This is an important-to-understand — and fundamentally broken — assumption Olivia articulates. We no longer live in a world where lack of information is a problem; we live in a world where lack of ability to find true and relevant information in the ocean of shit is a problem.
The contex is that the NYT published an op-ed by a US Senator who thinks people who protest police violence should be the targets of military intervention. “Bring in the troops,” he wrote, literally while police were tear gassing peaceful protestors.
There is no shortage of people making that case right now; I have them in my neighborhood, we have one in the white house, you probably have one in your family. Even if there weren’t, knowing that someone, somewhere, is making the case for an atrocity is not a net positive.
The idea that “putting it all out there” is a public good? That conceit is shared by consensus media personalities who balance on a precarious pile of ‘both sides’ deflection… and VC-funded tech titans who profit from the propaganda-and-engagement war poisoning our discourse.
Wikileaks actively, vigorously made the case for it internet-generations ago, although most observers ignored the really ballsy part of WL’s argument: That the information doesn’t matter if you can flood the zone and cripple your opponent’s comms.
https://plf.tumblr.com/post/2137969662/communication-is-power
I am not a media theorist. I am not a sociologist. If you want weapons-grade insights into that shit, follow @blackamazon and pay her a fuckton of cash for high-end consulting services. But as a simple nerd watching shit play out, I can say this:
Anyone who tells you that publishing calls for atrocities is per se a public service because it “furthers the debate”? They’re dangerously naive, protecting their paycheck, or active participants in a DDOS on civilization.
This meta-debate about the nature of chain of command and constitutional guardrails Cotton is yelping about? All of it is jazz hands next to the fundamental fact that George Floyd was murdered by police officers, and it took fifty states rioting to get them charged.
An information war the likes of which our species has never experienced before is being waged, the structure of our constitutional republic is being dismantled, simply to avoid admitting that Black Lives Matter and facing the structural change that admission demands.
Circling back to the whole “NYT helps the public debate by showing what a senator things” thing? @tinygorgon drops the punch line: that approach isn’t JUST unhelpful for public understanding, it actively builds a world with more and greater atrocity.
Find a black-led protest against police violence in your area and support it however you can. Donate to a local bail fund. Call your legislator. Vote. Don’t assume ballot boxes solve these problems, they’re just one of many, many levers we need to pull.