Warning: this is more political post than a TV post.
If you watch any ad supported television programming, the commercials are virtually inescapable.
A darkened police station where a recording answers the phone informing the caller that because the police have been defunded, there is no one to take your call. Options are given for various levels of distress the caller may be experiencing. "If you are being raped, press 1."
Or an elderly white woman sitting alone at home, she becomes aware of a masked man lurking furtively outside. She picks up the phone and a recording tells her that because the police have been defunded, there is no one to come to her aid right now.
Or the woman and her child (both white) anxiously seeking cover under a bed from the violent home invaders in her house. She tries call for help but all she reaches is a recording: because the police have been defunded, sorry, you're on your own.
Each ad is includes a montage of violent clashes between police and "rioters" as an announcer intones that this is what life will be like in Joe Biden's America. And each ad ends with Donald Trump almost cheerfully telling us that "I'm Donald Trump and I approve this message."
Welcome, gentle TV viewers to the ad breaks of FEAR!!
During any given half hour of television while watching Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy, one or more of these ads will air.
Never mind that I don't want to hear from this fat fuck during my Wheel/Jeopardy time. These ads are an abomination on so many levels.
The ads lie. They say Joe Biden supports defunding the police. No, Biden does not. Biden has clearly distanced himself from the "defund the police" movement.
Yes, "defund the police" is not inherently a removal of all funds from police operations but rather reallocating some resources to other programs to address problems police are not equipped to actually handle. But since "defund the police" can be construed as a removal of all funds from police operations, Biden has wisely said he's not in favor of that to head that objection off at the pass. Not that it apparently matters in the Trump ads say what they want to say anyway.
The images of police vs. "rioters" are suspect. Police lobbing tear gas and rubber bullets into a crowd of peaceful protestors will get you the same footage as lobbing tear gas and rubber bullets into rioters and looters.
In addition to factual errors, the worst offense of these Trump ads is the unrelenting fear mongering, the base appeal to the worst of humanity, cultivating fear and distrust. For a guy who is ostensibly the leader of the United States to push a message of such fear, hate and anger is anathema to what the god damn office is all about. The fucking President of the fucking United States of America should NOT being trafficking in such hysteria.
Which only underscores how little Donald Trump understands about the job he is so desperately trying to keep.
And that damn jaunty "I'm Donald Trump and I approve this message" tag is particularly irksome. When a political candidate goes dark and negative, the candidate usually does the "I'm ________ and I approve this message" tag in a tone to match the message. Not Donald fucking Trump! He just spent 30 seconds trying to scare the shit out of his base and he's fucking happy about it.
And that's another thing about these ads. Trump's campaign is spending millions of dollars for ad buys to talk not to the American people but to just that tiny sliver of the demographic pie that Trump can't afford to lose. It was an appeal to fear that pushed that base to put Trump in the White House in 2016 and Li'l Donnie thinks that fear is the key to keep him there in 2020. Meanwhile, anyone outside of that base is not stupid enough to buy what Trump is selling in these ads.
I'm just sick of seeing this fear mongering shit on my TV screen 2 or 3 times in a half hour. I either fast forward when I can or at least mute the TV.
That's all for now. Until next time, stay safe, remember to be good to one another and Li'l Donnie, stay the hell off my TV, would ya, I'm trying to watch Alex Trebek here.
No comments:
Post a Comment