TPOI and Triggers

[krinndnz]

What breaks the game?

There are certain things you can say in a conversation that bring matters to a dead halt, force a re-evaluation of everything that's already been said, and generally make people want to walk out on the discussion. It's easy to think of things that shake up discourse like that - but why them?

I said one of those things

Comments

[prickvixen]

Get through that, and you might be ready for something with a little more academic roughage. :) The problem with most of Chomsky's books for the average person is that they really are academic studies, so they sacrifice readability for content. And because these concepts are so challenging to the way people are taught to see the world, it's difficult to abbreviate them and still have them be persuasive, except on the gut level of cynicism which I think most people have.

You have to remember that the reason the average American would like to believe in Bush and all the conservative bullshit is that they have to believe in something hopeful; the alternative is to face how messed up things really are, and that isn't easy or comfortable. It's only when the consequences of blindness become intolerable that people are willing to face facts, but even then it's with a great deal of reluctance. The Republican sales pitch is essentially an optimistic one: America is great and everything will be okay if we can only get rid of so-and-so or keep the liberals in their place or so forth. There's always a quick fix which will work if only everybody gets in line, and if it fails it's because people aren't trying hard enough or aren't sufficiently loyal.

[krinndnz]

I demand to borrow from you academic roughage!

Yes, I remember reading excerpts from MC and wincing at the density. Still, I get the impression that a lot of it is "just" well-documented examples presented Very Patiently. I can deal with that.

Your analysis regarding optimism is interesting, I want to chew that one over - something is bothering me about it, but I can't figure out what yet.