Triumph of the Cynics
www.theatlantic.com
Is it possible to resensitize an electorate to scandal and cruelty?
  • Aielman15@lemmy.world
    31·
    16 days ago

    Watergate was such a big scandal that Nixon gave up before the impeachment procedure had even began, and it left such a big mark that we still talk about it so many decades later.

    Trump was involved in many, many more scandals of far greater magnitude, and yet he won the majority of votes.

    What the fuck happened during the last 50 years?

  • OccamsRazer@lemmy.world
    15·
    16 days ago

    It’s been an endless stream of reports of scandal and cruelty since 2016. How could you not get desensitized? The alternative would be to go insane.

      • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        15 days ago

        Yes. Ronnie Raygun’s administration was objectively the most criminal IN HISTORY:

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandals_of_the_Ronald_Reagan_administration

        The presidency of Ronald Reagan was marked by numerous scandals, resulting in the investigation, indictment or conviction of over 138 administration officials, the largest number for any president of the United States.

        Iran/Contra was far worse than Watergate.

        And the qons have been agitating to put that dopey actor who enabled all the crime, and set America on the path to now, on our money, on Mount Rushmore and want to name just about anything and everything after the Blessed Saint Ronnie Raygun. And the “liberal media” was falling all over themselves to lionize him when he passed away, FFS. Again, the dunce who presided over the most criminality in an administration in history.

        No wonder we are at the point where the slimy bullshit artist who was always known for being a rich brat around town and with a big mouth is now poised for another term.

        Sigh.

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    15 days ago

    Um, the scandals only stick to one side. If Biden or Clinton properly label the base of the Republicon party, the tone police never stop the pearl-clutching.

    But Republicans can literally do anything, up to and including a coup attempt and it’s NBD.

  • ɔiƚoxɘup@infosec.pub
    1·
    15 days ago

    I respect the Atlantic and they do a lot of good work but I kind of feel like the answer to that is a little bit obvious. Like someone else said, the scandals only stick to one side.

    • silence7@slrpnk.netOP
      2·
      15 days ago

      Part of that might be a result of much of the population not being tuned in to factual media. The right-wing outlets do a cover-for-30-seconds approach to any bad thing Trump does.