sympathetic voices… going to NY?

Why is it that the only bloggers at the DNC are sympathetic to the Democratic party? What about other DNC attendees (other than protesters) – are they all sympathetic? Do non-sympathetic press cover the DNC?

It strikes me as odd that everything i’ve heard back from people at the DNC is from people who really believe in the Democratic party or people who are paid to not express their personal opinion. I realize that the bloggers with credentials are probably pawns of the DNC who want to employ them to get the word out further. But i want to hear rational critical voices… i want to hear what thinking Republicans think about the DNC.

I also had a realization this morning that i want to attend the RNC. I am not a good protester – i tend to get pretty upset with the type of herd mentality that emerges in those situations, even when i believe the values of the protest at my very core. So i figured that i wouldn’t go to New York next month. But what i realized is that i really want to be at the RNC, inside the RNC.

I want to talk to reporters about how their job works, how they perceive the bloggers. I want to talk to the passionate attendees about how they manage political information, about how they employ technology to share knowledge. More than anything, i want to be surrounded by thousands of people whose values and approaches to the world are fundamentally different than mine. It’s so humbling and eye-opening to talk directly to people who disagree with me, not to argue but to understand… to see the world from their perspective.

I think San Francisco is getting to me.

But seriously, i wonder if there’s any way that i’d be able to get into the RNC in New York. I wouldn’t want to go to attack or protest, but to understand. I think it could be quite humbling to see the world from a different perspective for a few days. And goddess only knows that it’d be far more mind-expanding than spending those days in the Black Rock Desert.

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20 thoughts on “sympathetic voices… going to NY?

  1. stef

    if you where nicer to me, i would let you borrow my car and house over the bridge in nj.

    i would just move in with my mother in law and deal with her

    seriously; if you are not going in person, just get one of the blog people you are connected to let you interview persons over the cellphone. i would even donate my two cellphones so that the point person on the floor could just meet someone interesting to interview and then you just discuss on the phone. you could email a picture of the person with the cameraphone ect.

  2. stef

    maybe even use the interviews as part of a blogged editorial submitted to the ny times to demonstrate how a blog can be a blueprint for a concerted and thoughtful comment that involves a many-hood of opinion and a sampling brainstorming that reflects a readerships.

  3. Tony

    Well,you need to pay a visit to Phoenix,Arizona for that anti-SF feeling. I’d contact Darcy Olsen,president of Goldwater Institute (a right wing group-don’t say that to them) a think-tank formed under the beliefs that Sen. Barry Goldwater stood for(their quote). Influential group down here plus plenty of webheads you could get info from.
    http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org

  4. dori

    “…it’d be far more mind-expanding than spending those days in the Black Rock Desert.”

    you know what? there’s a whole bunch of people here in nyc who usually go to burning man who feel the same way. something tells me it’s going to be far stranger here this year… i’m inclined to agree – except that after it’s over i’m out of here for a while – after 10+ years i’ve had all the historical witness i can take in this town…

  5. Mel

    I appreciate what Danah is saying about hearing *the other side*. I have to disagree that Coulter is a brilliant satirist. If say, we were to learn that Coulter is actually leftwing *pretending* to be rightwing, then I might agree (some have suggested this!).

    As a Canadian I feel that the US has very little authentic or skilled satirical comedy (compared with the UK or other countries). “The Daily Show” is the finest example of mainstream American satire. The show is classic satire and rivals anything out of Britain. The films of Christopher Guest are also fine examples of American satire. I’m harping on this ecause satire is, without question, one of the most powerful cultural forms of political commentary and a nation without good satire is one that lacks critical engagement with politics (shouting matches and insult slinging do not constitute criticism in my opinion). Sophisticated political commentary is largely absent from mainstream American media and cultural products – partly because the mainstream media is owned by the very corporations would not allow themselves or the governments they endorse and who support them to be properly satirized/critiqued. The majority of sophisticated criticism is coming from a very small minority relative to the larger mainstream.

    Granted there is a *great* comedic tradition in the US although in the past 30 years many of the best comedic actors are being exported from Canada (SNL has been a conveyor of Canadian-made Second City talent since the 70). But this is changing. The real anger of many US citizens towards your government, corporate interests, class divisions, and inequality is revealed in a new class of comedians like Margaret Cho, for example, who are taking a bite out of the dominant ideology and bringing a real political edge back to your comedy (which I would argue has been largely absent since the 70s).

    Canadians care a lot about what is going on in the US. We care because what happens in your country effects ours. Especially post NAFTA. We’re being painted as a country that harbours terrorists and profits from your unequal healthcare system by selling Americans drugs they can’t afford to buy in your pharmacies. Of course, we have that *socialist* healthcare system your republicans despise because it’s based on the idea that *everyone*, not just the rich, is entitled to quality health care. We worry deeply about what your government gets away with and what products your cultural producers are creating because it creates precidents here. Our right wing parties, for example, are basing their platforms on US bottom line models and want to privatize our healthcare, education, and other public services. They would destroy our regulating bodies and our public broadcasters. But we wouldn’t allow them to rule. Why? Because the majority of Canadians aren’t ready to give up on social justice, the environment, and all the other issues we truly care about up here in the North. So when I hear that a hateful, vapid, conservative like Ann Coulter is brilliant it really concerns me.

    We have a satirical show here in Canada called *This Hour Has 22 Minutes*. It’s broadcast on our CBC (our national, government funded, broadcaster). The show is produced by the same company (Salter Street Films) that produced the last Michael Moore film. This Hour did, a now classic, series they called “Talking to Americans”. I think it articulates how many Canadians perceive the mentality of US culture, particularly with regards to history and politics. I suggest you watch the clip and consider what is meant by satire: http://home.comcast.net/~wwwstephen/americans/

    I’m including this because it represents, in my opinion, the feeling of people outside your country about the lack of sophistication we’re regularly subjected to from your television shows, magazines, and news products. Ann Coulter, a perfect example.

    I followed Scott’s link and read her piece on the DNC (which I think they *should* have published for the very reasons they didn’t publish it) and thought her wisecracks about ugly liberal girls, etc were standard stuff that I’ve heard a billion times. The stuff about managing a 7-11 was cheap shot at government spending on programs, although the same could be said of Bush’s absurd military spending when a large number of Americans are starving below the poverty line and don’t have adequate healthcare, education, and other basic services.

    I’m absolutely horrified by the state of things in the US and I sincerely hope that you elect a democrat. I’d argue that there are probably more Canadians tuned into the DNC than Americans who are busy watching reality television shows and listening to pundits reviews rather than making their own conclusions. Another reason Coulter and O’Reilly scare me. They’re popular.

  6. zephoria

    Sarah – oh dear god.. entropy… i totally forgot about that kid. hyper libertarian rave dj who lives on his meth-enhanced alternate reality. I just reread his blog bits… i forgot how absolutely great his LJ interests are:

    beyond civilization, bisexual, breakbeat, cigarettes, classic rock, coheed and cambria, conservatism, conservative, crystal meth, cylob, daniel quinn, dashboard confessional, dj entropy, dnb, drugs, drum n bass, ecstasy, emo, entropy, evergreen terrace, free market, from autumn to ashes, happy hardcore, hardcore, hhc, ima robot, ishmael, jungle, jungle/dnb, libertarian, libertarian party, liberty, lp, mdma, minarchist, minarchy, my ishmael, old school, old skool, old skool hardcore, old skool rave, politics, polyandry, polygamy, pop-punk, power pop, rave, republican, sex, smoking, smoking fetish, something corporate, taking back sunday, the ataris, the story of b, tribal, tribalism.

    OK… let me clarify my request. I want to read conservative commentary that is somewhat grounded in a coherent reality. Like, i’ve always loved hearing Ralph Reed’s perspective, but not Rev. Phelps. Also, i think i’d prefer to read mainstream Republican perspectives, not Libertarian ones.

  7. zephoria

    Mel – sorry to confuse. The joke re: Coulter is that it’s more entertaining to reframe her as a liberal satirist even though she really isn’t. It adds absurdity to absurdity.

  8. Mel

    Thanks, Danah! I see what you’re doing. It wasn’t clear to me (although perhaps this is a joke among the American left that I’m not privvy to…).

    Your comment, although ironic, nonetheless draws attention to something that resonates with me very deeply about the absence of a strong satirical tradition from the US right and the critical need for it – especially now.

  9. stef

    look, the bloggers just did not have the right methods down yet: i think they need to coordinate a bit and need more critical self editing: it just seems that many bloggers get very upset with editing or advice even. if bloggers do not coordinate and self edit amongst a collaborative, all we have is a bunch of self centered fools: but if they took the hits like the professionals do, and even co wrote and submitted an editorial that was powerful enough for publication in the NY times, then i say, blogging is a real deal power. all it would of took was a bit of planning and subarticles for each blogger to just do with different sampling that the main stream does not have time to do: like interviews with the ordinary persons around the convention. then cross link the blog entries that create a nice representation of what it was like to be at the convention.

    human interest stories about those about to vote….

    …just look at what charles cooper wrote…

    stef

    “Until this week, bloggers enjoyed the luxury–and the right–afforded to all armchair critics. They could take the easy potshot.

    But as they took their place alongside other credentialed media, bloggers finally had to put up or shut up. I don’t know how many would ever admit this gig was a lot more difficult than it looked from the outside. But with the pressure on to work under the constraints mainstream hacks have to contend with on a daily basis–get the story, get it right in all its complexity, and oh, by the way, get it 10 minutes ago–they were found wanting.”

    biography
    Charles Cooper is the executive editor of commentary at CNET News.com.

  10. zephoria

    Stef – have you read anything i’ve written in the last week? Any attempt to evaluate the bloggers in the journalists terms shows a complete lack of understanding of what blogging is.

    And if you want to point out in every message that we don’t take advice seriously, i’d like to turn it around and give you some advice. If you want to learn what this phenomenon is, try stepping back and observing, reading. Next, try doing it yourself. Stop trying to reframe what we do into a system that benefits you. You critique me for not wanting to spend my time teaching you, as if that’s my responsibility. Frankly, you don’t appear as though you want to learn. You just want to selfishly inject your voice into every discussion. There’s nothing valuable about the student who simply wants to hear himself speak.

  11. stef

    you’re funny:

    i’m learning lots: i could never keep quite during class. Culturally, from this one blogger’s persepective, a comment left to be read when all could be commented upon is odd; maybe i don’t understand the dynamics of having thousands of emails, or of having dozens of commentors on a daily basis; when our blog is up, you can come over and critize what we are doing, and i probably run my blog very differently.

    Blogging when it comes to journalism is not so strict in definition: i get the feeling that some bloggers will go on into the mainstream. they will learn about how to put articles together from sampling opinions from the public. it can help with objectivity. I think thats whet the CNET article was getting at, that there was a certain disappointment with what came out; that most bloggers have not achieved this; but is this opinion and not based on counting all the blogs and grading them? I have surfed through a lot of blogs and alot of them are silly. biases are also heavy handed.

    yes i am building a blog. and it will have its own pretense.

  12. doctor paradox

    personally, i’m truly sick of the way traditional broadcast journalism gives me the news. ‘objectivity’ is a myth perpetuated by the media to try and cover up the fact that their reporting is far more influenced by the need to please advertisers, investors, politicians, et al who have their (large) hands in the process of creating an official version of reality than it is about conveying anything approximating unbiased reporting.

    blogging does not present itself as an alternative to journalism. i don’t need to have a degree in journalism to have an opinion about something. if you read my blog and don’t like what i have to say, then you are free to toss it out. i’m not claiming to have any particular window into the truth – i am clear about presenting my thoughts and perspectives based on my experience and learning. and i’ll be damned if i am going to let someone else tell me what’s what just because they jumped through 4 years of hoops to get a piece of paper that said they had some special grasp on objectivity. that’s just crap. all i have to do to understand what crap that is is turn on any news outlet and listen to the very false/sugary-sounding voices on the radio or TV. with very few exceptions, i have zero interest in listening to these people’s version of the truth. and why the hell do i care that john kerry ate chocolate cake for dinner before his DNC speech?! i don’t care, and i resent that my time was wasted in the conveying of that ‘news,’ AND that i am told that that kind of coverage is more valid than anything else i could tune into despite the fact that many blogs have far more substance. i was stuck in traffic thurs. nite with only ABC news available, listening to pundits inflate their own egos by talking over kerry’s daughter’s speech. that’s disrespectful and disgusting. i have zero interest.

    bloggers are not beholden to advertisers, investors, politicians and the usual lineup of corporate thieves. i can read 10 different blog posts about some event and get very little overlap in viewpoint about what happened and what it means, and that is what i truly appreciate about bloggers. i can see how the complexity of that can be confusing to people. most people don’t want to deal with complexity – they simply don’t have the time. the last time i sat in front of a boob tube i saw that NBC news was touting proudly its ‘radical’ new version of news coverage in only 15 minutes instead of 30. hello? what the hell is radical about that?! major media journalism was already fast food, and now it’s not even cooked anymore, it’s just microwaved. i’m not interested. there is nothing worthwhile there for me.

    if you’re looking for an objective picture of reality, you will find many takers willing to give you their version of it. but in my opinion, you’re a fool to subscribe to any of it. there is no shortcut to truth. no one can decide what reality is for you. you simply have to read, think and experience widely, and actively engage in deciding for yourself what is going on in the world.

  13. Abe

    Pretty sure Oxblog [ http://oxblog.blogspot.com/ ] was invited to the DNC, but I can’t find their archives… Think another few conservative blogs where invited as well. The problem of course is that its damn hard to find the blogs of those with specific interests or opinions that don’t overlap your own.

    As for the RNC, I think the strategy is to put on a suit and tie and attempt to get as close as possible to the expensive free food and drink. Way more opportunity for subversion up there….

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