Don't fence me in
Feb. 2nd, 2006 09:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ebonlockDigby's got a thoughtful piece up on the concept of "fencing". It was originally written about by Hudson at DKos and can best be summarized as:
[the] process of ritual humiliation that's become a standard part of the Republican playbook over the last few years, the purpose of which is to "fence off" voters from feeling comfortable identifying with the Democrats and candidates who are widely seen as socially marginalized objects of derision --- effeminate geeks.
He goes on to give examples of this tactic working to spectacular effect on both Al Gore and John Kerry. Digby goes back to Hudson for this quote:
In the Bush-Kerry campaign, "fencing" mostly took the form of playground insults and other humiliations:
Kerry looks French. Kerry spends a fortune on haircuts. Kerry is vain and pompous. Kerry has funny hair. Kerry's voice is funny. Kerry reminds people of Lerch on The Munsters. Kerry wears Lycra--fluorescent-striped Lycra. Kerry rides a fancy European bike. Kerry looks fruity when he windsurfs. Kerry wears expensive suits, ties, sunglasses, shoes and belts. Kerry asks for French mustard when he orders a hot dog...
And then Digby goes on to point out:
I think this tactic plays into many people's anxiety about changing social and gender roles in our fast moving society. A lot of folks out there are genuinely freaked out by the rapid pace of change and because of it are very susceptible to rigid stereotypes. They just feel more comfortable on the side of the fence where the macho high school boys and the girls who love them are. It's very hard to even get them to peek over and see what's on the other side.
He wants to know, what can we do about this? How do we either undermine this "fencing" or work on the public to get them to see it for the immature, assinine tactic that it is? Can we drag a good portion of the American public out of a high school mentality?
[the] process of ritual humiliation that's become a standard part of the Republican playbook over the last few years, the purpose of which is to "fence off" voters from feeling comfortable identifying with the Democrats and candidates who are widely seen as socially marginalized objects of derision --- effeminate geeks.
He goes on to give examples of this tactic working to spectacular effect on both Al Gore and John Kerry. Digby goes back to Hudson for this quote:
In the Bush-Kerry campaign, "fencing" mostly took the form of playground insults and other humiliations:
Kerry looks French. Kerry spends a fortune on haircuts. Kerry is vain and pompous. Kerry has funny hair. Kerry's voice is funny. Kerry reminds people of Lerch on The Munsters. Kerry wears Lycra--fluorescent-striped Lycra. Kerry rides a fancy European bike. Kerry looks fruity when he windsurfs. Kerry wears expensive suits, ties, sunglasses, shoes and belts. Kerry asks for French mustard when he orders a hot dog...
And then Digby goes on to point out:
I think this tactic plays into many people's anxiety about changing social and gender roles in our fast moving society. A lot of folks out there are genuinely freaked out by the rapid pace of change and because of it are very susceptible to rigid stereotypes. They just feel more comfortable on the side of the fence where the macho high school boys and the girls who love them are. It's very hard to even get them to peek over and see what's on the other side.
He wants to know, what can we do about this? How do we either undermine this "fencing" or work on the public to get them to see it for the immature, assinine tactic that it is? Can we drag a good portion of the American public out of a high school mentality?
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-02 07:09 pm (UTC)Drag, no. I've intuited for years that high school society is a microcosm of American society-at-large. Who rules a dysfunctional high school? Beautiful/rich people, jocks and cheerleaders, bullies and authoritarians. What people do the citizens of this country idolize? Celebrities of every stripe (some more misbegotten than others), CEOs and other ridiculously well-off members of the privileged class, sports stars, and members of the military (including the President). What could possibly be more high-school than that?
Inspire, possibly. Americans have a (frequently misapplied) belief in their own good nature. Demonstrate to them that their better nature requires them to MOVE and they may do so. FDR got people to believe in something important; I hear that JFK did the same for a while. Get them to give up their fears and reach for something hopeful - it's been done, and it might be done again.