yes 100%. "when they go low, we go high" isn't perceived as classy or respectable but cowardly. or worse, an acknowledgment that there's truth to the rhetoric and accusations your opponents are slandering you with bsky.app/profile/osit... - ThreadSky

mtsw.bsky.social • 12 days ago

yes 100%. "when they go low, we go high" isn't perceived as classy or respectable but cowardly. or worse, an acknowledgment that there's truth to the rhetoric and accusations your opponents are slandering you with https://bsky.app/profile/ositanwanevu.bsky.social/post/3liffkv5n3224

Reposted from Osita Nwanevu

For whatever it's worth, I feel like a lot of these people went for Trump because they respect perceived strength and authenticity, a kind of brazenness and willingness to say exactly what you think. Not obvious to me that they respond to a wheedling "we hear you" forced sensitivity.

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zenosanalytic.bsky.social•11 days ago

Yeah. A generation of kids raised on South Park, a show that ltrl has an episode mocking ppl who try to maintain their dignity against gutter-bigots followed by one valorizing those who just beat the crap out of them, was never going to find that line impressive.

j-salvo.bsky.social•12 days ago

Only nerds will perceive it as classy.

purinos.bsky.social•11 days ago

I saw an interview with a pundit (I don't remember which one) where he said "you don't fight every battle." My first thought was "why not?" Not fighting opens you up to even more attacks! If you say that something is a crisis, but don't fight, your opponent can call you a liar!

lenoxus.bsky.social•11 days ago

The best counterargument to this, which I haven't seen anyone counter-counter-argue, is that the overall playing field is too tilted for it to work -- if liberal people (and especially if non-white-male people) go low, the result could be pure backfire and zero quiet conversion

lenoxus.bsky.social•11 days ago

Like: that very quote comes from the same election that gave us "basket of deplorables", which almost nobody would argue had a salutary "Damn she's telling it like it is!" effect for Hilary Clinton

wileymacgyver.bsky.social•11 days ago

The Walz led message of "aren't these people just fuckin weird?" was resonating deeply until dem leadership got him to knock it off. Hillary was beginning from a place of composure, whereas Walt's had the aura of a Real Dude. Being genuine all the time matters!

starris.bsky.social•12 days ago

"When they go low, we go high" was a strategy premised on appealing to the virtue of the American public, and it turns out that doesn't work

fynnbytez.bsky.social•12 days ago

Throughout my whole life I've been learning to think less and less of my fellow citizens and that's the fucked up part. We don't have enough virtuous people to appeal to them, we have a lot more greedy people though.

starris.bsky.social•12 days ago

Whether it doesn't work because the majority doesn't believe in virtue or because they don't believe anyone would really do the things Dems say their opposition will or they just aren't paying attention is an open question, but regardless the strategy clearly doesn't work

altairamorbius.bsky.social•11 days ago

It was also said by Michelle Obama, who is not a career politician, so “going high” makes sense for someone who wants to stay out of the fray. For her, it was an OK solution (though the Dems probably should have gone to bat on her behalf a few more times).

absolutereality.blog•12 days ago

The American public has been awash in competitive reality tv, garish consumerism, rampant gambling, and ever-escalating conflict for social media engagement for the past 25 years. It’s not a virtuous public, it’s a hustle and grind, fuck you I’ve got mine culture.

absolutereality.blog•12 days ago

It probably always has been, but there was a genteel sheen over the whole thing for half a century where the public at least aspired to virtue and good citizenship and civic life.

progressiveknife.bsky.social•11 days ago

The People Who Matter still have this polite/good crass/bad framework and it's killing us. Maybe terrible people are quite polite!!!

dynaboyj.bsky.social•12 days ago

Abusers and cult leaders get away with what they do for so long because they possess the qualities of good leadership reorganized around perverse incentives.

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