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comment by mk

There's no chance of that because, by and large, most Americans don't realize they have skin in this game. In fact, the majority of Americans believe that CNN, MSNBC, and/or FoxNews are genuine news outlets.

The current system has become insulated by the consolidation of media and the formulaic sanitation of political discourse. This Net Neutrality debate is a case in point. It has been oversimplified and framed as a debate between socialist and free-market economics, when in fact, monopolies like these ISPs have such leverage on the legislative (and in turn, executive and judicial) processes, that neither a benevolent government nor a free market can hope to be found within their sphere of influence.

As long as the majority are having the debates they want us to have, no one is going to be grabbing a pitchfork.





OftenBen  ·  3860 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    As long as the majority are having the debates they want us to have, no one is going to be grabbing a pitchfork.

There's a part of me that understands certain brands of eco-terrorism now.

mk  ·  3860 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I understand the sentiment, but believe that such frame-breaking or consciousness-raising actions do harm to people that lack power, and can often play into the narrative of those in power instead of breaking it.

IMHO if you are trying to dispel an illusion, you've got to provide something of value in its place. If you can succeed in that, you not only can win people over, but create new agents of change.

rob05c  ·  3859 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    to dispel an illusion, you've got to provide something of value in its place

Does this apply to the attacks on Net Neutrality? Is there a thing of value we can provide to win people over to Net Neutrality?

mk  ·  3859 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I highly doubt it. It's not on most people's radar. I was speaking more broadly, and about strategies for long term change.