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The Bigger Lie
Politifact has declared the claim that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio were eating pets is the 2024 Lie of the Year.
One might point out that an even bigger lie was that (a) our open borders do not impose horrific costs to federal, state and local governments nor inflict disproportionate costs on targeted communities; and (b) that to point out this downside is racist, xenophobic or automatically deemed inaccurate.
Had Trump taken the approved Romney/McCain approach and provided some carefully determined (boring?) numbers and dollar figures about the effects of the deposit of 20,000 Haitians on an Ohio town of 60,000 residents, would that have been a story on the evening news? Even a single major headline? Or just ignored with a passing sneer about Trump’s implicit racist appeal?
The rush to debunk Trump’s “lies” is often like falling into an ambush. No one would know about the impact of the Haitian influx (residents driven from shopping centers, indifference to traffic laws, and the disappearance of waterfowl from a pond in a public park, which likely led to the “eating pets” meme) but for the memes and the rush to declare Trump’s repeat of them a lie. Similarly, refuting the claim that foreign gangsters took over a Colorado town by reporting that it was “only a few buildings” wound up making ABC’s Martha Raddatz look like a fool. “Do you hear yourself, Martha?”
The Bigger Lie is not just about The Narrative but about the systematic silencing or caricature of opposing views. The Steele Dossier and its gross misuse by the highest echelons of federal intelligence and law enforcement figures to create a false narrative was, in fact, Fake News. The lies that COVID-19 could not have possibly come from a lab, that the vaccines prevent infection, that masks and closings significantly reduce spread, that BLM riots do not pose a transmission risk but church services do pose such risks…. The Bigger Lie just metastasizes. Simple recitations of correct statistics (no, police shootings are not a major cause of death for minorities) or reasoned argument (sea levels have been rising for more than a century, and there is no big acceleration from climate change, polar bears are not at extinction risk, etc.) seem increasingly ineffective against facets of the Bigger Lie which seems to have a growing immunity to facts and numbers.
The moral significance of an exaggeration or factually incorrect meme or slogan is whether it is an attempt to foster a bigger lie or instead points to a truth that is being suppressed. To build on Salena Zito’s famous 2016 observation that Trump’s enemies take him literally but not seriously whereas his supporters take him seriously but not literally, Trump’s verbal stylistics and exaggerations can have the effect of making people notice what they know to be true but are not allowed to say so.
“They are eating pets” was about the truth that an overnight deposit of an enormous number of unvetted, presumptively illegal, unassimilated, unskilled foreigners was having a detrimental impact on a town in Ohio. In contrast, the very common lie that “MAGAs are Nazis” does not point to a larger truth but is an attempt to silence and caricature the normals and thus enforce the Bigger Lie. Both statements are false, but their effects and purposes are quite different.
Americans are the most tolerant, pluralistic people on Earth, who rightly resent race-based policies and forced acceptance of drag queen story hour. But the Bigger Lie requires that such Americans be called “racist” or “phobic” or school board meeting “insurrectionists.”
The top tier of the American news profession is dominated by partisan, unprofessional, narcissistic hacks, but the Bigger Lie requires that we pretend that they are all dispassionate professionals of the highest integrity. “Fake News” is, in fact, a fair-use meme that points to the truth about the MSM.
I admit that a year ago, I thought Trump’s stylings would doom his campaign, and I had hoped for a candidate with less baggage. I admit that during his first term, I wanted Trump to dispense with repeated, gratuitous Twitter battles about punching back at Lilliputian critics. What I did not fully grasp was the extent to which the rules and the context imposed by the Bigger Lie are designed to make it impossible to fight back. So, tactics like using the “2024 Lie of the Year” to expose the Bigger Lie are actually required. There is an element of genius in this tactic.
For the next four years there will again be a steady stream of hysterical screams about the latest “Trump Lie,” both because President Trump is often rather casual about factual details (unlike, say, Joe Biden, the Washington Post, MSNBC or Kamala Harris), but often because his critics will intuitively realize that his “lies” wind up threatening the Bigger Lie by pointing to something true. Certainly, not every Trump misstatement will be a tactical gem, but us normals should recognize and learn from the ones that are.
For the next four years, people with a limited and highly selective affection for truth will be shrieking about a man who has made misdirection, misstatement and memes into something almost like an art form. I will try to adapt to this odd cognitive landscape, guided by the wisdom of that inspirational journalist, Hunter S. Thompson: “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” And it will be weird and loud because Trump’s enemies will never adapt.
Published in General
Trump was always the pro facing off against the junior journalists (and intelligence professionals) league.
So true.
Trump’s combative nature is just what we need right now. He’s very effective at exposing the left for what it is.
I can’t think of another Republican who could be this effective in this environment.
Politifact does an exhaustive job of presenting extensive analysis supporting their point. Sadly, there is evidence they do not present, like the Ohio police bodycam video of the woman busted while eating someone’s house cat. Or the reports of Springfield residents who were told that the police would only take their report if they had the name of the Haitian or Haitians involved. As their story shows, there is a lot of history behind these claims and the tensions in the community. But somehow they imagine that years of resentment articulated as a rejection of pet eaters are rooted in a racist slander, completely independent of police arrest bodycam evidence. But if Politifact were to admit to the truth, they would no longer be the Big Liars behind the Big Lie.
This reminds me of the “lie” that Muslims in New Jersey were celebrating in the streets as the towers fell. True but inconvenient.
It’s another case of all they have to do is not look for evidence/ignore any evidence they might stumble across, and then report “no evidence”
The Left has taken advantage of the Christian kindness of Americans. I say never again. We need to end the Toxic Empathy and focus on American prosperity and commie-proofing our nation.
Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion
Oct 15, 2024 · In Toxic Empathy, Allie Beth Stuckey argues that empathy has become a tool of manipulation by left-wing activists who bully people into believing that they must adopt progressive positions to be loving.
Yes, JD tried to make Martha Raddatz look like a fool, but be fair. He didn’t try very hard.
He didn’t have to.
I still get together (on line) with some friends in upstate New York (on the southern shore of Lake Ontario in a town near Rochester). Several weeks ago we got into a heated discussion about illegal immigrants when several of my friends criticized the actions of Texas Gov. Abbott (I now live in Texas) to block illegal immigrants from crossing the Rio Grande.
I pointed out that the town of Eagle Pass, Texas (where much of the illegal immigrant crossings have been taking place) is about the same size as the town in which my friends live.
I then tried to get them to imagine how their town might be affected by thousands of new arrivals each week on their Lake Ontario shore – arrivals about whom they know nothing (criminal history, health status or needs, social customs, etc.). Their New York town has only two hotels and one significant apartment complex. Where would they house such an influx of sudden arrivals? How would they take care of their immediate food needs? How about their (unknown) medical needs? How would they respond if suddenly the geese in the town park began to disappear? I think my friends began to get a sense of the issue, but still didn’t fully get it.
Until people can really appreciate what would happen in their home community, it still seems like a remote issue of only academic concern.
And of no cost to themselves to declare themselves a “sanctuary city” in full knowledge that it won’t have any real impact on their lives.
Why I fully supported the actions by Gov. deSantis of Florida and Gov. Abbott of Texas to send the illegal immigrants to “sanctuary cities.” Give those cities (and states) the opportunity to “live their stated values.”
In the case of Martha’s Vineyard, those “stated values” seemed to last about 24 hours.
Alright, on that one, I would cheer. I hate those dinosaurs.
Ducks. Think of the ducks, though.
It is the habit of striking a rather rather narcissistic pose to bathe in cost-free self-congratulations for enlightened compassion that prevents the implementation of better policies on many issues. It would be salutary to better distribute the actual costs and dispel that nonsense.
Also, eating the cats went massively viral on social media, so it was a publicity win. There were tons of TikToks and similar short videos with people dancing to remixes and such.
Perhaps Homeland Security could keep the Haitian Migrants migrant, moving them from community to community, solving the goose problem around the country.
Rather a lot of words to make the simple point that lying is justified if your cause is important enough. Or if you’re Trump, of course.
Get back to us when you grasp the actual point of the OP.
Highly accurate. It’s how you get drag queen story hour – if you’re against it, you’re a hater.
The real question should be: What, we’ve crammed so much math and science into their heads they need a break? Oh, no, we *haven’t* crammed math and science into their heads?
Then cancel story time and get back to work.
Rather few words needed to demonstrate that you have homework to do.
Here’s a start: Look up these two words and scratch your head on them.
Call up ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR, and The Scribblers™ and share that insight. It won’t do any good to them now, of course. They spent the last fragments of their credibility telling us that Joe Biden was still razor sharp.
Very interesting take on Trump’s hyperbole. It does seem to be effective for the most part, though not always. The Left overwhelmingly bashes Trump for his words rather than his actions. The right overwhelmingly supports Trump for his actions, rather than his words.
Good of you to remind us of one of Trump’s most notorious lies:
There appear to have been no celebrations at all, small or large. They just didn’t happen.
I understand it perfectly, thank you: Lying is fine if your cause is good.
“The moral significance of an exaggeration or factually incorrect meme or slogan is whether it is an attempt to foster a bigger lie or instead points to a truth that is being suppressed.”
Plus, when prepared properly, they’re absolutely delicious.
You still miss the point because in the same tiresome vein as all other TDS victims every nitpick critique of a Trump statement is morally identical to “You can keep your doctor under Obamacare” or “the border is secure” or “the Jews caused Germany’s defeat in WWI.” In stark contrast to those lies, no sane person thinks that an exaggeration or meme intends or expects reliance. It is not about the rightness of some overall cause but whether the “liar” actually intends to convey a truth.
For the next four years you will continue to be ever-so-much-more clever than us overt Trump supporters but without a clue as to what is happening.
The Obama-built machine imposed a massive bogus “permission structures” apparatus that ultimately killed the independence of the major news media and fostered massive lies–insane Iran policy, Obamacare helps the middle class, defunding cops, insane gender notions, fascist COVID policies and other stupid ideas that became mandatory elite beliefs and justified censorship and harassment. That was a massive threat to constitutional democracy but if Trump claims that this or that is the greatest ever or speaks in memes, in a style that is actually necessary to combat what the left has built you are inconsolably enraged. Sad.
But do let us know each time President Trump does not meet your high, entirely proportionate and deeply insightful standards.
Indeed. Ricochet needs the money.
Stuckey’s book is great. It’s one of a few recent books I’ll carry around. Every so often someone will see the book’s cover and ask what it about. This typically leads to a fun conversation. BTW, Shepherds for sale leads to a similar response. FYI, when I travel, I usually carry the Communist Manifesto and Utopia. Great conversation starters.
I do get it, I really do.
* Obama says x.
* He lies! Shocking, appalling, disgraceful!
* Trump says y.
* Yes, we know he lies, but he lies in the service of a higher truth, so that’s okay, then. In fact, we need him to lie more, because these higher truths are important!