Radical Right Reality Check

Why progressives are often out-shouted by a noisy minority and what can be done about it

One of the big news stories in North Carolina this week concerned an incident that actually occurred more than a month ago. It involved the sad and scary story of a family (a mother and her three minor children along with a church friend) whose car was pulled over late at night on Interstate 85 in Alamance County. The reaction it has provoked should provide an important lesson to progressives on the state of the current public debate in our state and nation.

According to reports, after the stop, an Alamance sheriff's deputy handcuffed and arrested the mom because she was apparently an undocumented immigrant. After some confusing communication that involved some amount of translation by one of the kids, the deputy left the kids with the friend (an adult male) on the side of the road. Since the friend was apparently also undocumented, he apparently decided he needed to flee for fear of arrest. As a result, the kids (aged 6, 10 and 14) spent eight terrifying hours in the car waiting for their father, who lives in Maryland, to arrange for their rescue.  

The story has provoked a fair amount of media coverage and a sympathetic editorial in Raleigh's News & Observer in which the paper rightfully cast a skeptical eye upon the deputy's actions and the underlying federal immigration program (known as 287(g)) that empowers local law enforcement officers (including at least a few Barney Fifes) to play the role of immigration cops. So far so good.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, not all of the reaction to the story has been sympathetic to the family. As one finds with just about any story dealing with immigrants these days, the comment sections on various news websites included a number of mean-spirited tirades about "illegals" and "deterrence" (as if six year-old children should be the vehicle through which such messages are delivered). 

One comment on the Winston-Salem Journal site turned into a rant about "Mexicans" being provided with "free medical, free lunches at school, free school supplies, free tutors to help them with school and free everything." And, of course, those are the relatively tame ones that haven't been flagged and deleted as overtly hateful or racist. Had the story been about an immigrant who'd committed some sort of genuine crime against another person, you would have been well-advised to don waders before entering the various comment sections.

Why the sullied soapbox? 

All of which raises some interesting and difficult questions about the state of the public debate on the Internet. For instance, why is it - at least in North Carolina - that progressives seem to have ceded control of an important battleground, i.e. the comment sections of "mainstream" news websites? Take a deep breath and check some of them out. On story after story you'll find cringe-inducing takes from the angry and disaffected, venting their spleens at their imagined tormenters - politicians bent on taking their hard earned dollars and giving it to the shiftless, wimpy judges who get all squeamish about real criminal punishment and always, always, immigrants.

Interestingly, the apparent ascendancy of the Neanderthal mindset doesn't carry over to the world of blogs and commentary websites. By any honest assessment, progressives have done a much better job in matching or exceeding the far right when it comes to producing original content. On the traditional news sites, however, the comments often amount to a swampy wasteland of rage and vengefulness. Like much of the AM talk radio world, it is a realm into which thoughtful people tread carefully. 

Opinions as to why this is the case (and just how important it is) are numerous. Is it truly reflective of a vibrant reactionary movement or is it just a convenient and anonymous place for a limited number of frustrated people to give voice to their darker side? Are a few hundred loudmouths truly representative of a broader movement or are they just the noisy remnants of a slowly expiring class?

Public opinion polls and election results seem to confirm that the angry and hateful do not constitute a majority of the population - at least not in the numbers that the comments sections would sometimes seem to indicate. But to what extent this is a chicken and egg situation is unclear. 

It's generally accepted that AM talk radio has (at least at times) played a significant role in energizing the loony right. Here in North Carolina, it has clearly played a role in fomenting passions around the issue of how undocumented immigrants are treated by our community colleges and universities. One helpful difference between the two forums, however, is the fact that the news websites have no Rush Limbaughs or Sean Hannitys to mold and redirect the venom.    

Having said this, it's hard to see how the prevalence of so much unchallenged and reactionary blather in such an important public place can be a good thing. Surely, it would be better in lots of ways if the news sites' comment sections were infused with healthy doses of thoughtful and humane observations on a regular basis. Often, even a single well-placed comment can help to make a lot of people think twice before piling on the hate and anger bandwagon. 

Responding to the vitriol

Transforming (or even balancing) this particular public forum will not be easily or rapidly accomplished. For many thinking people, the idea of entering into a debate with a person spewing reactionary or hateful views (save for their once-a-year Thanksgiving dinner conversation with an uncle or brother-in-law) is a task to be avoided at all costs. Happily, there are ways to lend one's hand to this effort without sacrificing too much in the way of time, privacy or blood pressure. 

Here are five relatively easy-to-follow tips that you may want to consider trying:

1. When you read an online news story on an issue with potential policy or ideological implications, occasionally allow yourself an extra 30-60 seconds to check out some of the comments. This should give you a feel for the lay of the land. 

2. Some day, when you've got an extra couple of minutes or feel particularly inspired, go ahead and register as a commenter. As the haters almost always bravely demonstrate, you can use any name you want and your identity will be protected.

3. If comments on a particular story seem to be heading into a downward spiral, go ahead and speak up. There's no need to make it personal, call people names, or even specifically address individual inane comments. Just a couple of calm, rational sentences can make a big contribution. Don't even worry about checking back or turning the matter into a debate (unless you really want to). Limit yourself to five minutes so you won't waste the whole day. An absence of egregiously misspelled words is a nice touch that will often set you apart. 

4. Many sites also allow you to register your opinion without writing anything. All you have to do is click on a "button" to express your opinion as to whether a comment was insightful or not. You can also vote to "flag" a comment as offensive if it really goes over the line. This can take just a few seconds.

5. If you feel really inspired and want to contribute something more than just a sentence or two to the debate, contact us here at NC Policy Watch. We're always looking for new contributors to our fast-growing blog, The Progressive Pulse. It's a great place to attract lots of eyes from the policy and journalism worlds to your take on the issues.   

Going forward

These are interesting and potentially exciting times. There is a growing perception that American progressives are enjoying a renaissance that could propel significant political and policy change in the months to come. Still, despite this promise, a noisy minority of backward-looking voices continues to do its best to hold us back - especially on "hot button" issues that inflame emotions and stifle intelligent discussion. Let's hope that as they look for ways to do their part for the cause, more and more thinking people (maybe even you) will make elevating the public debate a part of their regular routine.   

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 11:37 am and is filed under Radical Right Reality Check. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.