Letters to the Editor
karrsic
Published Letters: 466 Editor's Choice: 6
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the difference, Winsmith
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]No I'm going to parse out what is really being said, not what is simply written, just like Glenn did in today's post covering Broder and Ignatius. That's called critical analysis. It's the entire crux of discussion.
the difference is Glenn uses evidence, you rely on belief. You have staunchly refused to provide backing for your hyperbolic claims, relying merely on your obligation to expose the antisemitism you see everywhere.
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it's actually easier than that
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]When Glenn says someone said something, he quotes it. When you say someone (or in your hyperbolic way "everyone") says something, you can't quote it.
There it is.
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OT: On the subject of "what we can do"
[Read the article: The remaining GOP base -- the 30%'ers and the Broder/Ignatius pundit]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]IMO, the number 1 objective is to increase the field of influence for bloggers like Glenn. All the ideas regarding boycotts and protests, etc., are great, but unlikely to work at this point in time. For a vast majority of Americans, it is not "socially safe" to actively protest.
ACTION
Everyone should start a blog. It's free and easy to setup. The difficulty of blogs is producing the content and keeping it up to date. I would therefore propose that some (1, 2, a few) here create the content that others use. Glenn's "various items" entry is a perfect format. The goal is short, easy-to-read, but compelling content, w/ links to the full story, i.e. to UT (or other blogs). It's vital that the blog is updated at least every few days. You then share your blog w/i your circle of influence. It doesn't matter that the various blogs look similar or even identical, since it's unlikely that readers will learn of more than 1 of these blogs.
It would be great if a couple of the leading posters here volunteered to create the succinct, compelling content. I'm happy to help people setup blogs, if necessary.
WHY
Most posters here are either "innovators" or "early adopters" on the market traction curve. (This translates to the lower left of a bell curve.) They tend to create and seek out new ideas, are quick to understand the implications of new ideas, etc.) Unfortunately, they typically don't serve as references to the next group, the "early majority." If the MSM were playing their role properly, they would be influential in reaching the early majority. Since they're not, we must create bridges to the early majority. Some of us bridge to this group within our circle of influence.
I believe many if not most of the early majority are sympathetic to the ideals here. The problem is that they are confused about sources of information and distrustful (rightly so) of the political and media machines.
Additional blogs will not dilute the message. Search engine rankings increase with cross-links. This will increase the penetration of source blogs.
The most "dangerous" time for any market adoption is when bridging between the early adopters and early majority. Mistakes often include:
- believing you are further along the curve than you really are
- assuming that early majority references early adopters
- early adopters seeking to "protect" their status as first movers
- too many segments/product offerings (i.e. not staying focused "on message." For instance, IMO attempting to punish Bush for his child healthcare veto makes our job more difficult. Better to stay focused on War and the Constitution.
Thoughts?
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@PD
[Read the article: The remaining GOP base -- the 30%'ers and the Broder/Ignatius pundit]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I encourage you to blog, too. I have no doubt it would prove beneficial.
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replies
[Read the article: The remaining GOP base -- the 30%'ers and the Broder/Ignatius pundit]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]@RMP
What I like about your idea on creating my own blog would be making what I want to provide to my contacts more user friendly. I would not clog up their email account because they would only get one email per day or so and I could solicit feedback like any blog does. I could have a section on the best comments of the day from other blogs.
You've got it exactly. The key is to make it easy for others. Also, by personalizing the content, e.g., leading into topics with a word or two from you, makes it more trustworthy.
@bystander
Online communities may be the answer to lots of different social issues, and the spread of some social/political agendas. But, I wonder, given the constraints that encumber most folks' lives, and mine again, eventually, how viable this medium is for countering the reach of newsprint, television, and radio.
Your path here doesn't sound so different to mine. I suspect it's similar to a lot of people. I think many, many people have given up on the MSM. The key is by blogging, you are providing a trusted place from which to jump off into the blogosphere. Sure, no one has enough time. But they're more apt to read a blog than carry a protest sign. Which leads me to...
@antineocon
RE: "socially safe"
I'm a pretty average person. I have a decent job, wife, 2 kids, appearance is outwardly pretty conservative. I don't feel that comfortable protesting - but I got to the point I had to. The last antiwar protest I attended in Oakland -- one of the most progressive cities in America -- I carried a sign with about 100 hundred others in front of shops and restaurant's teeming with people. They'd watch us walk by, smile, barely pausing their conversations. These people are anti-war. But they'd no sooner pick up a sign or refuse to pay a credit card bill or order "just ice," then date Shooter. Now I'm in San Diego. The social status quo is "support the troops or else." These are shooters who are packing.
Protest is not yet socially acceptable. Daily lives remain unaffected. "Oh well, they say, another election cycle is coming." "Oh well, those recruits volunteered and really like shooting stuff." "Oh well, not even Bush is stupid enough to attack Iran."
Education must come first. Anger or determination for change next. Then maybe they'll pick up a sign.
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Maybe I should up the ante
[Read the article: The remaining GOP base -- the 30%'ers and the Broder/Ignatius pundit]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What if I did all the blog-mgmt? Prolific writers here could simply send me their text...