“We could have elected Hillary Clinton, who would have probably protected the world from COVID-19”, and other entertainment from Medium.
I subscribe to Medium 1) to see and try to understand perspectives that are different from mine and 2) for entertainment. It fails miserably on part 1 due to over the top hyperbole, unsupportable straw man arguments, the positioning of assertions as facts, and just plain bad writing. It does however deliver on part 2; ironically enough the entertainment comes from the same authors that fail on part 1.
For example, here’s a game to play with your extremely valuable and informative subscription to Medium. Take four or five recommendations from your “Today’s Highlights” e-mail and try to predict what the author is going to say.
Here’s a sample from my June 22 e-mail, along with my predictions made before reading the articles. Not surprisingly with this bunch and their drone like consistency, I scored pretty well.
Yes, Trump Really is Going to Try to Steal the Election
And If He Succeeds, American Democracy Will Cease to Exist
umair haque in Eudaimonia and Co
>>At least one grossly distorted “fact” ✔️✔️✔️ here’s just one — ”Trump’s indifference to America’s greatest catastrophe in generations couldn’t be a clearer sign that he intends to thwart, forestall, cancel, or poison the next election.”
>> There is no hope for America ✔️ yes I know, this one was too easy, no need to quote.
>> Trump is a fascist and the people who support him are morons ✔️ “Americans have undergone what’s obviously — to the rest of the world — an authoritarian implosion over the last five years. Yet at every step of the way, they’ve been behind the curve, perpetually surprised, bewildered, shocked. “It can’t be happening here!!” cries the good, sensible American””
>> “I take no pleasure in saying this” or some similar self-serving statement ✔️ “When I predicted all that’s come true now, sadly, with eerie precision, I was told things like I was “causing panic” or I was “being irresponsible.””
U(u?)mair never fails to deliver the same old, same old.
Americans Don’t Give A Damn About Greatness Anymore
The United States of America finds itself in the midst of the greatest existential crisis of a generation…
Thomas Dylan Daniel in ILLUMINATION
This one was particularly fun because I’ve never read anything from this guy (not that it made it particularly difficult to predict the content). This author wins the prize for most hilarious and entertaining statement, the one about Hillary quoted below.
>> racist / fascist / incompetent leadership ✔️
>> the failure of the press and other institutions to stand up against these wrongs ❌oh well, can’t get em all right.
>>a failure to lead the world to a better place ✔️ ”We could have elected … Hillary Clinton, who would have … probably protected the world from COVID-19”.
George Floyd Conspiracy Theory Is Typical of Modern GOP
Reality-denying lies are common among today’s Republicans
Manny Otiko in Politics: Fast and Slow.
>> Republicans leaders and voters are racists ✔️“The GOP is now the party of conspiracy theorists and white nationalists.”
>> Republicans deal in deceptions and are of low moral character ✔️ “However, what those foreign commentators don’t realize is that much of the Republican Party is made of reality-denying, conspiracy theorists who create their own version of the truth when they can’t tolerate the facts.”
For more fun with Manny read his piece talking with “Fascism Experts” from, where else, academia.
The Invisible Scars of Microaggressions
What unseen racism looks and feels like
Marley K. in Our Human Family
This one was too easy given previous publications on Medium by this author including “There Is No Such Thing As Good Cops” and “Yes My Dear, All White People Are Racists” so I passed. Too vile to read, but, to my point, extremely predictable.
You Can’t Sell Capitalism to Young People Anymore.
We just aren’t buying it.
Lauren Martinchek
Lauren is also very entertaining.
>> Young people are wise beyond their years because of all they’ve seen and the lies the institution of capitalism has fed them. ✔️ “Younger generations overall have seen and lived the negative effects of capitalism, arguably in an entirely unique way to other generations before us, given that we have tools available to us that bring answers, data, and statistics to our fingertips..”
>> Capitalism is evil and benefits only a select few at the hands of many ✔️ there’s a gold mine of hits here like “Capitalism might not steal from the people like Mr. Luskin who work in the upper tiers of the finance industry, sitting behind a desk assessing the markets and hitting buttons to bring in their millions. But for those of us in the working and even middle class, capitalism will steal not only our time, but our mental and physical health as well.” and R “Capitalism doesn’t just hurt. It can kill, too.”
Lauren also said her back hurts from work. That sucks, but I think we’ve all known that feeling.
>> These is no fix, we need to start over with massive redistribution of wealth ✔️ “Is it any surprise, really, that we have been slowly becoming more and more enchanted with the idea of social democracy or even democratic socialism?”
***
Whoever know all these doom and gloom leftists could be so entertaining? So go ahead, play the game, it’s the only way you’ll get your money’s worth from Medium.
