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(1) Breaking character: Wanted to do a quick thread about why everyone should care about diversity -- esp in media and politics. Starts with a heart-warming conversation with a civil rights activist and ends with less heart-warming exhanges with Glenn Greenwald.
(2) At Netroots nation, I spoke with a lawyer, about 70 years old, who had spent her life working on civil rights issues for African-Americans. She was white. Said she got involved because "I'm Jewish and if they can do it to them, they can do it to us".
(3) Thought that was very wise and wonderful, but I don't think I fully appreciated the wisdom til recently....
On Balloon Juice for years, many commenters, especially women and African-Americans, have hated Glenn Greenwald and his ilk. Referred to them as dudebros...
On Balloon Juice for years, many commenters, especially women and African-Americans, have hated Glenn Greenwald and his ilk. Referred to them as dudebros...
(4) Before I knew what that meant. I didn't quite get it -- I'm sympathetic to the civil liberties stuff and the drone stuff to some extent. But they somehow intuited in a way that I didn't that in essence GG and co. are fundamentally huge a-holes.
(5) Flash forward a few years -- I see something about this PAC that Glenn and Jane Hamsher are running. It's given no money to candidates but they've each taken 25K themselves. I've given money to both their blogs before as have many BJ readers. I don't like scammers....
(6) I do a quick post about this, not all that over-the-top critical https://www.balloon-juice.com/2010/03/30/like-they-love-pac/
(7) I get insane emails from Jane and Glenn about the post (which was 100% factually accurate) with hints I will be sued. Glenn does back off the lawsuit thing quickly. I tell him he can post a rebuttal. I get a 1500 words of spittle-flecked nonsense that I offer to edit
(8) He says "as is". So I post it. It's totally nuts. Anyway, I figured "hothead and low-level scammer", but I still followed him, linked to him, etc. because I thought he was a good journalist
(9) Fast forward to now, where he's a full-on Trump propagandist. Why did all our Black commenters (and many women) see immediately what what I and other white men couldn't see for years? Don't know the answer for sure but it shows the power of diversity in commentary.
(10) And all those misogynist, racist a-holes? They can attack you and your party and your democracy too, even if you're a white, middle-aged upper middle-class man.
They can do it to you too.
They can do it to you too.
(11) So think about that next time you think "well he hates women but other than that..." (GG, Taibbi, countless others) or "well he promotes `race science' but other than that...." (Sully)
