Nunes is a worthless waste of space. It's not surprising that he thinks his trite and idiotic rhetoric about a California police force monitoring straws has legitimacy. He also thinks Trump's incoherent nonsense on Twitter has legitimacy. It's like having a conversation with Tweedle-Dum from Alice in Wonderland.
22
Anyone else remember Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? But before getting to that:
There is a ditty that everyone who went to law school and took a trial advocacy class knows:
If the facts are on your side, you argue the facts.
If the law is on your side, you argue the laws.
If neither the facts or the law are on your side, you bang your fist on the table.
What I think is happening is that for the reasons above Republicans tend to be fist bangers.
That said, what do you do about it.
The first thing that should be done is not give them air time. That is Devin Nunes banging his fist on the table should not be news. But as that may not be controllable, the next thing is to make him look as ridicules. Kind of like how in Harry Potter when you want to banish a Boggart.
20
The white straight man is threatened by losing status as the dominant force in society. Trump did get elected by complaining about Obama being born in Kenya as he has paid investigators finding out "what you would not believe". Trump started his campaign coming down the escalator with his trophy wife complaining about dirty criminal Mexicans taking the jobs of good white men and raoing their pretty blonde wives. Trump the ultimate demagogue lies constantly about everything insists his charms are unristable to all the dictators he admires and yearns to rule like. Thankfully only 30% are dedicated to Trump ruling as our dictator but Trump gushes like a school girl when praised and flies into twitter rage when he is criticsized .
7
Entitled white men with infantile impulses -- a nicer way to say deplorables -- don't get the difference between freedom and free-dumb.
Freedom comes with responsibility and the critical democratic lubricant that my freedom doesn't come at the cost of yours. Free-dumb is the American version of polymorphous perversity -- my freedom trumps yours because I need to believe I'm number one because, in fact, I'm not and no one cares, particularly the ladies.
It's the rise of incels -- men who hate women who won't adore them and their frat boy ways. So if uber white guys don't get to hog the spotlight, it's to the moon, Alice.
It's like a pack of male gorillas thumping their chests and baring their fangs to attract females who are not impressed and even put-off by thuggish alpha strutting.
When Kavanaugh with croc tears proclaimed how much he loves his beer, it was code for "getting some." He doesn't love beer. He loves the inebriated buzz that lets him thump his chest and jump on girls at parties and not face any self-incrimination or assault charges.
Hillary triggered a mass male episode of psychological transference -- men who think misogyny is a god-given right found hate at first sight because a President Hillary represented their worst fear of emasculation.
Trump had them from the word go when he said Megyn Kelly -- the former Fox face -- had "blood coming out of her wherever".
Another cup of testosterone, guys?
26
When I think of what being a conservative used to mean, in the not so distant past, I imagine someone who makes decisions based on careful consideration. I imagine someone who is educated, who makes plans and doesn’t let emotion dictate their decisions. They respect traditions and yet are flexible enough to know when a wrong needs to be righted.
Today, conservatism has been hijacked. Today’s so called conservatives are hypocrites and liars. They make absurd assumptions that aren’t based in fact. Their opposition to climate change recognition would embarrass even the most stubborn conservatives from the past. Because in the past they would have focused on the economic opportunities associated with slowing climate change.
I don’t know what we should call these people today because conservative isn’t what they are.
17
It wasn’t Stalin, it was Hitler who was opposed to hamburgers and most red meat. I like hamburgers.
Deborah’s husband Jim.
3
Well, at least someone is TRYing to figure out what the heck has happened to our country, though I don't think Paul Krugman has quite hit the nail on the head yet, and his despairing "The truth is that I don't know" [what to do about it] is particularly disheartening.
I don't believe this is a conservative issue. I don't think any of these hate-filled trolls could articulate a genuine conservative political position if their lives depended on it. They are merely angry, frightened men and women who never matured beyond prepubescence (like their leader).
And how did we let that happen? And what, oh what, can we do about it?
9
Let's be clear. They right-wing zealots are FASCISTS! They were in Germany, Spain and Italy in the 1930's and they are cut from the same cloth in America. That cloth being the GOP since the Nixon era.
15
The republican party needs to be terminated with extreme prejudice. Thus endeth the lesson. God.
9
And oh the rage over mexican's at the boarder bringing disease into the US. But no rage from the same crowd about vaccinated kids spreading measles and other preventable diseases. Instead they support a policy that berates vaccinations as the work of the Devil. My feeling is that we should replace these people with Mexicans as Mexicans seem to want to work hard for a living, and probably would love to have their kids vaccinated.
12
Since people are trying to come up with reasons as to why 40% of the population is happy with burning everything, I want to know how far back in history do you have to go to observe the petty DNA that governs these people.
I cannot get out of my head the "anglo" branch that came up, way back in the British Isles, by building stone barriers against their neighbors while "foaming at the mouth" protecting their potato crops and three sheep. Several english movies were made on that group who probably figure prominently among the Brexiters.
These Brexiters were played by the likes of Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage and others while, here, their counterparts have been pointed out in this article. Add Newt Gingrich, McConnell and other such to that bunch!
They have no vision but their own backward one. They are not interested in maintaining the status of our democracy here and abroad, and little by little, there will grow absolute disgust with these incurious and mean people. All they want, apparently, is to be sure that Blacks and Latinos are ranked below them in the history books.
I am sure that , among the stereotyped crowd that I have outlined, there are many good people who are not Trump supporters but, on the other hand, there are plenty of Trump supporters. They are standing in our way and they need to be taken down one way of the other!
Sometime you have to excise a cancer. Perhaps the Civil War of 1865 did not go far enough!
2
Conservatives have always known that when their arguments lack logic, thought and reason their fall back position is always fake outrage, false equivalencies, religion, tradition, violence, bullying, name calling, etc.. This is the reason why they seem to gravitate towards, demagogues, dictators, racists and fascists throughout history!
13
Wait, wait. If you want a laugh regarding rage that's inappropriate to the offense, just watch this YouTube recording of the actor Christian Bale yelling at a crew member while he was trying to concentrate on his lines in the film "Terminator Salvation" in 2012. I know it's off topic but the petty rage isn't just reserved to politicians. Wow, Terminator Salvation. What gall to interrupt the dramatic process for an actor portraying John Connor in this most reputed of Western civilization's theatrical masterpieces.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFvxmB8vi6M
Your absurd comment " ...pathological pettiness almost surely put Donald Trump over the top in the 2016 election" defies logic. What put DJT over the top were voters in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, not some made up excuse about "pettiness" you would like to believe. You have a severe case of TDS and need to dial this back.
1
Yes, indeed, and how utterly ironic—not to mention laughable—that Tucker Carlson has recently employed the moniker, “the outrage machine,” to describe supposed liberal efforts to smear his “good” name. Talk about a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black!
9
Rage is often an expression of powerlessness. Many are feeling powerless in our society, whether or not it reflects reality. The way to have power, personal power, is to make decisions.
2
Just like Dr. Krugman, I too need to paraphrase what John Stuart Mills said in 1866 and time correct it to match 2019 reality: “I did not mean that liberals are generally stupid; I meant, that stupid persons like Ocasio-Cortez, Pelosi, Nadler and Tlaib are generally liberal. I believe that to be so obvious and undeniable a fact that I hardly think any honorable ladies and gentleman will question it.”
As for the Communist Coast and the plastic straw wars in the PRC, one shall not forget that it is the left coast when got fed up with the Hollywood crowds, passed the godsend Proposition 13 and elected Ronald Reagan a few years later. More recently, the PRC also dethroned the dullest of all liberals with the gloomy name Grey and brought in stranger than strange Arnold to the city of holy sacrament as the ruler in charge. Thus, there is hope.
Just like the Communist USSR crumbled, PRC’s hold on insanity will crumble one of these days. May be the State of Jefferson will materialize. And, the Ninth Circuit will be split up. Let the all merciful God bless us by granting those cherished wishes.
BTW, in the left coast parlors PRC means People’s Republic of California.
2
Conservatives love victimhood. They claim that reverse racism is a bigger problem than racism. The religious right claims that they are truly the ones being persecuted. However, the victimhood epidemic goes far beyond the right wing. I'll let you put your own list together.
6
I agree that the problem is *mostly* one-sided. But liberals are catching up. They launch accusations of sexism and racism at the slightest slight. That kind of accusation and labeling, often baseless, isn't any healthier, and actually trivialises sexism and racism. Being a sexist or a racist is a bad thing. But the default is to put people - again, especially white straight men - into those categories with no thought about the implications on society or policy. It's one reason you got who you did as president. Outrage is the American condition and it spans the political spectrum.
Signed: Lifetime straight white male liberal.
3
I completely agree with Mr. Krugman's analysis, especially about who are the real "snowflakes." I recently had to listen to a friend rant for 3 hours on the phone about a breakfast with my family at which she and her Trump-supporting boyfriend felt "ambushed." The beginning of the ambush, according to her, was me stating that I supported free press. Really?! You feel ambushed because I said I support free press?
10
Perfectly said. The right loves yelling "snowflake!" when someone makes a rude, racist comment but when they're the ones that get worked up even more easily.
The right needs things to complain and be afraid of, that's how they get elected. No one wants to ban hamburgers or air travel but that's how the pathetic conservatives are now positioning it.
And their uneducated gullible followers will drink it up.
1
The T-party?..hmm, haven't they morphed into the Freedom Cause?..yep i'm pretty sure.
I remember, on the Capitol steps (circa, 2011) a T-party reveler(?)..one of these wound up T-party 'types' spitting on my (then) representatives face, remember? Emanuel Cleaver..it was on that very day..in that singular, frozen in time (never to be unseen) moment that I knew I could no longer be a Republican..that seething hatred followed by the viciousness of the McConnell led US Senate, convinced me that hatred had overcome these people. And in my opinion there is no stronger 'narcotic' than hate..dangerous and always addictive.
8
Dr. Krugman, you are simply a bigot. I am a white man, and I have never evidenced anger over any of the petty grievances you cite. I could easily come up with a list of anecdotes of liberals have been irrationally angry, some of those angry people might not even be white men, but what would be the point. You see, I realize that characterizing large swaths of people based on anecdotes is the very definition of bigotry. I am apparently much more rational than what passes for a Nobel Laureate these days.
6
Probably right in the main. Unfortunately, there're also just enough knee-jerk rage on the left these days to muddy the waters mightily. And maybe even, if it persists, help re-elect an unfit president.
They all need to dial it down. Meanwhile the dissers are equal-opportunity dissers. Those who count themselves among the punditocracy go off on Trump these days with gay abandon.
Rage sells. Will the president get tired of it at some point?
1
"The truth is that I don’t know." Let me join you, I don't know either other than that the wheels are coming off the American wagon! Trump is not so much an aberration but the culmination of Republican policies and strategy since Reagan and Nixon. Trump makes Nixon look honest and George W. Bush intelligent! It's so difficult to tell the difference in this Trump administration between what is ignorant and stupid, or criminal and corrupt. Trumpism is truly a kakistocracy, a system of government which is run by the worst, least qualified or most unscrupulous citizens. What is depressing is that Trump/Trumpism may actually represent America!
5
This is why the real snowflakes need an app to identify "MAGA-safe zones." Sheesh!
1
"The squeaky wheel gets the oil money."
- B. Steele
The SNC Lavalin controversy in Canada had me thinking about this issue. How Justin Trudeau apologizes whereas former prime minister Harper (Conservative) just shrugged.
1
Rage is what helped right-wing talk find an audience to begin with. Prior to the advent of Fox News and Talk Radio, many of these people found politics rather dry, dull, and esoteric. They might watch a nightly news cast, but other than that, meh. Enter anger, self-righteousness, and victimization and voila! Politics isn't so boring and high-brow after all. It's just to their taste and they eat it up with a spoon.
9
I've noticed that all of this rage is on-line; it people were forced to have these conflicts in person, the rage would go away.
Part of the problem is personal cowardice.
5
This "demented anger" probably did not begin with Trump -- it was silently, or not so silently, dormant -- but he made it OK to bring it forth in the most public displays of idiotic irrationality. One has only to observe one of his rallies and the reaction of the crowd, who like Pavlovian dogs" , on hearing the stimulus provided by Trump (be it "Build the wall", "Crooked Hillary" or what have you) , begin to salivate and go into paroxysms of delight and applause to the cult leader. I was shocked when Trump promised that, if elected, it would no longer be shameful to say "Merry Christmas" . Well, I ask when did that become a problem in a free country that still enjoys free speach ? In the imagination of WASPS with victimization complexes, perhaps? As a formerly raised Roman Catholic, now turned agnostic, I have always felt free to say "Merry Christmas" "Happy Hanukkah" , "Blessed holidays" or just "Happy New Year", Another example is when Sarah Palin had that ad where she tell s her child to have another cookie-- ostensively a reference to Michelle Obama's campaign to eat healthy diet. What has happened to the America I thought I knew and admired?
7
"But his tweet wasn’t about that. It was about a waitress who, citing the “straw police,” asked his dining party if they wanted straws. “Welcome to Socialism in California!” Nunes thundered."
Somehow I don't think of most tweets -- and certainly not this one -- as "thundering" so much as Nunes "whining." Like a small child.
2
Nunes' response is that of an infantile victim. It's not a normal adult response. If giving up straws causes him that much angst, he should not be in politics.
5
Petty rage is in no way limited to the right.
If Paul Krugman ranted, in a forest, and no one was there to hear it, would he really have ranted. I love what you are saying Paul -- both what you say, why you say it, and how you say it -- but truly fear that no one but us Snowflake Liberals are listening.
The problem starts Trump, and the fact that not only are his ardent followers completely uninterested in the truth ("whatever," they moan "that means"), reflexively willing to fight, as soon as the dog whistle Fox News (really Tucker Carlson, right now) says fight, and completely unwilling to entertain the idea that anyone who disagrees with them might actually have a point that is worth considering.
There is Resistance, as we say, but unfortunately much of it is characterized by the same Vitriol, just coming from the other side. To say we need to come together is not addle-headed claptrap, but the truth. If we, like some of our Far Left and most vocal say, are simply right and "they" are wrong, that won't get us anywhere.
The only way out is through, and the only way through is for both sides to calm down and start talking with each other. Oh, and for Trump to be Impeached, or not Re-elected. Oh, and also for Fox News to be shut down.
2
Why does what another person does matter to you? Because of the “public interest.” And we’re back where we started.
I suspect that the petty personal unreasoning rage is actually just an act to whip up the GOP base. These clowns are just acting in character, for money. Their rage is not unreasoning, it's feigned and methodical.
3
I feel hopeless. This has been building a long time--at least since Bush II and 9/11--and will take at least as long to unwind. Since 9/11, there exists such an aggrieved state of fear among those on the right that only the warmest blanket--that of the American flag--can provide comfort. And so we have nostalgia for the 50s, when, by their judgment, times were better: there was less crime, people were kinder to one another, the economy was booming, a person could hold down a job and support a 4-person family, and everyone "knew their place"--even the television programming was black and white. (To those who might say I exaggerate, rest assured: I write from experience, living among and speaking with neighbors and family. This is the language spoken, out in the open, shamelessly and without compunction.) Just do not remind them that the top marginal tax rates were a full-on, "socialist" 90% or that life was not so great or so fair for everyone. The most shameful part is that we've openly nurtured these ways of thinking ("I built this", "Real america") without so much as a second thought as to the underlying meaning or effect. Our leaders stoked it out of political expedience, and now they are reaping its policy rewards. Coastal elites, provided they are not "job creators," are the enemy and the everyman is the hero. It shames me even writing this because it is the country I live in and love.
4
My favorite expressions of baseless rage are when people shout "Uranium One!" "Benghazi!!" "Fast and furious!!" and when you ask them to elaborate, they can't. The code words have been drilled in and they either don't have the interest or the capacity to understand and retain the (faulty) case they advocate for.
It's impossible to discuss issues with such people . . . and then they become enraged because they can't get normal people to date them.
4
I am mildly enraged when I see the words ‘Intelligence’ and ‘Nunes’ used in the same sentence.
3
The article is helpful, tying the phenomenon to concrete, petty examples. But we've seen this type of behavior ever since the Trump campaign started. Hate and intolerance in general is the seed for such rage. People who harbor strong hate and intolerance may be perfectly normal in their daily lives, as appeared to outsiders - neighbors, coworkers, etc. Their anger only shows up occasionally like a volcano only erupts once a few hundred years. Mass shootings, rants against spanish speaking immigrants, police reporting of blacks in residential communities, these are all manifestations of hate and intolerance, and almost all perpetrated by the far right. No need to suger-coat it.
2
One common thread in outsized conservative outrage is anger at any attempt to prevent someone from abusing the commons. A local example near here: A river that flows through here is highly polluted. Those pollutants are a major cause of the dead zone where they reach the Gulf of Mexico. A major source of the pollutants is industrial scale farm practices. But even such a small effort as requiring 50 foot wide grass aprons along farm drainage ditches was met with outrage at liberal intrusion into other peoples' rights and private property. Which rights apparently include the right to dump on anyone downstream.
12
The ultimate irony on such issues is that science is ignored in favor of anger and ideology. The equation for long-term viability of the planet needs a set of people thinking with STEM knowledge....but it is too late in some cases.
Plastic straws are OIL...but I would most people don't know such.
5
I literally watched a grown-a** man walk into a bar, sit down, order a beer, then reach over the bar to grab a literal handful of straws from the Bar Caddy, stick them in his beer and sucked it down through half a dozen straws or so, commenting out loud about owning those 'environazi libs'.
This was not in California. This was in a small Wyoming town. Ironically, the bar implemented a "straws only on request" policy soon after, because they weren't particularly fond of shelling out extra money on straws so their patrons could grab them by the handful to "own the libs".
15
@Gaius
I want to comment but can only shake my head.
1
Christian cultures have an ambiguous relationship with anger.
On the one hand, there is the Ancient Testament, which, when taken literally, shows the example of an often angry god, which suggests that anger can be legitimate and used for truly good, even "divine" purposes.
On the other hand, the New Testament and its subsequent theologies reject anger as a sinful emotion. Anger will only sow anger, it is said. It should be responded to with love, which is the only way to break a vicious cycle of violence and hatred.
The problem is that many Christian cultures didn't have access to efficient emotional management tools, and as a consequence merely proposed try to get rid of your own anger and hatred by ... hating it. Doing so merely increases a general state of negativity, including a more and more pervading sense of self-hatred.
To be able to cope with this self-hatred, neurology has shown, human brains then tend to project that hatred onto everything and everyone they dislike, in the external world, imagining that if only this or that would be different, in the outside world, then they'd be okay and happy.
The GOP and Fox News constantly feed and cultivate this kind of hatred. They regularly invent fake news just in order to be able to continue to do so.
Democrats of course feel anger too. But on a political level, they do NOT invent fake news to be able to cultivate it even more, they study the facts and propose science-based solutions.
That's the huge difference.
6
Far right demagogues and operatives will always demonize the left, successfully. After all, no one on the left effectively fights back. When such a rarity occurs,they then get shot, disgraced, discredited and/or marginalized into oblivion. One can only hope the left can learn--really learn-- how to fight. It just takes constant, relentless. well--organized attacking. The right wing bullies would have a hard time with that.
4
Anyone who wants to know where the pettiness and rage comes from has only to watch Fox News for a couple of days. Fox News is in the rage--and outrage--business. That's how they make money.
7
It’s about permission and entitlement.
The angry white male as a thing 1st began in the 1990’s once Clinton was elected after conservative white males thought that they basically should not be on the losing side of any election.
That’s when Rush Limbaugh was born.
This behavior can not work for any other demographic as it would be described as a pathology.
PS - Just wait until Trump is thrown out of office.
6
Mens' accusations that women are too emotional to lead have always been projection.
8
In general I find many Americans enrage easily , raise their voices without reason , are patronizing, have often a trumpian-like social behavior.
I often wondered if a superiority complex , given by the illusion of the great american dream , is at the basis of this phenomenon.
I noticed conservatives , religious zealots and less educated individuals often adhere to this unsuitable behavior .
Straws , hamburgers, dish detergent etc are just part of this puzzle , pieces of the mosaic of the American society.
4
As a female who has been comic obsessed since 1984 I feel I should point out that it wasn't just conservative white men raging against the Captain Marvel movie (or the recent Ghostbusters remake, or the brilliant Wonder Woman movie). I personally know about 30 people (men) who went onto Rotten Tomatoes and raged against these movies before they came out.
These are men who vote Democrat, who are not all white and not all straight. But they still rage against something outside of their perceived ideas of what an action movie should be - b/c to them it should be male.
50
@Barton
I suspect that 90%+ of men, both conservatives and liberals, do not rage about those movie casting choices. But if white men were cast to play roles historically attributed to women or minorities, it would be called cultural appropriation, and there would be [arguably a lot more] rage and street protests.
3
@Jon 1) You don't understand what culture appropriation means. 2) No, it would just be called silliness and laughed out of the movie theater. Explain to me how a man placed into the role of Kate Winselt in Sense and Sensibility would make any sort of historical sense? Or a white man in chains playing the lead in Amistad? 3) No one would protest because it's such a stupid concept no one would waste their time.
12
@Barton cue Jordan Peterson.
3
One thing Democrats can do is stop pretending it's the clubby "work across the aisle" 80s and start calling out the public servants, like Nunes, pulling these stunts. It's bad for all of us, and has been instrumental in both the political overton window moving right and the social expectations for our politicians eroding to the point where there's little left to erode.
Stop treating them like the "loyal opposition," and start treating them like the phony morally bankrupt outrage machines they are. They don't have ideas, they don't have data, they don't have consistent values. They're fundamentally unserious and they're dangerous.
7
Trump voters filled with a 'pathological pettiness', Republican opportunists like Nunes filled with a pathological greed. Mr Krugman wonders if 'using taxes rather than regulations to control pollution' might be more effective than telling people directly what to do. Taxes? Sounds like a plan if the idea is to keep Trump in office for another term, see the Republicans hold the senate and re-take Congress. Mr. Krugman humbly admitted he doesn't know the solution to the hysterical industrial complex, and deserves a lot credit for not being too proud to prove it.
2
Given the bell curve there has always been and always will be a percentage of the population who are either intellectually and/or emotionally challenged. The immediate tantrum like deranged rage is the only way they can express themselves. Responding in kind validates their outburst. History though has given us a more effective response, ridicule. Casting their rage in a derogatory comic light is amazingly effective and the worst thing you could do to them. The hard core will respond with unmitigated fury, making themselves look even worse. Many will instead stifle themselves, as most people try to avoid looking silly.
PS - Paul, since when have humans been either politically or economically rational?
3
I confess. I was a troll strolling through the forums of this and than, searching for nearly anything that upset me. That was about 10-12 years ago. The duration was about 5 years. Why?
All my life I have been able to physically achieve anything I tried. For a 5-foot woman who weighed about 112, I was a dyanamo at 42. At 42 was also when I realized that my youngest teenager was in full fledged rebellion. I had been single for 13 years and not once asked out on a date. I drove a car that had over 157,000 miles on it. All I did was work to sleep in a twin bed, do laundry, clean house, etc., etc.. I was so mad I began smoking again. I dug up my entire back yard. Really, then I spent the next 2 years rebuilding a garden paradise there. I joined a gym, contracted with a coach, started a breakfast club for the women at work, and took up long distance cycling. I was so busy I was not aware of how lonely and angry I was about the social structure I existed in.
I prayed quite a bit over time, but it never came to anything when it came to me. So I decided to take action in my own hands and asked men out. Dated until I found someone without marriage on my mind. Didn't want to do that again until suddenly out of the blue I purposed to him and he accepted. We moved to France. My adult children more than less disowned me. I had to have 2 major surgeries in order to learn to walk again. It was only 8 years ago I decided I wasn't going to troll.
People need to allow love in their lives.
2
Tom, phones like these make me even more determined to retire in another country. I hear Mexico has a lot of nice expat communities including many nice Canadians.
1
If you think there's an astonishing load of self-congratulatory navel-gazing in the substance of this column, just wait until you read all these comments.
"Outrage" is a signature stance of the right but not of the left? What kind of blinders does it take even to form that thought?
Here we have psychiatrists intoning that people on the left are naturally "more thoughtful" ... that failure to support AOC has exactly nothing to do with her policy positions ... the list goes on.
I would say you people should step back and hear yourselves. But I think yourselves are already the only things you hear. This is as laughable an echo chamber as anything you would decry on a site from the other side.
5
@Jim D. "you people" is exactly what the left is accused of calling Trumpistas. Bah.
1
A case of this that has always bothered me is that of the “cookie baking mothers.” Feminism took a big hit, I guess in the 80s, for disparaging “cookie baking mothers,” i.e. women who chose to be housewives. What bothered me was that feminists were disparaging the idea of being a “cookie baking mother,” because women were for the longest time (let’s see, centuries, millennia?) forced into the role without alternatives no matter their personal propensities, interests, potential for other things, but the “cookie baking mothers” would have note of it. It is understandable that many women would disparage the whole idea of housewifehood, since they are forced into that role The thing is, it is one thing to be disparaged; it is altogether another to be stopped, i.e. face oppression. Though feminists might have devalued the idea of devoting oneself to being a housewife, no one was, or is, standing in your way from being one. Everyone is free to be as much of a “cooking baking mother” as they ever wanted, in fact the road is paved for you! But if you wanted or still want to do something else, you will run into a real blockade. You will be tripped up, possibly stopped. So what is all the hullabaloo about by the housewives class?
2
It is not commonly understood how much public political activity is motivated and influenced by private personal psychological problems and insecurities.
How much male political anxiety regarding women’s issues is related to them possibly having trouble getting a date, for example? It seems that among the alt-right this is a major factor.
In the bigger picture, it seems that private grievences having nothing to do with politics can be mined by the likes of Fox hosts who can redirect that anger toward climate change, abortion, or the War on Christmas. Are we being ruled by politicians who got elected by people who need a good shrink? It seems that way.
6
Remember in the not-too-distant past when these folks were raging over "those curly-cue light bulbs", and then the even more efficient LEDs? Except for specific lighting applications, nobody in their right mind installs incandescent bulbs because the savings on electricity, not to mention longevity of LEDs, has made the old bulbs as obsolete as Model Ts. Science. Progress. Change. Conservatives are terrified of them, because they challenge personal beliefs - which challenges the very concept of their personal identities. Sad, really.
4
America certainly does have a problem with white male rage, but determining the causes is a challenge. While I suspect that a lot of NYTimes readers hang out with well educated, open-minded people, there is a huge area of the country where a majority of the voters are not well educated, or open-minded. And it's not all their fault.
Conservative states tend to cut back on education budgets, unemployment assistance on the local level, and health care. The men and women affected by this government stinginess tend not to read national papers like the NYTimes--they rely on local news and local explanations.
They really don't know what makes things work, and are terribly frustrated by funding cutbacks--which only exacerbates their sense of helplessness and their rage. They are understandably angry--even though it's not in their best interests to vote motivated by that anger. There is no quick fix for this serious problem which puts our democracy in danger.
7
Trump times have exposed what has always existed but was never empowered: greed, prejudice, anger, victimhood, self-absorption. As a result, family members have been shocked to discover a close relative who has harbored these traits without being discovered. Then Trump brought validation to their feelings. You don't fight them. They cannot change. You keep the focus on your values and promote them at every opportunity. Let them rant and rave about straws and political correctness. Until they realize, you've not been listening.
5
For years, there has been more projection in the Republican party than there is at a Bell and Howell convention. What amazes me is that people are willing to believe the most preposterous lies and smears. Clearly it's because they want to.
We won't change their minds. All we can do is outvote them.
8
A close relative of mine confronted a distant relative on Facebook about his posts being "crass" (and they were indeed, e.g. potty jokes about Democrats). He responded, "What's wrong with that?" The close relative has since adopted a policy of not feeding the trolls, just let them egg each other on.
3
Very good article about what ails us, until the obligatory tropes “and it’s almost always white men”, it’s only the hard right, and for a distinguished economist who usually refers to data. It tells me that he needs to expand his circle of friends and acquaintances. What he says about the far right is spot on, but he seems to be protected from the left’s outrage industrial complex, which reaches much the same heights (or lows) of juvenile outrage, OUTRAGE! as the hard right. Think “cultural appropriation”, and other moral preening.
More of us are just avoiding troll streams on social media, or totally avoiding social media entirely. Most of us don’t have the time and inclination to worry about drivel aimed at the latest superhero movie. It’s not worth the worry. Supposedly the great majority of us are described the frustrated middle, covering a large political spectrum from left to right, but interested in the practical rather than bomb throwing. Yes, the outrage over piffle is frustrating. But don’t think it’s limited to to some stereotypical racist, gap toothed white male. Its a much bigger problem. We all need to get a grip.
3
Both sides are guilty of this outrage unfortunately. We all convince ourselves that our pet peeve is the most important thing in the day. I like your response: get off social media. It truly is the our greatest threat until climate change extinguishes us all.
I think it's bizarre and completely lacking in self-awareness for Mr. Krugman to be calling others out on petty rage. He is blessed with a unique forum on these pages to spread ideas, and yet for the past few years he has used the forum for little else than to rant and rave about the latest tweet from our duly elected president. If that isn't petty, I don't know what is. Of course, Mr. Krugman would characterize this kind of thing as righteous indignation instead of petty. It's always the other guy's anger that is petty.
One thing that is interesting is that the left and the right use almost the exact same language to describe each other; maybe we're not so different after all. I'm projecting? No, you're projecting. I'm a snowflake? No you're the snowflake.
Come on people, is this really the best dialogue we're capable of producing? You can point your fingers at the other side all you want, but no one can force you to engage in stupid conversations unless you consent.
7
@Bill
That could have been true, if it weren't for the fact that Fox News and the GOP first FALSELY blamed Democrats for all the things that they and they alone are doing and seeing today.
Rejecting the fact that politicians are cultivating pettiness in tweets, as Krugman is doing here, is something totally different than cultivating it yourself.
Denouncing the fact that the GOP's level of discours no longer upholds the moral standards that according to Krugman and many liberals ALL political discours should uphold, is something that you can't discard as being "petty". All that you can do is to try to REFUTE Krugman's arguments, if you believe you disagree with him.
What you're doing here, however, is the opposite - and THAT is typical of cultivating pettiness too : you don't even try to show that Nunes' tweets have nothing to do with pettiness, you merely answer "but you do so too!".
Don't you see how in this way you're not only refuting Krugman's point here, but merely confirming it?
WHERE are all the "petty" tweets from liberal politicians?
Any concrete example?
Trying to answer these questions is how you can engage in a real debate. Not by merely throwing around "but so are you!", remember?
4
@Bill
Well put! I posted a similar comment (before reading yours) but much less eloquent.
2
@Ana Luisa
The reason I don't argue that the right is not petty, is that I fully agree that the right is very petty and would never say otherwise.
Since you asked, here are a few examples of what I regard to be pettiness on the left: (1) Dis-inviting Trump to give his SOTU was super-petty; it's a standard courtesy extended to every other president irrespective of party; (2) the dispute over the wall is bipartisan pettiness personified (the wall probably won't do much, but it's practically free relative to the size of the US budget, and the shutdown cost way more than the $5.7 billion Trump was asking for); (3) Dems were hyper petty at the Kavanaugh hearing even before Blasey-Ford entered the picture (e.g., Booker's "Spartacus" moment), and I think raising the Swetnick allegations in hearings was both petty and in bad faith given how non-credible they were. I note that Republicans were wrong to deny Garland a hearing; he probably wouldn't have gotten the votes he needed, but it should have been put to a vote; (4) The whole Mueller investigation is petty and the investigations that follow it will be even more petty. Ultimately the Dems can't accept that their preferred candidate lost to someone like Trump. In response they claim he's a Russian "asset," and after a $25 million investigation when the proof doesn't materialize as seems to be the expectation, they ramp up even more investigations. Republicans did the same thing with the Clintons a number of times. It was wrong.
2
Ah, yes. My Trump supporting neighbor rages about how much he hates people who read. And I am talking about red in the face Kavanaugh-like teeth baring rage. Books. Gotta watch those inanimate objects and type.
2
@poslug
Are you trying to claim that being angry at someone who, according to (to quote the president) "credible" witnesses has sexually harassed women, is somehow comparable with being angry because you can't use straws anymore ... ?
Because THAT is what pettiness is all about: being angry about small things that don't matter.
Krugman isn't rejecting all forms of anger here, he's rejecting anger directed against people and situations and that doesn't have any real and serious foundation, you see?
@poslug
You just made that up.
1
I used to enjoy Paul Krugman's articles on the economy, but with the current state of our society he has become part of the problem and not the solution. He knows he's stirring the pot with his super liberal sentiments that have become more and more annoying and obnoxious.
4
The problem with conservatives is that most of them don't read anything. They only pay attention to far-right radio or TV guys that speak very fast, so they don't allow enough time to think or evaluate anything.
Apparently the conservatives trying to generate bad luck for "Marvel" have not seen neither "Gone with the wind" just because they hate Hollywood, nor "Incredibles 2" because they were among the few Americans that watched "FFIFA's World Cup" transmissions from Moscow last year. Those movies demonstrate that word-of-mouth only works AFTER moviegoers watch the film. Great!
@M Martínez
"Gone with the wind" is now out of bounds for the enlightened left.
Do keep up.
1
Don't worry. The younger generations, especially Gen Z, seem to be completely fed up with the on-going environmental degradation and will collectively work to successfully deal with it. I'm around young college students 5 days a week, and they are ready to be activists. The Green New Deal is something very real and precious to them and I think in 25 years, the US will be more like Netherlands, Germany and France with regard to environmental protections.
4
Let's try not to fall into the trap. The Shock jocks are orchestrating a version of "the best offense is a good defense". The purpose is to make the left more tentative in its intiatives
2
Krugman is describing the lunatic fringe of a more subtle and insidious malady corrupting our public dialog. Humans seem to be magnetically drawn to simplistic, easy answers to complex problems. Giving in to this temptation results in rigid thinking, extreme ideology and partisanship. In other words, it clouds the ability to think straight. With respect to this problem many politicians today fall into 2 categories:
Those who understand this and cynically try to exploit it by pandering to shallow emotions and
Those who actually fall into the trap themselves (I’d put many described in this article into this category)
To escape from this trap, level-headed public servants need to devote considerable time to fashioning clear, crisp communications and problem solving.
2
Right, Left, there’s plenty of anger on both sides. Plenty of violence too. It may take liberals longer to reach a boil but, once they do, they’re not reluctant to get nasty. (Some readers may remember the days of the Vietnam debacle.) The steady escalation of vituperative politicking does not bode well...
1
Surely there was war, before Sun Tzu. But he was the first, trying to formulate such. There is civilization in the middle east now for 6000 years or so. Script, mathematics, reasoning...Yet somehow there is still war. "Divanu Lugat it'Turk" is the first Turkish manuscript available in history. Such was a Turkish - Arab dictionary written by Mahmud Al Kashgari now a thousand years ago. There's an interesting word within, "chavush", a man whose duty was to care for that soldiers do not harm civilians. There must have been a military specialization within the society then. It is a means of civilization since Codex Iustinanus, maybe even since earlier, that citizens are not to harm each others in the civil realm. On the other hand a medieval Arab intellectual, Ibn Khaldun, is most quoted for formulating that savage tribes conquer the civilized. This is not and was not always true. But there might be ideologies who take such as sole truth and reality. Maybe that's a kind of nationalism sometimes. This is a dangerous thought. Because the greatest fire may always occur as the fire from within.
Decisions made in anger are rarely good decisions.
Conservatives are continuing to make bad decisions, and Jesus isn't going to save them.
3
People's resistance to change is often reasonable and understandable. The sickness is the conspiracy theories. But instead of bar code readers taking away jobs, it's liberals taking away our hamburgers. Next, it's our freedom fries, and before long they will come for the assualt rifles.
3
"What we should have learned from the Iraq debacle was that you should always be skeptical and that you should never rely on supposed authority. If you hear that ‘everyone’ supports a policy, whether it’s a war of choice or fiscal austerity, you should ask whether ‘everyone’ has been defined to exclude anyone expressing a different opinion." - Paul Krugman. I think when people speak in generalities like "most" they become a far less credible source of infomation. Just as you pointed out regarding the Iraq war, we should be skeptical of your expertise here, because it is only your opinion based on your skewed perceptions. The American two-party system in today's social media climate is full of rage-filled comments from those that identify and occupy one of the two parties. I could really care less about any of those rage-filled comments, but I do enjoy watching a self-righteous academic forget his own mumblings in the past to live in an echo-chamber. Pandering to your own political base of readers won't get you more readers, just gets you more high-fives from people that probably agreed with you on your first quote over a decade ago. Cheers!!
1
I listened to Tulsi Gabbard at her CNN presidential debate yesterday and was impressed with her capacity to respond to questions by avoiding lumping opposers of her policy preferences into the typical labels that inflame one fixed-opinion tribe or another.
1
a lot of the examples you site, Prof., don't seem on the surface to make much sense, or are wildly out of proportion to the perceived offense. there is a lot of anger boiling to the surface at the drop of a red hat. people of all stripes fall into the group you're describing, but, let's face it, their poster child is a middle aged or older white man, possibly of the former blue collar or lower middle class segment. imagine such a person in you mind's eye, starting with the MAGA cap, then moving down to the crazed, burning eyes, the jowls, and the pot belly. these are the people who don't tolerate being told what to do, who hate the notion of universal healthcare and sharing what they have by paying any kind of confiscatory taxes. they want their beer, their guns, their burgers and fries, and many other things that are unhealthy, especially in older men. you describe people suffering from hypertension, possibly untreated, flying off the handle at the slightest provocation. they can't help it. and why shoukd they? after all, they're Americans!
@Pottree
I am a first generation (legal) Immigrant from India with a PhD and an Ivy League MBA. I voted for Trump and can't wait to do so again.
You'd be surprised but there are many like me.
(I am quite slim and have light brown skin.)
27
@JQGALT
Could you please explain why you voted for him and support what he's doing?
And more to the point, do you agree with the fact that he invents absurd and false things such as claiming that Democrats want to take away hamburgers, rather than having the moral courage to confront the facts?
7
@JQGALT Can't imagine why you or anyone else with a higher level education would find Trump to be a quality president.
5
I think it is probably more about the behavior that people see their parents and community model than politics.
In high pressure families where obedience is important, no one is too sympathetic if you are scared or upset - they just see you as a loser. Being pushed to be self-reliant while conforming to external expectations creates resentment. If you're under huge pressure and can't complain about it, then you get angry at little things like phosphates in the soap. Now you have to do all the dishes again, and who has time for that, with everything else you have to get right? You also feel entitled to your pleasures and don't want to help those you see as undeserving. The attitude is, "No one helped me and I made it, so these people are weak - and I'm not giving my stuff to them after everything I had to put up with to get it." Why should you help people who can't maintain certain standards, which you learned to meet no matter how you felt?
That's my deep analysis, which applies to men and women of any color and creed. I don't think there's a cultural cure, unless they acquire a liberal value as their own. For example if Tucker Carlson wanted to champion environmental science because he wanted to protect the pristine natural world from lazy undisciplined slobs and grubby third world countries, then it might work. Otherwise, don't touch that hard earned burger.
The powerful Senator dressed in tweed can approach his foe, place a warm manicured hand gently on his back with a slight pat, then slip the sharpened letter opener between his ribs every so carefully. As his foe begins to lose consciousness and strength, the Senator can lower the him to the floor pull out the letter opener smeared nearly clean.
Meanwhile, the masses who have no power (along with poor Devin Nunes lost his seat of power) have to scream, rant, squeal, march in the streets, riot, yell, smash things, burn their own neighborhoods down, and so forth because they can't be all nice and proper when they attack: they lack the political power.
Those very few who have political power can afford to speak softly precisely because they carry a big stick. Those who don't have political power must make a lot of noise to compensate. It's good to know this when we want to know why the right-wing base and its leadership acts out in rude and boorish ways.
1
The reason so many people are angry about the 'Green New Deal', yet so few know what is in it, is a media messaging strategy called 'tactical framing'. This is a version of 'kill the messenger': their discussion of the GND is not about the adequacy of the GND to solve the problem it is intended to solve (climate change), but about tactics: its 'winnability'. The question 'Is this new policy proposal a good idea?' is lost to questions like 'Is it popular?' and 'Can it pass?'. Obviously, these latter questions are important to our politics, but some things, like the climate, exist outside of politics. The GND may, in fact, be better, for our pocketbooks, then the 'do nothing alternative' currently in place, but we'll never know, because we never had that discussion.
The question we're answering, encouraged by our media, is 'Who will win?', when we should be answering 'Is this the right path?'. Keeping people enraged is how you keep them from focusing on our true task, and so we all know the GND will outlaw hamburgers and cost $98 trillion, because, while untrue, these claims grant us the luxury of outrage.
After 9/11, we were outraged. Our leaders and media, asked 'Who will win?' rather than 'Is this the right path?'. So we won in Iraq, at cost of 5,000 American lives and 600,000 Iraqi lives (and as much as $3 trillion). But few would say we took the right path. That's the real cost of allowing ourselves the luxury of outrage.
3
Dr. Krugman, Nice obfuscation of the straw outrage! The great majority of plastic floating in the ocean originates China and other countries other than the U.S., yet you focus your outrage on a sarcastic comment made by a republican legislator.
2
@Lyndon
When you know that the US is one of the biggest ocean polluters, referring to the fact that countries with four times more habitants put more plastic in the ocean than the US sounds ... well, quite "petty", no?
And Krugman is right to criticize a GOP Congressman refusing to act, when it comes to plastic, as all serious scientific studies show that we urgently have to act now, whereas the GOP is doing the exact opposite and using the government to actively increase pollution.
So with that ... any comments on substance?
Perhaps as a corollary to Mr. Krugman's thesis, the NYT's should investigate what seems to be a related but different attribute of today's right.
Maybe it's just tribalism run amok, but look at the huge percentage of GOP voters who believed Obama was born overseas, to those who rebut scientific evidence regarding global warming with the supposed motivations (not actual alternative science) of the scientists, to ready acceptance of the lie that Newtown was a false flag event -- it's starting to look more and more like mass psychosis. Yes, I said it.
If a right leaning columnist wants to write a piece about liberal hysteria and elitism, here's a topic.
The billionaires and fellow travelers on the right have created an aggrievement industry that preys on millions of our citizens who sadly lack the sophistication, critical thinking skills, worldliness, to grasp that they are fed a carefully calibrated diet of outrage to keep them voting against their interests and for the interests of their puppet masters.
And with the election of Trump, a full frontal, overt effort has been made induce the sheep to ignore and even scoff at information that runs contrary to the propaganda, labeling it as "fake news." And the sheep actually believe this, even though the right wing propaganda is easily exposed as objectively false.
So what happens if a solid majority of people fall prey to this and simply cannot be enlightened by facts they regard as false?
Canada, here I come.
1
I dine out with a friend who doesn't use straws because of concern about the environment. I would think it a courtesy to be asked by a server about it. Even if someone would be making a joke about being asked, it still would be pathetic. I see the arrogance of the Right, in the era of outrageous Trump behavior and not only getting away with it but even thriving on it. Emotional immaturity runs rampant here and can nevertheless trample on decency. Lincoln believed that right (in the good old-fashioned sense) makes might, as he had to fight a civil war for it. Now is the time to fight a political battle.
1
Most centrists and independents agree that the right is more vile and more vitriolic than the left. It's usually the right that advocates violence and damnation against anything they think is even a mild threat to individual choice. They are also the ones who show up at city council meetings or HOA meetings yelling and screaming over how their money is being spent. They don't care about improving schools or improving the community. All they care about is their wallets, nothing else. That, my friends, is what defines a conservative.
4
I am about as far from conservative as I can be, but I have to take issue with Krugman's remark, "What I’m saying instead is that most of those filled with such rage are conservatives, and they supply much of the movement’s energy."
I have witnessed - to my utter dismay - exactly the same kind of rage emanating from forces on the left. The rage is all too often triggered by some perception of misbehavior that may have no substantiation behind it, but whose perpetrator feels licensed - maybe even duty-bound - to express.
Krugman is correct that these outbursts are unhealthy, but he be blind if he believes they originate solely from the right.
6
If rage worked all that well, the '60's would have come out much differently.
37
@Bruce Williams
In what way? The huge anti Viet Nam war demonstrations were generally peaceful until the police started beating demonstrators and the Ohio NG shot and killed four people. And the rage was over a war killing thousands of people half a world away, not saying happy holidays instead of merry Christmas.
20
@Bruce Williams
Cryptic comment. Not really worth posting. Many people will attest to the fact that I am not stupid. But I do not get it.
2
@Bruce Williams. The rage deployed against the Cuvil Rights Movement, including against children, came overwhelmingly from the right.
10
I live in New York City and I hear endless liberal rage every time Trump says (or fails to say) anything. It is hard to believe that Dr. Krugman has placed all the liberal and conservative rage in America on a set of scales and confirmed the conservative rage to be weightier. Do you seriously believe that there are more conservative than liberal protesters screaming out on the streets and holding polemic signs?
4
@Jon
And I find it hard to believe that you have missed all the conservative rage when President Obama was in the White house?
Do you seriously see no differences between the causes of the rage, or in the level of rage in relation to what caused it?
As an example, let's think about the legality of Gay marriage. Liberals (by and large) get angry at perceived discrimination against the LGBTQ community in denying them many of the civil protections that come with marriage, such as different tax brackets for married v single, child adoptions, hospital visitations, etc. On the other side, we see conservatives (by and large) get angry about being 'forced' to bake a cake for a wedding they don't like, or as powerless victims of a perceived assault against the religion that is practiced by over 75% of the US population.
4
@Mike
If you actually read my post, I'm agreeing that there does exist hyped rage among conservatives (including against Obama, Bill Clinton, etc.).
About gay marriage, my conservative friends are fine with it. In fact, as far as I can tell, conservative Americans are considerably more "liberal" on LGBTQ issues than the vast majority of the global population. Most humans throughout the world want to either criminalize, or at least socially marginalize, homosexuals. Most conservatives in the U.S. probably just don't want to call it "marriage," which is certainly the global norm. So I'm not angry about the state of LGBTQ issues. Do liberals have so much reason to be angry and call conservatives nazis?
Thank you for pointing out the Emporer's clothing of today's political culture. I remember back in the day when people first complained about having to Press 1 for English. Like being asked to press a button on their phone (so that people who don't speak English as well could reach customer service) - was such an imposition! That was back in the day when the President and his minions didn't vilify half of the electorate. Instead of saying "environmentalists", the right wing media (with the Most Effective Messaging and Talking Points Ever) always says, "radical environmentalists" or "whackjob environmentalists". It's the future of our planet. Straw rage is just another smokescreen to minimize and deprecate the value of wildlife, oceanic and freshwater resources and conservation, so they can be exploited. Straw rage is a response to being challenged about poisoning the food and water supply.
1
The anger and pettiness on the right not caused by the angry person's station or circumstances in life. In nearly all cases, this anger is fueled by listening to talk radio and watching Fox News.
These media outlets are expert at getting their audiences to rage against the scapegoat of the day. The presentation of the material at these outlets is designed to cause addiction to anger with each round fueling more anger and pettiness.
5
Agreed... Most of the folks being most verbal have the least to gripe about. I do wonder when it got to be "policy" to hand out straws automatically when serving a drink in a restaurant.
1
Good column Dr Krugman -- I wasn't aware of the Captain Marvel dust-up.
I would like to blame this "rolling outrage" on Fox News, but it's unfortunately a trend in every media outlet. I remember Reader's Digest and their "It's an Outrage" column, and the AARP Bulletin used to have the same sort of thing.
Fox News is an extreme purveyor of this outrage-entertainment, and I think the "entertainment" name gives us a clue. We human animals need stimulation, need to have adrenaline flowing -- it's probably an evolutionary thing. But our world is relatively calm, particularly here in the West (remember the "end of history" nonsense from 20 years ago?). This is particularly true for old people. Our media supplies this need -- remember that news is 80% entertainment -- and we lap it up, eager to get excited about something, anything. Unfortunately Fox News et al use this outrage to scare us into circling the wagons and acting conservatively.
2
"It may be comforting to believe that politics is driven by more or less rational considerations of costs and benefits. But the reality is that a lot of it is driven by unreasoning rage."
Everything depends on what you include in those "costs and benefits".
Many economists tend to limit "benefits" to purely material things (being able to pay the rent, put food on the table, having access to healthcare, education, paid holidays, ...).
People of course need all those things to survive, but we do have emotional needs too, and that is what economists tend to forget.
We need to feel respected and loved, in order to be able to behave in a peaceful way, and to make choices that will rationally increase our own happiness and that of society as a whole.
How much of our taxpayer money goes into cultivating these needs ... ?
And what is the cost to pay once we ignore this essential aspect of human beings altogether, on a political and economical level?
The UK just took a first political decision to limit the costs of ignoring this for centuries: they created a Ministry for Loneliness. The minister's job is based on the report of a commission that investigated loneliness, and observed that it has worse effects on health than smoking 15 cigarettes daily.
Ironically, an angry right-wing extremist has killed Cox, who set up the commission.
Politics, like any human activity, has always been driven by emotions - rational and irrational ones. Time for economists to acknowledge this..
2
Beside the point, perhaps … but Devin Nunes should never be 'let off' 'just' for having been trump's "stonewaller in chief," since he did as much 'active' damage as 'preventative' damage. E.g. He 'forced' DOJ to reveal sensitive documents and information it should never have had to reveal -- let alone do so in service of the bogus claim by Nunes & Associates that a dossier of raw intelligence collected by a trusted DOJ source 'might be' the 'stuff' of an anti-trump, DOJ conspiracy.
5
I am having problems responding to the excellent Paul Krugman comments at two and three in the morning. I understand Dr Krugman's understanding that despite inequality and the upward transfer of wealth his understanding of economics is not the solution to a country where the problems are sociological, psychological and philosophical. Even as economics will not solve the problems of country caught in the grip of the fear of fear itself Dr Krugman's genius shines through as he echoes what Thomas Chandler Haliburton told us in the early 19th century; "When a man man is wrong and won't admit it, he always gets angry."
Even as American conservatism shows no let up in destroying America the cowardice displayed in refusing to change course sees the land of the free and home of the brave become another failed European empire.
Creating a more perfect union requires courage not the Remembrance of Things Past.
3
The unreasonable rage seems to come from an overweening sense of entitlement of privileged upper class people. Oddly enough it also comes from those people in the lower classes who think they should be in the upper classes but somehow got done out of their birthright by The Others (groups of people they hate - fill in the blanks.)
Maybe we should all practice a little more humility. There is a reason that Pride is considered the number one Deadly Sin.
6
' It may be comforting to believe that politics is driven by more or less rational considerations of costs and benefits. But the reality is that a lot of it is driven by unreasoning rage.'
Yes, certainly 'a lot' is driven by rage, and this essay lists several of those ways. But, and Krugman probably knows this, politics today is not driven by reason or calculating benefits over costs -- if it it ever was.
In a mass society daily animated by TV and social media the meme or slogan means more than a complete sentence, let alone two or more strung together. The symbols of ideology have taken over our public space and victory belongs to those who display them continually. The 'space' between the shouts and epithets is too small to be occupied by sensible comments, oh, like the methane gas of our pasture lands vis-a-vis our toxic atmosphere.
If any thing can be done, and Krugman is candidly himself shaking his head, it will likely have to be a counter-revolution in weaponized 'factoids'. E.g., pictures of babies in cages at the border, Putin in Helsinki, the mug shots of cabinet members ousted by corruption, closed assembly lines in the Rust Belt, scenes of the Government shutdown and so on. Play them over and over again, sort of like Steyer's impeachment now ads.
We don't have to be louder or angrier than the Right but just as determined and even more focused.
1
People learn from modelling. Conservatives who listen to talk radio and cable news are exposed to other people getting paid millions to model rage. On slow news days, the rage is hysterical. The competition for hosts to "over-act" for higher salaries, essentially to top yesterday's rage, has become both the model and the litness test for members of the right. To end this, cancel the programs. To cancel the programs, call them what they are: dull wastes of time. Then callout party leaders who behave this way for what they are: droll wastes of time. If they want to run a country like a game show, cancel them the same way. No awards. Not entertaining. Waste of time.
4
This article is strong like so many from P Krugman, but a throwaway word "flatulence" promotes the common misperception that ruminant animals mostly cause methane out the back door. In fact, methane is mostly belched from the specialized rumen stomach as ruminants start the fermentation and digestion of grains. From the front door and even after producing waste that releases methane, a ruminant is an inefficient source of energy for a human and a natural pollutant causing global warming. Therefore people concerned about the planet should curtail their consumption of (ruminant) meat and dairy products significantly or completely, even if that idea enrages some of those goaded in this article.
4
What all these things show is that today's GOP discourse (by its politicians and media, and as a consequence its voters) has an astonishingly low level of EQ, emotional intelligence.
Trump's tweets are THE perfect example of low EQ.
"Pettiness", from a psychological/neurological point of view, means identifying with a "small" sense of self, where you forget who you truly are, and are instead imagining that you ARE your anger, frustration, sadness, despair, etc. ... and that you ARE your title, car, house, job etc.
Studies show that once you start doing this, you'll see any attack on those "possessions" as an attack on yourself, and on what is vital to survive, whereas the only way to live a good life is the exact opposite: to remember that we're all human beings first, that all human beings suffer and need love and compassion, and that what divides us can never be as strong as what truly unites us, our common humanity and the fact that we're all in this together, living only a very short period of time, simply trying, in our own way, and with our own, inherited limiting beliefs, to be happy.
Conservatives these days tend to cultivate the idea of humankind being divided into Good and Bad guys, ignoring what's most essential both in themselves and others. That's how pettiness becomes the official behavior of an entire party. It's the opposite of cultivating EQ and as a consequence real, fundamental moral values such as truthfulness, fierce compassion and respect.
4
Political rage notwithstanding, rage has infected every aspect of life. Why else are people getting shot for fender benders and cutting people off on the roads? Is it all related?
4
@BG
I think it is.
The GOP decided to massively and cynically cultivate and exploit this rage, whereas Democrats try to stay calm and improve people's material standard of living. So the political reaction to it is totally different, but in itself, there is a lot of anger in our Western societies today.
My guess: it's precisely because after WWII, we've imagined that acquiring material wealth is all that there is in life (even many Christian churches today have a tremendous admiration for material wealth), that we've lost touch with our deeper, spiritual (religious or not) self. And for a couple of centuries now already (or more?) the West never really invested in teaching emotional intelligence.
So on the one hand we tend to entirely identify with material things (our house, car, job, bank account - or golden chain, as Barack Obama recently called it) and base our sense of self-respect on how much we have (and as a consequence, on how much other people praise us ...) whereas on the other hand, savage capitalism has been hammering the middle class for decades already, as Elizabeth Warren is reminding us for years now, which means that the very foundation on which we built our self-esteem is disappearing day after day.
As Van Jones and so many others have pointed out: we as a society urgently need a spiritual awakening. Or to formulate it differently: we urgently need to start increasing our EQ - ALSO to start acting more efficiently when it comes to politics.
This may be off topic but I think in a non rage kind of way that Tucker Carlson is demented.
10
@Sue -- and that demented Hannity, too.
Where is all the rage coming from, tune in to any drive time talk radio for a steady diet, for dessert tune in to Fox noise for a while.
Schooled by the likes of Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and other early 'thought(?)' leaders, these and others set both the agenda, and the methodology, of what used to be a meaningful political party.
4
My diagnosis of conservative rage is somewhat different - and a bit more hopeful. Anger exists as a reaction to fear - a cornered animal will muster all its energies to fight off an attack when all else fails. Southern senators were civilized and gracious as long as they ruled the Senate; they turned ugly, like Strom Thurmond, when they sensed their power to resist integration was diminishing. Viewed in that light, Erik Erikson's pathetic call to beat up politicians is the desperate cry of a conservative whose power to control the political system is threatened - after all, he has no beef with CONSERVATIVE politicians, only with those he sees as liberal. I'm an old white man who doesn't like every aspect of the new multicultural, multi-ethnic world (I hate hip-hop music, for example) but can live with it. I like straws, and hamburgers, but I can live without them. As the dwindling power of my demographic becomes more evident, however, some of us get frightened, and start to scream. To make up for our dwindling numbers we get louder, and more violent, at least in our rhetoric. It's a symptom of weakness, not strength, and the left does not need to emulate it, but to name it for what it is: hysteria.
5
Krugman is such a tribalist. We have Trump because the left is so petty and arrogant that voters wanted to stick it to them at all costs. But focusing, as usual, on the foibles of one party that are widely shared by both just shows me that he would rather fan the burning divisions. The irony-it is petty to deal with the pettiness he calls out.
5
@TD
The problem is that you guys always react in the same way to criticism: "but liberals do so too!".
And then you don't give any concrete example, of course.
What this shows is how cynical conservatives have become in this country. Yes, Fox News and others have constantly criticized Obama in such a way that it seems as if Democratic politicians "do so too". There's only one problem: as soon as you started fact-checking, you couldn't but notice that their criticism was totally false, based on entirely invented "facts".
So now you accept pettiness being cultivated on a national level by the GOP, JUST because you imagine that America lost its greatness and all politicians necessarily react in this way.
Creating this kind of false beliefs was the very reason why Fox News has been founded, because as soon as GOP voters start to believe this kind of nonsense, the GOP can become the most corrupt party in history (as they arguably are today) and do no matter what in DC, GOP voters will justify and accept it all, simply by referring to the false idea that "liberals do so too".
In case you'd disagree here, though, what would your arguments be ... ?
4
Why are these "conservatives" so afraid of Capitalism? If you want your own plastic straws, buy your own and take them with you.
They seem to always want free stuff for themselves.
6
Somebody who has straw rage also might be someone who sends their steak back two times because it is not cooked to their specifications. For this effort they could receive a dab of saliva in with their mashed potatoes. There is plenty of rage being expressed out there on all sides. Well placed rage can have a productive use. Rage for the sake of rage just becomes useless venting unless it gets you ratings, retweets, likes or votes. When raging nonsense can get you elected president, why stop? Shall we have a nation that runs on rage or thoughtful deliberation? I'll take mine without the spit.
2
This age of rage by the right seems to go hand in hand with the recent New Yorker article about Fox News and the White House. This keeping the audience in a state of anger and rage as a way to control the audience and keep it coming back for more.
How much of this is spawned from the Putin model to Divide and Conquer the West?
It seems to me the West is indeed in the midst of being conquered by eating itself alive from within its own borders. And everyone is too indignant to see it and the role they play in it by consuming the hatred and division.
Anger and disdain is an easy tool to proliferate when the leaders of the country lead by example, and the Republican Party gets the gold medal for destroying not only America but civility on all levels. Just look at the dog and pony show of haughtiness and disdain displayed by the GOP, especially Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan during the Michael Cohen hearing. The Saturday Night Live skit the following weekend showed in beautiful satire the childishness of these leaders.
I am afraid the US will never return to civility and respect at any level. It is just hate and anger. And of course, in their childish and petty outrage being displayed daily, the world no longer respects America.
4
There is one trait cropping up among the crowd PK is writing about that is very out front and open: The constant whining this so called president has inspired among his strong independent virile male supporters. Whining about anything and everything.
At the cpac charade t rump spent almost two and a half hours whining about everything that he usually whines about: Lock her up; My crowds were bigger; My accomplishments legendary; My.... My... my.
We really do need to reinstitute the draft. Give these men something to do that will tire them out so much that at the end of the day they will have no energy for whining.
7
The anger I saw in the Tea Party movement was inexplicable. The TP "patriots" I saw in my community were very comfortable, middle- and upper middle-class white people who had everything they needed and much more. The best I could figure, they just didn't want to pay a dollar higher taxes so others could get a leg up. They came to town hall meetings and shouted down any citizen who spoke contrary to their position. I attended one such meeting. I can understand the anger of $7.25 minimum-wage workers, of factory workers whose jobs get outsourced to low-wage countries, of corporate workers who lose their jobs in corporate mergers and "restructuring," of working people who can't afford health insurance for their families or a secure retirement, of black citizens who are still discriminated against and threatened by police, of women who are verbally harassed, groped and raped. But what is the root of our anger when we have everything we need for a decent standard of living and the respect, protection and privilege we enjoy for our race, gender and relative wealth?
312
@abigail49
Many members of the Tea Party seem to be members of the "Baby Boomer" generation, that generation which many sociologists consider "spoiled." They demand others work hard for anything and everything they get, while they themselves maybe deserve more than they are getting no matter how hard they actually work (which is probably a spectrum from just enough to as hard as possible). No matter how hard they work, either they do not get enough satisfaction from the work or the extra money they feel they should be paid for putting up with such unsatisfying work, but the result is they have grown up expecting more from life and they don't have the knowledge of how to find what they are missing.
So, just as children do, they lash out at anyone they perceive or are told are getting more rewards than they are, particularly if those others are less wealthy than they are.
And when they are "told" that something they do is harmful to someone else in some way that they don't perceive directly, they feel they are being imposed on arbitrarily.
16
@DonB As a baby boomer - I agree with you. I look at so many of my friends and family in this age-group who have gone off the deep end - and I don't understand why. Was it all the partying, drinking, and drug use that muddled their minds - or just the promise of getting and having so much in the way of material goods (provided by hardworking, greatest generation, parents), that greed took them over? Now, they try to compensate by being, quite often, extremely religious and extremely hateful. I don't know what the answer is but these now oldsters need some hardship in their lives so they can relate to those who are not so lucky as we were.
34
@DonB
Online I have found data that compares the success of countries in such areas as health, longevity, education (including math and reading), GDP, on and on, and happiness. I was not surprised to find America nowhere near the top, except the one you can guess..
Every TV commercial wants us to spend money to be happy like its product-doting users, young and old. Consumerism has been touted as patriotism.A high income doesn't guarantee a happy marriage or secure children.
A relatively stable life is beyond the reach of too many less educated or minority citizens; I understand their frustration.But money doesn't buy happiness. Alcohol and drug abuse?
18
Many men are angry and frustrated and it’s really not that hard to see why if you take a minute to listen instead of judge. Men are angry because:
1. They are falling behind economically and in school compared to women. They’ve lost jobs they used to be good at (manufacturing) or have had to accept lower wages for the same job (are the auto industry in Detroit). Politicians and op-Ed writers supportive of free trade globalization and automation that cost them their jobs are the same people now telling them now not to be angry.
2. The cultural elite in major urban areas tell men that they are the problem. “The future is female” mantra playing out in Hollywood and in politics by definition means “The future doesn’t include men.” Major companies like Gillette are even lecturing men in borderline misandrist terms to not be “toxically masculine.”
3. Men are increasingly being accused of inappropriate sexual behavior towards women with public demand for immediate career-ending consequences without due process (see: Al Franken, Brett Kavanaugh for prominent examples). “Believe Women” as a battle cry by definition means “Don’t believe men.”
4. Teenage boys—still children—are viciously torn apart by the media based on an incomplete twitter video(Covington). A white teenage boy who was profiled by Esquire was torn apart by grown adults for having the audacity to appear on the cover of a magazine as “An American Boy”—as if his story doesn’t matter.
Gee. Why are men angry?
54
@John
And yet, men as a group continue to enjoy much better prospects in just about everything.
Furthermore, not all men rage; only a tiny subset. And most of that subset is in denial of the reason: they are dragged down to the same level as others, namely women, but also other men who realized that their happiness and position in life should be at the detriment of others. Losing one's position is never good on ego, even if that position was unsustainable or build on top of others.
90
@John
Every point here ignores the relative position of men/women in history.
1) Men aren't falling behind, women are catching up now that they are finally given the opportunity to try. (the lack of economic opportunity has more to do with the current form of oligarchic capitalism we run here)
2) Women are getting representation that is getting closer to their actual greater than 50% proportion of the population.
3) Men are now being held accountable for behavior. Some people may be falsely accused, but the fact is that most accusations are true but most have been ignored or attacked for speaking up. The request to believe is to create a fair environment when there is an accusation, not a jump to conclusion on either side.
4) Of course facts should come out before judgement. These situations hurt because for the first time premature judgement is affecting white men when it typically only affected minorities in the past. Of course his story matters, but for all of history, minority stories have not mattered.
Relative to the population, white men's stories and experiences have been over-represented, but the catch up feels like falling behind
171
@John
Perhaps if the men who are falling behind were to acknowledge that the position they are falling from was a position of privilege to begin with, they would stop raging and begin to empathize with those who have historically had no such privilege and who are simply trying to gain equality.
For the record - Brett Kavanaugh did not suffer a career-ending consequence to being accused of inappropriate sexual behavior. In fact, he became a Supreme Court justice for life. And as I recall, he was pretty effective in his hearing as a poor, misunderstood white man who simply likes beer.
129
The flag of this petty rage nation is the yellow one with the snake saying "Don't Tread on ME," which really means "You're not the boss of ME," followed by sticking out ones tongue.
2
I think the misogynistic crazies who are upset with Brie Larson should get together with the SJW's who are deeply wounded by the character of Apu in the Simpsons. The resulting flow of illogic should be most entertaining - much like watching monkeys throw dirt at each other at the zoo.
1
Painfully persuasive...
This rage used to really bother me, but now I just ignore it. These people (if all of them even are people, and not Russian troll bots) are not in the majority. Besides, if I give them my energy and attention, I am going to positively reinforce them. Best to starve the beast.
2
Bout time someone called 'em for what they are--raging nut jobs. They are angry about everything. And this isn't necessarily coming from people of limited means who--i.e., a white male displaced factory worker--but at least just as much from privileged right-wingers with three cars and two houses and who still imagine they should've somehow gotten MORE.
4
Me too, anyone?
Since Paul Krugman says clearly that he's talking about a phenomena particular to some white men, why does the graphic accompanying the column show an angry woman?
1
Not even the NY Times can resist fake news.
The movie wasn't "bombed" with fake reviews, before the movie was released. What he's referring to was a Rotten Tomatoes poll of whether people were planning to see it. The poll was low, after Brie Larson insulted many potential viewers. As a response Rotten Tomatoes removed the poll.
2
"All that talk about liberal “snowflakes” is projection; if you really want to see people driven wild by tiny perceived slights and insults, you’ll generally find them on the right. "
That is a blatant lie. Put on a MAGA hat and walk the campus of almost any large university today and you risk being harassed or beaten up. Any such display by a leftist at a conservative gathering is mostly met with apathy or possibly pity.
1
Cue Howard Schultz to tell us about "both sides."
"It was about a waitress who, citing the “straw police,” asked his dining party if they wanted straws. " I guess Yucatan peninsula in Mexico must be Socialist. Plastic straws apparently are banned in all the resorts of Cancun and Playa Del Carmen... Apparently, they kill Marine life.
I think Mexican Congress is having discussions about banning the straws all over the country.
2
Physical abuse of someone wearing a MAGA hat?
1
In following the "Rotten Tomatoes" Link, I clicked on the Vox link:
https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/3/8/18254584/captain-marvel-boycott-controversy.
In that article, it noted thst Captain Marvel got 4,500 One-Star reviews BEFORE launch.
Question: Were there 4,500 INDIVIDUALS who sent in the One-Star review, or were there a suspicious number of identical comments? And/or suspicious similarity of the same computer generating the votes? Has Rotten Tomatoes or others does any research here?
Could our Russian "friends" be involved? Jest askin.
Fake rage loves to pretend to speak for everyone. But, in reality, how widespread is Fake Rage? Let's find out.
2
I won't argue with you Mr. Krugman as your next move is it probably to doxx me, scream at me at a restaurant, terrorize my wife, scratch at my door like a wild cat, punch me in the face for wearing a red hat, call for my de-platforming for having a conservative thought, call me a racist while waiting for a school bus, attempt to have me fired for daring to have a conservative opinion or bang a drum in my face. Thank you for your liberal tolerance and acceptance.
1
The real horror is the degree to which social media, and the quoting and re-quoting of it by "official" media like THE TIMES, grants the worst idiots-- people whose voices used to be confined to the local barbershop or diner -- the amplified megaphone called publication..
1
@rubys, two years ago I bolted from the local barbershop and diner so that I could feel certain my Cries of Disgust would be heard far and wide against Trump and his fellow despots . Thanks, and...keep on reading these eminent publications....
Only racist Americans refuse to help others in need. If their family had to merely move to escape poverty and or any other threatening calamity what would they do?? Would they stay or get the tar out of there? This they should ponder as they drive to church weekly. I guess to learn about a refugee that loved man more than possessions. I can see why ya have to go every week. Learning the obvious shouldn't be hard.
1
Makes me think of the Snowflake in Chief...
1
"and it always seems to be white men" Well it appears in addition to rage, racism, too, is alive and well.
This so-called rage as in Nunes' outburst over straws is so petty and small it hardly needs mentioning, yet it seems a cultural appendange to those in the party and yes seen through the dark of Trump's program to build a ridiciulous wall to protect the nation as Sarah Sanders says, who could work for Kim if she needs another job to broaden her horizons, to pass a tax that favors the 1%, to put women's choice in grave jeopardy, and to refuse to continue in denying the serious matter of climate change, ad nauseum. In those who are related to me, I believe the rage at others is in fact mostly rage directed at those they feel have infringed or somehow impugned their sense of USA malehood , white male power, white male misogyny. If only we had a Civilian Corps that would generate the loyalty the military now has as our country and those who need work could build here and not be at war. It's petty and personal, and so similar to the Germans who felt their leaders could control the Fuhrer even as he went after the Jew to the end, ending Germany's reputation for high culture, music, chemistry, poetry. Children in cages with those terrible aluminum cold sheets over them is of course more than petty. What have we wrought?
2
To modify a quote:
Pathological pettiness almost surely put a psychopath over the top in the 2016 election, a president and proud member of the Dark Triad with narcissism and Machiavellianism befriending that psychopathy.
https://www.learning-mind.com/dark-triad-traits/
2
Sore winners is my description of these mostly white men that get enraged by petty slights.
1
Geez, how hysterically myopic liberals are. "rage explosions over seemingly silly things are extremely common on the right." Well, Paul, try telling a liberal that climate change is not all man-made, or that transgenders are mentally ill, or that the numbers of illegals are on the rise, or that walls work. "RACIST" "SEXIST" "MAN-SPLAINER" "XENOPHOBE"!!! The spluttering incoherence is beyond comprehension.
It's very clear that rage explosions are found on both sides, but for different reasons. Take that log out of your eye, Mr. Krugman.
4
Is it possible that at least some of this printed rage was generated in St Petersburg in order to agitate us?
And who gets the daily award for cherry-picking, snark & shock--why it's our Nobel prize-winner himself.
The good professor follows up his non-economics screed by saying, "The truth is I don't know." Huh? Doc, you're PAID to know. Doff your mortarboard and get serious...maybe, to paraphrase Shakespeare, "First let's kill all the (fill in the blank with the current leftists' target du jour.")
There. Make you feel better?
1
"Plastic straws really are a source of ocean pollution."
That's a straw man. Restaurant straws aren't going to end up in the ocean. They are going to end up in a land fill.
If you want to criticize Nunes, it should be for failing to explain where the directive for asking if he wanted a straw came from. Further, any such directive has nothing to with "Socialism in California" or anywhere else.
The petty rage is an interesting topic, but so is the denial of externalized costs. Such a common feature among the promoters of personal responsibility. I think that should be hammered home every day.
OMG, we're deplorables again.
The Neo Nazis who Marched in Charlottesville (all white males) chanted over and over "the Jews will not replace us", but what those specific men are really afraid of was that actually they are being replaced, and replaced by everyone else in society that is not them. Their real chant should have been "we are all frightened white males!"
Non college educated, lower skilled white males have always had a path and a status...not anymore. They are becoming irrelevant. So whether it is protesting hamburgers or a strong female character in a movie or socialism or whatever, it all amounts to an undereducated, lower skilled white male patriarchy realizing they have lost status, are going out of business, and becoming irrelevant. TRUMP 2020!
2
There certainly are similar attitudes on the left- remember the “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is about date rape nonsense? We have to keep in mind that with social media, every crackpot opinion has an audience and an amplifier. It’s worse when the crackpot has a TV show, of course. But we need to guard against believing that every view we read on Twitter or Facebook is representative of the other “tribe.”
I’m sure this opinion will also attract its share of hate. That’s the risk we all take when posting online. Deep sigh.
4
@Kathy D
The main difference here is that Democratic politicians don't cultivate this kind of stuff, but simply ignore it, whereas GOP politicians and media seem to exist only to cultivate things like this. And THAT's where Krugman's criticism is correct.
5
One thing you can count on from Republicans, "they doth protest too much" every time. Lets see, Kavanaugh? Graham? Ring any bells? Thomas? Noxious gasbags of toxic rage. Why, the only rage I've seen lately from the left made me actually cry from compassion as the Arkansas state representative Sen. Stephanie Flowers expresses her rage at the other all white representatives on the floor over "stand your ground" and its meaning to black people and especially black mothers. I suggest everyone watch it. I am full of rage as well, at unfettered capitalism, racism, misogyny, criminality of any kind but particularly enraged at criminality in Government officials. Rage in pursuit of humanity is no vice. Rage in pursuit of a livable planet is actually really necessary like pretty much right now. I salute Sen. Flowers. Those white guys still voted against her though. Republicans have insulated their psyche against Flowers pain with years and years of rage. No empathy at all.
4
The plague of pettiness and imagined slights has consumed both sides.
Stating live and let live is grounds for your strangulation.
Funny, Medicare is the most liked health insurance program and Social Security is vital for huge numbers of people.....all those "socialist" programs!
3
Unreasoning rage defines the Trump base. It defines Trump. Calculating how to elicit that rage defines McConnell and the Koch brothers with their PACS.
But what is really stupid is the belief that any of these people can be reasoned with. Trumpkins hate reasoning. Trumpkins hate science. Trumpkins hate the truth. As Shiller wrote in 1801:
"Against stupidity the very gods themselves contend in vain."
But that's not the bottom line...this is. In 1803, Shiller wrote:
"The most pious man can't stay in peace
If it doesn't please his evil neighbor."
5
More and more, I see us dividing into two very independent countries.
1
Rush Limbaugh blowing his top on national radio about light bulbs comes to mind. Something about the government forcing bulbs that look like "pig's tails" on us.
We've largely phased out incandescent bulbs now, and while the number of people who actually miss them are small, the impact on our energy usage has been huge.
2
The consequences are dire if Trump and his band of sycophants are allowed to continue to ignore the catastrophe of global warming, an out of control budget deficit, a lying, hate filled president entangled with the oligarchs of Russia,children in cages,etc. Outrage is appropriate. For our and our children's survival we must be outraged and act.
3
Why does Dr K have to turn this into a White men (bad) vs. everyone else(good)?
We all drink from the same rivers and fish in the same oceans. We all breathe the same air. Why is this suddenly a racial-economic issue? Especially coming from a white and very economically privileged man, whose income surely reaches or exceeds 7 figures/annum?
I sense , increasoingly, a a faux revolutionary, faux communist-socialist set of standards none of which the author has probably ever lived by or really approved of-like Bernie Sanders-a socialist who is a recipient of special privileged government medical coverage, police protection and 6 figure + salary , along with the money he gets to hand out to his innumerable staff.
I don't reject objections like Dr. K's but I feel that they are empty of any meaning coming from him.
I am wildly concerned about the medias evilizing socialism. No analysis no mention of the many different forms of socialism, no mention that we have socialism and the ones I rail about our the subsidies to corporations, subsidies to the likes of Israel which was 48 billion? Huh? I have nothing against the Jewish people but not the crowd that backs the leader, just the people that back our grotesque leader. Also, the budget released yesterday drove me over the edge but I kind of contained myself.
1
Not enough of them have had to pawn their Mother's hope chest yet. Be patient.
This,of course, is nothing new. Conservatives are always outraged about something. It's in their DNA. They seem to need it like they need air. I'm sure most of them are lying awake at three in the morning outraged that somewhere, someone is having fun or doing something they shouldn't be.
1
I find this article to be simply outrageous!
2
From Rush Limbaugh to Fox News to Russian Trolls. So many people have been marinating in rage for decades. It seems to be addictive.
But questioning the prevailing wisdom or status quo never makes one popular. And even those on the left can resist mightily when asked to make a small change for the benefit of others.
My example of this is teachers who love their essential oils so much that they won't give up diffusing them into the elementary school classroom, even when a child in their care is made physically sick by the chemicals. Even if the child and the parents are polite in their request, they are treated like unreasonable, complaining, attention seekers. Or worse, non-believers.
Referencing the (nearly completely) irrelevant Erick Erickson doesn't help your argument much. He's almost gone, just let him go away already.
In the 1800s, well off families would not allow a child to sit at the dinner table until they could carry on an an adult conversation. Maybe Nunes should not have been allowed into the restaurant.
1
Paul Krugman, with his half formed ideas about free trade and his Friedman-lite approach to macroeconomics, should shoulder much of the blame for the economic disintegration of the Democratic party.
After a problem arises:
Democrats ask – Will changing our behavior address the problem?
Republicans ask – Will changing someone else’s behavior address the problem?
1
My diagnosis of conservative rage is somewhat different - and a bit more hopeful. Anger exists as a reaction to fear - a cornered animal will muster all its energies to fight off an attack when all else fails. Southern senators were civilized and gracious as long as they ruled the Senate; they turned ugly, like Strom Thurmond, when they sensed their power to resist integration was diminishing. Viewed in that light, Erik Erikson's pathetic call to beat up politicians is the desperate cry of a conservative whose power to control the political system is threatened - after all, he has no beef with CONSERVATIVE politicians, only with those he sees as liberal. I'm an old white man who doesn't like every aspect of the new multicultural world (I hate hip-hop music, for example) but can live with it. I like straws, and hamburgers, but I can live without them. But as the dwindling power of my demographic becomes more evident, some of us get frightened, and start to scream. To make up for our dwindling numbers we get louder, and more violent, at least in our rhetoric. It's a symptom of weakness, not strength, and the left does not need to emulate it, but to name it for what it is: hysteria.
1
Petty personal rage. Indignation and outrage over every issue, whether it's big or small.
We've got - what? about 330 million people in this country ?
And we're all suffering from the same disease, which is called:
Don't tell ME what to do.
Then we add the internet, Twitter, 24/7 news about the big and the petty.
Walk into a school today (with an appointment). Any school, public or private, anywhere in the country. Almost every student and every parent has that "Don't tell ME what to do" attitude in spades. Don't tell ME to put my phone away. Don't tell ME my child can't text me in class. Don't tell ME my child deserved a B or a C or a D. Don't tell ME my child plagiarized his paper. Don't you dare discuss the 2016 election or any political opinions except mine in your Government class.
This attitude used to come from a somewhat reasonable belief in American individualism. Americans tend to be argumentative, confrontational, and that can be a very good thing. But in 2019,
the 'reasonable' part has left good old American individualism.
Very few people are actually listening to and considering what others are saying - and why they might be saying it.
What's even more important, the notion of the common good has been eroded. The common good is now almost always defined by political parties and special interest groups. It's the common good for MY group, not yours. We need moral leadership to help us agree on the common good for America.
1
Good article but I personally could do without the casual racism. It is extremely counter-productive.
For once, I think I'd disagree with Krugman here.
Of course, from a liberal point of view it's easy to consider conservatives' temper tantrums over seemingly small and petty things "unreasoned raged".
From a more scientific point of view, all emotions have a cause, and as a consequence a "reason". To understand it, you need to suspend your own perspective for a moment, and adopt that of the angry person.
In this case, the reason is quite obvious: conservatives' "news" media have been telling them for decades that climate change is a hoax, that misogyny is part of being a "real" man, and that the worst possible domestic threat cannot but come from the government itself, as soon as it tries to impose things by force on ordinary citizens.
Adopt this "paradigm", and all the "petty" tweets all of a sudden become a fight for the survival of, indeed, America's "greatness".
And you do find similar things on the left. Yesterday, a NYT columnist found something Biden did half a century ago and that COULD be interpreted as refusing to fight against racism, to then end his column by wondering whether Biden was still a racist ... without ANY analysis of what he has done during the four decades thereafter (= strong civil rights activism). THAT can easily be seen as "petty" too.
The difference, however, is that:
1. Democratic politicians cultivate "official" pettiness MUCH less than Republican politicians.
2. the GOP paradigm has been objectively proven to be entirely false.
1
People are hurting. When we began to factor this into the equation instead of combating hatred with more hatred we may began a solution.
For the past ten years at least, I observed that the Right are mostly unreasonable and illogical, outraged or not. Even supposedly moderate conservatives like NYT's David Brooks kept criticizing EVERYTHING President Obama did, until Trump became the Republican presidential nominee and looked poised to take the White House, then Obama was missed.
To be fair, both Left and Right have their illogical blind spots. But to be accurate, the Right have more, many more of these blind spots. They can't see green energy is win-win strategy even if there is no global warming. They can't see Labor do contribute to wealth making, else why would the Capital pay them, anything? They can't see what they demand as religious liberty for Christian Right amounts to imposition of their values to others. They can't see Pro-Life does not mean just protecting unborn babies, but more importantly, born babies who then grow up and become adults who need education, healthcare, living wage, clean environment, clean foods, etc. They certainly can't see that the unconditional love to thy neighbors taught by Jesus Christ is socialistic in essence.
The Right, in their easy anger fueled by a lack of critical or even just rational thinking, become a fake people -- farcious and vacuous, who in their empty and deceptive state become cruel and vindictive.
The conservatives/far right cling to the libertarian philosophy of the rugged individual. You stand alone in America and your being is tested by all the forces of nature and economy and society and government. The lone cowboy on the range if you will. Success or failure is also completely on you. Not healthy - your fault. Not rich - your fault. And so it goes.
In this antiquated and unrealistic world view there is no concept of community or society. No acknowledgement that living amongst and WITH other people can affect your life.
The notion of the 'common good' is now being branded by Trump and the GOP as evil socialism. How Dare! Democrats think that government could or should act for the benefit of society at large.
That promoting say clean drinking water for the benefit of all is in fact a denial of an individual's (corporations are individuals) right to profit.
These selfish and greedy old white men see a world of competition and conquest versus cooperation and common humanity. Their money and power shield them from having to live among the masses and reinforces their separateness.
Conservatives continue to push policies that are antagonistic to the common good and hope to pack the courts to keep their influence. Their deception and fraudulent tactics to deny the popular vote are being exposed. We the little people huddled together are starting to demand policies that are for the common good. Clean drinking water. Affordable education. A living wage.
2
There is plenty of lunacy on the left. Just step on campus, or follow your beloved AOC. But it is fun having Devin Nunes out of power. LOTS of fun. Let's hope he stays out.
@Orion Clemens comment that got too long for a reply...
Could not agree more! I live in a deep red swath of upstate New York and since moving back have made a real attempt to 'know my neighbor' and set an example as a non snowflake liberal. But ultimately many of them are just willfully ignorant and embrace that ignorance as a strength. The racism, misogyny and bigotry are so deep that it can't be removed or brought into 20th century norms.
Individually, they are generally 'RHINO's complaining about jobs, healthcare and housing like progressives and Democrats. They also want a progressive/liberal solution though they can never admit it. Their racism is almost matched by there hatred for the rich. But once you get two or three of them in a group. The racism and the sexism start first. Then it's a race to the bottom of who can go the lowest the fastest. Don't even get me started on their 'Meme's.
They cannot be reached and they will never vote for a Democrat of any stripe. The solution to the problem is not to bring them around. They are a lost cause and will have to explain much to their children and history.
The solution is to engage more new voters that are genuinely appalled by this. There are millions of non voters in this country. And Trump only won by a few thousand votes in a few districts. To beat him the Democrats need to focus on turn out and just get a few more votes to satisfy the electoral college. We are already winning elections.
Paul, the best thing to do about all this petty outrage is to ignore it. Every time the left focuses on the latest outrage du jour coming from the right, that just gives it more credibility, and motivates the right to respond in kind. It’s better to ignore it from the start, and to let the drivel just rattle around inside the extremist right wing bubble until it withers away. The right is speaking only to their diminishing base, so why stoke the fire for them?
1
I am sure that I could come up with a few examples of left-wing crazy, but, yes, you are right. Most of this pathological pettiness, hysterical, fly-off-the handle rage is mostly a right-wing crazy. And the things that is most common to these tantrums is that they are having fits over something that wasn't said, never happened, wasn't on the table. Nobody told Nunes he couldn't have a straw. They don't listen; they don't want to listen.
1
I find myself increasingly dreaming of deporting all Republicans, only to be sobered by the difficulty of finding a country that will accept them.
Righteous indignation is a powerful drug, and the entire country seems to be addicted right now. Maybe we all need to get off our high horses and try to work with one another instead of against one another.
“If this seems like a weird aberration — he wasn’t even denied a straw, just asked if he wanted one — you need to realize that rage explosions over seemingly silly things are extremely common on the right.”
By now we should all recognize that trying to logically analyze the motives and actions of Republicans is what is “silly.” Republicans are out to do the bidding of the 1%. Full stop. They have no policies or rational policy arguments. Thus, they use lies, distraction and emotion through simplistic slogans and images.
Dems need to internalize that. If they are looking for an honest debate, they won’t get one with Republicans, simply because they cannot defend their positions honestly. Arguing how straws and cow flatulence collectively damages the environment is simply going to get you tagged as a “book-learned lib.” Clever, snarky and/or sarcastic points like “Stalin was pro-burger” is what Republicans are waiting for, to provoke and then point the finger back at Dems.
IMO the best response is to quickly parry these Republican efforts off in the most straight-forward way possible -- e.g., “Californians are more concerned about the devastating effect that climate change is having in causing massive wildfires throughout the state, and less concerned about whether they have to request a plastic straw at a restaurant.”
And then quickly move back to their issues, like expanding healthcare, protecting the environment, supporting education, etc.
1
As my very conservative, trump supporting relative says (and she's serious): "It's true that we need pollution control, and I hate that trump lies, and I think it IS weird about Russia, and I wish he wouldn't listen to Miller, and I don't think the NK thing went well, BUT. But you just have to understand how people like me feeeeeeeeeeel!"
This usually said after they mock Black Lives Matter, or the GNDeal or something.
1
Despite their protestations of morality and compassion, those on the right that are the most angry are also those that seem to lack basic empathy. Until something catastrophic happens to someone they know, those furthest right seem to be oblivious to the suffering of others.
How can we see this most clearly? Democrats consistently vote for and support more for the most at the cost of less for the few, whereas Republicans are the yang to that yin.
People vote for candidates that represent their personalities, beliefs, and wishes, and Donald J. Trump reflects his supporters' approach to life well. (based on observing our southern Trump supporters in the family)
As a result, they are remarkably incurious, insecure, fearful, but low-information people, who are easily angered. They make incoming information fit with what they already believe, which means they are subject to every defense mechanism in the books (denial, scapegoating, rationalization....)
The men are especially insecure, thin-skinned, and vigilant, who have a stereotyped notion of masculinity as domineering/overbearing, physical, view compassion as weakness, and winning is crucial at all costs, but they are very weak inside, despite their bravado,
Immature, low impulse control, emotionally stunted, cannot reason abstractly (and don't want to), fueled by self-pity and rage because they never can get as much as they believe they deserve. In the marshmallow study done with young children, Trump and his supporters would be unable to resist gobbling up the marshmallows immediately rather than delay gratification
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSaw9cNKkGw
To soothe their uncertainties and anxieties, they fall prey to rumors, conspiracies, fantasy, and delusions--any explanations that fit their inclinations and what they want to believe.
Fox and the GOP know their psychology and know how to manipulate it effectively. They struck gold when they found Trump
2
I agree with Prof. Krugman and wish he had included the American Revolution in his condemnation. Americans were the least taxes of any in the British Empire of that day; they were defended vs. the Indians and the French by British troops. But paranoid Americans decided they didn't like to take any orders from their legally constituted government. They in the Declaration of Independence pretended George III had done so many bad and illegal things; HE Had Not. He was a constitutional monarchy in the spirit of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and what he did was simply to sign the bills the Parliament sent him. The Americans made him out to be a tyrant, which he was not.
1
Here are two more hard to believe but true examples of this type of behavior:
1. Supersize pickup truck owners blocking electric car supercharging stations and shouting profanities at Tesla drivers. https://electrek.co/2019/01/01/tesla-pickup-truck-drivers-supercharger-protest/
2. "Rolling coal" -- a practice that involves modifying a diesel pick up truck (at a cost of around $5,000) so that at the flick of a switch it will release a thick cloud of black smoke when passing fuel efficient/ electric cars, people walking by the side of the road or bicycle riders. Steven Colbert explains this one: http://www.cc.com/video-clips/bfvmgh/the-colbert-report-coal-rolling
2
The problem of flatulent cows as an important source of methane can be addressed, as for other greenhouse gasses, through tax policies. I propose the levying on cattle, based on the size of the herd, of a Foul Air Responsibility Tax. Its acronym says it all.
1
I would venture to say that most of the online rage is ephemeral lasting about as long as it takes to type it. It satisfies that internalized "I should a said..." when the boss beats you down, without the actual risk inherent in telling the boss off. I contend that is Trump's greatest appeal because he can say ANYTHING he wants and gets away with it. There are a lot of Trump wannabes out there...
2
As cynical as it may sound I believe that in my lifetime the chasm between the Trump Republicans and the liberal Democrats is beyond the point of bridging the gap, healing the differences and linking the two sides together for a common good. Just witness the inability of Congress to work together in a meaningful bipartisan way.
And more importantly, on a personal level just witness the inability of pro and anti-Trump friends and family members to openly express their opinions and arrive at common ground without heated discussions or agreements not to discuss politics at all. This is a sad reflection of our divided nation when we cannot civilly debate the values and policies of the government and its leaders in our own living rooms. It is a reality for me.
I was witness to the tragic national event if 9/11 when differences in the politics and beliefs of "both sides" dissolved in the collective consciousness of all Americans. We desperately needed one another. As time passed, so did the good will, camaraderie and and shared purpose and we returned to the safe harbor of of our tribes.
Will it take another catastrophic event to bring us together like the effects on the planet resulting from gobal climate change and global warming? Or will it be too late?
As I began this commentary, I expressed that I was cynical about repairing out broken country and frustrated about how to proceed forward from here. I still feel the same and wonder if the twain shall ever meet. I fear not.
2
The mystic Osho is reported to have said that the human mind tends to choose the pain on the known over the fear of the unknown.
And Osho is also on record as noting that, “Fear is only a feminine form of anger and anger is a masculine form of fear. Fear is a passive form of anger and anger is an active form of fear.”
When you connect the dots it is obvious why these people are so angry. In the face of their fear of change, they view themselves as a persecuted minority. They are – they are persecuted by their own conditioned minds.
2
I saw Captain Marvel with my older teen son this past weekend and we both enjoyed it. We agreed to give it a solid B for excellent cinematography, editing, acting, cool special effects, and a couple of good twists. It's still a super-hero movie with holes in the story, but as far as super-hero movies go, this was one of the better ones. And I can see why fanboys hate it. The heroes want to put an end to war, and where would white guys be without the ability to wage war on everyone else, or to glorify war in the stories they like to tell about themselves?
2
Good column, Dr. K. I'm reminded of the anti-environmentalist "Rolling Coal" trend a few years ago of southern, rural males converting their pickup trucks to coal power, in order to "own the libs" by increasing carbon emissions. Vehicle decor usually included at least one Confederate flag.
That antisocial intersection reveals the true philosophy of today's GOP: nihilism. Greed and grifting too, but that's for the more privileged class. The "Don't Tread on Me" motto is now "You triggered by my snakes, bro?" Nothing matters beyond tribalism, and those who care about the environment or civil rights are "SJWs" or merely "signaling virtue".
1
I liked the 'Captain Marvel' film -- will go see it again!
1
C’mon, you realize it’s not the one petty thing that puts these people in a rage. It’s their feeling that it’s the straw that broke the camel’s back.
2
I believe the rage on the right can be controlled by channeling it into buying all the plastic straws they can afford, and storing them in their basements with their incandescent light bulbs.
3
A saving grace coming out of the 2016 miscarriage of justice is that America has learned a quick course of trolling and mass manipulation. Swarming sites like rotten tomatoes no longer works. Quite the opposite, Captain Marvel racked in almost half a billion over the weekend. Perhaps there is still hope for America, and the World for that matter!
1
I have to mention that there is no bigger ‘snowflake’ than one Donald J. Trump. For the past two days, twitter chief has been stewing over the fact that tape of him addressing Tim Cook, the Apple CEO shows him calling Mr. Cook, Tim Apple. Rather then accept that he misspoke, as we all do, Trump has been pretending we didn’t hear what he said. He clearly said Tim Cook from Apple he claimed, next when that bombed, he swore he was simply saving time and syllables by combining Tim and Apple. Someone should ask Pres. Trump why he is so painfully insecure that he can never acknowledge making so much as a verbal mistake. He’s a pathetic person when you consider him honestly. Mr. political correctness, his bases’s tough guy is a thin skinned BABY. How ironic is that.
6
"Nor is it just about racism and misogyny. Although these are big components of the phenomenon, I don’t see the obvious connection to hamburger paranoia."
Homophobia. Eating red meat is seen as manly. Caring about the environment is seen as a feminine trait. Diving a giant car = manly. Being vegan = feminine. You could expand this article into an entire book.
2
Mr. Krugman is correct about rage, but it's the media, and especially the NYT that is driving it. Someone may personally make a tweet of outrage, but it's the media that makes it viral.
2
If somebody doesn't want to be told they can't use a straw then maybe they should go buy their own straw. Maybe the people selling the drinks don.t want to be told they have to provide straws.
1
I'm old enough to remember when straws were a new thing. They were made of paper and provided to children in restaurants to make it easier for their small hands to cope with large restaurant glasses. We little kids loved getting our paper straws, and they were special! Now, grown men throw temper tantrums about not always getting a straw? Please. No wonder society is in trouble, if this is what people get bent out of shape over. Whatever happened to momentous causes?
2
Paul, You're stating the obvious. Most at least semi-conscious folks know this. You admit you don't have a solution. The left rarely does. Why? Because the Left as a political entity doesn't plan. Take the DNC as an example. It couldn't plan its way out of a wet paper bag. Problem-analysis (not wishful thinking)-recommendation or solution-action. If this doesn't work, revise your problem statement, rework you analysis, rethink your solution, ensure your resources for action are sufficient. And so on. Keep moving. Don't let yourself be paralyzed into boiling the ocean, e.g., writing a useless, ineffectual pamphlet on hate speech in the House of Representatives instead of censoring the bigots. The actual outcome of that exercise? The House enabled its bigots. Take a more consequential example: gerrymandered House districts. While the DNC was writing white papers stating that gerrymandering is immoral and bad, the RNC and their big right-wing donors were executing a plan to take control of every state legislature possible and to gerrymander in 2021 every Congressional district in those states. Problem-analysis-solution.
1
I blame a lack of communication skills coupled with a twitter account and too much free wifi.
1
Couple that rage with the lawsuit the Gun Lobby has brought against New York City. It would become like the Wild West in America of the latter 19th century. Forget about a "drive-by"; think "High Noon" at the OK Corral.
1
And in the mean time, liberals get in a rage when Republicans actually vote to make access to health care more difficult, throw out or overturn as much regulation as possible that protects our environment, separate families with no plan to track and reunite them later, and support a leader who is seemingly in a love-fest with a ruthless dictator.
5
Rage and faux outrage is not unique to one side over another. However, Republicans need rage because their policies benefit their rich campaign contributors, but not their voters. Activating the "lizard brain" of what they call their "low information voters" with fear and rage gives them a victory with those voters long before those voters might start to discern that they are being asked to vote for policies that harm their interests.
3
Our country was founded on white, male power. and privilege. Women couldn't even vote until the 20th century. Blacks couldn't play major league baseball until 1947, for goodness sake (Jackie was my boyhood hero, btw, and I am an old white guy). So now all large institution are paying lip service to diversity even as our wealth inequality increases by the hour, and women and minorities are hurt the most. But demographics are changing, and white men feel threatened!! And a natural human reaction to having something taken away (even if it was totally unjust for you to have it in the first place) is frustration. And frustration leads to anger. The straws and hamburgers are just an easy propaganda tool to find an outlet for that rage. What they are really unhappy about is the diminishment of power and privilege they have taken for granted their whole lives.
4
“I guess there’s some case for using taxes rather than regulations to control pollution, since you won’t be telling people directly what to do. But one suspects that the people I’m talking about will still find something to be hysterical about.”
The only thing that drives petty rage more than taking away petty, white-privilege prerogatives is taking away money. When it comes to paying a little bit more to, you know, stave off the environmental apocalypse, or fix collapsing bridges, or feed the hungry, or give people an education worthy of the word “education,” the “conservative” rage-aholics are, like the old jokes goes, “half Irish and half Scotch.” The Irish half wants to drink all night and the Scotch half doesn’t want to pay for it.
1
If the topic is rage and bad behavior, it really shouldn't focus on one group.
1
@Margo, yes it should. In the case of bad behavior, especially, Republican officials own it.
There is an epidemic of koro among GOP politicians and their followers. One longs for the good old days, when the GOP was sufficiently secure in its manhood that it didn't need sexual predators as a candidates. But those times are long gone, and the good old boys are now worrying that their manhood is shrinking away. SAD.
1
As evidenced by the recent outburst by R. Kelly, "the angry man rules the room".
2
@W: We had Brett Kavanaugh give an excellent display of white male rage this past summer, too! Every woman watching recognized his temper tantrum for what it was.
2
"You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
- from "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" - "South Pacific" 1949 - by Rodgers and Hammerstein.
Nothing has changed. Whether religious or political indoctrination, people are taught from day one around dinner tables, religious establishments, schools and social media. It's "education", euphemism for "brainwashing". Americans are the most "religious" people among the "Developed Economies".
Political ideology is more blatantly hateful. There must be "enemies" to target the hate. Witness Trump supporters at his rallies. Reporters have to be corralled for their safety. Religious hate ideology is insidious, and thus more dangerous. On the surface "love" is preached, but it is love reserved for tribal members. Non-believers of their religion are all contemptible, even deserve death. The world has been plagued by religious terrorism since 9/11. Any religion that justifies holy war and bloodshed is part of the hate brainwashing machine. Blame "anything goes types of religious freedom", a prime source of hatred.
2
It’s hate glue and greediness that keeps the GOP from evaporating. The “zero-sum” outlook (if you get something, that means I don’t) plus an unhealthy dose of “fear-of-others” (typically, brown people) leads to all kinds of whacked out policies and overt racism.
So of course they worship Trump whom epitomizes hate and greed. GOP used to be more covert and nuanced in their appeals to baser, lizard brain instincts, but now Trump has blown the door off the closet and its rot and ugliness is oozing out for the world to see. The traditional GOP politician is flustered and unsure how to appear to be a “good” public servant whilst appealing to this “throw us red meat” Neanderthal base. They talk about “Christian values” not because they believe them (their words and behavior would argue otherwise), but rather it’s something that they can cling to to feel superior and justified. Patriotism is used similarly.
It’ll be real interesting to see if GOP can withstand the cranial embolism that Trump has wrought. Not good luck with that.
4
Superb column, plus the reply by Voter Frog. I trust the numbers of the American angry white conservative are in
steady decline.
1
Remember that hullabaloo about light bulbs. I saw a chart recently that showed the positive energy savings that the switchover to LEDs and CFLs has brought. Those incandescent bulb-huggers should be eating crow, but they’re probably raging on.
2
Paul, your last sentence gets to the point. Since the time of Nixon (this is as far back as I personally can recall) the right has been short on ideas that actually correct an issue. As uncle ronny came to power this really solidified. The right was more interested in nothing that could be proven - only in what they felt (and what the preachers were saying) - then the money came in by the truck load and politicians did not have to think for themselves or even seem helpful to their voters. (i would say constituents but that implies representing everyone) So here we are - the right "believes" things and their voters love being told what to do. Answers? Better/more education, less money in politics, a larger House and Senate (greater representation)....
2
I wish these so-called "rage explosions" were only common on the right, but it seems to me they've infected the full spectrum from left to right. Just read this if you don't believe me:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/opinion/teen-fiction-and-the-perils-of-cancel-culture.html
1
Also, Rutger Bregman Dutch historian went viral
in Davos, accusing billionaires of not paying their fair share in taxes.
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/427674-historian-accuses-billionaires-at-davos-of-not-paying-their-fair-share-in
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/1/30/18203911/davos-rutger-bregman-historian-taxes-philanthropy
Take that billionaires club...
1
Krugman is wrong, and Devin Nunes is right on the plastic straw issue. There is no evidence that plastic straws from the USA are a significant contributor to ocean plastic pollution. If the US waste system was leaking plastic then there would be serious plastic pollution problems in the Great Lakes and San Francisco Bay. Those don't exist.
A 2015 study by Jambeck et al. published in Science showed that half of the plastic in the ocean is produced by 5 countries in Asia. The culprits are China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Much of the trash in those countries is improperly disposed of and some of it is washed by rivers into the ocean. The study found US only accounts for 1% of the plastic trash in the ocean.
The good news is that the problem is simple to fix. If the Asian polluters adopt the same standards for managing trash that the US does then the source of the plastic will be cut off.
Inconveniencing Americans will plastic straw and plastic shopping bag bans will do nothing to clean up the oceans. These bans are a power play by unscrupulous environmentalists looking to make a name for themselves.
https://www.iswa.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Calendar_2011_03_AMERICANA/Science-2015-Jambeck-768-71__2_.pdf
1
@Schrodinger What can one individual American do to influence those other countries' waste management practices? We can barely influence our own country's government and businesses. It is not pointless for Americans to cheerfully take these small steps in our daily lives and encourage (not shame) others to do the same. Turn off lights, lower the thermostat, walk or bike instead of drive a few blocks, don't use drive-thru windows with engine idling, plant a tree, stop buying individual bottled water (plastic), etc. etc. Doing nothing because somebody else is doing worse doesn't make for progress.
2
@Schrodinger Correct. The problem is that RAGE and stupid prejudices are dominant on both sides, left and right. Instead of careful research, we get tropes.
1
Observations made in my everyday life suggest that we have become a culture dominated by righteous rage. I am a liberal/progressive and am an environmental scientist. I am not, however, a member of my local environmentalist organization, since their main occupation seems to be venting their outrage against anyone or any body of facts that suggests an alternative to their agenda. Meanwhile, while doing unrelated community work, I have had right wing members of my community, who know me as a environmental scientist, yell in my face about the "hoax" of climate change. I am tired of the unreasoned rants, regardless of which end of the political spectrum they come from.
5
Petty rage is not limited to the right. It is just that it seems to have more influence there, no doubt amplified by the right-wing propaganda machinery.
2
True, but what about the rage coming from the left? Trigger warnings, micro-aggressions, the perception of insult where none is intended is rampant. What is sorely needed is for society to hit the 'pause' button, to realize that not everything is about 'you' personally, and to find our commonality. For example, would anyone quibble with the statement 'all children must be accorded an education centered on reading, writing, math and science so as to go on to realize productive lives?' I certainly hope not. From there, parents, unions, administrators, charter school proponents could winnow out the things that don't matter to focus on those things that do. When all of us are running around screaming that so-and-so hurt my ego so I'm going to hold my breath until you pay attention to me, we remain mired in the muck of outrage paralysis.
2
@Medea There's an old maxim for that: Consider the source.
1
I love you, Paul Krugman, and you have a point. But I want my side of this outrageously and pointlessly divided political mess--that is, the Left--to cop to our own contributions to rage and hysteria. We also freak out, scream, don't do our homework, are swayed by others' unfortunate public posts, etc. As a native born New Yorker and a person with strong opinions that I work hard to voice, I myself can bark when I should persuade, or jump to a conclusion when I should come to my opinion via more considered thoughts and feelings. Our nation's deepening habit of knee jerk reaction based on echo chamber facts that are not always correct, our increasing raging and bullying as a matter of course--I just don't think the Right has a corner on those things. We've got to stop. We've got to find ways to talk across seemingly uncrossable barriers. And my part in that is to check my own anger when talking to others, while also allowing that same anger to serve as fuel for loving and unending activism.
7
Very well put, as usual. The rage you refer to is in response to the dying of their light. For forty years they've been doing everything in their power to cling to thin tissue of their fiction that the wonderful America of the red, white, and blue Salesman of the Year Super Jesus in the Army is the natural, inevitable, and unerring product of democracy, of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Reality is proving them wrong and they don't like it. In the end, they are enraged by what actual truth, fairness, and justice look like. And I don't know why, because though they may no longer control things, they are more than welcome to participate. This is finally going to be America, after all.
And I just can't help but say that Devin Nunes would seem to be a singularly inexplicable figure. Until, that is, you get a load of Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows, Louie Gohmert and the rest of the beanie-copter crew that currently passes for the GOP. With leaders like that, you don't need to worry about success.
2
Politics is driven by neither reason or rage, it is driven by the rhetoric of the candidates who win elections and govern. Note the remarkable change in the substance, tone and coverage of the national political debate after the 2018 mid-term elections. What a difference forty seats can make.
It may not seem like it, but moving the debate from Trump's demagoguery about the immigrant threat at our southern border to demagoguery about socialism and the near hysteria amongst conservatives about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Green New Deal is progress. Unlike desperate woman and children fleeing violence in their home states, AOC and her cohorts can fight back.
It's unlikely that there will ever be an end to the petty personal rage spewing from the far right. It's been there in one form or another for the 50+ years I've been following politics. We can, however, lessen the noise introduced by the far right into our national political debate by putting an end to the careers of a few more of the politicians they have put in office.
3
I totally agree about "using taxes rather than regulations to control pollution." Our entire tax code is filled with social engineering, but in the wrong direction.
A retiree on a fixed income, I owe the feds $2500 for the last tax year, when I owed nothing in prior years. I owe California nothing, notwithstanding the folklore about high tax states.
But Donald owes nothing. Amazon owes nothing. What kind of social policy is that? Have you seen the price of eggs lately?
4
Seems every time someone brings up an environmental concern - straws being one such - the hard right starts barking 'socialism.' In other words, instead of addressing the problem of plastics polluting our oceans and endangering marine life, they'd rather red bait the issue into silence.
7
i have been dismayed to find that there is a profound lack of shared vision of the future. This is not new but it has been a long time since politicians have looked beyond their next term or proposed something long term that everyone can get behind and be proud of. In that vaccume i see a lot of very short term thinking and that includes individualism and outrage at preceived infringements on their personal views and personal rights....and personal versions of the truth. What we get is a lot of tearing down of people and ideas to cover a lack of vision. Looking for leaders to lead!
Good column. But we need to separate the right-wing whiners from "conservatives." Last fall, canvassing for a candidate to replace our so-called Tea Party dupe, I cold-knocked on hundreds of front doors. Nearly every self-described conservative stepped out and engaged in friendly conversation on the issues. For the most part, they were not Trump followers, and agreed with me that he is unfit to serve. It's the white male-as-victim crowd that Krugman rightly excoriates. But not real conservatives. In these times, real conservatives and the centrist majority need the common ground that they actually occupy.
2
I certainly don't have an answer either. But I think a good start would be the re-imposition of The Fairness Doctrine by the FCC.
Yes, it is fraught with problems; but it is not as if we are living without problems at the moment.
4
Look -- I'm a Democrat and I'm afraid we're no better. Bernie and his Bernie bros refused to rally behind Hillary. And a recent poll? Two old white men lead the Democratic field. In fact, Beto -- who hasn't even announced -- is ahead of most (female and minority) candidates. Maybe it's just familiarity. Or maybe the US has a deep-rooted problem. Once someone has had something -- from straws to Obamacare -- it is close to impossible to take it away. It's the human condition. I guess all that white male power is just too heady to give up.
4
It isn’t just politicians and talking heads on the right who suffer from this aberration, though I will agree they are among the worst offenders. Many average people seem to be consumed with the need to go full on apoplectic over small, insignificant things as well. Maybe we’re raging against minutia because the actual big problems seem to go on year after year with no solutions, until they now feel insurmountable. Maybe rage is just the latest symptom of helplessness.
1
Flatulence from cattle could be decreased significantly by not feeding them corn (maize), which isn't anything cattle would eat if those who raise them didn't feed it to them, and which they can't digest efficiently. In that case, some farmers would have to switch crops, but there are lots of alternatives to growing maize. But the sort of rage that Dr Krugman refers to has been known to appear when it's been suggested that farmers might want to grow less corn and more other crops. Instead, a lot of jumping through hoops has gone on to find new uses for corn products, so much so that by now farmers growing less corn will mean that some other people will have to make changes, too. They'd probably be good changes, but I think we can expect quite a bit of rage if anyone seriously proposes them.
3
Paul, I would like a comment detailing how we pay for the Green New Deal and Medicare for all, and talk about how Scandanavian countries pay for their cradle to grave support. Please explain how ALL of their citizens pay 60% of their income in taxes with very few deductions. Please explain how just taxing the rich will not even begin to cover the expenses for the GND and Medicare for All. I'm a liberal, but I want an honest discussion of this pie-in-the-sky rhetoric the newbies and candidates are throwing around. Oh, and add in reparations, please?? Much thanks!
Just take a look at the rage in CT over tolls. This state is the only one from Maine to Virginia without tolls, and the roads and bridges desperately need repair to make our state's economy competitive, according to national studies. We've a drive-through state, and we're giving outsiders a free ride.
But the naysayers -- 60% in a recent poll -- don't want tolls, even when they hear that more than a third of toll revenues would come from drivers from out of state.
And how do the naysayers propose to finance road repair? Not clear, but they're outraged -- outraged! -- that CT would consider requiring tolls on their highways.
Maybe these folks never leave CT, and maybe they never use toll roads in other states, but they sure haven't protested there. It's just outrage over "tolls in my backyard," and an unwillingness to talk about highway and bridge safety.
1
Ad an old liberal, I see similar rage on the alt-Left, but it's usually directed towards moderate Dems, rather than the "socialist government". How to deal with it? First, recognize that outrage is a physiological addiction to a massive influx of emotional-based biochemicals. People want to FEEL, and outrage is an easy emotion to construct. Anger is easy to recreate - endless inputs to misrepresent, exaggerate...too many people in the grocery line. A simple mental shift bathes the brain in feeling chemicals. The endorphins of kindness, however, requires more forethought, more participation by other people. It takes much less time and effort to get angry than be than kind.
2
What to do about Pettiness in Politics?
I have a suggestion.
Pettiness is an emotion. We elect people to public office using popular voting, which, like it or not, never really got out of high school. It's called popular voting because it is a popularity contest at its core, subject to all the emotional influence that popularity permits.
It is interesting that on a jury, popularity has little weight. This is a result of the method used to choose prospective jury members; they are selected by lottery, not by popular vote.
To attenuate the Pettiness in our Politics we should consider adopting the method the Ancient Athenians - birth place of democracy - used to elect people to public office. They did not employ popular voting, as they were aware of its pitfalls. Rather, they used the lottery.
Nothing should be done by popular vote. This method is subject to undue influence by emotion, fake news, Russian hackers, or even American hackers masquerading as Russian hackers.
Rather, we should select by lottery an assembly of our peers, provide them with access to the best data and knowledgeable experts, and make decisions based on facts and rationality. In general, behave like adults instead of like Petty children.
2
Others may have noted this, but the rage of powerlessness, and its manifestation in road rage and violent outbursts over seemingly trivial matters, was exactly what the Russian hackers identified and played on during the buildup to the 2016 presidential
election. Once it was discovered how easy it is to manipulate the rage of the masses through social
media, the assault on our social fabric by various foreign and domestic interests has been unrelenting.
2
What to do about it? I have a 4 year old granddaughter who also occasionally goes off on a rant, coincidentally about what color straw she gets in her milk box. Usually I just offer her the box and let her pick out which straw she wants and she calms right down.
But then, she's a four year old and therefore, possessed of a more temperate demeanor than Devin Nunes. Although I must say that having him in charge of whether or not people get to have a straw is a much more appropriate use of his talent and intellect than having him in charge of the House Intelligence committee.
9
I wonder that Krugman does not consider the question of loss aversion--people hate to lose something they think they have (or are entitled to) all out of proportion to its value to them. It's a classic freakonomics type observation. If I was not used to getting a straw with my drink, I would not miss it but take it away and I am angry. And it's aggravated if I sense the world getting stingier. First it's the straws. Then its napkin rationing and a limit on ketchup packets. So my take is that conservatives are quite rightly sensing that they are soon to lose their privileges. The world will not be organized around them any more. Superheroes won't look like them (Cap'n Marvel, Black Panther). Food will be weird (a food truck with Korean-influenced fish tacos, eek!). Imagine the segregationist sensing the end of Jim Crow, the South African fearing the end of Apartheid. So many small things, tiny, daily things, that are all going to feel like losses because they were privileges you used to have. As to what to make of it, I think it's human nature and there is no way to comfort people for a sense of a loss in status; they will just have to suffer the changes that come to the world they share with all of us.
3
Don't know what to do about it, Mr Krugman?
Education, real education and more education!! And this applies to both parties. Forget about standardized test and endless preparation for those tests. Come up with something better. (Clue: look at some other countries that score better on the OECD comparative analysis)
3
Perhaps we could start by abolishing the exclamation point. Give the poor thing kind of a rest; it must be exhausting, bearing the weight of so much anger and so little thought.
This is what happens when a diet of reality TV and conspiracy theories on social media and rightwing radio anesthetize critical thinking. A gadfly who inherits his wealth builds a self-aggrandizing organization dedicatedd to the promotion of one word; viz., his last name. We exchange an imperfect government for a crazy, new game show called Government of Trump, by Trump and for Trump.
3
Just a minor comment -
I'd like to suggest that Professor Krugman, the real press and so many others, stop referring to "collusion" but call the accusation what it is and what indictments have been handed down for, conspiracy to defraud the United States. Otherwise, one has already partially given these unbelievable defenses a bit of substance. We already know the President can't ask to pass the hamburgers without yelling "No collusion!". Just once I'd like to hear a GOP defender/enabler say the President has not conspired to defraud the United States.
I really don't know why straws can't be biodegradable. Everything seems makeable out of bamboo, it seems. And after all, why are are they even called STRAWS, for goodness sake.
BTW, it isn't cow flatulence that is a leading source of methane, but burps (if you had as many stomachs as a cow, you'd burp constantly as well). This can be effectively controlled by as little as 1% of certain seaweeds in dairy cattle diet without affecting the taste of milk.
However, it isn't domesticated cattle in developed countries that are the real problem, but the vast populations of wild and domesticated ruminants primarily in Africa. I actually was discussing this with my son last week. He is in remote sensing, and as part of his dissertation research 20 years ago measured the infrared reflection spectra of domestic and zoo animals preparatory to a grant application for doing inexpensive animal census in Africa from satellite imagery. Didn't get funded, but appeared to be practical.
My personal rage is directed toward those using 'different than' rather than the correct 'different from'. I realize that this is considered correct usage nowadays, but it is leading to the end of civilization as we know it. It burns my cork.
2
@VJBortolot Straws? Meh. I figure it's hard to come up with a new blog entry every day. Of it wasn't straws it would have been something else.
This is so clearly personified for me by the image of a scrunch-faced, teary-eyed Brent Kavanaugh, howling in wounded-animal rage at the very notion that the Supreme Court seat he thought he so very much deserved (but had in no way earned) might be denied him. It was a shocking performance of public rage and, what's worse, it worked.
The rest of us - women, people of color, poor, immigrants - are used to not having things handed to us. We've learned what it feels like to work for something and watch it get handed to someone else. We live, for the most part, without the expectation that we will always get what we want.
I'll admit, there's something satisfying about seeing these temper tantrums from the privileged. It's about time they join the rest of us in the real world.
5
@Cloud Hunter
Women, people of color, poor and immigrants are handed tons of freebies paid for by the government (aka your patriarch). The structure of the US legally and systemically discriminates against only one group in American society: white men. Affirmative action and diversity hiring is Orwellian code to destroy white men in every facet of American society. Every young to middle-aged white man you see in a position of power earned his way there in spite of having to be much better than every woman and person of color his age. That's a fact.
2
When I was teaching in a very low socio-economic area school, one of the things I learned from listening to my students was that you may have no money, you may have no power, but you always have your craziness and your anger. I listened to many stories told with great pride about the time mom “went off” in a store and had to be walked out by security, or the time uncle took his gun out in the street and waved it around, ranting until the police showed up and took him away. Only at these times did they see their family having an impact on the community.
5
@Ann sadly that's true. If attention was paid before the situation became critical a lot of unhappiness would be avoided. Our anger is not acknowledged. Our reasonable demands are ignored. Arbitrary rules and decisions stand in our way. How many times have we called "customer care" and heard that there's nothing we can do for you, thank you for being our customer?
Employers are disrespectful towards employees. Those employees, in their turn, take it out on customers. Customers walk away angry. No one is happy and the cycle continues at home. It's not efficient or human but it's done to maximize profits. Problems are created or worsened by how our politicians, businesses, and others deal or don't deal with them. We hear how no one else has complained and then, when we go to a site we see complaints with the same words.
We never hear a real public apology from a public figure. Our real concerns are not addressed. We then become desperate. For some it involves yelling at the top of their lungs. For others the answer becomes violence. The nature of our public discourse has turned into a cycle of public denial, public blame, and a public refusal by the responsible parties to deal with the problems.
Put it all together and it's not petty. It's a comment on how unresponsive our society has become to most of its citizens.
1
It's a matter of biology. As put forward in the book, Our Political Nature: The Evolutionary Origins of What Divides Us
by Avi Tuschman, liberal personalities and conservative personalities seem to have evolved by different pathways. (Just mention evolution around a conservative and you'll see the evidence clearly.) But I wonder if that means that one type has too little of something vital in their makeup or, as compared to the other type, having too much of it.
Currently I'm thinking that the difference is a case of conservatives having too much of something left over from our primitive past, a troglodyte factor of sorts. (I even see it clearly in the face Rep Jim Jordan (R-OH), and his actions and pronouncements work to bear this out.)
So, I've decided to call this overabundance the "stoopid factor"; it's like being stupid but to such a totally helpless degree that it's like stupid but with two o's.
1
Politics is certainly driven by emotion and rage. And it starts with the "father figure" and gods and what happens when you die. Throw in your ego and you identity and the word "freedom" and we have a nightmare called politics.
Many frantically want to believe all the myths built on the items above and their really is no reality to any of it. Most cannot believe anything Nietzsche said and never hear of him. Most people live in a narrow world. There is nothing "rational" about politics. It is about hysterical beliefs, power, comfort and class warfare. I think of Mr. Nunes as I finish. Climate disaster is upon us and we have people worried about being asked if they want a straw. Wish us luck because I don't think we are going to make it.
2
Most of this rage is visible because if social media. It’s easy to fire off a tweet or text an angry response to a perceived slight and have that magnified a thousandfold. And since we are now a nation where actual policy as well as demented rants are delivered via Twitter, and trolling others had become a national sport, it’s no wonder we’re anxious and paranoid and frustrated. But nobody does crazy like the right, mixing racism, xenophobia, misplaced moral outrage, fearmongering, and bad policy into a truly noxious stew.
2
Socialism is when somebody else, not me, gets government money or support.
5
@Fred Vaslow
Actually, it's more like EVERYBODY gets more government money and support.
Do yourself a favor and Google it, because Socialism actually does more for the average working-person than Capitalism does.
1
A lot of this anger may be “unreasoning rage” but I suspect a good portion is driven, as are Trump’s mean tweets, by the sneaking realization that the angry people are themselves wrong and can’t admit it.
1
Thank you for condensing right outrage for
what it is--pettiness beyond disturbed in its
resultant bigotry and lack of empathy.
Taking "clever" catch phrases,e.g.," puttin' lipstick on a pig, or conflating racism with
white or Christian persecution, bring us to the cliff's edge of moral danger.
As Krugman states, though, how do we address this pettiness before it leaps to full blown demogogury and hate?
1
As a person who lived many years in Indian subcontinent, I know that's exactly what a medieval feudal society looks like where the royal class get really angry with slightest provocation or asking them if they need a new wife in the harem, or a slave to work for his company, or straw for drinks, or 10 lb best quality meat to waste and such "silly" things.
USA never experienced it during its initial days as it was far too busy fighting enemies. But few people still managed by coercing others to fight for them. Civil war is a great example where 80% people fought for the rights of maximum 10% of slave holders. Now time has come to openly flaunt such aristocracy and/or power so shamelessly. It's our humble duty to sacrifice our lives and the world to enable the present day American royals to enjoy such unquestionable luxury and fun- be it in Mar-La-Go or a restaurant in Calif!
Long live the King!!!
2
I think limiting the number of white males who can cover her on her press tour is a bit more than "mildly feminist views." I really don't care if she holds radical feminist views, but at least be accurate.
1
The rage is not generated from nothing - there are real reasons for it, justified or not. White racists are disturbed by what they think are special benefits going to non-whites, and by what they imagine to be an invasion of the country by non-whites and non-Christians. Also men resist diminution of their own privilege in sexual and other matters. There is certainly discontent among wage-earners with the lack of their own economic progress and the failure of politicians to do anything for them economically. Republicans' main strategy for the last fifty years has been to redirect any discontent with their plutocratic economic policies into "social" issues, including anything that could be regarded as diminishing individual freedom. Fox News and talk radio pick on minor matters, basically to distract attention from real national issues.
Liberals and hopefully Democrats must resist fighting major battles on such things and try to keep attention on economic matters if they hope to assemble a working majority. Vilifying those who are taken in by Republican propaganda is not constructive.
2
@skeptonomist
"Vilifying those who are taken in by Republican propaganda is not constructive."
I very much doubt that treating them nicely will change their vote. If anything, they will than believe that they were right all along.
To those folks who are crying "what about the other side?": Krugman is talking about unreasoning rage not rage in general. The rage on the "other side" is largely fueled by actual experiences of bigotry, misogyny, racism and inequality. The whining about straws and superheroes are the dying cries of a dethroned class. They will not go quietly. Not all rage should be dismissed- Read "Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger."
4
@Ms B Of course. "My RAGE good! Your rage BAD!" smh
Don't Republicans see what's happening in the oceans? Entire ecosystems are dying and they are angry of how they're going to drink their soda at McDonald's? The Republican party is truly appealing to the lowest common denominator to keep their puppet masters happy at everyone else's expense.
2
"This shows that the men afflicted with this syndrome are a fairly small minority." This small minority, through their voting and our insane and slave based Electoral College, are running the country, or running it into the ground.
2
@ Dave in Lafayette—I used to be “Dave in Lafayette;” so thanks for stepping in now that I’m gone. Excellent comment.
In another of today’s columns (“The Right’s Lena Dunham Fallacy”) I made a similar comment from a slightly-different angle. Next time you’re driving through Tabernash, CO, take a look at the huge sign on the side of a mechanical building at the north end of town (don’t blink—the “town” is about two blocks long) that says, “WE built this, OBAMA!!”
Grand County, where Tabernash resides, is one of—if not THE—reddest counties in the state. Every time I see that sign I think to myself, “First of all, your rage is misplaced since what Obama was talking about was the importance of community in making businesses like yours possible; and second, you do realize that Obama’s been out of office for more than two years now?”
Remember the Rightous rage about replacing incandescent light bulbs?
3
Sorry Mr. Krugman but I can't agree with your assertion that petty rage is only practiced by conservative republicans. Bad behavior is not something only practiced by one group of people but instead common to all of the human race. Believing only the other side does it is fooling yourself. The best example of this is when during the impeachment of President Clinton for lying about an affair with Monica Lewinsky four of the republican House members leading the charge were outed and had to admit to having adulterous affairs; Hyde, Chenoweth, Burton and Livingston.
2
Sacrifice for the common good, a concept unknown by many today.
1
When ya confront a unemployed person from a rural city about moving to the city to get a job they scoff. They don't want to live in a city cause the taxes are too high. Yet they want roads , bridges, schools, high speed internet in their lil town.. When ya point out that city people are paying for the rurals way of life, they get mad. Just like when ya point out their racism, they want to fight. When asked how they survive they laugh about how there is an unemployment carve out for rurals..... when living over 50 miles from a city you are except from looking for work. Socialism is everywhere cowboy.
1
The question is how did such a person got elected in a state like California ? Wake up, people of California !
I propose that we start calling Rep. Nunes “the Straw Man”. Best part, he won’t get it-he’s not that bright.
1
So the usual theme: It's them, not us.
That should help you better understand the concerns of your fellow citizens in swing states. Not.
3
I still remember Rep. Mark Walker of NC being outraged about 'government waste' when he spied, oh horrors, a duck ramp installed to help ducklings follow their mommy into the reflecting pool in DC.
Meanwhile, we were paying the price of full secret service presence in NYC because Melania couldn't be bothered to move to Washington and Donald was flying to Mar a Lago every weekend for a round of golf.
I'm trying to imagine how a typical "Straw Police" uniform might look.
1
Thank you Paul Krugman for finally pointing this out in pointed language.
What amazes me is how real substantive issues that profoundly affect people’s everyday lives can, for so many people, take a back seat to these petty issues and other wedge issues that will never have a significant direct impact on them. It’s as if they have been brainwashed to robotically vote against their self interest. There seems to be no level of personal pain that will cause them to come to their senses despite Republican's continuous efforts to harm them.
1
Very well stated, Mr. Krugman. It's about time we started calling out the right for being the true "snowflakes" and, I might add, for silencing reasonable discourse through their political correctness.
2
Silly as much of this seems, it really is deadly serious.
Unreasoning rage including anger and hate have driven the right wing for decades. So much so that what used to be thoughtful conservative thinking is nowhere to be seen or heard these days, well except perhaps from ex-Republicans who have had enough.
We live in dangerous times when ignorance is a badge of honor. Anger, hate and rage are standard rebuttal to important issues. And demagogues are all but free to wreck modern civilization.
The first step is to throttle the propaganda outlets. Forget the cries and screams that ensue. The propaganda must be thwarted.
Society has a right to demand decency. Alone holding that as a standard would stifle much of the outrageous idiocy afoot.
1
I know that this column is not centered on plastic straws, but when one thinks about it, we used PAPER straws for years and years. They could be composted. Whether plastic or paper straws are single use items. One just has to be more careful (attentive) with paper--in other words don't chew on them. Somehow we managed to drink ice cream sodas and malts with paper straws. A little critical thinking would greatly benefit the trumpers.
I'm beginning to think Americans are afraid of their own shadows.
What's wrong with change and what's wrong with getting along with one another? We aren't on competing teams, we are one people out of many.
I wonder if we haven't all been programmed to resent others and to resist change. For those who resent others, there will always be people better or worse than any one of us. There'll be people richer and poorer, too.
As for resisting change, I'd advise this group to avoid their own deaths. That'll be one helluva change for anyone.
Just think all the energy wasted in being mad... If you could capture it, you'd have enough energy to power a small city for years.
Get used to it.
The thing to do about it is to stop letting them drive the Democratic Party agenda.
These people are always going to do this and they are always going to call anyone left of Trump a socialist. Always!
The thing to do is to take the Trump base out of the equation before you find the middle that you want to aim at.
Instead of cutting the electorate in half and aiming at the middle. Cut the electorate in thirds and aim at the middle of people that might actually vote for a Democrat. Aim your policies and rhetoric 1/3 from the left and 2/3 from the right. That is the sweet spot.
<------33%----------><---------33%--left-->
Trump base fake "center" real middle Left
The Trump base will never vote for a Democrat and is happy that a lying con-man is president. Trying to appease them into voting for a Democrat is not only a waste of time, but it turns people off from the Democratic Party who would vote for Democrats if they weren't constantly pushing Republican policy in a vain attempt to get these people to vote for Democrats.
The extreme left is not where the Democratic Party needs to go, but the corporate center (halfway between unpopular establishment Republicans and unpopular establishment Democrats) is not the way either.
Aiming policy and rhetoric at people that will never vote for you, and alienating those that might vote for you in the process, is a recipe for disaster.
2
It's exhausting and triggering if you are a person (a minority, a woman) who has experienced a lot of rage in personal and professional life from white males whenever they are inconvenienced. I'm 52 years old and have experienced this my entire life, beginning with my parent. I'm absolutely sick of the mantrums, as my friend dubbed them, and the intimidation they intend. Just sick of it.
3
To make the point that liberals should look at their own pettiness, while a very "liberal" suggestion to make, dilutes the argument and weakens our voice.
While there are petty liberals, there is no equivalence here. Petty irrational anger is and has been the calling card for Republicans: from snowballs against global warming, to Democrats being "comfortable ripping babies from their mother’s womb and killing a baby after birth”, to Alex Jones and Fox News.
I've obsessively tried to engage constructively with people on the right via social media and in person on dozens (hundreds?) of occasions, and their stubborn belligerent adherence to lies and distortions, not to mention the insults, avoidance and outright dismissal (ignore/block/etc) is literally 100% consistent and reliable. Not the same with liberals, plain and simple.
3
Paul, sadly, I have to point out that demented anger is also a feature of the left-wing fringe of American politics. ("if you're not a victim, you're an oppressor")
What is truly sad is that the fringe wings drive the conversation rather than the reasoned middle ground most Americans inhabit.
And one wonders why politics are seen as poisoned?
3
I always learn so much from reader comments - they're the new Letters to the Editor.
Despite how much I rely on the press these days - there is too much hysterical posturing over every utterance. Click bait headlines may sell ads but they don't help.
Next some of the rage bait issues have been carefully and quite skillfully developed by people whose self interest depends upon something not being realized - aka the Koch fiends and climate change.
Now their machinations put me in a rage but not a rabid one. It's one that makes me want to counter their influence because they do not have the right to ruin it for the rest of us.
1
.
Krugman:
"...a lot of it [ politics ] is driven by unreasoning rage."
And thats the point of keeping the anger pot simmering, at least :
Demagogs of politics and the media can make good use of it,
and make millions.
But Alex Jones went too far and was rightly exiled to siberia
1
I see “petty personal rage” in the tide of false equivalencies washing thru FB and other SM. A recurring meme on my feed purports that if immigrant families are helped then vets are going to starve to death. It’s just an excuse, a justification, for hate and intolerance...after all who would condone starving a vet? The concept that “winning” only happens because there are losers is is self serving and encourages divisiveness...was Nunes concerned that the straw had ‘lost’? So he took it out on the wait person...can only hope he left a good tip.
3
This rage that PK talks about is what is responsible for most of the Republicans bad behavior. The outrage that the right gins up is what gives them the excuse to lie and cheat constantly, and sleep like babies. They have created huge media networks created only to disseminate lies to the American people, and they use any means necessary to win elections, cheating, in other words. They are always portraying the left as out to destroy the country, not , as is the case, just offering some alternatives to solve some problems we face that don't seem to be going away.
2
All of these imagined slights against white male quasi conservatives are just straw men set up to distract from the menace of this President. Deep down his supporters know he's unfit so they must rail against liberal ideas because they don't have any of their own. I'm not letting liberals off the hook with their political correctness and anti free speech tendencies but at least they don't tear down an actresses personal views because she plays an influential (to some people) fictional character.
3
The childish behavior of the C-PAC squad reveals how much the conservative movement has degenerated. Can you picture Ronald Reagan or Barry Goldwater throwing a tantrum over a straw or a hamburger? I was not a fan of either man, but at least they behaved like men.
1
People's lives are miserable for no apparent reason, and so they fly off the handle for no apparent reason. The culture just isn't working.
2
There’s a certain hauteur in this article: those morally flawed human beings on the right, being called to task by the blameless and morally superior liberal icon. The symbolism is not lost on many Americans in the middle, the working-class, swing voters whom the Dems desperately need to win the Electoral College. Despite what many liberals argue to the contrary, the white working class DO vote their best interests, those being defined as respect rather than the dismissive intolerance of the left, which often bleeds into open contempt.
You’d think from reading this highly charged condemnation of the right, that the left were exemplary in all respects, but alas they have their own emotional burden: to wit, a constant need to blame and shame, with the author of this column being the cheerleader and chief practitioner of that form of madness. MADS, I'd call it, or "moral outrage derangement syndrome." It's what has consigned Democrats to the political wilderness, lo these many years, and will almost certainly continue to do so.
Good luck in 2020, Democrats. It’s your election to lose, and by blaming, blaming, friend and enemy alike, you’re doing everything possible to see that you do.
3
@Ron Cohen: Respectfully disagree. Nunes, a powerful man, made a waitress miserable because she asked if he wanted a straw. To me, that says it all. A person with power taking out their frustrations and rage on a powerless person is the very embodiment of Republican politics. Many of us dislike the unbalanced kind of social behavior that some men of privilege can get away with - Paul Manfort getting 47 months in jail for very serious crimes, while others with less money and fewer powerful friends languish in prison for years for far lesser crimes is an example that comes to mind. We are protesting the arrogant abuse of power. I don't like being targeted for abuse and victimized by men merely because I am a woman, and I will stand up for myself and others when I see this happening. It is the only decent thing to do. Bullies have emotional and psychological problems that need treatment, and they should not be ignored or laughed off any more.
1
@Allison
You miss the point, Allison, as do most progressives. 1) You want to redress all the injustices in society? Forget it! Not possible. 2) You want to do a lot of good for a lot of people? Then you have to win elections. That’s means drawing people into a winning coalition with positive thoughts and programs. All this bitter blaming and shaming, this victimology, this divisive identity politics just drives them away. It accomplishes nothing, and lets the bad guys prevail. Is that what you want?
@Ron Cohen: And you, Ron, also miss the point. Nobody said anything about redressing all of society's wrongs. I am talking about raising our voices in objection when we see this kind of behavior. That is not going to redress all of society's wrongs, but it is going to add a counterweight and another dimension to the public debate about what is right and wrong in society, and why. We're also never going to get a "winning coalition" without honest discussion of these issues. Things are only bitter when the person who has done wrong cannot admit it, learn from his mistakes, and learn to apologize and behave better in the future. But the folks who receive the apologies need to heed them, and accept them, too. If you want positive coalitions, we have to believe that we are all capable of change, and that we are all willing to try to be better human beings. People who have righteous grievances need to be heard, not spurned and told to stop complaining, merely to save the wrongdoer public embarrassment and disgrace. We spend way too much time coddling the feelings of men who want to trample all over everyone else, and who think they have a right to do so merely because of their birth or position in society. We all need to evolve and learn how to have real discussions without defensiveness. That especially includes the guys who are aggressively angry over having to share power in society with other people who have long been powerless.
1
It started with the John Wayne-y or John Whine-y, really, deliveries Every Night via Fox (et co.s)'s Bill O'Reilly---and it started 20 years ago. But the sentiment has been around since the late '60s a la hatred of hippies, flower power, power-to-the-people types, government freeloading/freeloaders, welfare moms, lazy union workers... BUT who were the more/most destructive forces of these last decades, really? Who've been the real proverbial carpenter ants chewing away at the infrastructure--and the coffers?
1
Those with demented anger have always been angry. We saw them throw tantrums in the aisles of Toys-Are-Us. We cringed at their screams in the maternity ward. The ancients were correct; the hysteria is from the womb. It is very sad.
1
Boomer white males are the most petty, "entitled", self-pitying generation, so far. I know - I could have been one of them, but I never bought the RV or the MAGA hat.
4
Why does this rage infect white men more than others? Because that has been the core of white male culture for the last thousand years. That is how white men gained control over the world. By using rage-filled violence to crush anyone who opposed them. Evidence: slavery, genocide, colonialism, apartheid, misogyny.
The world is moving on and many white men have moved on with it. But there will be some who hold on to the bitter end.
1
I wish Dr Krugman, as much as I admire his views, would not , like so much of the media, conflate conservative with Republican. These labels are lazy shorthand and obscure rather than illuminate. One can be conservative on economic issues and liberal on social issues. People who support Trump are driven by other things than principled and thought-out beliefs.
Being a Ph.D. psychologist who studies behavioral and decision theory, let me explain why all the rage. It's because rage works. We liberals tend to be thoughtful people who dislike conflict. Conservatives--esp. the white, male, rapidly diminishing power elite--are much less conflict-averse. They've discovered through practical experience that getting angry often gets them what they want. Moreover, in our acquiescing to their anger, we actually LOSE respect in their eyes. They perceive our thoughtfulness as weakness.
The lesson in all this is that we progressives need to toughen up and quit caving in every time a conservative barks at us. Try standing your ground and barking back. The loudest dog usually wins.
594
@Voter Frog I am constantly reminded of "The Human Zoo" by Desmond Morris. Dominance/submission is ever present in human interaction, so should be used strategically.
26
@Voter Frog
"Try standing your ground and barking back. The loudest dog usually wins."
Thanks, Voter Frog. Standing your ground is, I discovered as a executive coach, essential to defusing this social bomb of raging -- unless the situation evolves into physicality. Also "I am experiencing anger now" works better to vent one's anger than venting a diagnosis of one's interlocutor's intent. One can follow that with "I have curiosity now. What emotion do you have, sir/madam?" and expect some shift in the relationship that will not be negative. But how long it will take for a truly positive outcome to eventuate, I cannot tell you. However, many have found some valuable insights by reviewing the real-life narrative available at:
http://www.authentixcoaches.com/IHXENPayOff.html
Readers here might also.
9
@Voter Frog, you are absolutely right. Sadly, bullies only respect bullies. Old as Cain and Abel (and we know what happened to Abel).
22
What some of us can do about it is no to reflect the petty rage, not to get contaminated and respond with rage to petty rages because we will be in the petty, petty rage department. I can just try to control how I react to this.
Even anger when dealing with things that are not petty, like healthcare, education and, separation of families at the southern border, we have to try to be constructive about it. Hopefully, with the change in the House, more constructive things will happen.
Here is a quote for an eye opening article: "Sociologists Blow Up the Myth that Uneducated White Voters Support Trump Because of Economic Anxiety: ‘They Share His Prejudices:’"
"We find that Trump’s supporters voted for him mainly because they share his prejudices...These prejudices, meanwhile, have a definite structure, which we argue should be called authoritarian: negatively, they target minorities and women; and positively, they favor domineering and intolerant leaders who are uninhibited about their biases."
"Most Trump voters cast their ballots for him with their eyes open, not despite his prejudices but because of them. Their partisanship, whether positive (toward Trump and the Republicans) or negative (against Clinton and the Democrats), is intense."
"This partisanship is anchored in anger and resentment among mild as well as strong Trump voters. Anger, not fear, was the emotional key to the Tea Party, and that seems to be true for Trumpism as well. If so, the challenge for progressives is greater than many people have imagined. Hostility to minorities and women cannot be wished away; nor can the wish for domineering leaders. The anger games are far from over."
An article well worth reading:
https://www.alternet.org/2018/09/sociologists-blow-myth-uneducated-white-voters-support-trump-because-economic-anxiety-they-share-his/
2
@Econfix
This has been obvious for a long time. Its pointless to argue since they really cannot support their views or their support for tRump - other than he speaks like them and will say what they think while not blushing.
These people are focusing on the petty stuff because that's all they have to complain about. They have no problem with the big stuff right now -- like our unnecessarily huge budget deficit, crumbling infrastructure, low educational standards, income inequality, failing farms, the opiod crisis, the crisis of diabetes, inadequate medical care, high infant mortality rates, big Pharma outrages, disasters related to climate change -- I don't have time to list all the rest.
2
I think it is error not to include the "straw police" in the collection of examples of "petty personal rage."
Many municipalities such as Seattle argue about this and take steps to ban plastic straws. Unlike some of Krugman's other examples it is a purely leftist distraction. There is a compelling argument that a straw ban does absolutely nothing to address the non-sustainability of plastics, based on industry numbers for plastics manufacture. Many of my left wing friends draw a direct connection between my use of a straw and its appearance in the ocean when it fact its destination will be a county landfill 275 miles from the nearest salt water. They don't complain about my vinyl siding, paints, my cars with hundreds of pounds of plastics, my soda bottle, or the Boeing 787.
So what's going on? When political hacks foment petty rage, they are proffering "solutions" that do nothing to virtual problems without measurable results. This conveniently avoids any discussion about such things as student loans, health care, nuclear proliferation, climate change, and a host of other important issues that politicians won't touch.
You've probably noticed that Donald Trump and his friends are against everything, have no program proposals that create any solutions, and want to just say no to everything. In it's own way, the left has done exactly the same thing.
Drawing an analogy from the software industry, it's simply a case of vaporware, marketed as a solution to nothing.
Wratgh, or existential rage, is one of the seven deadly sins, and for good reason. All seven are variations on the sin of pride, the belief that one is the single most important person in the room or the universe. We call it narcissism these days.
Rage is the response to the discovery that the world in general doesn't dance to your tune. Worse, it doesn't even listen. We all discover this around the age of two, and it takes us a while to accept our rather small place in the world.
Like Paul Krugman, I know fo no cure for rage.
Mr. Krugman's thumbnail description of Trumpism bears watching while pondering. This element of society is both aggrieved and real. Whether Trump goes out unwilling via impeachment or suffers defeat in 2020, these converts or followers will be looking for a home. Sarah Palin unlikely to make a come back but someone will emerge to lead the flock.
What remains of the GOP remains a parlor game no one really knows. The road to perdition may prove a one-way street. Casting a gaze around the GOP we find no leadership capable of resurrecting the traditional GOP. Ryan scooted out of town and Romney a hollowed out version of his former self.
The Trumpeteers promise to pledge allegiance to Fox, omitting News was purposeful, and a new prophet, to be determined with Steve Bannon not far from view. My personal favorite is Jim Jordan.
@texsun
I suspect that Madison Avenue consultants are running training sessions for those who want to take over the trump base.
Sessions like: "How to say what the racists and bigots are thinking without blushing, while sounding sincere"
tRump learned these skills from his daddy and Roy Cohn
What to do about it? Not much we can do except wait for a generation or two to shuffle off to the cemetery. A central core of the Trump base is aging white males (and their sympathizers) who see themselves as having been beaten down for decades by feminism, affirmative action, environmentalism, and globalism. Their hegemonic power has been slowly usurped by women, blacks, the EPA, and overseas manufacturers. Feeling that their "rights" have been chipped away for 50 years, they have assumed the position of wounded animals in a corner, who lash out violently at any perceived slight. Cornered animals can't be reasoned with. In the meantime, we need to be aware of this cohort and its voting power, which we can thank Trump for bringing to the fore.
1
Education, Education, Education. That's what we should do about it. Having taught composition there is no way these petty outrages could meet the demands of a critical essay- unless your objective is stirring up the masses for power's sake. One hopes that with many voices this anti-intellectualism can be defeated. At present the work seems to fall to late night talk show hosts, and they are doing a great job- but where are our elected representatives when it comes to deconstructing the lies point by point of, by and for the people? Someone in office has to point out that as selfish as we expect to be in this country, there is a meaningful economic and social argument for sacrificing a choice of straw for the common good.
1
How about paper straws?
2
@vbering Agreed. Offering paper straws would have been an easy out.
This is called libertarianism.
Like Rand Paul saying he vaccinated his kids but still thinks the government should not have the right to tell others to vaccinate theirs. These are they same people who don't believe alcoholism is a disease because it's a personal choice.
I know lot's of these people. These are the people who have been riding around in their pickups for the last twenty years listening to Neil Boortz and Rush Limbaugh and other right wing radio shows They revel in their perfection and their independence.
4
...and ignorance.
“Welcome to Socialism in California!” Nunes thundered.
Thundered. Funny.
4
So, who is the bigger fool? The man who screams that "they are coming to take your hamburger!" Or....The man who believes him?
8
We won't hire Wacky Republicans any more here in Silicon Valley..
2
well, I guess this is the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.
1
Your current president was swept to power on a wave of spite.
MAGA has nothing to do with greatness - and everything to do with giving a collective middle finger to anyone with the gall to question a white man.
45 just has to provoke weekly howls of liberal outrage to be their man forever.
Dems need to collectively “Pelosi” the toxic drivel emanating from this administration- stare it down and move on.
As Madame Speaker says: “He’s not worth it”
4
Thank you Paul Krugman for teaching what to call it: it's "petty rage". Thank you!. As a woman I ;ive with these petty rages from men.
Even today the NYT obit for George Stade includes the following:
Its anti-feminist theme is evident... the protagonist declares he is either a hero or a villain, “depending on whether you are a feminist or a human being.”
I wonder if the NYT would publish such a horrific statement about another social, ethnic or religious group.
Apparently its OK to ask if one is a feminist or a human being... Now I know what to call that: petty rage. Thank you!
2
Am I the only person who thinks the female protag of "Captain Marvel" is a meme for the DHS Secretary Kristen Nielsen?
1
Ode to the plastic straw: I grew up with you but now know you not. You were vilified by socialists and held for naught. You have been replaced by the paper straw, a hideous invention if I ever saw. For you turn into mush, a few minutes after in the glass you get the push. Next comes the cattle, eliminated by methane prattle. So what is left to be seen, I guess it will be soylent green.
1
Hello Dr. Krugman....In my case....I cant lose what I never had in the first place!
My frame of reference has always been outside looking in ....
In recent years, I have concluded that all political labels are irrelevant, or at least to say, obsolete.
Conservative? Liberal? Progressive? Reactionary? Communist? Socialist? Democrat? Republican?
None of these labels has even the least connection to reality.
Comunism is an old-time 19th century corollary to the earlier Capitalism theory of 1790..........and we're taught that this is Modern????
Progressives all want to return the USA to an earlier time.
Who wouldnt react to that??? Whats next for this progressive crowd......outlaw indoor plumbing???
No wonder Nunes blew up at the old-time "straw police" remark..............
All that talk about liberal “snowflakes” is projection; if you really want to see people driven wild by tiny perceived slights and insults, you’ll generally find them on the right.
I agree with this and have always thought something similar about the left and race. It is always white men? If this is OK then why bother trying. Eventually you have to treat everyone equally, even white guys.
1
Conservatives are all about "Don't change the world from what I grew up in". This is where they got their name. But liberals are pretty good at rage too. Ever read the NYT.? Rage at the enemy is so much more gratifying for the self righteous than understanding.
The point is, if you are stark raving mad, you might just be "cover" for the other guy on your side who seems reasonable by comparison and actually does your dirty work.
"Do you want a straw?" could be understood the same way as, "Do you want a punch in the mouth?" Or perhaps the question was understood as innuendo and referred to something else in Mr. Nunes's life? And where's the ham in the hamburger? Iowa and North Carolina produce more hog feces than all the humans do for the whole nation. Where's the beef about that? And doesn't the removing of phosphates mean it takes longer for our minimum wage paid domestics ($15/hr!!!) and wives (legally exempt from the minimum wage by marriage and contractually, by marriage, earning $.0.00/hr) to do their chores? This is the last straw! (No, literally...)
1
I still love that comic book character that punches Nazis. If they made a movie now we would get a bunch of whining about Antifa and how they hurt peoples feelings. Trump would tweet about it and everything.
To those like Nunes and Rand Paul, it is your 'libertarian' right to live on burgers, use plastic straws in all your beverages, deny your kid vaccinations and never, ever pay taxes.
2
@Cody McCall
And go to prison when it doesn't work out so well.
And meanwhile on this same day over at the Washington Post, we have none other than an op-ed from the Dalai Lama instructing us to be nice to each other. Something must be in the air. Maybe flouride.
This brings up a bottomless well of in(sane)fotainment. Last night (March 11) on Tucker Carlson's "show," on State TV he used a series of video clips to make his unsupported claims (yet again) how Democrats in congress hate the United States and want to do every nefarious thing from assuring the maximum number of illegal aliens enter the country every year so they can go directly to the voting booth and cast their ballot for the Democrats, to control every aspect of our lives including how we think.
To support his 8th-grade-level claims he used an absurdly truncated clip of Sen. Kamala Harris commenting on how it's possible to change the way we act without adversely affecting the quality of our lives. This was in support of Carlson's claim that Democrats were now trying to make "mind control" a part of their platform. The truly scary thing was he did this, not with the typical Fox-fed ignorant white male rage, but with the Ronald Reagan-like "there they go again" mannerism.
I wish Carlson would go back to wearing the bow tie; it made him look more egregiously idiotic as he purports to be the heir apparent to George Will. My god, we need an intelligent conservatism in this country. Not a kinder, gentler conservatism. Just one that thinks.
5
This from the man who predicted an almost immediate and non-recoverable recession once Trump was elected.
News for you Paul, you are a white man as well.
3
As a 66 y.o. white male I hang my head in shame at what my peers have done to the reputation of men in general, and white men in particular. The rise of vibrant, intelligent, positive, thoughtful women cannot come too soon. I am so utterly sick of whining, stupid and just plain wimpy men I could scream. No, Joe, do not run. Too late, pal. Nothing against you personally.
And, women of the world, please accept this apology on behalf of well-intentioned, competent, so happy to work along side you men to make things better.
7
Hysterical Children, what is there to not understand ?
3
It is indeed remarkable how emotionally unstable some white men can get; especially when confronted with feminism.
Meanwhile, many of those same white men denegrate the black men kneeling during the anthem at a football game in an effort to express their anger that so many of their brothers and sisiters are being locked up and shot up. How dare they!
These people will always be with us. Come November, 2020 we must move as many as we can as far away as we can from the seats of power.
Nobody stays home in 2020!
6
Once again Mr. Krugman - you are the smartest guy in the room.
1
Can someone please provide evidence that Stalin was pro-burger?
Taxes will anger them even more. The yellow vest protests in France show this.
"They" have already begun spitting out the next diatribe. Apparently Marvel Studios' next superhero will be a gay man (or as they say - "same-sex attracted"). Surely Earth will spin off its axis.
1
Freud said that man was irrational; Unconscious, animalistic motivations drive us, he said. Modern neuroscience now argues that we don't even have free will. We're meat puppets.
As a group, homo sapiens do consistently display appallingly self-defeating behaviors, such as, violence, greed, hate, envy, and all the rest, despite centuries of peaceful religions, wise philosophies, modern science, and sound educational systems. Our histories are mostly about our wars. We're good killers, and we seem to be irresistibly drawn to the deed.
Thus, for whatever reasons, we seem stuck in place, with some variations on a theme. Worse, we can't save ourselves from ourselves. Shades of "Lord of the Flies," eh?
Admittedly, we can't give up. But maybe we need, as a group, to recognize that man is wolf to man too often in too many places. And a new psychological paradigm should be followed by our leaders.
Its first tenet might be: Humans need and therefore demand happiness, and if they don't get it, they believe that they are fully justified to take what they need. In fact, they must.
Famous examples: Adam and Eve; Agamemnon and Paris; Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan; ancient Israelites and modern European colonialists; Adolf Hitler and Imperial Japan; Roman Polanski and Bill Cosby; Bernie Madoff and Donald Trump.
1
Mr. Krugman, clearly our esteemed President creates a bunch of unmitigated anger in the right and left. How else can one explain the wholesale loss of emotional control exhibited by rants about straws or any other minor occurrence in our day to day lives that moved an esteemed opinion writer of the NYT to even mention this type of drivel?
1
Seriously? Are you not paying attention to the three Democrat freshman congresswomen dominating the headlines with their angry rhetoric. This editorial seems like one you struggled to write to fill space and satisfy your contractural obligation. You’ve been better, Paul.
4
Has anyone else noticed that most of the whining from the right seems to come from unattractive middle-aged men?
4
Remember the "rage" against Ilhan Omar and AOC? It wasn't that long ago. Remember the "rage" against anti-semitism? It was in all the newspapers.
Today, Netanyahu Says Israel Is 'Nation-State Of The Jewish People And Them Alone'. Where's the "rage"?
2
Pretty funny Krugman. Did Mr. Nunes get verbally assaulted and harassed by a crazed Loon in the restaurant?
1
And people wonder why marriage rates are down. Can you imagine being married to one of these tantruming man-babies?
2
@Oriflamme
They seem to have no problem if they have money.
Its those who don't who seem to be raging. They think that a flat tax will put them back in the running and the end of food stamps will cinch their advantage.
Conservatives hadn't even gotten over the introduction of Black Panther into the Marvel universe before they learned that a woman was about to join the club. Good lord, where will it end? Will it soon be revealed that Spider Man's name at birth was Leonard Spiderman? If so will Marvel fans demand that he join forces with Captain America to combat a supervillain named Shariah Man and thereby prove that he doesn't bear dual loyalties to the U.S. and that other place? After all, we can't just abandon ALL of our treasured illusions.
3
There are not two sides but thousands in this outrage industry.
Which is why that snotty high school kid, for example, has teed up and sued the Washington post over the picking on the Native American while wearing MAGA caps outrage.
And so on and on and on until the universe ends I guess.
Or hmmmmm. Bernie bro outrage????? Hmmmmm.
2
All you need for chaos is a rage-filled minority. I say that as a survivor of a nuclear family of 5 individuals, one of whom (not a parent) was a psychopath.
1
If Paul Krugman does not know what to do about “it”, then who in the Intelligencia does “know what to do about it”?
I played golf last week with two guys who are FOX News fans. They are both convinced that if Trump isn't re-elected our country will next be governed by a military tribunal. They also wonder why Hillary hasn't yet been indicted for running that pedophile ring out of the pizza joint.
6
Bravo.....spot-on!
1
You mean that there are white men whose actions are driven by — by — emotion.?! Could that be true.
Of course it’s true, and it often comes from the same men who believe it is women who cannot be trusted with leadership power as they are “too emotional.”
2
We were expecting your expert comments on Trump budget $$$$4.75 trillion!!
3
Imagine if those white male Reconstruction era lynch mobs had the internet, smartphones and ‘social’ media. Hand those same capabilities to the nice guys who pulled off the Birmingham church bombing, who shot Medgar Evers and MLK, tossed Cheney, Goodman and Schwerner in a swamp. Give George Wallace and Lester Maddox the same tools.
Now stop imagining and just look around America for a moment. Any questions?
1
I'm going out right now to buy 4 packages of Bubba Burgers before they are banned!!!!
1
HILLARY'S EMAILS!! HILLARY'S EMAILS!!
Hysteria.
Thank you Fox. Thank you Mr. Murdoch.
It is called hysteria. It is a psychological disorder.
Thank you Fox and all who work there. Thank you billionaire Murdoch.
2
These are spoiled little children.
1
Indeed they will find anything to be hysterical about. Who can forget Obama's tan suit that threatened national security!!!!
2
Trump speaks their language. They love to bully. Witness the “coalers” who blow black diesel smoke from pickup truck smokestacks onto Prius drivers and bike commuters?Threatened by a bike or gas thrifty car, snowflake?
2
Step 1. Convince the ignorant that they are intellectually superior.
Step 2. Instill a blind rage in them stemming from thwarted self righteousness.
Step 3. Point the mob at anything or anyone who threatens you.
Step 4. Fascism.
5
What time do about it? Start with Fox "News".
1
Right wing rage goes back to Attorney General Palmer, J.Edgar Hoover, Westbrook Pegler, Father Coughlin, etc. World War II brought a brief respite, then out popped Joseph McCarthy and Donald Trump’s mentor, Roy Cohn. In the ‘60’s we had Joe Pyne, and since we have had Rush, Sean, and now the Preppie Pundit, Tucker Carlson.
Right wing bile sells. It’s purveyors are all rich, and their gullible audience gets to experience the hollow and undeserved satisfaction of thinking they are better than some other group, when they are not. Or they get the equally hollow and undeserved satisfaction of thinking they have been persecuted, when they have not.
William F. Buckley and George F. Will tried to convey an elitist conservative intellectualism. Thinking is the last thing today’s right-wing pundits want their audience to do. They just want their glazed-eyed listeners to go “uh-huh, uh-huh” as their well-heeled heroes spout a never-ending stream of fatuous right wing blather.
1
Bullies use rage to win
2
Perfectly written. What to do: ignore. Progress will come despite them.
2
We boomers were bequeathed the fruits of the New Deal - more or less full employment with decent paying jobs and hope for the future.
We boomers are bequeathing to our kids and grand kids the mother of all negative externalities - massive green house gas pollution.
But we got ours, isn't that all that matters?
No civilization that extols an ideology of unrestrained greed has ever ended well.
6
People just like to be angry. Watch Fox for any length of time and you can clearly see that the emotions they are trying to engage are fear and anger which will reliably turn into outrage and hate. Their viewers find that entertaining. Fear, anger and hate are our strongest, most engaging emotions. Sales people are trained to find fear and sell to it. Conservatives do this quite well. Trump is a universe-class master. Liberals tend to use fear and hate more indiscriminately, and often on each other. We'd like to think that we are most motivated by love and other, kinder emotions. When it comes to politics at least, hate is a more effective.
4
One of the largely unexamined consequences of 24/7 Fox News and corresponding social media hate mongering is the emergence of virtual mobs whose members remain continually in an emotionally hijacked state. Whenever you see people caught up by irrational rage, there's a very good chance that they've been emotionally hijacked, and the phenomenon is not unique to conservatives. The First Amendment does not protect speech that incites mob violence, and yet the combined effects of Conservative Media and social media outlets effectively do the same thing.
5
Rage is very often a defense against fear and a feeling of impotence. Rage gives us the illusion of strength and covers over feeings of helplessness.
3
This all comes back to the fatal flaw of the left. People on the left are all about making positive (progressive!) change, and in order to improve something (including yourself) you need to first identify what needs improvement. Similar to how a doctor can't help you until you come into his/her office and they examine you. Critical Theory is helpful in understanding the world and in crafting grandiose policy, but the problem is that nobody in the world likes to hear critical analysis when they (or something they like) are the topic of discussion. [As an aside, giving feedback - and more importantly, RECEIVING it is an evergreen topic in professional education. Even people at the apex of their careers, industry, etc. need help with this. So what does that say about your average Joe/Jane?]
The message you receive is that you are wrong about something. What makes for a better campaign sign - that? Or something like MAGA? The suggestion that someone (or, entire groups of people) would have to change their behavior, or at least their outlook, in order to achieve some abstract policy goal is a non starter.
Granted, the right is often totally unreasonable in its tantrums, as Paul documents here. At the risk of sounding like a radical centrist shill, however, I do have to note that "outrage culture" is not unique to the right. It can be found wherever you have groups of people reacting to perceived threats to their purposes and circumstances. It's only human.
2
@Nick
"The suggestion that someone (or, entire groups of people) would have to change their behavior, or at least their outlook, in order to achieve some abstract policy goal is a non starter."
That might be true but you have to tell us what an "abstract policy goal" is.
For example, there is good reason to believe that climate change is real and that a failure to respond to it will and already is having rather dramatic consequences in the real world. Income inequality is also real and measurable.
Abstract goals aren't abstract just because you don't like what you will have to do to reach them. You can argue that proposed solutions will be ineffective or too costly but you have to begin by acknowledging that the abstract goals proposed are designed to deal with real problems. Calling the goals abstract doesn't make the issues go away.
.
@Nick, No, not a fatal flaw of the left, but rather of Mankind
For starters on using taxes, explain to them that Trump had nothing to do with the improved economy. For the last six years of Obama's presidency, when the Republicans controlled Congress, they refused to cooperate with him at all. On the budget, this created the "sequester." As a consequence, restricted government spending was a serious drag on the economy for those six years. After Trump was elected, they opened up the floodgates--not only by lowering taxes, but by also increasing spending. This huge combination fiscal boost fully explains the "booming" economy.
2
Ranter ravers do get your attention, and they know it. It also serves as a great diversionary tactic, Trumps great at it. Time and time again he comes up with something outlandish in order to shift the media, and the public's attention, away from focusing on negative news about himself (investigations, guilty pleas, testimonies, etc).
2
My son, who would never be confused with an activist, has been asking restaurants in his city to use paper straws (a nudge). As to unreasoning rage, (decreasingly) powerful white men have not learned to admit to fear; we switch to anger before it becomes conscious. And we all have a lot to fear. FDR's trick was to admit it before minimizing its strength.
5
Politics, once a mere spectator sport bordering on anger, is now a practice of sparring wits and rage. I made the observation that being polarized along party lines, Democrats are critical of Republicans through criticism never more than simmering. But the Republicans who proclaimed their "Republican Revolution" in 1995 have taken their criticism to within barely contained rage. What I am saying is that Republicans take their scorn to levels of violence such as in Charlottesville or ethnic victimizations. Democrats are angry but in control of themselves while the media driven Republicans are warriors in search of a fight, and now they have Trump and others so inclined.
The rage has been building for 24 years and is now dominated by a few media outlets that even cash in on the rage. Democrats such as myself, can be highly critical with withering criticism but such as myself, we are not expressing our angst in violent ways. I myself, only wish to correct the Republican wrongs having recognized the rage they express could escalate dangerously. But I never want to exert violence over Republicans like they do to us. I can even see it in some other comments here in this forum.
Perhaps there is value in those Republican media outlets as they stoke anger and rage, but coincidentally, are satisfying the followers urges to act. If the viewers vent at home and not out here, then maybe we should tolerate their misguided rage.
3
Big “if”, though.
The economic status of working class white men has been in decline over several decades. Dr. Krugman’s colleagues Anne Case and Angus Deaton at Princeton refer to their plight as “an epidemic of despair.” When one has lost so much, even the most trivial perceived loss (drinking straws!) feels like a body blow. The right has tuned their message perfectly to this audience, exploiting their pain and stoking rage at every turn. Yes, the cynicism of Republican tactics is appalling, but it’s keeping them in power, and power is now the only objective for what is now, sadly, their morally bankrupt leadership. So, what to do? To this reader, the Democratic answer should be obvious: reach out to this new white underclass directly and often with the simple message, “You matter,” then back it up with a clear roadmap—let’s call it a Marshall Plan—for generation of families who have ended up on the losing side of a global technological revolution that must feel like a second American Civil War.
3
Boy, this essay really hit the nail on the head. You’re right, it’s almost always the outrage of heterosexual, white, Christian men - the most privileged class of humans to ever walk the planet. Really, they’ve got it hard.
But I do clearly remember Michelle Bachman’s anger over the change of a light bulb’s shape. She actually rode that anger to re-election. Her constituents didn’t find it absurd at all.
8
I really like Krugman. That said I think, as it seems do many of the commentators, that his observations regarding the general pettiness of our political and social discourse would have greater weight and impact if he simply avoided attribution to mostly "right wing, white males." Unfortunately, it cuts both ways, and whether accurate or not, pointing fingers just increases the divide and makes it more difficult to bridge the gap to civil discourse.
4
@John Sowards
Enough with the false equivalence.
There are people who don't and won't acknowledge that the planet is in upheaval and will soon become uninhabitable and then there are those who do acknowledge it.
That's the difference.
7
@John Sowards
Some examples on the left please?
1
We know where this unreasoning rage is coming from. It is understandable that fellow news organizations are reluctant to attack one another, but Rupert Murdoch (and his fellow shock jocks) is not a fellow journalist. He is the King of a tabloid empire raking in huge amounts of money because this paranoia and petty rage sells. It's really really dangerous. Jane Mayer has opened the door. Let's go through the door.
5
@mary bardmess A journalist can't attack FOX, they may need them for a job someday. And they pay very well.
1
This piece works nicely along with Jane Mayer's piece from the New Yorker about Trump Television. Ailes and Murdoch over at Fox intentionally built an audience by playing to the fear and rage of those who are now Trump's base.
Rage, it seems, is all the rage.
8
I really don't know what to do. I feel like we've lost 40% of our country to a cult. Can the Times dedicate a regular column to dealing with psychological trauma? helping addicts recover? what makes hate gang members turn their lives around? I want our conservative friends and family back.
5
Freedom of speech is not freedom of immoderate speech. Nothing in the Constitution gives one the right to do wrong. Right and wrong is not only legal and illegal, it is right and wrong like your grandmother taught you.
Thomas Jefferson said, "though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable."
Pick one - your grandmother or Thomas Jefferson - both told you it was all about the commonwealth. It still is.
2
A wonderful column. I would just like to add that if plastic straws are the difference between the oceans living or dying then it is already too late.
4
Observing all this 'red-blooded (white) American male' rage, some of which spills over beyond mere words into violent action, I'm reminded of the times when this phenomenon was simply fodder for droll comedy. Am I the only one who remembers the tongue-in-cheek booklet in the early 80s titled 'Real Men Don't Eat Quiche'? As far as I can tell, at the time it seemed like an oblique working class answer to Lisa Birnbach's 'The Official Preppy Handbook'.
And as far as Devin Nunes, I'm still awaiting his indictment for obstruction of justice. I'm sure he won't have to ask for straws in the federal pen chow line.
4
Wait till Sanders/Harris ticket takes the 2020 nomination.
Even Krugman will be enraged.
2
@Tuco Harris? Why on earth would we want the neoliberal's neoliberal on the ticket? Other than the attraction of the DNC to what/whomever their corporate donors want. Carter, Clinton and finally Obama have all but destroyed the Democratic Party's base with their incessant march to the right. Time to stop.
1
You should have heard my neighbor (whose husband is deployed in the Middle East) pitch a fit about how unfree America is because California now won’t let new teen drivers under 18 drive their siblings around until they’ve had their licenses a while. Nope, we have no parental rights anymore!
The fact that an inexperienced teen carpooling a bunch of bickering brothers and sisters might be distracted and kill someone? Not her problem!
9
Anger is the result of frustration, for Nunez it is the inability to shield Don the Swindler from criticism, and an attempt to confuse our ideas of right and wrong. Calling a simple rule to help the environment, keeping plastic out of the oceans Socialistic is just plain dishonest, and is indicative of his own character.
He has made a career out of shielding the most despicable president in history from public scrutiny, there is no place in society for the likes on Nunez and his ilk.
4
Ironic that the rage- and fear-mongers use "Socialism" and Stalin to enrage and frighten people. The right wing has much in common with Stalin (and for that matter, with fascism).
3
Earlier today I read a review (posted on Amazon) of a book by a liberal political pundit. The "reviewer" began by noting that he hadn't read the book, and then proceeded to attack the author (mainly character assassination) and his ideas (less so, as he hadn't read the book).
Seventy-two people indicated that they found the review helpful.
So, yes, petty personal rage is a real deal, and there's an audience that gobbles it up.
5
One need only look at the faces of trump’s supporters at rallies wearing their MAGA hats to see rage, many of them yelling things like “lock her up” and so on.
4
You want rage, tune to Fox News. 24/7 rage with a dash of xenophobia and a pinch of racism. Where do you think the white male minority derives its inspiration.
Also, thank god for Paul Krugman.
10
The liberals are coming for your guns, Bibles, trucks, sodas, cigarettes, light bulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, steaks, plastic bags, straws, unsaturated fats, Confederate stuff, and creationist themes parks.
The conservatives are coming for your science facts, rules of law, Constitution, civil rights, and sanity.
I think the liberals will with this round.
11
How is having to request a straw for your beverage constitute socialism? Perhaps Nunes should represent a different district in another state.
2
Yup they get enraged when caught in the endless
series of lies.
In their sick world, they are always the victim and
never to blame.
They make stuff up. Unfortunately the lapdog media
plays along
Earth to media, both sides don't do that.
1
Paul, can you ask the movie industry to take on global warming.
2
Wasn't planning on seeing the movie, but now I must.
1
I think some sort of national divorce is necessary. Red America and Blue America no longer have anything in common.
3
Yeah, but if that happens Blue America will be stuck paying Red America spousal support for generations.
2
Nunes and a straw man. What else is new?
1
If Paul Krugman ever decides to write a novel about the DC circus, I have a suggestion for the name of the Devin Nunes character: Devin Nudnik. For those who are unfamiliar with Yiddish, a nudnik is a boring pest.
I’d say Nunes is clutching at straws. Anything to stay in the headlines.
2
I live in a red area of California. Devin Nunes is an embarrassment to the state even here. He has the social and environmental awareness of the average cockroach. Nunes is the epitome of why the GOP is irrelevant in our statewide politics.
With apologies to arthropods everywhere.
6
Mr. Krugman? You may think you have not lost your mind but you certainly have lost your ability to make distinctions. Have you checked Twitter lately? The Twitter mobs who have mastered the power of petty rage are largely left-wing. But please, go on stoking divisions; it's so great for the country.
2
@A skeptic from the Northeast
Your comment carries no weight because you give no examples.
1
all true, but i would like to put up a small defense of stalin.
a bad man who was responsible for countless deaths.
however, many of them were germans who had invaded the soviet union.
and--americans please take note--stalin did more to defeat the nazis than all the forces on the western front.
2
I would be on board with banning plastic straws altogether. But the notion that only right-wingers are filled with rage is intellectually dishonest. I just read a thread on my FB page in which left-wingers were practically incoherent with anger because of the post criticizing Representative Omar for her antisemtic remarks. The mildest opinion concerning Israel was that it was a fascist state and deserves to be wiped off the face of the Earth, and it was delivered with a passion proportionate only the speaker’s total ignorance. The more extreme the views, the more extreme the outrage. It is a dynamic perfectly familiar with social history. Exactly the same type of personality embraces right- and left-wing political absolutism. Nazis and Communists deserve each other.
3
@Mor
You've lost the argument by saying that her remarks were antisemitic without qualification. I disagree with that assessment, as do many Jews if you've followed the issue by reading comments submitted to NYT articles on the subject.
1
Excellent column. The irony is almost too much to bear as the rage-filled screaming con(servative) men act hysterically. Check out the etymology of hysteria from the OED: "early 19th cent.: from Latin hystericus from Greek husterikos ‘of the womb’, from hustera ‘womb’ (hysteria was thought to be specific to women and associated with the womb)."
I find nothing mysterious about white male rage. Change is frightening, especially if you are older, undereducated, retired or jobless (economically impotent), and your children have moved away to college, later a big city, to pursue opportunities brought about by globalization. You listen to Rush Limbaugh, Donald Trump and other professional rabble-rousers, who twist your fear into hatred of European and US coastal elites, the evil socialists who (you are told) undermined the industrial economy and empowered groups that were previously marginalized, at your expense. You don't have to rage at your own failure to keep up with a technological global economy. You can blame all those "others", and Donald Trump is your man who will (and does) make those coastal elites' heads explode! What fun to share the terrors of modernity more equitably!
1
High school curricula should have courses on recognizing and responding appropriately to "tyranny of the weak" tactics. Trump is a master at this and the Republicans are certainly close behind. Those poor old white men. Boo hoo.
1
There ought to be a vaccine for this.
Straws, phosphates and bovine flatulence are negative externalities where the costs are social and benefits personal. Attempts to limit these negative externalities are met with contempt, snark and rage as fomented by the Right Wing Outrage Machine (RWOM). People who inhabit the RWOM echo chamber are impervious to reasoned arguments. For these people, better to destroy the environment than acknowledge that the accursed libs might be right.
1
White male rage seems to have increased concurrently with the widespread availability of prescription and illicit testosterone supplements.
4
Spot on @Paul.
I was hoping that Viagra and Cialis going generic and becoming more ubiquitous after the price drop would decrease the rage factor. Either I'm wrong, or it's taking a little while to finally kick in.
I hope Devin Nunes is never without a straw.
1
The problem is that the rage works. "I'm an American! Why should I have to push a button to speak English?!" By framing everything from sensible gun restrictions to super-sized sodas as referendums on liberty -- 'the left is trying to take away your rights and freedoms!' -- they create more straw dogs to stir up the proletariat and prove themselves the true champions of American liberty.
So what if your family gets fat and develop diabetes? Who cares if you kid gets mowed down in class? You have your rights being threatened! And we all know how that slippery slope thing works. Next thing you know, Coke and Pepsi will be banned and we'll all be forced to drink some fru-fru organic açaí berry juice. And we all know it takes only one bullet before all guns are banned.
And that is how public policy takes a a ride on the bumper to corporate profits and red state votes.
4
That's why I listen to Right-sided radio. To find out what trivial thing I am supposed to be enraged about. One of yesterday's issues was how Democrats are hypocrites because too (haha) old white men/ presidential candidates are leading the polls.
These radio guys grab a random thought and make an hour rant out of it.
3
"All that talk about liberal “snowflakes” is projection; if you really want to see people driven wild by tiny perceived slights and insults, you’ll generally find them on the right."
Yes indeed. My personal favorite: along about Halloween the "war on Christmas" crowd starts ramping up. You know, that would be those who are so offended by the words "Happy holidays!" that they think the entire country should be a safe space for not only their religion but for their particular perverted version of it. And they have the nerve to call others snowflakes!
5
Lies whipping up right wing voters?
Solution: out vote them decisively at the polls!
Most people would call me a Liberal woman. We all have pet peeves. Do not even get me started on Lawn Mowers and Leaf Blowers.
3
Weird anecdote coming up. Bear with me.
The old Puritans were deeply averse to Christmas. Roast goose. Plum pudding. Mince pie. The works. And why?
Is the observation of Christmas commanded in Scripture?
No.
Then--don't observe it.
Doctor Johnson tells a story of "an old Puritan living in my neighborhood." Asked by a friend to "partake his good cheer," the old guy responded: yes. He would.
PROVIDED--that the dinner would be just his usual fare. But the old man would have nothing to do with "his heathenish meats and drinks."
The irrational in politics. In society. In government. In religion (!). Everywhere.
The Lord knows, Mr. Krugman, how much of this--on Mr. Nunes' part--is simply political posturing. Grandstanding. Playing to an exceedingly vocal--angry--ignorant peanut gallery.
As when (some years back) when Ms. Obama sought to wean black people away from French fries and burgers--entice them with fruits and healthful arugula (ugh!)--
--we heard the same wrathful exclamations. "Socialism! The Obama's are imposing socialism upon us free Americans!"
All claptrap--but what can you do?
But this other stuff! With the latest Captain Marvel! Or phosphates! Or this. Or that.
And--STRAWS!
You know, Mr. Krugman--maybe Mr. Nunes perceived a subtle insult in those proffered straws! The implication being that--
--right now--
--that's what the GOP is grasping at.
Straws!
I hope so.
Bet you do too.
If everything that Democrats propose is "socialism", then is everything from the GOP "fascism"?
It's at least as much so; but on the left side, we aren't so into stampeding.
1
Interesting headline for the economist rager- in-chief who predicted the economic collapse of the United States upon President Trump’s election. Krugman’s considerable subjective bias disallows any belief in his raging.
He continues to be more shallow than a West Texas guppy pond.
2
So is Nunes making a straw man argument?
2
Dont they work, where do they find the time. In our little corner of “ liberal” connecticut the comments on all news sites are always heavily salted with conservative absurdity, and no most arent russian trolls they are mixed up locals howling at cts liberalism. Its liberals that keep the trains on time , do the science , raise kids , teach, higher learning , have better marriages, commit less violence. Its interesting that red states have much more trouble with quality of life issues but i digress.
1
What chapter of the Story of America are we in today? The "Hamberder/Tim Apple" chapter? We're all raging, raging, against the dying of the light of our planet and the demented man who was elected our president 2 years ago. Today jet planes are falling from the sky with colossal loss of life. Tomorrow, who knows what will distract us during these anxiety and fear-filled social media powerlessness days?
1
Bah these men are so emotional.
"Straw police"?!!! How old are these people? Eight? Adults should not be using straws (except for a milkshake)...just sayin'
Agreed, agreed. And yes, almost always white men... but then we have Clarence Thomas, bless him... and a few others...
1
Raging is a substitute to thinking, which most conservatives find vey boring.
I have been told all my life that I have to apologize for being a straight white man. Yeah, I’m a little bit angry about that.
1
Yet another disingenuous article by Krugman. Hey Paul, it’s not conservatives demanding safe spaces and trigger warnings to protect their gentle souls. It’s not conservatives raging about every slightly un PC word that comes out of someone’s mouth or about cultural appropriation when a white person dare include nonwhite characters in a piece of fiction. No Paul, hair trigger rage is alive and well on the left.
3
@DRS
To be fair, we don't blame or direct our rage at right-wing-unfettered-capitalism nut jobs for our wanting trigger warnings and safe spaces. Throwing a hissy fit and immediately blaming socialists for the lack of forthcoming straws is a little idiotic, maybe?
I'm a liberal and I've made plenty of PC faux pas in my time, believe me. It's irritating to be dissed for saying something today that everyone said last week or a decade ago. But, I listen and try to understand what about the speech is off-putting or offensive and I've changed my behavior accordingly because I believe in getting along with people instead of making enemies of them.
I don't much care for safe spaces because I think keeping your eyes open to the nastiness of the world is necessary to change that world, but I don't call people 'snowflakes' who disagree with me.
On the other hand, ever listen to right wing radio? If you haven't, just give it a try.
1
Ah, yes, the Far Right. You know, the people who whine and blubber about Political Correctness? The folks who use incandescent light bulbs even though they last just a fraction of the time that LEDs do and use much more electricity, just so they can “own the libs”? So they are angry? My advise would be to grow up.
2
One man’s rage is another man’s Constitutional right. I’m not a supporter of Donald Trump but, to me, the reason he is our President has more to do with Hillary Clinton running a poor, message-less campaign than any other single factor. While Hillary cruised during the last week prior to November 8, 2016 Trump was all over her Blue Wall campaigning at multiple locations day after day. He was willing to pay the price to win the biggest prize our country has to offer. Forget about rage. Why we are where we are politically in this country is not a subject for psycho-babble. We are where we are precisely for the reasons enumerated by Winston S. Churchill decades ago:
“You would rise in the world? . . . You must work while others amuse themselves. Are you desirous of a reputation for courage? You must risk your life.” Churchill, Savrola.
Whomever on the Left who has the energy and drive to outwork Trump in 2020, and has the courage to stay with a targeted message that shows respect for the intellect of the electorate throughout the campaign may just rise in the world to become POTUS.
1
What about the role the media plays here?
It is a truly sad fact that our society harbors so many individuals who can only find fulfillment in anger, who cannot see the power they have, only the power they don't believe they have. While it is difficult to find sympathy for a grown up raging like a two year old, our society needs to find a way to diffuse this rage. If only for the selfish reason that it will engulf us all.
It is funny in a way that republicans, straws should have been imbued with such emotional symbolism...yet it was predictable and underlines the importance of symbolism on the right.
Republicans seem to feel that all government interventions are evil and done with the worst of intentions, thus they attack "medicare for all", social security, public schools and environmental regulations. They seem believe that the government is making them powerless and to prove it they reach for symbols.
The notion of powerlessness is characteristic of republicans that have supplied Trump with a base that is very sensitive to reading into any Democratic proposal a symbolic assault on what they think the world should look like . So we should not be surprised that they are attacking a marvel comic book hero, a symbol of a woman that is strong and determined, and that strangely resembles the women democrats in congress...and this makes them really unhappy campers !
2
Unfortunately, using the term "conservative" to describe such base emotional behavior, and the people predominantly expressing it, tends to legitimize them in the eyes of the public. It is how they wish to portray themselves, and their increasingly reactionary behavior. The word "conservative" has an emotional impact that smoothes over and covers up the real character they blatantly display. Fox News and the right-wing media have long known that appealing to the baser human instincts, poking and prodding to find the minor anger points, builds and grows such reactionary responses, and they can make their money off of that, as more people bathe in the heated pool of reactionary response. Please do not call them "conservatives" any longer, but "right-wing reactionaries," so that at least a few more people will recognize what they are seeing.
4
Yoo-hoo, calling all Conservatives! Where are you and where are your voices?
Your place in the public debate has been taken by the Devin Nuneses and the Jim Jordans. Don’t blame us Liberals because you have abrogated your responsibilities.
1
Mr. Krugman points out what might become a very serious danger. What presently is rage, in the future may serve as justification for extreme physical action, as in the cases of Germany and Italy in the early part of the last century. The “pathological pettiness
that put Donald Trump over the top in 2016 . . .” must be eliminated in the next election.
4
Professor Krugman missed a golden opportunity to point out the increased use of outrage on both sides and its corrosive impact on American politics. By launching a biased, anecdotal and data-free excoriation of those he does not agree with politically, he displays an intellectualized form of rage against the right.
3
First they came for my styrofoam burger container, but I was not getting my meal to go, so I did not care. Then they came for my straw, but I was drinking coffee so I did not care. Then they came for my burger, but I was eating a chicken filet sandwich, so I did not help. So when they came for me, to re-start my heart after eating all the cholesterol laden foods that they hadn’t taken away, there was no styrofoam encased burger for me to take to the hospital-where I did finally get a straw.
8
@Fred Shapiro: Haha - thanks for the laugh! THIS should be a "Times Pick" :)
I believe it should say...bigotry, racism, greed, misogyny, and selfishness, masquerading as unreasoning rage.
359
@Magan
Rage masquerading (the madman theory) is the way to go if you're playing chicken with nuclear arsenals.
At a personal level, you can often get away with telling someone "Do what I say or I'll shoot this kitten!" Keeps the explicit stakes manageable, meanwhile disclosing the madness within.
4
It's driven by white men who have been raised to believe the world is their oyster - that nothing and nobody should ever stand in their way. That's where we need to start, with clear statements from the government, from leading celebrities, from the press, and from those men's families that no, we live in a community and we all have responsibilities to those communities, if we want to be considered a part of them.
7
Thanks so much Mr. Krugman for sharing your observations on this important topic. However, given the fact you are an esteemed economist, I’d be much more interested in your opinion as to whether capitalism is “irredeemable” as your party’s rock star media darling so eloquently stated the other day. Can’t wait to see how you would dance your way out of that one.
1
Can’t you stand “discussion “ and “exchanging views”?
This certainly has become a bit of a mean, white season.
For a group so privileged in this country, there is way too much rage. And you see it everywhere.
In the White House. In the Senate. On the streets. In the movies.
Imagine. Folks who just want to go to the movies to escape everyday problems for a a few hours, are now being deprived of even that
Poor Captain Marvel.
Who ever thought she'd ever suffer the same fate as "Black Panther", just because the hero dared to be someone other than a white MAN?
And then both of films went on to kill at the box office.
It's enough to make one wish for a happy ending outside of the movie theater as well.
5
I love Krugman, and I'm a died-in-the-wool liberal, but this column would mean more if he examined our (liberal's) behavior in this regard. Outrage (mostly at worthy issues, but often not) seems to be our only posture these days.
146
@Michael Cameron Liberals are all reactionary. you seek to turn back the hands of time. Everything you hold to be "progressive" is actually "reactionary".
Everything you know is wrong..........Firesign Theater circa 1970.
@Michael Cameron
This is false equivalency. Open your eyes
17
@Michael Cameron, I wholeheartedly agree. Outrage "culture" is something that has overtaken our society as a whole, and to not point this out as such is incorrect. I see this everywhere, as I'm sure you do, too- not merely conservative mouthpieces. I belong to a very niche, bluer-than-blue online group for women of a specific profession and you should see the infighting over nothing that happens there, all the time. Given the demographics, it should be Harmony City, but no. This incessant posturing is exhausting and more than unproductive- blatantly destructive in many cases.
13
The party of perpetual outrage and dubious discontents.
People who fear losing what they have, for no reason except to give it to others, become enraged. People who are forced to change their behavior, for no reason except someone else wants it, become enraged. The Republicans have done a good job denying that there is any good reason for what Democrats and independents want to do, and convincing their demographic that they will be forced to do something they don't want to do. They are now busy turning the tables on the rest of us, often by weaponizing their religious beliefs. To be told that a woman cannot exercise control over her own body because someone else thinks it's wrong, is enraging. To be told that no action to save our environment will be taken because someone else doesn't believe in science, is enraging. To be told that people do not deserve what they have earned because they look different is enraging. To be told that people cannot come to our country because of their religion or color is enraging. Fear and rage are two sides of the same coin. The right wing hate mongers are teaching the rest of us all about rage.
5
When it comes to white men and their perceived erosion of power and influence, I'm reminded of the Dylan Thomas line, "rage, rage, at the dying of the light."
3
I remember driving out to Colorado in 2007, when in the middle of nowhere, a guy speeds by me in his expensive pick-up truck screaming and giving me the finger (I was probably going 70-75 mph). I was startled and confused. I wasn't in his way, I had not mistakenly pulled in front of him. After a puzzling few moments I realized what it was...the Obama '08 sticker on my bumper. Kinda says it all.
8
They have nothing to "stand on" so they just scream louder. Logic and reason and facts have been abandoned on the right so what else should we expect. My conclusion is that these people are "lost" anyway and aren't worth trying to "save". It's time the rest of us got on with the business of creating a more perfect union. Plastics are a problem for the entire planet. Women are moving into positions of power and some day Constitutional equality, and (if this is still a democracy) income inequality will be addressed. You're either part of the problem or part of the solution. Message to all Trump voters, get out of the way, you are part of the problem!
3
Dirty oceans and climate change are real problems, and it is everybody's responsibility to do whatever we can to address them. However, there will be no meaningful action until there is a paradigm shift in human thought around the world. Real action requires a maturity that currently doesn't exist.
In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a linguistic "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. These minds see the survival of a particular belief as more important than the survival of all. When we understand this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
Mr. Krugman, you are asking what to do about it.
For starters, let's vote these GOP sycophants out of office and let the Democrats clean up the enormous (environmental) mess the GOP and it's president created.
2
Wrong Krugman! And now you've got me angry and in a rage about 'socialism'.
Who in their right mind wants more AOC/Bernie Sanders' nation-destroying 'socialism'? We got enough of that nonsense already. Highways, health care, military, higher education for all, clean beaches, clear water, fresh air, Federal designated forestry maintenance, cops, firefighters, first responders, customs, banking regulation, air traffic control, social security, unemployment benefits, affordable prescription drugs, Internet neutrality, disease control, etc., etc.
You'd have to be a Democrat to want all that handed to ya.
327
@Tom Hi. Pretty sure I am sane. And I want more of what you call “socialism,” including but not limited to single-payer healthcare, broader tuition assistance for higher education, and green energy initiatives which reflect the appalling threat of climate crisis.
What’s more, I am pretty sure I am not alone.
101
@Julia Holcomb agreed Julia, I think we need to repackage "socialism" to something less general in order to get the other side be able to process what the policies real mean. And I'm pretty sure that you are not alone as well.
41
@Tom what you’ve neglected to acknowledge is that these programs are meant to benefit everyone. Try to find a Democrat or Republican Medicare beneficiary who doesn’t want it.
50
When Dick Cheney snarled that our "progress" in Iraq had been derailed by angry "dead-enders," he might, in the tradition of his party, have been having us on, kidding us as it were for the greater good of Caucasians and the Cheney brand.
However, it's likely that he looked into the paranoid fever swamps where so many who pull the R lever live and reasoned that if we were riddled with the dangerously mentally ill, so must be Iraq.
Like Iraq, we make it easy for the reality-challenged to obtain weaponry. So, bringing progress to Iraq didn't include personal safety from nuts with guns. Made the job easier, I'll bet.
Some of the people who yell loudest that the USA! is a great democracy (or republic) despise egalitarianism. Ask Brian Kemp, who might not have won if all citizens were counted equally. He squelched the rights of his fellow Georgians, and because he was allowed to do so no hissy fit meltdown emanated from Fox or its White House Friend.
Some will admonish us that we must constantly "moderate" our positions to attract current GOP voters who might come to their senses if we were establish a stance slightly to the right of Richard Nixon. They could be right. What a victory that would be.
As for Devin Nunes and the rest of the whiney 12-year-olds who want to play with Dad's gun, nothing sensible will satisfy them: When the Earth's oceans begin to disgorge millions of animals who smothered in sweltering seas, they will search their Bibles and come up with something.
2
The interesting thing to me is that the use of labels (liberal, left, conservative, right) are semantic’s because their meaning is based on how each individual views an issue.
This is one of thoes types of article that results in comments spinkled thickly with the terms I have listed above.
The title of the ariticle is intended to produce comments heavily sprinkled with one of the 4 words as part of their content. It has worked well.
1
Paul, I have to agree about an overreaction to petty slights. Recently a young driver in Denver, angered over some driving transgression pulled in behind a woman and her kids as they parked at the dentist office and shot the woman and two or her three kids along with a bystander killing one of the young boys. Our propensity for overreaction has been ginned up by right wing media and they seem blind to their unfortunate impact.
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Where is Issac Asimov when we REALLY need him ? *
* For those who don't remember, he started out as a very talented & successful Sc-fi writer and late wrote extensively about the dumbing down of the populace and the rise of stupidity & anti-science. The modern climate might have driven him wild, or to new heights of great writing.
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See the war on Christmas. I remember when happy holidays meant Christmas and New Years and no one seemed to care. Add some more holidays to celebrate and white Christians are under attack. Meanwhile the rest of us can’t escape Christmas starting in September.
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In environmental and health regulations (e.g., a soda tax) I find an analogy with banking. Without adequate regulation it's a matter of privatizing profit and socializing cost: poorly regulated banks pocket profit but when they fail the cost spreads to everyone else.
It's similar with regulations for the environment and health: people want to enjoy the profit (whether literal or more metaphorical, like drinking sugary drinks) but the cost, as measured by the effects of pollution or the costs of increased healthcare spending, are spread out to everyone even if they didn't personally benefit from the behavior.
The power of rage is nothing more than alpha posturing to intimidate others into supplication. It’s just like a child throwing a temper tantrum to make adults give in and give up they have denied the kid. It’s what people do when they cannot convince reasonably and refuse to think about it calmly. Let them exhaust themselves.
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@Casual Observer, yes, except this has been going on for years and appears to be inexhaustible. An unlimited supply.
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@Casual Observer The problem is that they aren't exhausted.
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@Casual Observer
Yeap. Pick an everyday issue no body notices and blow it up all out of proportion to redirect the attention.
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One man's hysteria is another man's righteousness. Until we on the liberal side acknowledge that there is no shortage of hysterics in the opposition, the impasse will continue.
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Is there a corollary on the Left? If (especially white male) conservatives are full of "rage about petty things," is there a phrase that captures the anger on the other side? Certainly, conservatives might say political correctness reflects liberal anger about imagined victimization. Moral outrage about "micro-aggressions" seems silly to many of them,
It's easy to see the pettiness of the "other side" but hard to find it in ourselves. But we may not be as different as we like to pretend.
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@Ned The different between wheat Dr. Krugman is describing on the right and the SJW’s on the left, is that the social justice movement is a response to actual inequality. Do some of them go too far and make unreasonable demands? Absolutely. But they are a response to centuries of inequality and systematic oppression, not being asked if you would like a straw at a restaurant.
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@Ned
The difference in rage between the right and the left is most likely related to Fox News. It's not really news, but a noise generating factory designed to enrage people who watch. People who are constantly enraged become more committed viewers, which drives ratings upward.
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@Ned, at least misogyny, racism and gender discrimination are real problems that cause real pain for people. Moral outrage over curly lightbulbs and female sci fi movie characters is patently nuts.
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Perhaps anger over petty things is misplaced anger. People actually are very angry but do not know what is precipitating it, so it is focused on petty things that canned be explained. Trump supporters exhibit this phenomenon and he has capitalized on it. He has given them license to identify that deeper anger that may be racist, that may be felt inferiority can come from loss of jobs and homes and that life has left them behind. For other angry people, they can only focus on straws.
This is only important in that it got Trump elected and is the basis of his support. Trump himself, and his followers, appear to be motivated mainly by spite. It's disturbing because it's so immature. There has always been a lunatic fringe, except that now, it's being led and fostered by the President. Let's please elect a Democratic President and Congress so that we can move forward. And beef up the FBI's and NSA's domestic terrorism task forces.
trump and his followers who advocate regressive policies via petty acts resemble poorly behaved children - you can't take away my "rights" even if that robs society as a whole. Incredibly selfish behavior.
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As kids, my brother and I would frequently argue. Our mother didn't discourage it, but she would always say "Wer schreit hat Unrecht." (German for "whoever is shouting is wrong.")
Basically it meant that we couldn't get emotional and just yell past each other. We had to press our case calmly and with reason. (We also had to -- gasp -- *listen* to the calm and reasonable arguments of the other side)
Now it seems like the right is deliberately manufacturing these easy to digest, Outrage McNuggets, in order to make any kind of calm rational policy debate impossible.
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The truth is that once upon a time the rational (majority) portion of the public would have a good laugh at the stupidity of "some people" and then forget about it. Nowadays, in the age of the 24/7 news cycle and political "correctness" we are treated to all kinds of social media reaction from fringe "nutters" who take the absurd and make it even more absurd.
Then, too, many of us have lost our sense of humour over the last two and a half years.
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Great column. Thank you. Our implicit national ethos is quite simply "We reserve the right to be as stupid as we want to be".
And stupid we are. And arrogant. And angry. And we are not going to rule the world very much longer. Maybe the Chinese rulers will be smarter......maybe.
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Politically, this country has an us against them mentality. It might have stared with Reagan who instilled a basic mistrust of government in many Americans. In Trump, we have probably the worst president in history. He continually spews hate-filled lies and paranoia about all things not Trump, including all the important institutions of government. We sorely need a leader who can unite the country rather than further divide it along political lines.
So why might the right be more inclined to petty rage? Could it be that a world has been built for them with lots of fertilizer (phosphates?) to grow the seeds of discontent into full blown rage?
Why would they (Fox, Limbaugh, Ingram, etc.) do this? Because rage is a great driver for voting than bliss. Get them mad, keep them mad focus their anger at the other side (the enemy).
The left tried to create an anchor for their rage raft called Air America. Fortunately those on the left lived in a bigger world and facts tempered the rage. The dig whistles that echo in the media or the right fade off into the distance of the left. This isn't to say that the left doesn't have it's own little bastions of hate, it does. They just happen to be smaller and more isolated from each other than on the right.
Brilliant. This column says exactly what I have been thinking for many years. Rage over stupid, petty issues is way up -- everywhere. Rage is deeply satisfying to some people - it gets their energy up and motivates them. It's also a convenient way to disperse a person's irritation with himself - if you can find a target for it, then the target won't be you, yourself (even though that's what the person is really angry about). I have to say, though, that I think this is wider than just right-wing people (although that version of it seems the most toxic to me personally). It's everywhere ... ask any waitress in a busy restaurant ... people want what they want and they want it now, now, now, and don't you dare make a mistake. I think the Internet and social media are responsible for some of it. Sigh. Whatever happened to peace, love and understanding?
Yes, borderline-out-of-control rage is at the center of a lot of U.S. right wing political culture today.
Right wing media figures like Tucker Carlson in particular reinforce the mentality - angry and abusive personality types who - like an abusive spouse - convey the threat of physical violence, they do not simply get viewers worked up: they are role models.
Let me just add that aboard the Titanic hamburgers remained on the Second Class Dining Card, along with drinking straws, right up until the very end. And, when you think about it, isn't that all that the Right is asking? That we all perish with our fantasies intact and our delusions un-changed? And to be fair, those straws might have come in pretty handy if you found yourself suddenly trying to snorkel in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic.
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Thanks Mr. Krugman for a profound column. Full disclosure: I'm a white man. The hypocrisy of this group's feigned outrage is pathetic. Every principle they hold up as sacrosanct stays that way as long as it keeps them atop their imagined hierarchy. Don't these guys ever get bored hanging around with people just like themselves, narrow-minded and unable to take an honest look in the mirror? As the Donald himself would say, Sad!
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Conservatives used to say they wanted smaller, less intrusive government. But Trumpian alt-right "nationalists" are perfectly willing to overspend, run up the debt (even when the economy is doing OK), cut upper-bracket taxes, and welcome the government into their bedrooms and bodies, whether it's governing private sexual behavior between consenting adults or access to birth control and family planning.
So, the only outlet they have for their repressed outrage is to lash out at common sense measures designed to reduce the toxins we put into our air, land, water. Who cares if consumer products poison us through what we eat, drink, and breathe. How DARE anyone take away their silly straws!
That these entitled guys felt they had to attack Captain Marvel is pretty pathetic. But we should note how well this worked. Apparently movie goers felt the Captain’s tomatoes weren’t all that rotten; over the weekend she grossed more than $153 million, more than ten times the next best movie and almost three times ALL others combined. So it’s sad to hear about these cavemen, but you also have to put this into the perspective of how many of these guys there are and how effective they are. Hey, let’s just ignore them, as millions did here.
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Mr. Krugman,
Your readership is counting on you to keep your wits about you, and this message came to us from Jerusalem no less. The Republican Party has a big bee in its bonnet, to use a twee expression, and not to be confused with a tweet.
We are in the same boat so to speak and when a friend on the conservative side goes on about those 'Liberals', I ask whatever happened to Americans.
It is rarely about the 'straw', but often another matter that has worked the individual into a farcical rage, and there are some of us who feel we got a raw deal or have never had a fair shake in our lives.
Republican friends, I have noted, are highly generous with material gifts, but more awkward when it comes to expressing their feelings, and everything that is unfamiliar becomes 'weird'.
Better manners, better public relations, a better attitude to those we meet on our life journey would be all to the good, but having said that, some of us are having trouble coping with this incompetent and irresponsible G.O.P., and poor Trump is the straw that broke the camel's back.
Captain Marvel might be enticing to a large audience without making the above feel threatened, while others have a preference for 'Everyone Knows' and Glorious Bells.
Thank you for your latest.
If Mr. Krugman believes that rage is predominately expressed by the conservatives of the world, he needs to read more broadly.
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@DickH
Sorry, Dick, but he DOES read more broadly. He is not just talking about rage. He is talking about "petty" rage, where the rage is out of proportion to the object raged against. Seems to me the left's rage stems from reason and facts, and is usually fully justified.
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Hate is a powerful emotion that is very useful to an aspiring autocrat . The man in the White House is stoking the flames of hate because it is useful to him but also because he really feels the hate inside . That is the reason he feels authentic to his supporters . Look at his inability to disregard even the smallest of slights . Remember the chants of " lock her up " , even today , more than 2 years after the election . There is a lot of irrationality , hate and craziness on the right . There may be some people on the left that you may consider to extreme for your taste . But on the right many people are following Trump into cuckoo land .
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Libertarians study how to use rage.
Russians study hoe to use rage.
Trump was told to use rage.
The best Rage is rage that lies draws and stokes fear.
The Kochs, Mercers, Roves, Alex Jones, Roger Stones, Hannity, Limbaugh and our currently elected Republican leadership love Rage more than any God, any dollar, any vote.
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I don't care what it costs. I don't care how much I have to sacrifice or change. I am willing to do whatever I can to help.
I want the environment to matter. I am not young. I don't care if you call me a socialist or even something else more extreme. I don't care. I am not alone.
I love this planet. I love every fish, bird, animal and insect. I love the oceans, the mountains, the valleys and the plains. I love every inch of whatever is on and in our beautiful blue green home and I I love its inhabitants. I am willing to do whatever i can to make sure it remains well.
The people who area against helping the environment are very sick folks. They breathe the air, they drink the water, they eat what is grown in and on the land.
Rageaholics, with small wounded self identities, ego maniac control freaks all, are to be pitied. If they have power and influence it is only over those who are also rage-filled.
I don't need saving the planet to be "cost effective" I need it to be the highest priority we have regardless of any other factor. If we stopped building bombs and war ships, if we fed the poor, built good schools, provided free college tuition, kept up our infrastructure and provided free health care for all, we would have a very different society. So what if people want to call it "socialist?"
We live in dark times lead by a dark man. A liar, a cheat, a fraud, a small pathetic man who has conned too many. He fosters rage.
Remember, Dr. K, we need you. Keep writing.
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Mr. K, a well thought out response to the crazy which the Republican Party is subjecting American citizens to in the Trump era. Mr. N will get his comeuppance when he comes back as a barracuda and meets his untimely end with a belly full of straws.
Tucker Carlson is not really enraged over anything, except perhaps his neighbor's dog going on his lawn.
Tucker Carlson is in the business off monetizing rage, as is Sean Hannity, Erik Erickson, and pretty much the whole lot of the phonies on Fox Noise.
And since the day's news doesn't always deliver up something enraging, they have to invent things in order to provide consistency to their shows.
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Recall that not long ago, those "stupid curly light bulbs" liberals were forcing upon us became an everyday beacon of mockery and outrage for our everyday conservative friends and neighbors. Before, that is, their overwhelming economic benefit pushed them into the ever-more-crowded Believe it Or Not Museum of Discredited Conservative Causes.
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Thanks for another wonderful realization.
I have always wondered if the lack of rage in the center and center left (there is no discernable left from my Canadian perspective) is because you are all consumed with mourning the loss of your country. It is difficult to get angry sitting on top of a dung heap bemoaning your loss while your comforters are business grilling you on what you might have done to merit God's outrage.
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It was a literal oxymoron to place Devin Nunes and "chairman of the intelligence committee" together. His attitude towards the environment may be fueled by rage, but it is completely stupid and self- defeating. People, who undermine the protection of our environment, behave as though they don't share air and water with the rest of us. It's shocking that some people, because of their political views, are not appalled when they see mounds of trash washing up on our beaches, the algae bloom in Florida, sea animals killed by plastic and mountains of ice falling into our oceans. Talk about "cutting off one's nose to spite your face".
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What do poor people want? Do they want health care and college tuition, or do they want income equality for its own sake? I think it was a DH Lawrence character who said something like, "give the poor what they need. So, they'll shut up" (my paraphrase).
@Anti-Marx
Think about what you are asking, and perhaps you will see that the obvious answer is 'all of the above'. Health care should be a right, morally. economically, it makes everything else work more efficiently when your labor force is not hampered by health problems. Education should also be a right, morally. Economically it the best wealth generator available. And so on. Use your brain. Take economics 101.
I don't hold out much hope for the future of the republic as long as these rage addicts maintain an outsize influence on our politics. When will they learn they have been manipulated and played by an Australian purely for riches?
I bet if Nunes lived by an ocean thick with alge boom as my friend in Sarasota Florida does, he wound not be freaking about the dire straw situation. I'm so glad Al Gore invented the internet (in case you don't get it, it's gentle humor not rage). Pre-internet we would know nothing of these rages. The rage would be a private incident. How peaceful it was 20 years ago before every conservative was screaming via the internet that then goes viral and lands before our eyes to stew over. I think there was a punk group called "Rage Against the Machine". Great name for a band.
May I suggest that Paul Krugman is wrong about avoiding "triggering" such petty rage by using taxes instead of regulations? The best way to fight against such petty, self-entitled anger is to directly confront it and call out the stupidity and selfishness of those people who do not wish to be constrained for the benefit of everyone. They won't learn anything if you do not directly and repeatedly make it clear to them that what they are doing is gutless selfishness.
I hate Trump and Mitch. But you have got to give the devil his due. Trump knows media. A great big (and still largely unexamined, too. Gee, I wonder why. . . . ) part of the Republican rage's and Trump's success is because the media in all its profitable forms eats it all up and then belches it all out ad infinitum.
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I have a friend who was a police officer for many years. One of the things he learned when he started was that you can't bend the small rules for specific people just because you may be sympathetic to them or their situation. The reason is not just because you'll lose your job (you would), but because you will go crazy trying to sort out who's good and who's not in this world. To do the job of a police officer, you need to hold the line on the small things.
I think for many conservatives, who operate from a "protect what's yours" mentality, plastic straws are vitally important because they see it as the first domino to knocking over a long line of dominoes, the last of which (they believe) puts them in a prison camp run by Communists.
Paranoid conservatives don't see a plastic straw, they see a column of tanks moving 10 feet over the border.
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Mr. Krugman is somewhat in error to cast white males as the exclusive purveyors of petty rage. He missed Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, and the platoons of Fox News anchorwomen getting spooled up over Barack Obama's Dijon mustard or tan suit. Nor are picayune, silly complaints about their enemies the exclusive domain of the Loud Right.
But Trumpism depends a steady diet of anger and liberal targets, and on the days when no ready, legit targets loom, its marketers have to resort to puny ones like drinking straws. The case / rationale doesn't matter. What matters to Trumpist (don't say "conservative") agitprop engines is the constancy of fury, not the specifics. To sustain support they must paint the world, on an hourly basis, as swollen with terrible injustices with Trumpists, and Trump himself, as victims. The irony is that we of course have no shortage of real injustices and victims, but Trump Republicans glory in, and work to magnify, most of them. Drinking straws, hamburger bans, etc. are both misdirection and vital base maintenance.
My feeling is that repulsive and the male population are into "instant gratification". They don't stop to consider long term results. They want it NOW. This is why we are in the mess that we are in. It's either "all about me" or "nor in my yard" or ...... Just saying.
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These are the squeals of people who are still in a phase of rebellion against their parents. Perhaps some of them had authoritarian or abusive parents. They project their anger and fear onto impersonal subjects such as "liberals" "Congress" etc. because it's easier than admitting you hate your parents.
This is a cross over comment between, "Is There a Future for Good Manufacturing Jobs in the U.S.?" and "The Power of Petty Personal Rage".
Krugman talks about the people who do not get it about displacement capitalism. Namely, the pollution that is created for a product that displaces their "costs" of production onto someone else. The bit about Straw's and Cows is all about making people who make things actually pay for all their resources and not dump their production costs onto someone else.
Marvit and Stettner talk about if there is a future for manufacturing jobs in the USA. They go on about how a company is threatening to move production if they do not get a wage that would prevent people from having a family and a life.
If the Conservative Angry White Males that Krugman talks about had half a brain they would realize that if the USA demanded and end to Displacement Capitalism by all our trading partners that once those costs of production were internalized that the energy cost of shipment across the sea would make it less expensive, even with very good wages in the USA, to make it here. Simple math.
As long as the Conservative Angry White Males do not get it about Displacement Capitalism no American Manufacturing Company will be able to compete for long.
As for stupid congress critters, I would not worry about a straw in their soda at a diner. I would worry about the waitress who's husband lost a manufacturing job and else went into that soda!
There is plenty of hysterics on both sides...to go around.
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@wallace
The false equivalency is strong in this one.
OK, I just have to say one thing. Everyone is talking about cow flatulence, but that's the wrong end!
Nearly all the methane comes from burps (formally eructation) from the cow's rumen, the forestomach where microbes break down plant material into organic acids used by the cow. In that process, up to 500 liters of methane are produced per day. Multiply that by over a billion cows and you can see the problem.
The other end, similar to ours, only produces relatively small amounts of methane.
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Great article but to read some of the comments people are writing we are not exceptional. Most Americans are exceptional we work hard and outside of this administration and the leader in charge we are brilliant. Why would China try to steal our technology cause we are stupid? I don’t think so.
Fox News once again along with the dim lights of the G O P have displayed this weekend that thinking is not how they live their lives. How about that Tucker Carson.
I can understand why they are upset about nothing. It’s hard to live in a world where you don’t have critical thinking skills. As Trump would say “so sad” also they forget that audio and videos of there thinking process or lack of exist somewhere.
What Paul Krugman has described is part of the culture of toxic masculinity that has always been part of American culture but has in recent years been honed to a fine point.
And, lest anyone feel the need to share an episode of rage by a right wing female, let me say that a woman raised in an atmosphere of toxic masculinity either adopts protective coloration to avoid being a target or joins in the poisoned paradigm against others. It's eat or be eaten.
Now, like Dr. Krugman, I have no idea how we as a society get past this immature state and join the rest of the developed world but removing this current cancer in the government is a start. (hint: this means all three legs of our three-legged stool).
The words are telling here. "Pathological pettiness", "demented anger", "unreasoning rage", and even the "hysterical" normally reserved for Democrats. A reference to a demonized famous person, Stalin, also makes an appearance.
I think the word for this is "othering". Is this really the best way to take civic discourse forward?
I'm a liberal Democrat who typically notes bias and prejudice and calls it out when I see it, but I find it hard to fathom that "A significant number of men" find this fictional movie character "extremely threatening". Instead, I suspect most people, of any gender, care very little. These efforts to manufacture outrage based on identity politics, when no such outrage really exists, must now ALSO be called out. The Smollett case was the most egregious example of someone trying to capitalize on manufactured outrage, but claims that the Ocasio-Cortez Breakfast Club dance video had conservatives "wild with anger", or that white men (once again) "are terrified" of Kamala Harris, are simply fictional nonsense. The question here is why do so many of us on the Left NEED this narrative? Why do so many on the Left have to pretend that the other side is explosive with emotion in order for us to feel like the moral authority? This is a losing strategy for the simple reason that we are trying to rely on what is not true. When claims are made that the other side is wild-eyed and frothing, and the reality is that they are just shrugging and going about their business, we become the drama queens so desperate for attention that we have to pretend it's there when it isn't. This back and forth of "you are more wild-eyed with grievance than I am" is a dead end. Stop with the manufactured outrage and get back to thoughtful, reasoned debate.
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1. Compulsory voting: The lunatic fringe becomes a smaller percentage of the voting pool and therefore less important.
2. Get rid of the electoral college for Presidential votes: makes every vote, anywhere in the country significant (see point above about lunatic fringe).
As long as you're talking about movies, longtime Star Wars fans can tell you all about petty rage. First, there was rage over "Return of the Jedi" in 1983, that a race of teddy bears could actually bring down the evil Empire. Then, in 1999, there was rage over Jar Jar, even though he was the comic relief in a kids' movie, the same as the beloved C-3PO. And ever since "The Force Awakens" was released in 2015, there has been rage that the lead character Rey and the president of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, were both women.
Young male fans want Star Wars to be dark and aggressive, or in other words, "The Dark Jedi Knight Rises" after the Batman film, and just can't accept including either women or comedy. Their self-righteousness knows no bounds.
I AM saying that most conservatives are filled with rage over petty things. And medium things, and huge things. That’s all they’ve got. They must have an enemy, a target, even a substitute “ thing “ to fling their insults and abuse on. It’s their clarion call, to come together and hate. And Trump is their Exemplar of rage and hate, a lifelong practitioner and purveyor of the non-subtle Art. Shame on them ALL.
Much like the man with the biggest club rules in a society without laws, the person with the loudest voice rules on a social media platform without moderators. I've been on the Internet since it was the Arpanet, and I watched it start to go down the toilet starting the day social media was introduced. No one who owns a social media platform turns down the volume, because those in charge don't want to hurt their profits by taming the freak show. They are happy to turn the Internet into a sewer for the benefit of their stockholders, so they enable the socially and psychologically damaged among us who live to act out their petty grievances in front of their "followers" and "friends".
Today the Internet is society, and this has become the problem of our age. We could fix the problem if we made social media more like the real world, where there are real consequences for antisocial actions. Instead, the real world is adopting the mores of social media and reality TV, and we are all caught in the whirlpool, circling the drain.
libertarianism: the ideology of proudly independent 12 year old boys in a tree fort waiting for mom to bring lunch
Terrific column. Thank you, Paul Krugman!
Conservatives have fracked anger for decades. They transformed the party of Lincoln with the racist Southern Strategy of Richard Nixon that has been carried out since. Ronald Reagan added the attack on government as an enemy (except when it helps business interests). When listening to a conservative I never hear much about what they are for, only what they're angry about: immigrants, Muslims, Blacks, scientists, same sex marriage. Even the most religious of people on the Right are filled with fear and anger. Anger mixed with their creed of greed, defines the grand old party.
What's really dangerous is the easy access so many of those fiiled with unreasoning rage have to guns.
Not sure if Pirro, Limbaugh, Ingraham, Coulter, Levin, et al. care that their rants and fear/hate mongering is disgusting. On the contrary, they profit from them.
Just wait till they can only have a certain amount of home lighting because that all their solar panels can support.
Paul, but only on the right?
As another example of 'snowflake' conservatives, consider the so-called 'war on Christmas'. I'm a liberal, and I don't care if someone says "merry Christmas" or "happy holidays" or even "happy Hanukkah" to me. But, at least according to Fox News, conservatives get very irate when someone doesn't use the c-word.
I guess soon Fox News will have segments about the war on straws.
Sex sells and rage brings ratings. In turn, those who are tuned to constant rage on the radio and cable channels are given permission to shout out their own rage. A vicious, non-virtuous cycle accelerates.
We have a full time, around the clock rage inducing industrial complex. It produces, literally, billions of dollars for Fox Noise, Rush Limbaugh and all the little imitators and wanna-bes scattered across this great land of ours.
Those who profit from pumping up rage have no investment in any solutions to any problems. When their fractured dreams come true (Trump!), they can then rage on that he isn't being treated fairly, that mysterious forces and evil Democrats want nothing more than to see him fail and, note this, are working to see that it happens. Everything bad is all their fault. Anyone but their hero, of course.
Our nation has been captured by the rage industrial complex and anyone who says they know where this is going to end is lying or a fool. The best we can hope for is that more reasonable people and ideas will prevail, pushing the ranters back into the dark corner from which they slithered. Some day.
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I've always said: freedom in the USA is defined what is acceptable to the average white male.
It's always a new rage on the right. Remember the freak out over phasing out incandescent light bulbs? Today it's straws, even though the local zoo and IKEA banned them without a peep years ago.
Thank goodness leaded gas and paint was phased out years ago. We'd never be rid of it now.
The way many on the right reason, I would guess they'd be better off with a sippy cup than a straw.
Conservatives in general fall into this category:
They're mostly white people, especially men, who are convinced the changing times are the cause of all their problems. Feminism, a black president, gays actually daring to say they deserve equal rights, and a woman running for President! How dare she!
They think all this means the end of civilization as they know it.
It's a painful adjustment, no wonder they're constantly in a "petty personal rage".
I've seen "conservatives" fly into a rage over lightbulbs. I tried to explain that a little thing multiplied by millions can have a measurable effect, the hate and anger had already shut their minds.
"if you really want to see people driven wild by tiny perceived slights and insults, you’ll generally find them on the right. "
WOW! It seems to me most if not all of your opinions are driven by "slights and insults".
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Devin Nunes obviously identifies with the "straw man".
He could well be the poster boy for the characters described in the article. Without humor; how many comedians can you count on one finger? Persecution complex; the less advantaged are after my substantial assets. Inferiority complex; in high school and college, the good-looking girls did not like me. Poor self-image; I am weak and need a strong father-figure to lean on. Intolerant; why can't you be like Donald.
Stop me before I run out of space.
The weaker the message the louder the delivery!
Straw socialism is a good one. To that I'll add what most wing-nut resistance to climate science comes down to in my neighborhood: Not being able to change one's motor oil in the street and dump it down the nearest storm drain. You may think I'm kidding, but I'm perfectly serious. I've heard that outraged resentment at least a hundred times over the years I've lived here...and this is California.
This is the weakest column that I've ever read by Dr. Krugman. Yes, some people get angry over little things. That is not insight.
The easily triggered outrage of the Republicans is partly due to snowflake Liberals and their appeasing political correctness.
These passive weak-kneed Liberals failed to immediately shut down the loud-mouths with a punch in the nose. Now we have regular Republican rants as a positive sequences in their false equivalence play set. Had they been stepped on before they got out of hand, they'd not be in our faces now.
The other major factor is the macro media that normalizes Republican hate so they can amplify and sell it for profit - along with their condemnation to gin up the other side. They then go back and forth with trigger questions, microphone in hand, "to get the whole story" and report uninformed opinion as news.
Well said. Thank you Paul Krugman.