Bush blurb on MSNBC, “America has a problem…” was his opening to another subject subjected to Bush’s simplistic ramblings. I believe the subject was on illegal drug use in America, but it doesn’t really matter. I have less of “outrage fatigue” than just “Bush fatigue.”
As I was reading some of the blog comments here, I hear on the TV, Bush saying, “America has a problem…” And my instinctive reaction is to not even bother listening to the rest of his blather. I simply speak out loud, “Yeah, America’s problem is you! Why don’t you resign?”
Bush fatigue has had me talking to the TV images of Bush as well as yelling, pointing my finger, giving the finger, making jokes, swearing, etc. Sometimes I wonder if I look more like a football fan “enjoying” a TV broadcast of a Sunday game when I see/hear Bush on the tube.
Outrage fatigue may as well be overlapping “fear fatigue.” The Bush gang has been playing on Americans fears for so long that a person doesn’t know what to fear anymore or which fear is to take priority if we do decide to fear. Of course the TV media has a role in fear fatigue.
Geez, in less than one minute of MSNBC news at just past noon (this includes the running headlines at the bottom) were quick hits on a chemical fire somewhere, a brushfire in Florida, an earthquake in the Pacific, flash floods somewhere, another bombing in Iraq, Cheney threatening Russia about democracy sliding and two other things I couldn’t remember fast enough to write it. And this didn’t include the lately near around-the-clock Iran nukes crap.
Outrage fatigue, Bush fatigue, fear fatigue and a few other fatigues (cable news fatigue, politicians fatigue?) really are all just an overlapping of fatigues of our current American society.
Lefties may be outrage or Bush fatigued, but I’m betting that righties are outrage fatigued as well, think “War on Christmas,” gay marraiges, abortions, etc. And I’m surely betting they are getting “Defend Bush Fatigued.” With Bush’s polls slumbering below 40% for about a year now, the righties spend alot of time trying to defend Bush…
(I interrupt this post to relay the next MSNBC story, the possible bird flu epidemic. Another fear.)
..and particularily the Iraq War. Maybe another fatigue is “polarization fatigue.” Maybe our country has become fatigued with being so divided. I suppose one has to wonder if Americans are just America fatigued.
I am writing as an expatriot American in Europe.
The beating of pots and pans mentioned above is a good idea. The ritual took place for half an hour every night in the cities of Spain, for weeks, even months, in protest against the war in Irak. The right wingers and the left wingers, the grandmothers, the small children beat the pots and pans on their balconies. The motorists honked their horns in solidarity and the news media put it on the news every night. The street protests were enormous, over a million in Madrid and Barcelona - again, right and left, young and old, rich and poor participated. Whether you win or lose, these activities get the lead out and the blood going. It
Okay, I think I’m getting it—I’ve just read the first chapter of “Crashing the Gate” and I’m already fatigued. For those who don’t know, the book is supposedly a blueprint for returning progressives to power, written by bloggers Jerome Armstrong (mydd.com) and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga (dailykos.com).
It’s been noted many times that the biggest complaint about those of us on the left is that we don’t have anything to offer besides Bush-bashing. So what does the first chapter of this book consist of? Yup, you guessed it. It’s a dozen pages of “GWB is a doofus” and a dozen more of “neocons are evil” followed by the shocking revelation that “GWB is a neocon” with the startling conclusion of “GWB is an evil doofus”.
For levity, there’s smatterings of “Bill Clinton was wonderful oh yes gosh those were the good old days weren’t they?”
I mean, if this is what progressives are reading every day on the blogs then it’s no wonder they’re fatigued! It’s junk food, a Saturday morning cartoon show for liberals—which is fine on Saturday mornings, but consuming this stuff throughout the week is just plain unhealthy.
Come on, folks, we’re supposed to be *smarter* than the neo-cons. Let’s put that brainpower to work and figure out some *solutions* rather than just complaints!
Marcello, the problem is there aren’t many solutions that will be consumated. First, even if we wanted Democrats (I’ll return to this) to take back Congress in 2006, the fact is that democracy has been hijacked from voters.
Between gerrymandering, millions of dollars political campaigns, electronic voting fraud, suppression of third party ballot access, corporate influence of politicians, elections that consist of mainly attack ads, the fact that we can’t even count votes accurately, and other election problems, I don’t consider our country a democracy. It’s a psuedo-democracy. It looks like democracy, but it doesn’t pass the smell test.
Consider the upcoming midterm elections. The House of Representatives has all its seats (435) up for election, but most analysts mention maybe 16 to 20 seats as contested. And for Democrats to assume just one seat more than the Republicans I believe they need to win 16 or 17 of those elections, basically sweep the contested seats. Gerrymandering has made all the rest of those House districts safe for one or the other party. Both parties are guilty of gerrymandering the districts over the last decade or so. That shows that approximately 4 to 5% of Americans are going to vote in a contested House of Representative election. That’s not democracy, that’s a waste of time.
Is it any wonder voters don’t think their representatives are responsive to them. The politicians don’t have to be with near guaranteed elections. Look at disgraced Duke Cunninghams’s seat. Instead of going Democrat like logic might expect, the district will just plug in a new Republican.
The Senate isn’t much better. With only 1/3 seats up for election every two years, experts already are saying the Democrats will need extreme luck to take enough seats to win back the Senate. They need 51 total for control as Cheney breaks tie votes. But that doesn’t take into account several Democrats that don’t seem to even vote Democrat (Lieberman for one). Our country has been sectioned off into red or blue, changing a color section is near impossible these days.
Even if Dems take control of either the House or Senate, will they really begin investigations of the White House and Bush/Cheney? They might not have enough support from their own party to get the votes for starting investigations. In fact, it may be seen as politically strategic to have the investigations stretch out for a year or so, to keep the issues in the news into the 2008 election cycle. Rather than do the right thing and impeach Bush for crimes, Dems may want to just leave them on the open table for a possible election issue for the next presidential candidate. There’s no guarantee that Dems if controlling part of Congress will even do anything. A small bare majority will probably produce alot of do-nothing legislation as Bush could start vetoing things.
Some would suggest that this political gridlock is good. That having one party rule is a bigger evil, which can be true. Yet when our president has polled below 40% approval for a year now and that doesn’t seem to change anything, one wonders is this democracy when we can’t remove the low poller? As well in Congress neither party is polling good even to there own constiuents, and our democracy can’t seem to remove them either. If we were in a real democracy the 2006 elections would sweep out plenty of politicans. “Throw the bums out” would have meaning, but it won’t.
What kind of fatigue am I describing? I guess political fatigue. We can complain all we want, but very few politicans are going to lose their jobs in 2006.
Hey all. I’m a conservative for the most part and just stopped in to see how the other side lives. I’m sorry to hear of your constant agony and fret, you live in the greatest country on Earth despite whatever you think about the people in power. I’m sure most of you will have a coniption about that statement, I must be some naive “non-citizen” of the world to think such blasphemy. So cheer up, live life and find some intellectual ground for your arguements beyond “he’s a war criminal” or “this is racist” or “I’m oppressed, whoa is me” rhetoric and just maybe you’ll win some voters over.
Hyjinx22: No. You are not so much naive or blasphemous. You are just one dimensional, narrow minded, and insensitive - some of the many qualities that make up the conservative ilk.
Yet, the argument also goes way beyond conservative or progressive. It applies to basic human character: people who are sensitive to the welfare of others, social and economic justice, and global peace, as opposed to those who are cold, callous, self-serving, autocratic, aggressive, and rude.
Epistrophy - I wouldn’t be on this site if I were one-dimensional and narrow-minded, I would have just written you people off. I’m trying to understand what makes you people believe the way you do. I always listen to the arguements of others, I’m actually a scientist by trade and that is part and parcel of science. I’m just completely bored with the incessant liberal attacks on the actions of others and the “pie in the sky” unrealism that liberal “solutions” embody. Whatever happened to JFK Democrats, they were so much more reasonable people, but I digress… I’m just as much for peace and social justice as the next good lib, but I completely disagree with your means to achieving the end.
To be perfectly honest, Hyjinx22, you’ve got a point, and there seems to be a growing number of *liberals* who are embarrassed by some of the more prominent whiners on the left. The vast majority of us want to find real solutions to real problems, and we recognize that Bush-bashing isn’t the way to get things done (although it’s good fun, eh?). Let’s hope that the hyperbole will soon subside and that smart thinking will win the day.
marcello09, you are not a liberal. Please do not speak for us, as if you are one of us. Pretty sleazy.
It is not “outrage fatigue”. It is the realization that violent crazy people are in control of the US government. It’s like strangers are in your house with guns, and they are shooting people in the street. For the moment, they control your house, and they are promoting evil in your name. It is identity theft, and murder. It is not outrage fatigue, it is the desire to be somewhere else. So I say jump them. Attack. Don’t worry about feelings, the violation of natural laws eliminates any such conflict. Just attack. Bushadmin’s numbers are in the low 30s, probably 28 where Blair is. Something right is happening. Something is having an effect. The crazy people are not getting resupplied, their only plan is to do more murder, as if they’ve got some ammo left. Not exactly conserving for the long haul. So Mr. Bleifuss’s piece is fairly meaningless and distracting. What ever is going on, I think it’s working. When megamillion pollsters are forced to admit that Bushadmin is in the low 30s, you’re not in fatigue. They’re in trouble.
I don’t claim to speak for all liberals, just the intelligent ones!
I no longer recycle. I grew tired of fighting to get landlords and cities to promote newspaper, can, glass, and plastic recycling for tenants.
I no longer attend community meetings or political activities because it has become difficult to walk or to bicycle except in recreational bases, and because public transit systems are mostly a farce.
I spent years fighting an inane policy that ran counter to everything in which I have held value of ideology for almost half a century. The total disrespect I received for what is not an insignificant issue and, indeed, has very significant consequences for the country, over five years of fighting, left me with no care, respect, or concern for virtually anyone or anything.
I lived in one apartment where I did not even bother to conserve water. Instead, I had to run the shower for hours each day as white noise to counter the loud noise coming from the tenant in the apartment above mine.
I am tired of being forced to attend city council meetings, policy group meetings, and other basic meetings just to find out what is going on because newspapers no longer cover the news.
I no longer try to avoid genetically-modified food in everything, or try to hunt down butchers in stores who know if their meat is irradiated, or try to live as a vegetarian and organic consumer. Nor do I make as many consumer complaints as I used to make, because it has become a nightmare trying to find headquarter and executive contact information for businesses.
I no longer have any energy or interest remaining to even care about the bigger issues, such as war in Iraq or the rest of the Middle East, about gay rights or civil rights, or even tax cuts.
When someone pops up who has not yet become worn out, someone who can inspire, offer a vision, and listen, then I will see about caring again. Until then, I really have a hard time caring whether George Bush is president or not.
That sounds less like Outrage Fatigue and more like depression.
If it is depression, that explains the high prescription rates for anti-depressants in the United States.
I prefer to think of it as a strategic retreat. If the policies of our government and the expectations of our country’s citizenry is such that recycling is not important, that affordable and livable rental housing is not important, that transit beyond the automobile is not important, that businesses beyond Wal-Mart and Microsoft are not important then it becomes too hard to maintain supply lines to recycling centers, good jobs, and healthy food.
The result is to reduce enounters that expend personal resources until circumstances allow those resources to be renewed. I just have to retain faith that millions of other Americans are poking little holes in the beast that will, eventually and collectively, bring the beast down so that we can reconnect and reclaim our country.
As for Outrage Fatigue, look for the pattern behind the outrages. If we keep replaying the instances that outrage us, we just keep repeating our emotional responses. However, if we start placing those performances into categories, we remove emotion and gain understanding. Understanding leads to knowledge and knowledge can lead to power.
Dignitatum - The only thing driving presidential poll numbers is the price of gasoline. The correlation is so strong it is absurd, you can actually translate pennies and dimes into approval percentage points. This has been mostly true since the seventies. It seems that since there is a continuous distribution of marginal utilities for gasoline, price change will inevitable expand the margins and make people feel “squeezed” despite all other economic indicators. This inevitable shifts people between approval and disapproval. I guess the gas shortages of the 70s were that traumatic and became forever tied to an economic indicator of “well-being.”
That being said, your belief that constantly blindly attacking, even if you start to sound like the brutal dictator of Iran in his letter to President Bush and think this will win over Americans and not make them sick your mistaken. In fact, it is the same mistake this side has been making for the last 12 years. Really, the entire letter that good ‘ol Ahmajimaid wrote is precisely Democrat/lib talking points for the past three years, this should be some kind of a wake up call.
Real discourse is an idea, for instance Joe Biden’s very real suggestions recently of ways to reconcile Iraq by creating autonomous regions. Rational arguement to which reasonable people could disagree on the finer points. BUT, good faith criticism, not demagoguery is what will move us all forward.
Hyjinx, the left complaints about the Bush Crime Family ARE good faith criticism. Take just recently when former CIA analyst Ray McGovern took on Rumsfeld about Rummy’s claim that he knew where the WMDs were two weeks into the Iraq War. Old Rummy immediately denies it, then starts backpedaling when McGovern quotes him verbatim. Legitimate questions, illegitimate answers, yet the media instead of discussing Rummy’s additional lies during the give and take begins to question McGovern’s agenda. As if Rummy’s “agenda” has no bearing on Americans, but McGovern’s is somehow tainted or evil. McGovern was only asking a question I’ve been “outraged” that the media hasn’t bothered to ask.
Even today with the low polling numbers that has plenty to do with the Iraq War and were plummeting PRIOR to rising gas prices, the press still goes easy on the Bush Gang of Thieves. You can call critizism of them as demagoguery if you want, the left is just pointing at the devil in the White House, so I guess the shoe fits.
Another cliche for footwear, “the shoes is on the other foot” applies. When Clinton was king Republicans spent plenty of time with the demogoguery thing, but now that we have king George the left is suppose to be nice? What a crock. Do as I say, not as I do, coming from the Republicans is so laughable.
Why is the left so outraged and pointing the attack finger? Well, how about, a war started with lies, torture, domestic spying (which has just been revealed to include multiple millions of phone records), rightwing lobbyists scandals, Katrina ineptitude, continued and increased favoritism to the ultra-wealthy, a kiss butt media covering the Bush Gang, and just the White House attitude that Americans are nothing but sheep to be manipulated with lies, coverups, fear, intimidation, and all the mental weapons of a good totalitarian state.
But why shouldn’t conservatives be outraged? If King Clinton had been doing these things, the right would be spitting and drooling outrage. So it really comes down to your “team” faithfulness. What you fail to understand is that “In These Times” is not part of team Democrat. Clinton got his criticism as well, but Bush is so ruthlessly anti-democratic that he deserves searing rebukes.
I’m certainly sick of being lumped into team Democrat whenever I Bush bash. I have plenty of abhorance of them, but the main focus must be the party in power. Republicans run Congress and the White House, we have one party rule currently and it is they that must answer for things. Bush has the bully pulpit, so I’m going to critize the bully.
Finally, the left doesn’t have the monopoly on “outrage fatigue.” It seems like everytime I accidently stop my TV flipping at FoxNews there’s some ranting conservative outraged at something, usually fairly stupid, like O’Reilly’s “War on Christmas” and then the subsequent “War on Easter,” fake outrages to get their sheepeople all lathered up with anger.
I do get outrage fatigue. Sometimes I just want to give up on the human race in general. It seems like most people are self centered, self serving and thick headed.
I don’t know what’s worse, someone who sticks there head in the sand and doesn’t pay attention at all, or people who do pay attention but play the right or left game.
What evil genius started that nonsense anyway? Why do I EVER have to get into an argument with some idiot over whether I am or am not a liberal?
I’m so sick of people dissmissing what other people have to say just because they think they are on a different team than them. The truth is the truth no matter who’s mouth it comes out of. If Hitler said that water is wet I wouldn’t dissagree. Does that mean I hate Jewish people? NO, for crying out loud!
I do have ways of combating all this “outrage fatigue” though. First of all I think about all the people that have changed the world for the better. Gandhi never said, “Oh, why should I care? It’s all going to hell anyway.”
Ha, ha, and Steven Colbert’s recent performance at the White House Press Dinner was priceless.
The thing is I’m crazy. I’m crazy enough to believe that as long as I never give up trying to get people to see the truth and trying to find a way to make a difference, I can never really be defeated. What can I say? I’m a hopeless idealist and I hope I always stay that stupid.
I love it ... nothing like watching a bunch of LIBERALS blowing a head gasket. Priceless !!!!
It won’t be long before you will see Libs start jumping off of building and bridges.
And they do it to themselves .... lol…
Yes, it’s true, Tina—liberals don’t always agree with each other, and sometimes we have heated discussions about the issues. That’s because we can think for ourselves, instead of blindly following whatever your corporate conservative TV masters try to make us believe.
It’s called “freedom”—you wouldn’t understand.
One thing I find re-invigorating is the sort of opposition that people like tiny one and Hyjinx22 are so generous is supplying.
I don’t think tiny one is at all aware of how her childish mocking tone is a spur for one to re-assert one’s progressive values, or that Hyjinx can recognise how his self-interested optimism serves as a goad to re-awaken the motivations of human sympathy and solidarity that are the under-girding of the democratic spirit, but I for one am sincerely grateful that they feel the need to salt these discussions with their opinions. Otherwise, we would undoubtedly regress into the kinds of individual sniping over insignificant differences that have poisoned leftist discourse forever and usually lead to that liberal phenomenon known as the ‘circular firing squad’.
I must confess a profound empathy for the feelings of fatigue and depression that folks are expressing. It is nothing new among activists who have been battering against the monster of hierarchical tyranny since civilization began. It has always been so much easier, and, indeed, personally renumerative, to just give in and accept one’s status and station and just go with the flow. It is discouraging to note that every movement that has ever arisen in opposition to the unceasing tendencies of the established order of whatever society to encroach on human liberty have themselves, in the limited successes they have enjoyed, eventually degenerated into oppressive institutions. It has always been thus, two steps forward, one step back.
At the risk of seeming cliched, it’s always darkest just before the dawn. It’s trivial to say so, but Hyjinx is correct in saying this is the greatest nation on the planet. What he doesn’t say, because of the ideological blinders he wears, is that the chickens of global exploitation that have created this triumphalist sense of superiority are coming home to roost. As the unsustainability of our culture of suburban sprawl and unbridled consumerism becomes clearer, as the problems of Global Warming and Peak Oil become more and more apparent, along with the diminishing returns of the doctrines of muscular economic pressure and military domination to effectively control world events, we will, ineluctably, be faced with the choice of either submitting to hubristic decline and social disintegration, or embracing the progressive values of conservation and sustainability of resources, appropriate technologies and inter-dependent co-operation.
It isn’t too unreasonable to believe that we are rapidly approaching a critical point in human history. It gets wearisome watching the big picture and waiting for the next shoe to drop. We have to continually take some time to look inside ourselves and seek those sources of psychic renewal that are available to us. For some this might mean art, music and literature, for others, personal relationships, spiritual practices, gardening, recreational activities, or throwing ourselves into individual and locally centered projects. We all need to take some care for ourselves and others, and, as every moment of our lives is born anew, our hearts and minds will be naturally replenished.
Hyjinx, you are making a critical error in reducing these arguments to the narrow domain of the tactics of electoral politics and mere partisanship. It is one thing to say you are all in favor of peace and justice as long as your belief in your own moral superiority is unchallenged, another to seek peace and justice beyond the limiting constraints of personal, nationalistic or ideological emnity. If you really want to understand progressive thinking you will have to transcend both conventional wisdom and the desire to frame everything in purely objectified terms of self-interest and engage in some degree of subjective introspection. Entertain some doubt about knowledge you have recieved and pursue it to the bitter end. Hopefully, you will come to an understanding of the ineluctiblity of the residue of affective feeling no matter how logical and detached one attempts to be. True rationality is not the divorcing of one’s mind from feeling, but forever seeking equilibrium between heart and brain. Without sympathy reason is only cruel in its effectiveness and without reason, empathy is deprived of wisdom. Perhaps the seeds of such an understanding already exist within you and are only awaiting some expression in order to take root?
Namasté
Tina cracks me up.
I don’t know how many times I’ve seen those FoxNewsies blowing their gasket on stupid issue after stupid issue. “War on Christmas,” “War on Easter,” they sputter and spit. Immigration lately is a good one. “Build a wall, keep dem forners outta here!”
And now, they have this depressed tone to their voices on many issues, particularily talking about poll numbers and the midterm elections. I’ve seen many have this defeatist sound about those elections, I guess they are preparing their minds for the fall. The realist of the Republicans understand that they are losing parts of their base, like Libertarians and fiscal conservatives. Even the dean of conservatism William F. Buckley has declared the Iraq War a failure as others are jumping ship on that failed excursion.
So Tina thinks we’ve got problems? Ha Ha
I can see Jon B doesn’t get it.
First, we have been winning the court battles on the “War on Christmas” and the ACLU has been losing.
Alliance Defense Fund - http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/actions/victories/default.aspx
lol .... lol
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#1) Colorado school district drops “Winter Break,” returns to “Christmas Break”
A Colorado school district has decided to return to using the name “Christmas Break” instead of “Winter Break” for the name of its December Christmas vacation. A board member had contacted the Alliance Defense Fund in December asking for information affirming the school board’s legal right to reestablish the name
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/pressrelease.aspx?cid=3738
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#2) In Hanover Township, N.J., some parents were angered to learn that no religious songs would be included in holiday concerts at their public schools this year.
On Nov. 18, the Hanover board reversed its unwritten “consensus decision,” reinstating Christmas music — chiefly because of the overwhelming parental sentiment, the superintendent said.
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/articles/031229/29john.htm
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#3) Christmas In July—
Looks like this city got an early Christmas present this year. You got to love it when the ACLU loses. It kind of rekindles some hope in the justice system. Alliance Defense Fund won this case for religious liberty against the ACLU. This is one organization you all should really look into becoming a part of. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again….being offended is not grounds to sue. When will the liberals get out of this victim mentality?
http://stoptheaclu.com/archives/2005/07/08/christmas-in-july/
> First, we have been winning the court
> battles on the
Second,
You liberals are all jumping up and down about Bush’s poll numbers being so low ... and why are they so low? because some Conservatives don’t like some of what Bush is doing, or not doing.
See… unlike you liberals who just stick by your candidates no matter what, we the GOP will let our officials know when we don’t like what they are doing. Look at when Bush nominated Myers for the SC, what happened? we let him know we were not happy and then what happened? he nominated Alito. And this proves our voice makes a difference.
And now look at the border situation ... Bill O’Reilly and other Conservatives were saying to put troops on the border 5 years ago. Now what is Bush doing?
lol…
Again, this is way over your heads which is why you liberals keep losing elections.
lol….
Tina, that last one was just boring. The one about the “War On Christmas” was much funnier. Can you give us one about “The Battle Of The Easter Bunnies” or maybe “INtulijent Dizine: wy my theery iz butter then yorz LOL”?
I mean, if you’re not here to entertain us, what good are you?
“Outrage fatigue”. If one read through the article you would think it is a condition only incurred by the anti-Bush crowd. There are millions of us fatigued by one-sided articles like this one.
Did any one of you reading these posts watch the Espys the other night? Were you encouraged and energized when the two girls from Afganistan won an award for their bravery? The clip showing their story spoke of the challenges they had to over come. And I found it ironic that so many standing and applauding would have been ready to jump into a war protest.
How do you think those girls had that opportunity? Do you think for one moment that under the regime that had been in power until our men toppled them would have let them on a soccer field? The clip showed one woman’s execution on the streets with no retribution to the killer.
So if you don’t want to be fatigued, then show that same piece of film on the 6:00 or 11:00 news. Show all the positive outcomes along with the negative - if you don’t want to be fatigued. But the truth is you do. You want the never-ending negative reports to justify your hatred of President Bush.
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