Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz John Wayne and the New Orleans Indians http://www.counterpunch.org/dunbar09072005.html
Winds, Yes; Of Change? Not Likely By CHRIS FLOYD http://www.counterpunch.org/floyd09072005.html
"One proof of this can be found in the first polls coming out after the disaster, which show that a full 46 percent of the American people approve of Bush's handling of the relief effort. It seems inconceivable that any sentient being could witness the agonizing results of the Bush team's dithering, dilatory response an agony played out in the full glare of non-stop media coverage and not come away with a sense of towering anger at this criminal incompetence. But it's obvious that nearly half the American people have now left the "reality-based community" altogether; they see only what they want to see, a world bathed in the hazy, golden nimbus of the Leader. The fact the undeniable truth that behind this carefully-concocted mirage lies nothing more than a steaming pile of rancid, rotting offal means nothing to these true believers. The Lie is better, the Lie is more comforting, the Lie lets them keep feeding on the suffering of others without guilt or shame."
Floyd gets to the crux of why the political landscape wont' shift much after Hurricane Katrina, at least for those who are hardcore Bush supporters, perhaps 30-355 of the population. I've had the unfortunate experience of listening to the words coming out of the mouths of my family members this week. They are all Dittoheads and have quickly picked up on the propaganda lines being promulgated by Fox News.
What are they saying? One thing I've noticed is that they've picked up on the "school bus thing," that is the fact that the Mayor of New Orleans didin't use those school buses--currently stranded in flood waters--to evacuate the poor residents. In their minds this is bad, if not worse, than the federal government's lack of response. They are also upset about "those people", especially the looters who are stealing TVs and guns. Last night I heard them bellyaching about Democrats and the charges of racism--I confronted them with some statement about how the U.S is racist.
Here are the key themes that Rove and the neocons are using to control their followers:
1) That the failure to avacuate is the fault of local officials (who happen to be people of color) 2) Promoting stories of fear, i.e. focusing on looting, chaos, and stubborn black people who didn't leave. 3) Avoiding charges of racism by pointing to issues of class 4) Trumpet the positive stories. Show lots of pictures of the troops and official helpers. Defend Bush by saying that critics are "playing blame games" 5) Highlight stories about the Hollywood Left, such as Oprah visiting or Sean Penn and his boat 6) Promote the story that the rest of the world won't help the U.S. This plays into the widespread misconception held by Dittoheads that the U.S. spends more on foreign aid than other countries. This reinforces "us vs. them" fear and jingoism.
The key question for the Left is How do we pierce that bubble? What will work to radicalize these people, or at least, get them to drop their support for stupid neocon beliefs? The Left's problem, as I see it, is that it continues to be very deterministic and fatalistic when it comes to action. We prefer to talk about the Dittoheads, but we aren't trying things to see what will work against the paradigm they subscribe to. It's pretty obvious that the Left can't change the situation by electing pathetic Democratic candidates, so how do we change minds?
Chuck