Advisorjim's visit to the Lucky Lab last night, sponsored by Drinking Liberally, went pretty well. At its peak, there were about 30 people in attendance, and we separated him from most of the copies of Confessions of a Former Dittohead that he brought with him.
We also pumped more beer into him than the bookstore (that bailed on him) was ever likely to do, so by those metrics I'd consider the event a success. Thanks to Progressive Toastmasters, Lucky Lab, and KPOJ (including Hartmann's co-host Heidi Tauber, who showed up!) for their help in making this happen on short notice.
Best moment of the night came during a question/answer session during which Jim mentioned that, in addition to other things happening in his life, his initial landing on Planet Dittohead came shortly after a fairly messy romantic breakup. That's not a strikingly unusual situation for a young man just starting college, but as he began comparing his experience with that of other former Dittoheads, he was surprised to find this was a not-uncommon pattern: some kind of trauma--a relationship ending, a death in the family, getting fired, and so on--followed by getting wrapped up in the world of right-wing talk radio and its auxiliaries.
This all came in the context of a general discussion of what la vie Dittohead offers to its enthusiasts. A room full of reality-based thinkers kept floating the question: What is the attraction of a world founded on the cheerful embrace of repetitive untruths and zestful hatred of people who disagree? Jim floated the break-up/Dittohead connection as a possible explanation.
So, when confronted with someone steeped in right-wing nonsense, someone who keeps spouting pre-recorded, pre-digested, pre-approved non-facts, and you find that the usual questions don't seem to be getting you anywhere--questions like, "Do you realize that your facts have been disavowed by your own authorities?" or "Why do you support people who are working against your own economic interests?" or simply, "You don't actually believe what you just said, do you?"--Jim has discovered another approach.
Jim reports some success with tilting his head slightly to the side, leaning in a little, modulating his voice with sympathy, and saying, "Who hurt you?"
The crowd agreed: This was an approach that showed promise. Stop trying to refute manufactured right-wing talking points. Give up on expecting unreasonable to be reasonable. Go with "Who hurt you?"
Just as an experiment, imagine: The next time a high-profile right-wing pundit files for divorce from reality--like, oh, say this one--the interviewer simply leans in, pats her hand knowingly, and croons, "Who hurt you?"
(By the way, Jim's appearance on the Thom Hartmann show is available on podcast here.)
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