The details that emerged about DePape, the attacker in the Paul Pelosi assault were jarring. He was radicalized by something online called Gamergate. Which apparently served as a gateway drug to Pizzagate and QAnon nuttiness. I found this paragraph from the NYT especially illuminating: Mr. DePape said Gamergate awakened him to the “truth,” and from there he became a supporter of Mr. Trump and a skeptic of the mainstream media. And he came to believe in a vast conspiracy theory that liberal elites were promoting pedophilia and spreading lies about Mr. Trump.
Yeah, I had to look that one up. Apparently, it dates back to 2014. This Steve Bannon quote from Bloomberg Businessweek was included in the NYT story: They come in through Gamergate or whatever and then get turned on to politics and Trump."
As a big time Reddit user in 2014, I remember watching the blooming of misogyny across reddit from GG. So it makes sense that it connects. GG to FatPeopleHate to redpill taken over by TheDonald. You just don't hear GG referenced much. It almost feels niche.
What's pretty amazing about Florida (and Ohio) is how that state went from a true purple / swing state to one which is out of reach for Democrats in both statewide races and for President. I don't think Florida's lurch to the Republican side is going to slow down anytime soon. Obama won Florida by 75,000 votes in 2012. Ten years later in 2022, Sen. Rubio won by 1.2 million votes, and Gov. DeSantis won by 1.5 million votes. That's not a small trend. That's a huge swing. So what was the driver of that change?
I think Florida is an imperfect storm of several things. I'm not saying any of the points of view are valid, just my guesses on how they see it. Hispanic immigrants (and their children and grandchildren) escaping socialist countries see Democrats trying to move the U.S. that way. The fact that those immigrants and others from non-socialist South American countries are predominantly Catholic who see Democrats as anti-religion. Kids of old school Democrats moving to other states to pursue professional careers. Kids of Republicans not moving away or continuing to vote in Florida while serving in the military.
I just realized another aspect. For my parents (both in their 80s) Democrats fought for the every day worker. Republicans only ever cared for what made their rich friends richer. I'm 53 and have not thought either to be the case as long as I've been paying attention. I thought Republicans were slightly better. But they lost me completely around 2009. I haven't voted for either major party at the federal level since McCain.
Changes in the political parties are part of the phenomenon. The Democrats have always appealed to a diverse mix of groups -- ethnic, religious, educational -- while the GOP tends to be more orderly and "traditional" in an old-fashioned sense. But a growing diversity of the population, together with the rise of overtly political movements in the guise of religion, have made today's Republican party an almost unrecognizably extreme right-wing segment of the electorate. Book-banning, homophobia and anti-Woke sentiments really flourish in today's Florida.
Florida has also had some high-profile mass shootings and the gun culture is also divisive but that's a nationwide problem, not just part of the country.
10 months for assaulting a police officer & using a metal baton to smash out a window in the Rotunda?! I remember when assaulting a police officer could get you a pretty hefty jail sentence that was measured in years. So much for law & order.
The details that emerged about DePape, the attacker in the Paul Pelosi assault were jarring. He was radicalized by something online called Gamergate. Which apparently served as a gateway drug to Pizzagate and QAnon nuttiness. I found this paragraph from the NYT especially illuminating: Mr. DePape said Gamergate awakened him to the “truth,” and from there he became a supporter of Mr. Trump and a skeptic of the mainstream media. And he came to believe in a vast conspiracy theory that liberal elites were promoting pedophilia and spreading lies about Mr. Trump.
We used to talk about how Islamic terrorists had been radicalized online. I think the same thing has happened to a lot of people in the MAGA sphere.
Gamergate?!?! Wow. That is far back.
Yeah, I had to look that one up. Apparently, it dates back to 2014. This Steve Bannon quote from Bloomberg Businessweek was included in the NYT story: They come in through Gamergate or whatever and then get turned on to politics and Trump."
As a big time Reddit user in 2014, I remember watching the blooming of misogyny across reddit from GG. So it makes sense that it connects. GG to FatPeopleHate to redpill taken over by TheDonald. You just don't hear GG referenced much. It almost feels niche.
From the “Muse of History” can I assume you are saying nothing has changed in Florida since 1818?
What's pretty amazing about Florida (and Ohio) is how that state went from a true purple / swing state to one which is out of reach for Democrats in both statewide races and for President. I don't think Florida's lurch to the Republican side is going to slow down anytime soon. Obama won Florida by 75,000 votes in 2012. Ten years later in 2022, Sen. Rubio won by 1.2 million votes, and Gov. DeSantis won by 1.5 million votes. That's not a small trend. That's a huge swing. So what was the driver of that change?
I think Florida is an imperfect storm of several things. I'm not saying any of the points of view are valid, just my guesses on how they see it. Hispanic immigrants (and their children and grandchildren) escaping socialist countries see Democrats trying to move the U.S. that way. The fact that those immigrants and others from non-socialist South American countries are predominantly Catholic who see Democrats as anti-religion. Kids of old school Democrats moving to other states to pursue professional careers. Kids of Republicans not moving away or continuing to vote in Florida while serving in the military.
I just realized another aspect. For my parents (both in their 80s) Democrats fought for the every day worker. Republicans only ever cared for what made their rich friends richer. I'm 53 and have not thought either to be the case as long as I've been paying attention. I thought Republicans were slightly better. But they lost me completely around 2009. I haven't voted for either major party at the federal level since McCain.
Changes in the political parties are part of the phenomenon. The Democrats have always appealed to a diverse mix of groups -- ethnic, religious, educational -- while the GOP tends to be more orderly and "traditional" in an old-fashioned sense. But a growing diversity of the population, together with the rise of overtly political movements in the guise of religion, have made today's Republican party an almost unrecognizably extreme right-wing segment of the electorate. Book-banning, homophobia and anti-Woke sentiments really flourish in today's Florida.
Florida has also had some high-profile mass shootings and the gun culture is also divisive but that's a nationwide problem, not just part of the country.
10 months for assaulting a police officer & using a metal baton to smash out a window in the Rotunda?! I remember when assaulting a police officer could get you a pretty hefty jail sentence that was measured in years. So much for law & order.
Thanks Jamie.
Love where Santos puts the blame for announcing he's not running again. Dude, you embezzled campaign donations but go ahead, call out the press.
Even with Santos' actions, I'd almost rather they kick Tuberville out.
I miss living in Florida. The mix of cultures. The food, OMG, the food. The variety of birds. The beaches.