Ep. 40: The Civility Fetish
Added 2018-06-13 15:45:30 +0000 UTCThey’re not lies, they’re “falsehoods”; it’s not racism, it’s “racially charged comments”; it’s not torture, it’s “enhanced interrogation.” For years, U.S. media has prioritized, above all else, norms and civility.
Mean words or questioning motives are signs of declining civility and the subject of much lament from our media class. However, op-eds explicitly advocating war, invasion, sanctions, sabotage, bombing and occupation or cutting vital programs and lifelines for the poor are just the cost of doing business. What’s rhetorically out of bounds - and what isn’t - is far more a product of power than any objective sense of "civility" or “decency.”
Where did these so-called norms come from, who do they benefit, and why is their maintenance–-even in the face of overt white nationalism––still the highest priority for many liberals and centrists in U.S. media?
We discuss this, and more, with The Huffington Post's Ashley Feinberg.
Guest
Ashley Feinberg is Senior Reporter at The Huffington Post. Follow her @ashleyfeinberg.
Show Notes
When Did People Start Calling Things “Racially Charged”?
Daniel Engber | May 30, 2018 | Slate
What to call racist remarks instead of calling them racist remarks
Alexandra Petri | May 29, 2018 | The Washington Post
Drew Magary | February 21, 2018 | GQ
The New York Times Is Melting Down
Clio Chang | February 16, 2018 | Splinter News
Adam Johnson | August 10, 2017 | FAIR
Declining to Label Lies, NPR Picks Diplomacy Over Reality
Adam Johnson | March 2017 | FAIR
How to Be Civil in an Uncivil World
James Ryerson | January 11, 2017 | The New York Times
Sanders, Redbaiting and the ‘Denouncing’ Double Standard
Adam Johnson | March 11, 2016 | FAIR
These are the racially charged e-mails that got 3 Ferguson police and court officials fired
Wesley Lowery and Kimberly Kindy | April 3, 2015 | The Washington Post
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References
A HuffPost Reporter Was Bombarded With Threats. Twitter Suspended Him.
Nick Baumann | June 5, 2018 | The Huffington Post
The Antidote to Trump Is Decency
David Frum | June 1, 2018 | The Atlantic
I don’t care if ‘Roseanne’ is pro-Trump. I just hope it’s pro-civility.
Gary Abernathy | April 3, 2018 | The Washington Post
New York Times Editors | February 16, 2018 (h/t Erik Wemple)
Marco Rubio just gave a really important speech — but almost no one paid attention
Chris Cillizza | February 9, 2017 | The Washington Post
Stop protesting democracy. Saying #notmypresident is the same as saying #notmyconstitution.
Petula Dvorak | November 14, 2016 | The Washington Post
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Transcript
A full transcript of this episode can be found here.
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