I recently came across Jack Baruth’s (2013) announcement of a new set of editorial policies at The Truth About Cars after editor Bartel Schmitt departed.
One of the new policies was that there “will be no more political trolling and no more attempts to make members of the UAW, the Democratic Party, or anybody else feel unwelcome. Yeah, some aspects of motorists’ rights have a libertarian aspect to that, and politics will be part of carmaking forever, but we will treat all viewpoints with respect.”
This was a refreshing change from the Schmitt years. My recollection is that Baruth and the rest of the editorial team did a fairly good job of living up to their promise.
Not that things were perfect. For example, Baruth (2013) showed a real flair for misogynist-flavored demagoguery when critiquing a New York Times columnist (go here for my response). This baruthasaurian rant has similarities to Ronnie Schreiber’s (2019) broadside against a recent United Kingdom legislative report. Both use overly charged rhetoric and play fast and loose with facts.
As you can see here, the thing that bothered me most about Schreiber’s post was that it resulted in a number of commentators calling for violence against those with whom they disagreed. There wasn’t even a pretext of a commitment to democratic process — or simple human decency. One commentator even called for people in academia and the entertainment industry to be guillotined (John, 2019).
This is hardly the first time violent talk has reared its head at TTAC (go here for another example).
In the social media age you never know what’s really going on. As a case in point, some of the comments could very well have been typed by a 16-year-old boy snickering as he trolled away in his mother’s basement.
The problem is that what may seem like idle talk can escalate into action. We know this from the “paper trail” some recent mass shooters left on Facebook pages and websites.
Comment threads that talk approvingly of civil war serve to normalize the idea. In other words, they function as a “contagion.” TTAC has been lax in policing both its writers and comment threads on this front.
Perhaps this entirely reflects editorial time constraints. If so, I can empathize . . . to a point. What if a TTAC commentator egged on by Schreiber’s screed ended up engaging in a violent act?
The current TTAC editorial team led by Tim Healey might want to dust off and update Baruth’s policy goals. It’s a sad commentary on our times that TTAC may want to state explicitly that it will not tolerate comments about physically harming people and violently overthrowing the government.
It’s time for the media to display a renewed commitment to democracy. That, in turn, requires accepting that we will not always agree with majority opinion. Over time, governmental policies will swing from left to right and back again.
Losing an election or a policy battle is inevitable. When that happens, it can help to take the long view. Ronald Reagan’s election as president in 1980 began with Barry Goldwater’s crushing defeat in 1964.
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Baruth, Jack; 2013. “In Which We Bid A Fond Farewell To Our Former Editor, Reinstate Banned Commenters, And Welcome All Of You Back Home To TTAC.” The Truth About Cars. Posted July 12; accessed August 27, 2019.
- Brody, Jane E.; 2013. “Commuting’s Hidden Cost.” The New York Times. Posted Oct. 28; accessed Nov. 2.
- John (2019) suggested a “Good Old Fashion Revolution” where the “the Monarchy / Academia / Entertainment / Finance and Politics Elites met the Guillotine.”
- Schreiber, Ronnie; 2019. “UK Parliament Committee Wants to Ban All Private Cars and Trucks by 2050.” The Truth About Cars. Posted August 23; accessed August 23.
Be the first to comment