I haven’t commented in probably a year, but I still read LGF a few times a day.

I find myself in the absolutely unenviable position of having to defend that comment from Richard Cohen, while not defending Richard Cohen himself.

I shall explain:

I think he is absolutely right. If you take what he said to be simply a description of how many conservatives think, I think he’s right on the money. I think that it is clear, after the last few years, that they do really gag at the sight of a biracial couple. Before Obama was elected, it was a hidden emotion which many had. But now, they have been emboldened by leaps in technology which has facilitated the conversations between racists to find common ground and band together. They have a cause and, more importantly, they no longer are the odd one out in “polite” society.

Racists used to be relegated to communicating with small locally produced newsletters (a la Ron Paul) which were absolutely fringe stuff. But now, they can spew their hatred and bigotry online and see that they are no longer alone amongst a local crowd.

Much as the Jihadi has been emboldened by the internet, so too has the racist, the climate change denier, the creationist, and all other manner of crazy fucking wackos who couldn’t find common ground in their local crowd of fifty people. No longer. As their communication grew, so too did the numbers as malaise set in and infected the minds of many more who were on the edge but would never have dreamed of holding these views in public ten or fifteen years ago. Now, the internet has given them the voice they want, and the loudness with which to say it; transforming their voice from online rantings into real life speech. It is an infectious disease and it is indeed growing and strengthening in numbers.

Now as to Richard Cohen himself: His comment, taken on its own, is a simple observation about current conservative thought. However, I don’t find Richard Cohen innocent at all. Given his previous comments on subjects of race and politics, it is clear that he too buys into this bullshit which he accuses others of holding. The observation is true, but it is also true that Richard Cohen is in a perfect position to comment on these thoughts and feelings as he obviously finds common ground with them.

And that makes him a racist bigot in every sense of the word.

Please note that I am not “blaming” the internet for any of this. But with every leap in communications, humans have entered into new phases of outrageous aggression towards each other as they find out how unlike each other they truly can be, and how deep those divisions can seem at times. I think, however, that the saving grace will be not only a better conversation which can only be had on the internet, but massive amounts of education, which also cannot be had without the internet. But to do that, entire countries have to sign up on board, drop policies based on race or jingoism, do away with old myths and religious affinities, and come to an agreement en masse to help the situation as a whole.

I do not believe that this will happen soon, and I do fear for the future. But I do know one thing: even if the RIchard Cohens are the near future of a sort of new ruling class, they are not the long term future if humanity is to survive.

I have absolutely no idea what prompted me to reply to this after remaining silent for so very long, but maybe I just felt the need to interject and publicly call it how I see it.