I didn't know anyone who was promoting Russian-hacking conspiracy theories, but I don't doubt that they existed. Polarization means more paranoid BS on both sides. It's equally garbage no matter who does it.
However, I must note that we didn't then see a bunch of swing-state Dems win 2018 primaries for state offices governing elections by ranting that the 2016 election was stolen and they would not have certified their states' votes - with the implication that if those states voted again for Trump in 2020, they would sabotage the electoral count or certification. The possibility that those in power will openly discard election results they don't like was unthinkable in the U.S. before the Trump era. The paranoid or lying psychos on the extreme left might equally desire to end democracy because the results usually don't suit them, but they aren't winning primaries and on the brink of taking high office, while those on the right increasingly are.
As for Democratic Party leaders or Dem-friendly media, all I saw them do was grouse and grumble because our system yet again allowed the loser (by a large margin) of the popular vote to take office. But nobody of any influence suggested that Joe Biden should refuse to accept the Electoral College votes or that someone should send a lynch mob to bust up the Congressional vote-counting session, two other things that even Richard Nixon would have hesitated to do.
The problem with polarization is that everyone is inclined to look at the Other tribe and say "see how terrible what They are doing is", even if it is the exact same thing as their own tribe is doing, which is often the case. Because this hypocrisy is so widespread and widely known, media bothsidesism is presumed to be reasonable, and often is. But almost all of us like to think there are certain ways in which the other faction *really is* worse, and we then need to admit that there might be other ways in which our own faction *really is* worse - or else admit that we are simply demonizing the Others, in which case we definitely are part of the problem.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2022-08-28 02:54 pm (UTC)However, I must note that we didn't then see a bunch of swing-state Dems win 2018 primaries for state offices governing elections by ranting that the 2016 election was stolen and they would not have certified their states' votes - with the implication that if those states voted again for Trump in 2020, they would sabotage the electoral count or certification. The possibility that those in power will openly discard election results they don't like was unthinkable in the U.S. before the Trump era. The paranoid or lying psychos on the extreme left might equally desire to end democracy because the results usually don't suit them, but they aren't winning primaries and on the brink of taking high office, while those on the right increasingly are.
As for Democratic Party leaders or Dem-friendly media, all I saw them do was grouse and grumble because our system yet again allowed the loser (by a large margin) of the popular vote to take office. But nobody of any influence suggested that Joe Biden should refuse to accept the Electoral College votes or that someone should send a lynch mob to bust up the Congressional vote-counting session, two other things that even Richard Nixon would have hesitated to do.
The problem with polarization is that everyone is inclined to look at the Other tribe and say "see how terrible what They are doing is", even if it is the exact same thing as their own tribe is doing, which is often the case. Because this hypocrisy is so widespread and widely known, media bothsidesism is presumed to be reasonable, and often is. But almost all of us like to think there are certain ways in which the other faction *really is* worse, and we then need to admit that there might be other ways in which our own faction *really is* worse - or else admit that we are simply demonizing the Others, in which case we definitely are part of the problem.