Eric Hoffer, the enigmatic working-class writer/philosopher once said, “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business and eventually degenerates into a racket.” That’s how I’m beginning to feel about parts of the so-called progressive movement, especially the part of it that’s online.
During the presidential campaign I signed on to a couple of sites and before you could say “Super Pac” I was being inundated with emails from organizations such as MoveOn.org., BoldDemocrats.org, MyDemocrats.org., ColorOfChange.org., DemandProgress.org., DemocracyForAmerica.org. and the granddaddy of them all, EndCitizensUnited.org. They must have shared my email addresses, and probably for a price. And you can unsubscribe all you want, the emails just keep right on coming.
I tolerated all of them to a degree during the election season, in spite of the fact they attempted to put the bite on me by asking me to “chip in $3” every time I turned my computer on. But now enough is enough. The election is over and I feel as if I’m still being hustled.
One might have thought they would have slacked off with the begging by now, but no. In fact, they’ve all ratcheted up their efforts. Every time Donald Trump tweets (or farts), these shysters come up with a new headline and a breathless “ask” to keep him and the Republicans in check. And, according to their websites, the world is going to come to an end if I don’t “stand with them,” which has a nice proletarian ring to it, but in the end all they really want is money.
Of course the operators of these sites (if you could ever get in touch with one of them, but you can’t) would tell you that they are acting as the bulwark against the rightwing menace that is threatening to decimate the country — and something certainly is needed to protect the rights of us on the other end of the political spectrum. But I just don’t know if these Internet whizzes are doing anything other than paying the rent, and themselves.
Their actions are tantamount to scare tactics, and they really should be ashamed of themselves. But they are wrapping their actions in the mantel and flag of some sort of true opposition, and hey, it beats going out and getting a real job I guess.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author at http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com
One Response to “MANSFIELD: The Internet Political Hustle”
Laura Kennelly
Amen. Me too. I won’t make that mistake again. Hey, I don’t think you do “book reviews,” but I’d sure like your take on The Sellout by Paul Beatty. It’s satire, kinda like Swift.