A year ago, I embarked on a dark and frightening journey. I began monitoring the Free Republic and Little Green Footballs, two of the more well – know right wing blogs. I felt like Frodo, unsure of what Ring Wraiths or other dangers I might encounter. Would I emerge as the political equivolent of a Stepford Wife? Would my ‘97 Buick suddenly sport a “Freedom isn’t Free” bumper sticker? Would I inexplicably develop an affinity for jingoistic country songs? Maybe this was a bad idea. I’m a bleak sort anyway, and who knows how long my Klonopin prescription would shield me.
My goal: get some insight into the Bizarro World of political blogging, go through the Looking Glass and venture forth into EvilLand. I regularly read and post on progressive blogs, and had heard tell of another land, far away and frightening…. As a Jewish/pagan socialist homeschooler living in the JesusLand of the north (DuPage County, Illinois) I felt pretty well armed. I’d been swimming in the swamps of Christian reconstructionism via the homeschool community, after all – what better armor could I ask for? I figured I was prepared.
Alas, I discovered you are never prepared for close encounters with wingnuts. Despite having attended a homeschool convention featuring keynote speaker Ken Ham, founder of the “Creation Museum”, I was still shocked. Reading a right wing blog is like picking up a wet towel on your laundry room floor during earwig season.
A few definitions: Bloggers on The Free Republic are known as “Freepers”, while bloggers on Little Green Footballs call themselves “Lizards”. My observations are based on a year of daily reading of these blogs, and by necessity relies on both my own interpretation of what I encountered as well as generalizations. I invite readers to check out the blogs I mention for themselves, and welcome any feedback that disagrees with my views.
So let’s start with the obvious: many of the stories posted and comments on these blogs are racist beyond belief. Nearly every crime story posted there featured a criminal who’s name evoked comments about their ethnic origin, invariably African American or Hispanic (and all Hispanics are illegal aliens, or so the belief is in Freeper World). Theirs is a world in which almost all African Americans are welfare exploiting criminals raised in single parent homes, and Hispanics are mostly “illegal aliens” also sucking up undeserved government dollars and having multiple “anchor babies” while undermining American wages.
Freepers and Lizards use the exact same language about Muslims that the Nazis did about Jews. In Wingnut World, Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison is a traitor and an Islamist terrorist, and Barack “Hussein” Obama, as they call him, is often referred to as “Hussein” or “Osama”. Little Green Footballs wins the dubious award for religious bigotry here, with the posters screeching endlessly about “Mooslimes” and other crass descriptions of Muslims, endless sarcastic references to the “Religion of Peace” and characterizations of Muhammad as a child molester. They engage in frequent flights of fantasy whereby they, the “Lizards”, as they refer to themselves, engage in killing Muslims, and desecrating the Koran or mosques.
Right wing bloggers are homophobic to a degree I’ve not seen in any other segment of the US population. Gay people are “queers”, “fags” or worse. When Heath Ledger died, his appearance in Brokeback Mountain was cited as a huge mark against him. A few brave posters posited that while Ledger’s appearance in the evil movie showed bad judgement, he was, after all, just acting. No matter – NO healthy straight man could kiss another male for any reason, acting included, others retorted. Besides, that movie had an “agenda”. Gay people and liberals all have agendas, as does the “Mainstream Media” (also known as the “Drive-by media”, coined by one of their icons, Rush Limbaugh. The media is all liberal, by the way. Even Fox News is insufficiently “accurate” when it comes to reporting the TRVTH.)
Rudy Guiliani’s failure to hate gay people sufficiently is cited as proof he’s probably evil, and Mitt Romney apparently didn’t have sufficient homophobic credentials either – he’s suspect on this one. In fairness, there are degrees of this, but it is a rare poster that takes another poster to task for their openly stated hate views. This is a striking variance from progressive blogs; post something there that passes as hate speech and you will be called on it immediately, if not banned.
Right wingers use very different language in describing their political intentions. Instead of simply saying, “I won’t vote for ___”, they often say, “No one I know will vote for _____” or “No one in THIS house will be voting for ____”. I was often reminded of “Mary Poppins” and Edwardian England in general. They are immersed in authoritarian group think. You will frequently encounter the statement, ‘No one I know likes _________(fill in the Democratic politician) or “no one I know approves of __________ ( fill in the suspect activity). They avoid the need to tolerate differences by trying to eliminate those with opposing views from their lives.
Progressive bloggers, while overestimating the level of political engagement of most Americans, are far more realistic than the Freepers and LGF’ers. Example: The Freepers, literally up to the last minute, believed that Fred Thompson was surging and would be the GOP nominee. They did not believe he’d drop out. Even after he’d done so, some continued to deny it. Their hold on reality is tenuous at best. It would be – has been – extremely easy for any politician to deceive them simply by telling them what they want to hear (in a deep daddy-like voice, of course).
They are extremely insecure about their masculinity. (most are males, by the way). They enjoy discussing their guns in some detail and it is common to read elaborate descriptions how they’d commit this or that violent act on anyone who dared ________ (break in their home, try to take their gun, etc.). “Give me five minutes with that camel jockey”, they say (from their mom’s basement). “They won’t need to water board him after that!” They are a parody of themselves , and don’t realize it. Calling someone a “woman” is the worst imaginable slur. Hypocritically – and that’s a word that would expire from exhaustion if I used it every time it applied to the blogs I monitored – they attack Muslim nations for their own misogyny with great vigor.
Right wing bloggers engage in significant magical thinking about the realities of the economy. Poor people, struggling people, all those who are not prospering under our present oligarchy, are in this predicament because they are lazy, stupid, or wanted something for nothing. To admit the obvious: that they too are at risk of failing, would be too earthshattering to their worldview. By hating and blaming the victim, they are protected from a similar fate. This is the essence of magical thinking, of course – be it counting by fours to prevent disaster or avoiding cracks in the sidewalk to keep one’s mother’s spine intact. People who are viewed as “failures” – the weak, the sick, the poor, the oppressed – are hated. For a group that embraces “creationism”, they sure are social Darwinists.
“Freepers” spend a lot of time posting pictures of “The Enemy” (Helen Thomas, any of the Clintons, Chelsea included, any Democrat or “Liberal”) and urging other posters to “caption this photo!” This, combined with the requisite “Barf Alert” when posting any article or new item that doesn’t conform with Accepted Wingnut Assumptions, also astonished me. They are in a state of arrested development, stuck, unfortunately, somewhere around fifth grade. They cannot bear to be exposed to ideas that do not conform. Discussion is not really possible on right wing blogs. They are a community of “dittoheads”, to borrow a phrase from their real stronghold, talk radio.
Performing artists or other public figures are discussed in positive terms only if their political views are slightly to the right of the Kaiser. The world of right wing blogs is a very binary place – good and evil, black and white, gay and straight, us and them. Karl Rove knew his base well.
There are a few figures in American life who send both the “Freepers” and “Lizards” into paroxyms of hate. The Great Satan is currently Hillary Clinton, with Bill a close second. Attacks on Hillary are as misogynistic as you might suspect (though, again, the Muslim religion is attacked by them as anti-woman), with the un-creative monikers of “Shrillery” “Hitlery” and “The Hildabeast” frequently used instead of her name. George Soros is the Source of All Evil Funding. He is the Chthulu, the ultimate evil, of finance. Michael Moore, Jane Fonda (still), the Dixie Chicks, Bruce Springsteen, all disparaged constantly. But the Lifetime Achievement Award, despite strong competition from the Clintons, for evoking righwing blog hate must go to Ted Kennedy. He must be doing something right. Or, er – left.
If I had to sum up my view of wingnuts based on the blogs, I would use one word: Fear. They are afraid of everything and everyone who don’t exactly mirror themselves, or how they imagine themselves to be. And even then, even in the secure walled garden that is the right wing blog, they are unsure…newbies are highly suspect, and any newbie that doesn’t immediately fall into line tends to be quickly banned.
I’m not sure how much one can extrapolate about the right wing in the US based on a few blogs. One thing seems certain: The views of the Freepers and Lizards are reflective of the right wing “base” of the Republican party. I would be interested in an analysis of the socio-economic status of the readership of these blogs. It seems to me that many of these bloggers are archetypal angry white men, wedge-issued away from recognizing the real cause of their alienation and anger (an unjust economic system), spewing their fear-driven hatred on a variety of convenient scapegoats.
Kind of like Germany in the late 20s and early 30s…..
Wonderful reporting. Thanks, Archcrone.
Regards, C
Comment deleted for violating TCS’s Comment Policy.
For the record, attacking the author is considered derogatory.
A.
Most lizards are neocons and therefore care little about gays, women’s rights and any other social issue. That’s why they have no problem and even are the most vocal supporters of Rudy Guiliani, a man most base Republicans wouldn’t vote for. You should differentiate them more from freepers’ views.
I’m going to rewrite parts of this article replacing your views with a rightist view, and you can tell me the difference.
Left wing bloggers engage in significant magical thinking about the realities of the economy. Rich people, successful people, all those who are prospering under our present republic, are successful because they are greedy, selfish, or exploited their way to the top. To admit the obvious: that they too are capable of succeeding through hardwork (as my Korean immigrant father did, knowing little english, 500 bucks in his pocket and now owns his own small business, he is the Man, corporations, he exploits the common man fosho), would be too earthshattering to their worldview. By hating and blaming the successful man, they are protected from admitting the truth. This is the essence of magical thinking, of course – be it counting by fours to prevent disaster or avoiding cracks in the sidewalk to keep one’s mother’s spine intact. People who are viewed as “successful” – the strong, the ambitious, the hardworking, – are hated.
Left wingers use very different language in describing their political intentions. Instead of simply saying, “I won’t vote for ___”, they often say, “No one I know will vote for _____” or “No one in THIS house will be voting for ____”. I was often reminded of “Mary Poppins” and Edwardian England in general. They are immersed in authoritarian group think. You will frequently encounter the statement, ‘No one I know likes _________(fill in the Republican politician) or “no one I know approves of __________ ( fill in the suspect activity). They avoid the need to tolerate differences by trying to eliminate those with opposing views from their lives.
There are a few figures in American life who send both the “KosKids” and “DUKids” into paroxyms of hate. The Great Satan is currently George Dubya, with the U.S. a close second. Attacks on Dubya are as racist as you might suspect, with the un-creative monikers of “Rethuglicans” “Repuglicans” and “Bushitler” “Chimpy” frequently used instead of his name. Dick Cheney is the Source of All Evil Funding. He is the Chthulu, the ultimate evil, of finance. Republicans, Joe Lieberman(still), Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Danish Cartoonists(but don’t forget, they are all for free speech and showing the crucifix bathed in urine and the Virgin Mary in elephant dung), all disparaged constantly.
Left wing bloggers are hatefilled to a degree I’ve not seen in any other segment of the US population. Conservative people are “fascists”, “racists”, “ignorant” or worse. When Dick Cheney went in for heart surgery, left wing blogs were filled with “well”-wishers wishing him a slow painful death. Besides, that Dick Cheney has an “agenda”. Conservative people and Republicans(excuse me, Rethuglicans) all have agendas, as does the “Mainstream Media” (also known as the “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy”, coined by one of their icons, Hillary Clinton. The media is all conservative, by the way. Even CNN and MSNBC are insufficiently “accurate” when it comes to reporting the fake but accurate truth.)
I must say, this is probably the most simplistic, strawmanish, and childish “analysis” I’ve yet read. No wonder the intellectual left is losing a formerly hegemonic position to more reasoned conservatism.
Try next time picking a representative of the right that A) isn’t a chatroom like free dominion, and B) isn’t a cult of boneheads like LGF. Using LGF to represent the right is like using crack addled hippies to represent the left.
Haha see, all I needed to read was one paragraph and you’re already rubbing off on me, sheesh.
Exactly–I could throw in Democratic Underground and Moveon.org into Free Republic and lgf and have just as accurate an article deriding lefties (though I’d have to add a HUGE dose of profanity and juvenility to the mix).
Wow. Just wow.
can one person distance themselves more completely from someone elses’ views?
Irregardless of other folks views..there is ONE thing that binds us together. we are all Americans. As such, I respect your rights to think whatever you like.
I think you went into this little project with that fear that you spoke of..afraid that your views would change..so instead of picking the good out of the bad (which there is plenty of) and standing up for your own views with reasoned arguments, you resorted to just sitting back and calling names. you confronted those big, bad nasty neocons…you sat around and watched them talk about things..you picked the worst of what was said and came running back to the effete all knowing liberal left and tattled that we are “bad mans”.
I suggest that you realize that there are people that don’t hold your particular political views. instead of looking to exploit the differences as so many on BOTH sides do, we work together to mitigate those differences and do something that is both productive will allow us to unify our country. you are not my enemy..and I certainly am not YOUR enemy. when you stop thinking like that, perhaps you’ll begin to learn things..until then, there will be no way to come to any sort of agreement.