There were rumors that Bush was going to ignore the Constitution and run for office a third time. There were fears we were sliding into fascism.
Yep there were emails circulating about FEMA building detention camps and things like that. Little did they know that by the end of their second terms most presidents seem more than ready to go.
Fear has been used as a tactical weapon for a long time. FaceBook and E-mail are simply the latest methods of communication.
Back (way back?) in the 1980’s Ronald Reagan won a second term largely on the strength of a television ad that had a camera panning unsteadily across a woodland scene with a soundtrack of some huge animal panting. It ended with a narrator saying, “There’s a bear in the woods.” and a logo for the re-elect Ronnie campaign (or some such. You know what I mean.) Even though Reagan had been governor of California, which has a bear on its flag, the general understanding was that the ad was playing up fears of the great Russian Bear that was clearly(?) still a threat to American (USA) safety and economic world domination.
Around that same time, TV’s and radios were broadcasting a lot of advertising for ADT Burglar Alarm company (at least in Southern California) and the Life Alert medical distress signaling necklace* and they were clearly making a killing because their ads kept getting slicker and slicker.
At the time, I mentioned to a couple professors that Fear seemed to be increasingly popular as a marketing tool – even for marketing politicians – and they pointed me to a huge body of research that has been tracking the phenomenon for decades. [Okay, so it was a cool observation for ME at the time.]
But, then again, the use of fear as a selling-point is as ancient as man and society: Fear is a key element underlying the appeal of religion# and, that may very well be how/why Ronnie’s PR people got the idea of using it to sell his candidacy.
Seriously, though, I was in the restroom at a bar and saw some replica old newspaper reprints that seem popular in bar restrooms for wallpaper. One of the newspaper ads said, “Doctor Jameson’s Tonic and Elixir: Prevents Indian Fever. Also good for dizziness, feinting, shivers, shingles, and flutters.” I guess if you’re afraid you might catch one of those ailments, then you probably want to buy a bottle or two in advance!:dubious:
–G!
*Some Rap artist made a hit recording with the soundbite, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up! Can’t get up! Can’t get–Can’t get–Can’t get up!”:eek:
#Are you afraid of lightning? Appease Zeus and he won’t hurl a bolt at you. Are you afraid of dying and spending an eternity in horrible conditions that can’t even be imagined? Appease the invisible deity-that-must-not-be-named and – well, you’ll still die, but you’ll get the posthumous opportunity to torture forty-seven sexually inexperienced girls. It may be torturous for them, but we’re pretty sure you’re the kind of sadist that will enjoy that kind of thing. Are you afraid of posthumously being thrown in with 46 other inexperienced girls and…:smack:
Fear of losing power they think they have.
Racism is very much a primary factor. As is classism.
It is based on the perception of a cultural norm where most people are white (or at worst, token minorities integrated into a predominantly white culture), live in modest suburban homes, drive everywhere, can generally be successful through hard work and education, settle down (with the opposite sex) and raise kids at an appropriate age, and generally value mainstream interests like sports, religion, barbeques, drinking beer and so on. Basically the experience I grew up with in the 70s and 80s.
The “fear” is that if the “Liberals” have their way, those cultural norms and values will become marginalized by minority or fringe cultures. Typical examples I hear are:
-Lazy white trash and no-account minorities will sponge of welfare funded by hard working Americans.
-Quotas and affirmative action will place incompetent, less skilled minorities ahead of more competent, harder working white people in jobs and academic programs.
-Criminals will run amok due to soft-on-crime policies and restriction of 2nd Amendment rights.
-Rampant environmentalism will destroy the mobility and freedom of suburban lifestyle, forcing everyone to live like Williamsburg hipsters crammed into walk-up apartments above a Starbucks by a commuter rail station.
-Ridiculing of “traditional values” (e.g. God, Guns, Guts) and dismantling of traditional institutions and customs (e.g. the “war” against Christmas)
-Illegal immigrants stretching local resources and infrastructure behind their capabilities.
Basically, it is a fear of change from the status quo. And it’s “racist” because much of that fear is based on those changes being forced upon them by people who look and act different.
Maybe for this specific case it’s racism, but general fearmongering isn’t racist. I live in Arizona and every time our legislature or our governor sneezes a lot of democrats think it’s the apocalypse. Now, admittedly, our state government can be pretty bonkers and proposes/passes some stupid shit, but I’ve seen plenty of posts of the same vague “fears” about what the conservatives will do. You’d think tomorrow we’ll wake up in a totalitarian theocracy with some of the things they post.
It has more to do with whoever is in power, and possibly because the internet is a great echo chamber, than it does any specific quality of the people with the fears. Now, yes, the precise fears they’re laying their vague conspiracy theories on may point to that specific group’s racism or classism or whatever else, but in general there are always people who are going to have ridiculous fears about the party in power. This is especially prominent in a two or three-party system where people tend to vote more against who they dislike more than for who they like (because the person they actually agree most with likely has no chance of winning).
I seem to recall that Bush was going to somehow “cancel the election” because of “terrorism”.
The left spent eight years foaming at the mouth about how he was “selected, not elected”.
And how he was just a figurehead for Cheney and Ashcroft and Halliburton and the Saudi royal family.
And then, of course, there are the 9/11 Truthers.
And the anti-war rhetoric got rather heated.
And Dan Rather’s episode.
There is plenty of hysteria on both sides.
The anti-war rhetoric and Dan Rather were justified though. They were factually correct, but had less political support, just like the Occupy Wall Street protesters.
Let’s not forget how he stole the election via the SCOTUS.
Deeg: Heck, I’m still mad about Tilden/Hayes.
I’ve noticed a lot of the Obama scare stories, unlike, I think, those of previous presidents, are things that are often either true or exaggerated but basically true*, but that are as true or truer about Mr. Obama’s predecessors
*And some that are completely false, like the allegedly huge number of Executive Orders
So in a sense, it worked.
That’s how these things go, they bombard people with so much smoke, at least some – even smart, sophisticated, aware people, ahem – are going to at least wonder if there isn’t fire somewhere.
Factually correct? The incriminating documents were forged.
Dan Rather got suckered by a con artist who told him exactly what he wanted to hear.
Umm, the provenance of the documents is still a mystery. Almost all (but not all) of the “facts” used to claim they are forgeries are bunk.
Also, Rather did not want to report the story. He was ordered to do so by higher ups at CBS. *60 Minutes *was planning on running a different piece that was really critical of the Bushes just before the election. The CBS execs ordered it killed and told 60 Minutes to run the story on the National Guard docs instead at the last minute when there was no time to vet them. They then pinned the whole thing on Rather. Really nasty trick there.
Anyway. regarding the OP. It takes two to tango.
First, there are a lot of people who are superficially “secure in their beliefs” but are really easily shaken. They were raised in a monolithic environment. They, their family, their neighbors, all believed in the same things. They were not given reasons for their beliefs. They were just raised a certain way and they accept it and that’s it. End of discussion.
They might claim to be secure in their beliefs, but they have no basis for their beliefs. So when people who believe other things and seem fairly normal and all that appear in their world, this frightens them. They have a hard time wrapping their minds around this.
Second, are the exploiters of the first group. They seek power, money, etc. So they hype the crap out of the “threats” to their world. Money, votes flow in. It brings in a lot of viewers/listeners for the scaremongers programs and therefore ad dollars.