Comments on: Journalism in the hole http://www.mexploitation.org/2006/09/26/journalism-in-the-hole/ One Norwegian's adventures in Mexican direct to video film production Tue, 05 May 2009 23:17:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: maw http://www.mexploitation.org/2006/09/26/journalism-in-the-hole/comment-page-1/#comment-87 maw Thu, 28 Sep 2006 02:10:37 +0000 http://www.mexploitation.org/2006/09/26/journalism-in-the-hole/#comment-87 Republicans' dislike of Bill Clinton was mostly irrational. His presidency did not - and never seriously threatened to - upset the status quo. I think the real reason they disliked him was because he was so much smarter than they were (they have since gotten their collective ass in gear, although there's reason to think that they've been slipping, badly, in the past year or so). There was a reason they called him Slick Willie, and it was not (just) because his willy was often, err, slick. He was, overall, quite pro-corporate, socially conservative, and so on, just like any other important US politician. But he repeatedly bamboozled his political opponents, and they did not like it. His detractors, however, didn't lose much during his time in office; their hatred of Clinton was indeed irrational. López Obrador, on the other hand, would be far more likely to upset the status quo if he were to ever become Mexico's real president. His opponents are not necessarily irrational. (Well, the religious ones are by definition.) They might be bad people - indeed, many of them are - but being bad does not make one irrational. If I came out of Mexico's inbred, elite class, I too would probably be against López Obrador, out of very rational self interest. On the third hand, I think the hatred of Hilary Clinton is irrational because she is so irrelevant. There's no way she'll ever become president, and for all the same reasons that Gore and Kerry lost. (PS: Your blog could really use a preview function. Editing more than two or three sentences of text in such a tiny box is for sucks.) Republicans’ dislike of Bill Clinton was mostly irrational. His presidency did not – and never seriously threatened to – upset the status quo. I think the real reason they disliked him was because he was so much smarter than they were (they have since gotten their collective ass in gear, although there’s reason to think that they’ve been slipping, badly, in the past year or so). There was a reason they called him Slick Willie, and it was not (just) because his willy was often, err, slick. He was, overall, quite pro-corporate, socially conservative, and so on, just like any other important US politician. But he repeatedly bamboozled his political opponents, and they did not like it. His detractors, however, didn’t lose much during his time in office; their hatred of Clinton was indeed irrational.

López Obrador, on the other hand, would be far more likely to upset the status quo if he were to ever become Mexico’s real president. His opponents are not necessarily irrational. (Well, the religious ones are by definition.) They might be bad people – indeed, many of them are – but being bad does not make one irrational. If I came out of Mexico’s inbred, elite class, I too would probably be against López Obrador, out of very rational self interest.

On the third hand, I think the hatred of Hilary Clinton is irrational because she is so irrelevant. There’s no way she’ll ever become president, and for all the same reasons that Gore and Kerry lost.

(PS: Your blog could really use a preview function. Editing more than two or three sentences of text in such a tiny box is for sucks.)

]]> By: joakim http://www.mexploitation.org/2006/09/26/journalism-in-the-hole/comment-page-1/#comment-86 joakim Wed, 27 Sep 2006 21:05:17 +0000 http://www.mexploitation.org/2006/09/26/journalism-in-the-hole/#comment-86 maw: No, they're not very similar at all, which is why I didn't compare them. Rather, I compared the irrational hatred of many republicans of the Clintons to the irrational hatred of many upper-class PAN voters of AMLO. That hatred is quite similar in many ways, both because it presupposes that the object of it is far more extreme left than their actions and policies indicate, because it seems to be a hatred that's grown out of the object's popularity with the masses, and because it seems to result in project every problem and fear of the haters onto the object. It's largely emotional, not rational, and it's extreme, to an extent not really justified by the political differences. maw: No, they’re not very similar at all, which is why I didn’t compare them. Rather, I compared the irrational hatred of many republicans of the Clintons to the irrational hatred of many upper-class PAN voters of AMLO.

That hatred is quite similar in many ways, both because it presupposes that the object of it is far more extreme left than their actions and policies indicate, because it seems to be a hatred that’s grown out of the object’s popularity with the masses, and because it seems to result in project every problem and fear of the haters onto the object. It’s largely emotional, not rational, and it’s extreme, to an extent not really justified by the political differences.

]]> By: maw http://www.mexploitation.org/2006/09/26/journalism-in-the-hole/comment-page-1/#comment-85 maw Wed, 27 Sep 2006 16:25:30 +0000 http://www.mexploitation.org/2006/09/26/journalism-in-the-hole/#comment-85 I don't have time right now to go into detail, but comparing López Obrador to the Clintons doesn't go very far. They simply don't have a lot in common. I don’t have time right now to go into detail, but comparing López Obrador to the Clintons doesn’t go very far. They simply don’t have a lot in common.

]]> By: hpj » Blog Archive » Easily Amused http://www.mexploitation.org/2006/09/26/journalism-in-the-hole/comment-page-1/#comment-84 hpj » Blog Archive » Easily Amused Wed, 27 Sep 2006 07:43:30 +0000 http://www.mexploitation.org/2006/09/26/journalism-in-the-hole/#comment-84 [...] In other news, Joakim is taking the Mexican media to task for its political bias and general hilarity. Hopefully he’ll keep this up with regular instalments - it’s funny because it’s true. [...] [...] In other news, Joakim is taking the Mexican media to task for its political bias and general hilarity. Hopefully he’ll keep this up with regular instalments – it’s funny because it’s true. [...]

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