Return of the Freepers

Regular readers know if they stick around long enough I always return to the subject of the U.S. media.

My longtime ideal, as a journalist, of a noble Fourth Estate, you know.

Yesterday it came home to me why the first things seized after a coup d’etat are all communication outlets. Why Goebbels was Hitler’s favorite henchman. The answer is simple: control communications and you can control minds.

I went over to Papamoka Straight Talk where Michael Boh is gallantly filling in for Mat O’Keefe, aka Papamoka, during his time of trouble. Michael’s own blog is Our Rants and Raves!, and he is pretty adept at getting things off his chest.

It’s been a long time since I encountered “freepers” on a liberal-leaning site. “Freepers” is a term applied to persons admonished by freerepublic’s Web site to go out and wreak a little havoc on the “opposition.” It's become a generic term for all such persons. I've got better things to do with my time!

I once belonged to a political forum which freepers managed to shut down, and I and fellow forum friends learned well their techniques. Most of these people, hiding behind screen names, were working the forum ‘round the clock, and one could only assume they were well-trained “hired guns.”

On Michael’s last two posts, there were two freepers (yes, freepers) leaving one comment after another. You really would have to read the comment threads for yourself to understand the full impact of media influence on their thinking.

I support free speech, but these two were “yelling fire in a crowded theater,” so to speak. I cannot comprehend how Americans who should think for themselves can be so hoodwinked.

Unbelievable!

I left the following comment on Papamoka this morning, and you may check out the referenced comments via the links at the bottom of this post.

My comment:

Michael:

After reading the comments from yesterday and those on this post, here are a few observations:

1) “Lisa” and “Machinist” apparently don’t work. If they do work, they are seriously neglecting the jobs they are getting paid to do. Volunteering to help fellow Americans less fortunate might be a better use of all that apparent free time. But wait, maybe they do earn their money as “hired guns” for some right-wing group, using propaganda skills aimed at disrupting legitimate discourse and goading anyone whose opinion differs from their own. Hmmm. Lots of that coming out of Texas.

2) Throughout the comment threads, all they seemed to be able to do is regurgitate what they have heard from their mentors:

* David Horowitz: If you are educated, you are “the elite,” you are out to destroy America, and you think you are smarter than “the rest of us” and believe we are “rednecks.” You hate us because we are the true patriots. Colleges which impart a well-rounded liberal education are hotbeds of anti-American activity, so stay away from such colleges (otherwise you might see through this propaganda).
* Sean Hannity: “The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers” prove Obama is anti-American and out to bring this country down - and you with it, blah, blah, blah.
* Bill O’Reilly: “George Soros, ACLU, moveon.org, Bill Ayers,” blah, blah, blah. Now, go out and shut down some left-wing blogs, Factoids!
* Rush Limbaugh: Liberals hate America; they want a socialist society to help, you know, “piglets at the nipples;” and Obama simply cannot be allowed to succeed as president, blah, blah, blah.
* Fox News: “Thanks for tuning in and lapping up our lies. The profits are great. Sincerely, Rupert Murdoch P.S. You’re doing a heckuva job, Ailes.”

3) Did anyone count how many times “Machinist” said he would leave the comment zone if Michael said the word?. Did anyone hear Michael ask him to leave? Did he really go away?
4) Did you catch that Lisa took Infidel753’s comment to task over his use of the term “religious fanatics” just a couple of comments after she asserted that all Muslim mosques in America are hotbeds of terrorist activity?
5) Finally, I believe these two people love their country, which is probably more respect than they would give me. Throughout their comments, it is evident that their only sources of “news” are right-wing outlets which support their beliefs. They don’t want documented news: they want validation. The declaration that the Republican Party is the “party of law and order” nearly made me fall off my chair. That one statement alone tells me they neglected facts about the Bush administration.

Do they realize, according to all major U.S. polls, they are in a small and – thankfully – shrinking group of about 20 percent of Americans? “Look it up.”

The fact is: Truth always surfaces, and Americans are fed up with their right-wing BS.

BJ

***

POSTS WITH COMMENTS:

“The Decline and Possible Fall of the Republican Empire,” Michael Boh for Papamoka Straight Talk, 9 June 2009: LINK

“The Confusing Nature of Terror and Extremism in America,” Michael Boh for Papamoka Straight Talk, 11 June 2009: LINK