As ever, Jamelle Bouie is insightful: Springfield dogs & cats is not a meme; it is blood libel: incitement to racist violence.
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As ever, Jamelle Bouie is insightful: Springfield dogs & cats is not a meme; it is blood libel: incitement to racist violence. I've been thinking about his recent column: their insane rhetoric is meaningless on the surface, but deadly meaningful underneath. Media are missing this.
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Here is Bouie's column about Trump and meaning. Quoting: "He may rant and he may rave, but his rantings and ravings aren’t static; they carry meaning." 2/
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/10/opinion/trump-speech-debate-rally.html -
Related: When Trumpists say they believe crazy shit--in meme or poll--they don't have to believe it. It's signaling of belonging. It is also permission: They don't have to believe in dogs for dinner when they want an excuse to attack Haitians. 3/
https://medium.com/whither-news/journalism-belief-belonging-07a8dabe35e4 -
Bouie says he avoids media criticism (wish he wouldn't but understand why). I agree the memes are hilarious. But by covering only the crazy & the memes, news media miss the real story again--fascism!--and only spread the blood libel. That's not savvy. 4/
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Yes, journalists, report on this crazy shit they say about dogs & cats; he said in the debate; you have to. Fine, show the funny memes. But NEVER stop there. ALWAYS report the context: in this case of blood libel, racism, incitement, and fascism. How? Study and share history. 5/
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Not to pick on The Times (I know I do) but this story about Springfield treats it as a social-media phenom--meme wars: kittens vs. couches. No! I pray The Times newsroom watches Bouie's TikTok. 6/
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/13/us/politics/donald-trump-kamala-harris-campaign-springfield-memes.html -
@jeffjarvis Can we please, please please PLEASE normalize putting links directly to TikToks (and other platforms) here?
The creators there - big and small - are putting in work on their stuff just the same as any other creative, and are boosted on that platform by the engagement they get.
If you wouldn't cut and paste a WSJ article (or whatever) without the link, then treat TikToks and other social media with the same respect.
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Mastodon Migrationreplied to Jeff Jarvis last edited by
Because A. G. Sulzberger's New York Times is now somehow too stupid to recognize a deliberate 'blood libel.' No. That's not it. They are in fact helping to propagate it by pretending it is some sort of mysterious phenomenon, when in fact it is Trump 100% stoking racism and violence.