The audience for baloney-wrestling is deplorable because viewers get hot under the collar over non-realities. Not climate change, Gorgeous George.
Preferring spurious excitement with disbelief to facts and feelings for flesh-and-blood humanity is not new.The Nazi theatrics at Party Conventions in Nuremberg and the synchronized goose-steps in North Korea are nationalized, pseudo-wrestling, complete with gaudy costumes, pageants of color, drumrolls, mass cheers, and mindless cheering by teary onlookers. Instead of wrestling with relatively bloodless staged pain and prowess, these mass madnesses then and now scream for annihilation of mythic giants, gypsies, Jews, and Satans in satins.
Sweat pours, invectives roll. Eyes gint. Evil reigns. It ain't funny.
Laughing and smiling, they cheer destruction of make-believe social vermin. That is InfoWars and WWF, too, and Trump TV's elementary school bullying of Others, riots against nerds, salutes to "alternate facts" behind the Hatred of the Hour: Trump's "very, very bad" and "great, really great". These nonsense norms scare reasoning, fact-oriented people. We feel like judges in Massachusetts when persuasive Cotton Mather reversed his logic and said yes, confessions of tortured people in the grips of Satan are always true - "spectral evidence", though the accursed have no human qualities. Kill the witches in Truth's holy name. The people got off... and get off on false drama. Who suffers? Reasonable societies.
Preferring spurious excitement with disbelief to facts and feelings for flesh-and-blood humanity is not new.The Nazi theatrics at Party Conventions in Nuremberg and the synchronized goose-steps in North Korea are nationalized, pseudo-wrestling, complete with gaudy costumes, pageants of color, drumrolls, mass cheers, and mindless cheering by teary onlookers. Instead of wrestling with relatively bloodless staged pain and prowess, these mass madnesses then and now scream for annihilation of mythic giants, gypsies, Jews, and Satans in satins.
Sweat pours, invectives roll. Eyes gint. Evil reigns. It ain't funny.
Laughing and smiling, they cheer destruction of make-believe social vermin. That is InfoWars and WWF, too, and Trump TV's elementary school bullying of Others, riots against nerds, salutes to "alternate facts" behind the Hatred of the Hour: Trump's "very, very bad" and "great, really great". These nonsense norms scare reasoning, fact-oriented people. We feel like judges in Massachusetts when persuasive Cotton Mather reversed his logic and said yes, confessions of tortured people in the grips of Satan are always true - "spectral evidence", though the accursed have no human qualities. Kill the witches in Truth's holy name. The people got off... and get off on false drama. Who suffers? Reasonable societies.
3
According to the writer, everybody should understand that there is no difference between a spectacle they're paying to watch and what key figures in geopolitics do. If the world blows up, it is all just an over-literal dummy who couldn't take a joke. What a sad comment on pretty much everything. In fact, this is much more a confession of what lawyers do, that is to say argue for those they are paid by, regardless of the truth. I think you lack key training in a discipline called jurisprudence. As a lifetime teacher at the university level, I see what your attitude has led to: entertainment on a massive scale in the face of massive de-funding of education, instead of the presupposition that people have to work to learn. Oh, and on that note, Roland Barthes made your argument about boxing half a century ago: but Barthes explained the con as a con, whereas you think there should be no difference between a paid con -- what you do -- and any other sphere of human activity. But you wouldn't care about Barthes or my point: they're just useless facts to you. I have much more respect for sex workers than I do for you and people who share your views -- or for your more highly paid version of the legal profession (or of "education"). -- Not (merely) sad, but also pathetic -- and dangerous. You are not even aware that you are perfect example of why the U.S.A. is fourth-world country.
1
Very good article, Rent the movie Idiocracy and you'll see where we're headed. Maybe it's the fear people have since the world has become smaller (read "closer") and thus more scary, and fact that hatred, xenophobia and all of the isms have been unleashed by the internet and reality t.v. I prefer it when people keep their ugly feelings inside and pretend to be normal and civilized. Maybe that's my kayfabe?
10
They only care about bread and circuses, as Juvenal observed already some 19 centuries ago.
Kayfabe is just another word.
Trump just gave a lot of people a good vibe.
And his donor class and its sneaky, well-embedded and unfathomably financed fifth columns everywhere made sure a lot of likely to be other-minded people couldn't vote.
That's about it.
He won the white popular majority, including the white female popular majority, the voter swath for which Hillary ran by her most intimate identification, from her daughter to her granddaughter, to the living memory of her mother.
Basically with good vibes and the scare of bad hombres.
The usual kayfabe came through an unusually dense presence of megaphones, and its beat was stepped up a volume or two, reinforced by an all-out oligarchy-financed circus bombardment from ocean to ocean, through thousands of televised networks and airwaves frequencies and web attack dogs.
His opponents have become over time strongly infiltrated with his darn own Rockafellas buddies ilk and its stranglehold on everything, which weakened them decisively, and continues to do so, which was and is his strongest forte, far stronger than the entirety of his own pathetic, largely helper's helper-fabricated, kayfabe.
Now he has to give the people the semblance of bread. Some absurd substances hiding as bread.
Since it won't taste that great and nourish that well, he'll also have to step up the circus. Bigly.
Kayfabe is just another word.
Trump just gave a lot of people a good vibe.
And his donor class and its sneaky, well-embedded and unfathomably financed fifth columns everywhere made sure a lot of likely to be other-minded people couldn't vote.
That's about it.
He won the white popular majority, including the white female popular majority, the voter swath for which Hillary ran by her most intimate identification, from her daughter to her granddaughter, to the living memory of her mother.
Basically with good vibes and the scare of bad hombres.
The usual kayfabe came through an unusually dense presence of megaphones, and its beat was stepped up a volume or two, reinforced by an all-out oligarchy-financed circus bombardment from ocean to ocean, through thousands of televised networks and airwaves frequencies and web attack dogs.
His opponents have become over time strongly infiltrated with his darn own Rockafellas buddies ilk and its stranglehold on everything, which weakened them decisively, and continues to do so, which was and is his strongest forte, far stronger than the entirety of his own pathetic, largely helper's helper-fabricated, kayfabe.
Now he has to give the people the semblance of bread. Some absurd substances hiding as bread.
Since it won't taste that great and nourish that well, he'll also have to step up the circus. Bigly.
6
Now I understand how the conspiracy-believer thinks. And I understand Trump's success in pushing the birther conspiracy and his rally attendees' enthusiasm. But it doesn't explain why his "supporter," who understandably love to watch him and chant with him, would also vote for him. If in at least part of their minds they know he's not real, why would they entrust their country to him. It seems they've gone a step further than kayfabe.
5
To paraphrase Woody Allen - a line from his film "Hannah and Her Sisters" - "Imagine the level of the mind that watches professional wrestling."
3
If the term "kayfabe" is about 50 years old, that takes us to about 1967. Post civil rights movement era, people needed to think about changing the way they talked about African-Americans, Latinos, Asians. Most people adapted readily. Television changed how they referred to non-white populations, and even towards some white ethnicities.
At the same time, beginning in the 70's, opportunities for working class white people began to shrink (my hometown of Detroit, where rising gas prices jeopardized the sales of American cars, forced the UAW, bit by bit, to give up the idea of improving their workers wages and benefits every year).
Perhaps the changes required in discourse about non-white people, and the increasing insecurity about stagnant or shrinking income led to a conundrum, with white people not being able to use a psychological mechanism that is common in coping with tough times: scapegoating. It was becoming unacceptable to dis minorities.
The conflict was depicted in All in the Family during the 70's. And "kayfabe" developed apace. The Republican Party (sometimes Dems) galvanized voters by talking in symbols about race (Willie Horton, etc.).
The abolition of the Fair Broadcasting Act in the Reagan era led to Fox News, Rush, Alex Jones. An alternative facts/high emotion scapegoating became available to working people facing dead ends in their lives, providing them with some catharsis not available in the mainstream media
At the same time, beginning in the 70's, opportunities for working class white people began to shrink (my hometown of Detroit, where rising gas prices jeopardized the sales of American cars, forced the UAW, bit by bit, to give up the idea of improving their workers wages and benefits every year).
Perhaps the changes required in discourse about non-white people, and the increasing insecurity about stagnant or shrinking income led to a conundrum, with white people not being able to use a psychological mechanism that is common in coping with tough times: scapegoating. It was becoming unacceptable to dis minorities.
The conflict was depicted in All in the Family during the 70's. And "kayfabe" developed apace. The Republican Party (sometimes Dems) galvanized voters by talking in symbols about race (Willie Horton, etc.).
The abolition of the Fair Broadcasting Act in the Reagan era led to Fox News, Rush, Alex Jones. An alternative facts/high emotion scapegoating became available to working people facing dead ends in their lives, providing them with some catharsis not available in the mainstream media
4
When I was a boy my brothers and I loved to watch professional wrestling on TV. In spite of their many shared concepts Sunday morning wrestling matches on black and white TV were much more entertaining that sitting in the musty basement or our church for Sunday school and listening to a seemingly unending sermon, even if those things were live and in color. I much preferred the presentation of the devil incarnated as Hard Boiled Haggerty or Texas Bob Geigel in the ring over some abstract notion of evil lurking inside my own mortal soul that would almost assuredly condemn me to the fires of Hell for all eternity. So on those Sundays that followed a Saturday night when my parents hosted friends for an evening of beer drinking and euchre playing we'd gather around the Emerson and watch the test pattern until our real minister, Bernie Lusk of KROC-TV, would come on to introduce the contestants in the forthcoming matches. To top off our devotions for the day when wrestling was through we'd watch Oral Roberts, the Pentecostal faith healer, restoring sight to the blind by squeezing their heads while praying and screaming at them followed by a few folks rising from wheel chairs or throwing away their crutches to dance a jig. It was easy, even for a child, to see the connection between professional wrestling and televangelism. The only real difference was that, unlike TV preachers (and politicians), the wrestlers didn't ask you to send in money.
5
This Op-ed is a rehash of the Han Christian Andersen story, "The Emperor's New Clothes," in which the tag line is credited to one of the youngest members of the kingdom, to wit, "But he hasn't got anything on!" Hence it goes without saying that a man with a comb-over and a tie that stretches down past his belt-line has something to hide.
1
OK, then, is the election of Trump, the "Kayfabe" candidate, the beginning of the end of the USA? from a distance, this seems to be the case. One of Trump's helpers during the campaign was (and is) Putin. Is he involved for the entertainment value? I do not think so!
5
This is one of the most enlightening op-ed I've read in the Times in months.
11
Wow, truly pathetic. It's all based on phony emotions. All of it. Welcome to the Fun House of Horrors.
5
So this column basically comes down to --
Truthiness Lives! Long Live Truthiness!
As long as it feels true, and feels as though it confirms all your prejudices and preconceptions who cares about the real world?
Truthiness Lives! Long Live Truthiness!
As long as it feels true, and feels as though it confirms all your prejudices and preconceptions who cares about the real world?
6
Brilliant.
And the death-knell for democracy, obviouly. Because what all these wonderful, consciously deluded but emotionally satisfied people fail to realize, is that the votes they cast, buoyed up by fabricated anger, are, in fact, REAL... And these votes have really installed Donald the Magnificent in the White House, just as they're, for real, likely to confirm the GOP in power in 2018, both at State level and nationally.
And the death-knell for democracy, obviouly. Because what all these wonderful, consciously deluded but emotionally satisfied people fail to realize, is that the votes they cast, buoyed up by fabricated anger, are, in fact, REAL... And these votes have really installed Donald the Magnificent in the White House, just as they're, for real, likely to confirm the GOP in power in 2018, both at State level and nationally.
4
"how cathartic it feels, in the moment, to yell with venom against a common enemy" Therefore, everyone who sees Trump as his or her enemy should be yelling against him! Are they? If not, they should be!
1
This is such a good way of looking at the Trump phenomenon. It's almost a relief
5
I don't know which is worse: using Sandy Hook to entertain with a vile lie, or being knowingly and gladly entertained by such a lie. Maybe running for president by pandering to such an demented clown and his fans is worse.
19
What fools we have been, thinking that the world was run by grownups!
3
Because in the heyday of wrestling in the 1950's, a child growing up was told by their parents that wrestling is fake. You knew that forevermore if you watched it and never tried to convince yourself that it was anything other than a fictional play if you had half a brain. Period.
I'm not seeing much in the way of Trump supporters believing that everything he says is fake, from the Great Wall to repealing Obamacare to bringing back "good manufacturing jobs".
I'm not seeing much in the way of Trump supporters believing that everything he says is fake, from the Great Wall to repealing Obamacare to bringing back "good manufacturing jobs".
2
This piece was insightful. Finally, a new way of looking at the right-wing irrationality. I like it. Kayfabe. This explains a lot. We all do it. The roller coaster, as you mentioned, and any movie or TV show. It's all kayfabe... right? I know that Sophie of Sophie's Choice is not really Meryl Streep the same way I know that The Rock is really Dwayne Johnson. Pro wrestling is theater... live theater. It's Kabuki. It's Broadway. It has to be overacted like any stage performance. Live theater tends to look stupid on TV, with closeups and multiple cameras. But whether live of Memorex, they are all make believe. They are drama. Is drama kayfabe?
People like the underdog story. So how does TRUMP sell himself as an underdog? Conundrum.
Eurika! He'll be a rich guy that nobody likes! He is despised by all, and yet he overcomes his disability to become president. That's the story. "Victim." Run with it.
Nobody likes me either. I always complain. I can't understand why workman's comp. is so stingy. I complain. My Medicaid coverage stinks. I complain. I can't find a job except for cutting grass for sub-minimum. I ain't doing no illegals work. Might as well stick with workman's comp. I complain. Hey look! That TRUMP guy complains a lot too. The world is stacked against him. He can't make enough money either. And he's sort of glam. Complainer on steroids. I'll root for him, until somebody more compelling comes along.
How many syllables in "kayfabe"? 2 or 3?
People like the underdog story. So how does TRUMP sell himself as an underdog? Conundrum.
Eurika! He'll be a rich guy that nobody likes! He is despised by all, and yet he overcomes his disability to become president. That's the story. "Victim." Run with it.
Nobody likes me either. I always complain. I can't understand why workman's comp. is so stingy. I complain. My Medicaid coverage stinks. I complain. I can't find a job except for cutting grass for sub-minimum. I ain't doing no illegals work. Might as well stick with workman's comp. I complain. Hey look! That TRUMP guy complains a lot too. The world is stacked against him. He can't make enough money either. And he's sort of glam. Complainer on steroids. I'll root for him, until somebody more compelling comes along.
How many syllables in "kayfabe"? 2 or 3?
3
Wow, however depressing this insight is, it is a wonderful clarifier too. Thanks.
7
WOW!...This is the most eloquent description of the current US nightmare, in a way just not only the biggest but simply: another one.
Many decades ago, when I first immigrated to the US, I became mesmerized by the "have a nice day!", "every think will be OK!" and many other "niceties" extremely well disguised as showing personal interest and sympathy.
Then, it took many years until the fake acting surfaced indicating something like a cake made of a cool whip covered balloon. Needless to describe what happens when attempting to cut a pie portion...
Now we have: 1. a derelict-in-chief who tweets incessantly after getting "presidentially briefed" thru Fox News, his "adviser" of US policy, and 2. his audience of Idiocratic ignoramus who are totally impervious of reality and believe what is more convenient to their bigoted, racist and resentful minds.
Should I forecast the future?
As usual with this wonderful NYT article, the comments are where the juice is.
There is just one single solution to the US problems: FORM A GOVERNMENT WHERE THE MEMBERS ARE THESE NYT COMMENTATORS!
Many decades ago, when I first immigrated to the US, I became mesmerized by the "have a nice day!", "every think will be OK!" and many other "niceties" extremely well disguised as showing personal interest and sympathy.
Then, it took many years until the fake acting surfaced indicating something like a cake made of a cool whip covered balloon. Needless to describe what happens when attempting to cut a pie portion...
Now we have: 1. a derelict-in-chief who tweets incessantly after getting "presidentially briefed" thru Fox News, his "adviser" of US policy, and 2. his audience of Idiocratic ignoramus who are totally impervious of reality and believe what is more convenient to their bigoted, racist and resentful minds.
Should I forecast the future?
As usual with this wonderful NYT article, the comments are where the juice is.
There is just one single solution to the US problems: FORM A GOVERNMENT WHERE THE MEMBERS ARE THESE NYT COMMENTATORS!
4
Just what the world needs, two kayfabe wrestlers with nukes. I'll sleep better now.
4
So Trump's supporters know he is lying, revel in a collective "up your's" to the "elites" and continue to pledge unwavering support to a leader who could care less about them?
Read Shakespeare's "Coriolanus".
Read Shakespeare's "Coriolanus".
5
Kayfabe from a WWE wrestler is harmless. Kayfabe from Mr Jones sent an armed man to a pizza parlor.
Entertainment is fine until it riles people to the point of violence. Then it stops being acceptable. Just because you can say whatever you want thanks to free speech doesn't mean you should. We as citizens bare responsibility for the unintended consequences of our speech.
Entertainment is fine until it riles people to the point of violence. Then it stops being acceptable. Just because you can say whatever you want thanks to free speech doesn't mean you should. We as citizens bare responsibility for the unintended consequences of our speech.
4
Thanks, this explains some things to me. My father was a big wrestling fan 60 years ago, and I could never understand or relate to that part of him. He had also been president of his university's German club in the 1930s and there was always a copy of Mein Kampf on the shelf. He was also a person who could completely believe in whatever "facts" he made up to support any argument.
This concept could be very useful if one were an attorney and jury trials were common, or simply to get more likes or clicks. But, of course, the scary thing is this stuff going completely off the rails and becoming the "truth" for a whole nation, as has happened before.
This concept could be very useful if one were an attorney and jury trials were common, or simply to get more likes or clicks. But, of course, the scary thing is this stuff going completely off the rails and becoming the "truth" for a whole nation, as has happened before.
5
I fail to see any significant difference between kayfabe and religion.
3
In his memoir "Hitler Was My Friend" the Fuhrer's personal photographer revealed details of the intense and elaborate practice behind the powerful speeches, the ones that drove crowds to delirium. Including private trial pictures of poses and gestures that were coldly appraised for their effect. WWE anyone?
As one historian said "He was an absolutely spellbinding public speaker and these pictures show that it was something he worked very hard on.
When you listen to his speeches now, he sounds like a ranting, raving maniac, but we know that it came across in a very persuasive way."
Is there a German word for kayfabe? It almost boggles the mind that this might be about "entertainment" replacing reality. As this fine piece might suggest. But was it any different?
As one historian said "He was an absolutely spellbinding public speaker and these pictures show that it was something he worked very hard on.
When you listen to his speeches now, he sounds like a ranting, raving maniac, but we know that it came across in a very persuasive way."
Is there a German word for kayfabe? It almost boggles the mind that this might be about "entertainment" replacing reality. As this fine piece might suggest. But was it any different?
3
Truth has to also "feel" true? My dad didn't "feel" he had heart disease but dropped dead of it regardless.
Very enlightening article, amazing even. This is how far anti-intellectualism, anti-science, lousy schools plus Fox News & hate radio has brought us--de-evolution -> Trump.
Reality tv, scripted, likely also feels more real than many folks lives who now can vicariously live thru Donald as he tweets his latest intuition from Fox & Friends.
Surreal and pretty sad, but thank you for your explanation.
Very enlightening article, amazing even. This is how far anti-intellectualism, anti-science, lousy schools plus Fox News & hate radio has brought us--de-evolution -> Trump.
Reality tv, scripted, likely also feels more real than many folks lives who now can vicariously live thru Donald as he tweets his latest intuition from Fox & Friends.
Surreal and pretty sad, but thank you for your explanation.
10
Not only "cultural elites" practice thinking before they vote. There are plenty of sensible people in the US who understand they are responsible To Think before casting a ballot.
So yes ... The Donald is now strutting and fretting yet another hour on the stage.
A fool should never have been hired to clap a crown on his head and play a king.
So yes ... The Donald is now strutting and fretting yet another hour on the stage.
A fool should never have been hired to clap a crown on his head and play a king.
2
You say kayfabe, I say key fob, let's call the whole thing off....
2
Ahh, the Kayfabe of trickle down economics.
It is too bad the Trump followers are not the only ones to pay for his idiocies. If supporting professional wrestling was mandatory I would resist equally.
It is too bad the Trump followers are not the only ones to pay for his idiocies. If supporting professional wrestling was mandatory I would resist equally.
or, in other words, "I know it's fake, you know it's fake, I know you know it's fake, you know I know you know it's fake" = Alternate Reality (and the media should pay more attention to what the President feels in his heart vs. what come out of his mouth).
However, at some point & as much as it hurts, one must eventually face up to the fact that Santa Claus & the Easter Bunny are really your parents.
The difference here is that many supporters of Alex Jones and President Trump surely believe what they hear is real.
However, at some point & as much as it hurts, one must eventually face up to the fact that Santa Claus & the Easter Bunny are really your parents.
The difference here is that many supporters of Alex Jones and President Trump surely believe what they hear is real.
8
Also on the Trump wrestling connection and personna:
As I sit shiva for democracy, I think back to my childhood. The president elect and I are about the same age. That is all we have in common except for an affinity for fast food fried chicken and what I conjecture was watching TV wrestling matches as kids.
When I was about ten I enjoyed watching Handsome Johnny Berand. He wore a cape, carried a mirror he constantly peered into, preening and coiffing, carried a cane that doubled as a weapon, as did his butler dressed in exotic garb.
Slam! Sports has an article about Berand, known for his showmanship and shtick. Part of the article references his tag team work with Magnificent Maurice:
– “In Columbus, Ohio, Barend would grab the microphone and announce to the Central Ohio airwaves, "Women of Columbus, you are pigs! Pigs! Handsome John and Maurice would rather go out with barnyard animals than with you, women of Columbus!"
Mr. Berand, when walking into the ring, hurled insults and threats to the rabid crowd, and always blurted out his motto – “Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!”
Thundering boos and cheers would come to a crescendo.
Handsome Johnny Berand, and "professional" wrestling, no doubt an early role model and business model for the president elect, our Commander in Cheat.
As I sit shiva for democracy, I think back to my childhood. The president elect and I are about the same age. That is all we have in common except for an affinity for fast food fried chicken and what I conjecture was watching TV wrestling matches as kids.
When I was about ten I enjoyed watching Handsome Johnny Berand. He wore a cape, carried a mirror he constantly peered into, preening and coiffing, carried a cane that doubled as a weapon, as did his butler dressed in exotic garb.
Slam! Sports has an article about Berand, known for his showmanship and shtick. Part of the article references his tag team work with Magnificent Maurice:
– “In Columbus, Ohio, Barend would grab the microphone and announce to the Central Ohio airwaves, "Women of Columbus, you are pigs! Pigs! Handsome John and Maurice would rather go out with barnyard animals than with you, women of Columbus!"
Mr. Berand, when walking into the ring, hurled insults and threats to the rabid crowd, and always blurted out his motto – “Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!”
Thundering boos and cheers would come to a crescendo.
Handsome Johnny Berand, and "professional" wrestling, no doubt an early role model and business model for the president elect, our Commander in Cheat.
2
Great analogy! Kayfabe. Useful.
I don't think kayfabe "rests on the assumption that feelings are inherently more trustworthy than facts."
I think it rests on the assumption that the people (mostly men) who love it know they are helpless losers and are attracted to anything that makes them feel less weak: Kayfabe, guns, big pickups, tattoos... We all know who they are.
I think it rests on the assumption that the people (mostly men) who love it know they are helpless losers and are attracted to anything that makes them feel less weak: Kayfabe, guns, big pickups, tattoos... We all know who they are.
1
The author fails to note that many people are not affected by kayfabe. They are known as liberals.
"Among his many unconventional stances are that the government staged the Sandy Hook massacre and orchestrated the 9/11 attacks."
Not to defend Alex Jones, but it is interesting how progressive journalists miss all the ironies.
Progressive journalists just love the Rev. Al Sharpton, and never mention his steaminess and conspiratorial lunacies when reporting how Hillary or Bernie had to kiss his ring to get his blessing to have "street cred" among segments of the Black community.
Of course, the Rev. Al's Tawana Brawley hoax and accompanying racial conspiracies which smeared many a good public servant back in the day, and almost lit NYC up with a new round of rioting, go unreported and unexamined.
You see, some conspiracists are more worthy of scorn, ridicule and contempt than others.
And if you don't like the Rev. Al example, you can always focus on how Keith Ellison, the new DNC vice-chair, was an ardent acolyte of that great conspiracist, Louis Farrakhan, who never met a white devil who wasn't in the middle of some conspiracy.
But maybe that was in this op-ed and we just missed it....
Not to defend Alex Jones, but it is interesting how progressive journalists miss all the ironies.
Progressive journalists just love the Rev. Al Sharpton, and never mention his steaminess and conspiratorial lunacies when reporting how Hillary or Bernie had to kiss his ring to get his blessing to have "street cred" among segments of the Black community.
Of course, the Rev. Al's Tawana Brawley hoax and accompanying racial conspiracies which smeared many a good public servant back in the day, and almost lit NYC up with a new round of rioting, go unreported and unexamined.
You see, some conspiracists are more worthy of scorn, ridicule and contempt than others.
And if you don't like the Rev. Al example, you can always focus on how Keith Ellison, the new DNC vice-chair, was an ardent acolyte of that great conspiracist, Louis Farrakhan, who never met a white devil who wasn't in the middle of some conspiracy.
But maybe that was in this op-ed and we just missed it....
4
When wrestlers get really hurt during WWE events, they abandon the match and rush in the medics (https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/wwe/2303021/wwe-nxt-watch-the-sickening-m.... If the kayfabe called the Trump presidency causes the next recession or a nuclear exchange, can we stop recording and rewind the tape?
I don't believe in Santa Claus but sure wish I did. I refuse to acknowledge his non-existence to my teenagers and get angry when they smirk at me. "OK, then, no presents for you this year."
Now you tell me wrestling's not real. A knife to the heart.
Now you tell me wrestling's not real. A knife to the heart.
I hate the ridiculous nonsense that is pro wrestling, and I hated this campaign and presidency. Now I know why.
2
Trump built his rabid following with the flagrant Birther lies. He said on Day One in office that he had the largest inauguration crowd in history. He has maintained that the Mexican government would pay for the Wall. He said he would replace Obamacare with a 'beautiful" health care plan. He said he was sending a flotilla toward North Korea when he was not. He is using his completely untrained family to fill in as advisers and statesmen while he plays golf and enriches himself at public expense. Trump gets his briefings not from the professionals in government, but from Tweets and Fox News He reacts dangerously as though he has the truth before him. Kayfabe has nothing to do with the world of Trump. It is a waste of time discussing the meaning of “Truth” with the Donald. Trump lives in an alternate universe where facts have no absolutely no meaning.
4
Underscoring other comments, there's no focus on how dangerous, if not lethal "kayfabe" is coming from the Office of the President. Granted, your intent may simply be a brief treatise on a social phenomenon, but one perilous, nonetheless.
You're also a bit overly generous to a block of Trump supporters. There is a significant number who genuinely believe the endless stream of what are, essentially, lies-- gussy them up as you may.
You're also a bit overly generous to a block of Trump supporters. There is a significant number who genuinely believe the endless stream of what are, essentially, lies-- gussy them up as you may.
3
Jesse Ventura, a professional wrestler, did make a credible attempt to serve as the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. Only the campaign that elected him was "kayfabe".
This is utterly brilliant, a [kayfabe?] insight. Kudos.
This can save me a lot of money! I'll fly to Barstow every year and tell myself it's Rio. I might even take along my potted plant and call her Farrah.
PS......Did anyone happen to see that Trump campaign rally where he walked to the side of the stage and made that protester bow to him, simply by staring at the man? Pure wrestling. Trump voters are responsible for this unfolding world tragedy. I hope that reality finds them before they drive the human race to destruction.
PS......Did anyone happen to see that Trump campaign rally where he walked to the side of the stage and made that protester bow to him, simply by staring at the man? Pure wrestling. Trump voters are responsible for this unfolding world tragedy. I hope that reality finds them before they drive the human race to destruction.
1
Sorry, but I've retired from catering to imbeciles, liars and crooks most of my adult life. If we continue to indulge "kayfabe" we are doomed as a society. Pro wrestling is toxic and a gateway drug to Alex Jones, Fox News and Donald Trump addiction; the prognosis is always brain death.
4
This is the kind of insight and writing that makes me come to The Times when I need an intellectual recharge in this era of dumbness. Nick Rogers so well explains the reasons why facts don't matter to Trump voters. This is exactly the mindset that voted Jesse Ventura to the Governorship of the State of Minnesota in 1999, stunning the mainstream candidates and the rest of us. It proved then that Americans will, indeed, vote for a cartoon character, ignoring real-world consequences. They did it again with Trump. What were they thinking? The author's point is.... they weren't, they were feeling. Mindlessly. Kayfabely. Bigly.
2
John Hansen and I wrote a chapter in a sociology of sport book on this topic a couple years ago. Here is a draft for those who are interested in reading more about Kayfabe and governance by it.
http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/332308/26781726/1452481855523/wres...
And then here is another article Dan Patterson and I put together for TechRepublic
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/politics-is-kayfabe-oh-yeah/
WP Stodden
http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/332308/26781726/1452481855523/wres...
And then here is another article Dan Patterson and I put together for TechRepublic
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/politics-is-kayfabe-oh-yeah/
WP Stodden
3
"Feelings are more trustworthy than facts." My goodness! Sounds like
(1) "Truthful hyperbole"--a phrase made up by Tony Schwartz who was ghost-writing Mr. Trump's "Art of the Deal." He ran it by Mr. Trump who (smiling broadly) gave it his hearty approval.
(2) "Truthiness." Made up by Mr. Stephen Colbert. Self-explanatory.
I was in high school once. Long ago. I had to take physical education. One unit was devoted to wrestling. Coach began by making some distinctions.
"There are," he told us, "two different kinds of wrestling. One is amateur wrestling. That's what we're doing right now--all the holds, the maneuvers that'll help you become a first-class wrestler.
"The other is professional wrestling. What you see on TV. THAT kind of wrestling is--garbage. Show biz. Don't waste your time on it."
Two things: (1) I don't much care for people who model themselves on professional wrestlers. I'm not down on TV wrestling the way Coach was--but hey guys! keep it on TV. Don't bring it into the news media--or into politics--or into the White House. It doesn't go there. It's--inappropriate.
(2) Hey, Mr. Alex Jones. I got a word for you. You listening, fella? That word, Mr. Jones is LIAR. You are infecting these United States with LIES. You are poisoning public discourse in this country. You are doing harm. Genuine harm. Malicious mischief.
How about you hang up the shorts, Mr. Jones? Retire? It'd be about time.
(1) "Truthful hyperbole"--a phrase made up by Tony Schwartz who was ghost-writing Mr. Trump's "Art of the Deal." He ran it by Mr. Trump who (smiling broadly) gave it his hearty approval.
(2) "Truthiness." Made up by Mr. Stephen Colbert. Self-explanatory.
I was in high school once. Long ago. I had to take physical education. One unit was devoted to wrestling. Coach began by making some distinctions.
"There are," he told us, "two different kinds of wrestling. One is amateur wrestling. That's what we're doing right now--all the holds, the maneuvers that'll help you become a first-class wrestler.
"The other is professional wrestling. What you see on TV. THAT kind of wrestling is--garbage. Show biz. Don't waste your time on it."
Two things: (1) I don't much care for people who model themselves on professional wrestlers. I'm not down on TV wrestling the way Coach was--but hey guys! keep it on TV. Don't bring it into the news media--or into politics--or into the White House. It doesn't go there. It's--inappropriate.
(2) Hey, Mr. Alex Jones. I got a word for you. You listening, fella? That word, Mr. Jones is LIAR. You are infecting these United States with LIES. You are poisoning public discourse in this country. You are doing harm. Genuine harm. Malicious mischief.
How about you hang up the shorts, Mr. Jones? Retire? It'd be about time.
3
This explains my awe and bedazzlement over the last year. All this time, I've been watching a pageant in Plato's cave.
6
It might be nice for Mr. Rogers to give a tip of the hat to Lambert Strether over at the blog Naked Capitalism. He has been analyzing our politicians through the lens of kayfabe for many years now.
7
Kayfabe was originally a carnie term, which seems appropriate for our current president. He's a throw back, kind of the PT Barnum of 21st Century American politics. His presidency is like Barum's Feejee Mermaid, which Barnum's ads depicted as a beautiful, bare-breasted creature. Upon inspection what the suckers saw was a small, wizened, hideous creature, that was actually the head of an ape stitched onto the body of a fish. Kinda like Trump's campaign promises.
7
I'm confused. From this description, kayfabe seems like what children engage in when playing Cowboys and Indians, or what happens at Christmas time with the whole Santa thing.
Maybe Trump thinks he is just playing Santa. Ho Ho Ho!
Maybe Trump thinks he is just playing Santa. Ho Ho Ho!
You don't understand kayfabe. The audience doesn't know that they're being worked if kayfabe is working. So, people that actually think a wall is going to be built are being kayfabe'd. Everyone that knows it won't happen gets that it's a work.
4
I recall as a 10 year old, going to "pro" wrestling shows at our high school gym back in the early 50's. It was entertaining with fake blood and faked injuries and old toothless women screaming "he's pulling har". From the top row, I could look out of a window behind me and see that all of the wrestlers came and left on the same bus. These days, our political campaigns are a little more sophisticated but not much more. They fly in and out on different planes but they still are pulling har.
Certainly, the recent Trump/Putin spat is heavily reminiscent of pro wrestling. When I read the news about Tillerson's visit to Russia, my mind raced back to age 11 when Hulk Hogan and The Macho Man Randy Savage turned from pals to enemies during Wrestlemania.
"Putinmania is like a single grain of sand in the Sahara Desert that is Trump Madness. OOOHHH YEAAAHH!!!"
"Putinmania is like a single grain of sand in the Sahara Desert that is Trump Madness. OOOHHH YEAAAHH!!!"
4
3 Ideas:
1) What the author terms "Keyfabe" has conquered politics, in part, because of the decline of print media and the explosion of audio visual media.
When people read, they are less apt to be swayed by gusts of emotion. When we read, we rseason. In the pre audio visual world, politiicians sometimes became statemen -- consider the sterling speeches of Abraham Lincoln.
The techological genius that begat radio, tv and the internet has bequeathed stupidity and Trump. When images are constantly flashed before our eyes, reflection and nuanced thought are voided.
2) I read that psychosis DECLINES during war. During war, angry and lonely people find common cause wth their neighbors. The angry recluse can opt to hate communists, like his neighbors, and feel less alienated. This article indicated that people at DT rallies experience solidarity via joint hatred. The Trump rallies, like the torch lit parades of the Nazis, give disturbed people a catharsis for their furies.
3) When the US was born, most people believed in G-d and the point of one's life was salvation or providence, not entertainment. As belief declined and wealth soared, we craved entertainment. After ww11, television was ubqiutious and there were 4 stations to choose from. Now there are hundreds of channels to vegitate to and millions of porn sites on the internet. In 1969, Sesame street was born and the ABC's became funny. Why shouldn't politics also be a realm of nonsense.
1) What the author terms "Keyfabe" has conquered politics, in part, because of the decline of print media and the explosion of audio visual media.
When people read, they are less apt to be swayed by gusts of emotion. When we read, we rseason. In the pre audio visual world, politiicians sometimes became statemen -- consider the sterling speeches of Abraham Lincoln.
The techological genius that begat radio, tv and the internet has bequeathed stupidity and Trump. When images are constantly flashed before our eyes, reflection and nuanced thought are voided.
2) I read that psychosis DECLINES during war. During war, angry and lonely people find common cause wth their neighbors. The angry recluse can opt to hate communists, like his neighbors, and feel less alienated. This article indicated that people at DT rallies experience solidarity via joint hatred. The Trump rallies, like the torch lit parades of the Nazis, give disturbed people a catharsis for their furies.
3) When the US was born, most people believed in G-d and the point of one's life was salvation or providence, not entertainment. As belief declined and wealth soared, we craved entertainment. After ww11, television was ubqiutious and there were 4 stations to choose from. Now there are hundreds of channels to vegitate to and millions of porn sites on the internet. In 1969, Sesame street was born and the ABC's became funny. Why shouldn't politics also be a realm of nonsense.
10
This essay is an extended excuse for kayfabe believers to continue being a bunch of babies; note the grown man crying bit. The good nugget here is the implicit acknowledgment that Republicans have more kayfabe'rs among them.
I say grow up. You're setting a bad example for children.
I say grow up. You're setting a bad example for children.
3
"Kayfabe.”
It used to be rhetoric and its essential elements of ethos, logos and pathos.
We have become so collectively ignorant, and starved for instant gratification and recognition, that nothing is true or real unless we feel it to be so. Facts be damned.
Lawyers still learn about history and logic, the rest is easy.
Now medical doctors are learning how to communicate effectively with their patients, so as to "empathize" with them. Because it is better for Doctors to ensure you feel good about the fact you are dying, and there is nothing they can do. It may also help your relatives.
Meanwhile mass-marketers create and recreate our socio-economic and political consumer needs supported by massive data we voluntarily provide them.
But let's feel good because one of the countries with the longest tradition of Kayfabe professional wrestling and passionate audiences, a country where masked wrestling heroes led blockbuster movies is: Mexico.
Viva Mexico!
It used to be rhetoric and its essential elements of ethos, logos and pathos.
We have become so collectively ignorant, and starved for instant gratification and recognition, that nothing is true or real unless we feel it to be so. Facts be damned.
Lawyers still learn about history and logic, the rest is easy.
Now medical doctors are learning how to communicate effectively with their patients, so as to "empathize" with them. Because it is better for Doctors to ensure you feel good about the fact you are dying, and there is nothing they can do. It may also help your relatives.
Meanwhile mass-marketers create and recreate our socio-economic and political consumer needs supported by massive data we voluntarily provide them.
But let's feel good because one of the countries with the longest tradition of Kayfabe professional wrestling and passionate audiences, a country where masked wrestling heroes led blockbuster movies is: Mexico.
Viva Mexico!
4
Progressives and liberals have "entertainers" such as John Stewart and Stephen Colbert (there are others of course). Both are highly intelligent and savvy at what they do. The GOP and the Right (and Alt Right) never really had an "equivalent" on prime time (late night) TV - a vacuum that has been filled over the last 20+ years by Fox News and Co., Rush, Beck, Alex Jones and other assorted radio screamers. Until Mr. Trump arrived - who projected himself into the big league and whose audience projected onto him someone (finally!) who can take on the apparent "liberal" establishment and go all the way to the top, hell or high water.
1
Soooo...the average Trumper knows just about every word that falls from his slimy mouth is a lie, but they voted for him anyway. Why? What did they vote for?
I've asked hundreds of Trumpers this very question in hopes of learning some truth. And it would seem based on my informal surveys, there is no truth. My guess, there's a lot of people who feel really stupid right about now and are loathsome to admit it, like the WWE fan who grows up and learns it was all scripted, staged and acted out like a piece of theater. Most thinking people don't like being made a fool, and the ones who figure it out are less likely to admit it out loud, or to a reporter.
"Yes, yes, of course I know he's full of bull, what do you think, I'm stupid?"
Well, now that you mention it, yes. Yes I do.
And then there's my older sister and Trumper. After much pressing on my part she finally admitted she voted for Trump because she was tired of working as a sales clerk, on her feet all day, selling things she herself could not afford to Korean girls with too much free time and way too much money. She understood the code from Trump and the right-wing machine promoting him, and so she waits for the Korean girls and their money to disappear, what she doesn't seem to get is they will take her job with them. Ya just can't teach stupid.
I've asked hundreds of Trumpers this very question in hopes of learning some truth. And it would seem based on my informal surveys, there is no truth. My guess, there's a lot of people who feel really stupid right about now and are loathsome to admit it, like the WWE fan who grows up and learns it was all scripted, staged and acted out like a piece of theater. Most thinking people don't like being made a fool, and the ones who figure it out are less likely to admit it out loud, or to a reporter.
"Yes, yes, of course I know he's full of bull, what do you think, I'm stupid?"
Well, now that you mention it, yes. Yes I do.
And then there's my older sister and Trumper. After much pressing on my part she finally admitted she voted for Trump because she was tired of working as a sales clerk, on her feet all day, selling things she herself could not afford to Korean girls with too much free time and way too much money. She understood the code from Trump and the right-wing machine promoting him, and so she waits for the Korean girls and their money to disappear, what she doesn't seem to get is they will take her job with them. Ya just can't teach stupid.
5
The founding fathers did not see this coming.
5
I'm afraid they did. In one of the most elegant and rhetorically efficient collection of political argumentation ever written: The Federalist Papers. Specifically, Federalist No. 10.
We the people have chosen to ignore it.
We the people have chosen to ignore it.
This idea is not new: see William P. Stodden and John S. Hansen's prescient 2015 paper "Politics by kayfabe: professional wrestling and the creation of public opinion". I'm surprised and disappointed that Rogers and the NY Times editors didn't look a bit harder for earlier work on the topic. After all, the New York Times is not the only place where people publish original ideas.
5
Oh. My. God. This explains everything... "It rests on the assumption that feelings are inherently more trustworthy than facts."
6
Kayfabe is indistinguishable from religion or, perhaps more precisely, religious faith.
2
The absurd haircut, the ridiculous grimacing. Trump is the master of kayfabe, and he has built an career on it. In professional wrestling it is more or less harmless, although it does reinforce the image of harmless violence.
Nevertheless when a proponent of , kayfabe, ha access to Tomahawk missles and 21,000 ton bombs the absurd becomes a horrible reality
Nevertheless when a proponent of , kayfabe, ha access to Tomahawk missles and 21,000 ton bombs the absurd becomes a horrible reality
5
So sorry, but based on my own experience, most viewers do not realize that wrestling, Jones, or Trump are fakes, any more than they will believe that the miracles of revivalists are fake, or the person speaking in tongues next to them. Superstition and the delights of magical thinking are still with us, we are drowning in it, and if people did not fall for it they would not still insist that Hillary Clinton is a crook. Hucksters who fashion themselves as "performance artists", banking on artifice, should be made to preface their shows and speeches with warning labels, to ensure that everyone listening understands the toxicity.
1
This is Colbert's "truthiness."
4
Yup. Nailed it.
2
You've essentially described Stephen Colberts Truthiness from 10 years ago. It's more important for something to FEEL true than to actually be true. I believe it was word of the Year.
Gosh I hope you are wrong.
Watching fake wrestling for entertainment seems a little less important than Trump's followers suspending disbelief regarding his ability to carry out his stated agenda.
Watching fake wrestling for entertainment seems a little less important than Trump's followers suspending disbelief regarding his ability to carry out his stated agenda.
1
Play to the lowest common denominator and you get elected to run the country. Very despairing. Where are ethics, judgement, and all the values that differentiate human from animal?
4
This article just admitted that the average "Joe" will willingly be lied to as long as his basest instincts and emotions are pandered to. Trump, Jones and their ilk are substituting fantasies where reality should thrive--the Presidency and media.
This is dangerous and stupid. Sure, it feels good to the men with the emotional intelligence of a two year old, but cleaning up in the aftermath of a bloody war sure won't.
Time to impeach and treat the world stage with the dignity it deserves.
This is dangerous and stupid. Sure, it feels good to the men with the emotional intelligence of a two year old, but cleaning up in the aftermath of a bloody war sure won't.
Time to impeach and treat the world stage with the dignity it deserves.
5
This idea dents my remaining faith in humanity. That people would be so willingly pliable and ruinous to the country...makes me furious.
2
"Kayfabe" in politics is a form of treason. It's the philosophical premise of the 'tea party' and what Steve Bannon champions in order to "dismantle the administrative state". They are a tribe of boys on pleasure island braying in delight at their ignorance.
5
Kayfabes's obscure etymology notwithstanding, with your research for this article, you could have given us your take on its origins, and at the very least, how to pronounce it.
3
"Rationalists can and should make the case that empirical data is more reliable than intuition. But if they continue to ignore the human need for things to feel true, they will do so at their political peril."
What is your point here-that Kayfabe started 50 years ago and after all that time it gave us Trump and Alex Jones? Or are you suggesting this is a permanent aspect of the human psyche which was only named recently. Or are you suggesting this is some particular moment in time where Kayfabe seems to be dominating most of the world?
Does general relativity or quantum mechanics need to "feel true" in order to make them true? GPS in a cell phone needs both to be true. Are citizens who Kayfabe ready to turn in their cell phones, because the physics behind them doesn't feel true?
I have no idea what you mean by this article. I am not even sure it was written by your rational brain or your Kayfabe brain.
What is your point here-that Kayfabe started 50 years ago and after all that time it gave us Trump and Alex Jones? Or are you suggesting this is a permanent aspect of the human psyche which was only named recently. Or are you suggesting this is some particular moment in time where Kayfabe seems to be dominating most of the world?
Does general relativity or quantum mechanics need to "feel true" in order to make them true? GPS in a cell phone needs both to be true. Are citizens who Kayfabe ready to turn in their cell phones, because the physics behind them doesn't feel true?
I have no idea what you mean by this article. I am not even sure it was written by your rational brain or your Kayfabe brain.
1
"Art is anything you can get away with"
Interesting. I was just thinking about this yesterday, and then I look on the NYT edit page, and here's an op-ed about it. I really do believe that 'reality' television, and in that I include professional 'wrestling,' is a cancer on society and that it has a truly, dangerously, corrosive effect on democracy, common sense, and common decency.
2
This is scary and brilliant at the same time. Being your basic college educated liberal elite, and even worse a college prof, I've never ever understood how anyone would pay big bucks and lots of time to watch totally fake so called 'professional wrestling' and now I totally get it. Our 'so called' president is a political wrestling shill of the first order. Too bad he didn't stick to his true calling. The problem is that the real world is not kayfabe I hate to say! Then again we seem to be headed that way. SAD!!!
1
"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."
1 Corinthians 13:11
About 40% of this country is made up of children posing as adults.
1 Corinthians 13:11
About 40% of this country is made up of children posing as adults.
2
Thank you for a genuine, important insight into the mindset of some Trump stalwarts. There is a compartmentalized, emotional gratification in rallying behind the "hero" for (choose):the displaced, fearful angry white man, the displaced blue collar worker, those frustrated by "politics as usual", or those just scraping by, whose lack of education or opportunity may result in distrust of science or analysis. ProWrestling depends upon and promotes the willful suspension of logic in the service of "feeling good," as have lots of political campaigns here (and Fascist dictators elsewhere.) Unrestrained by civic responsibility, the Right has supported decades of right wing shock jocks (who might as well be dressed in wrestling clothes), Faux news and now fake news, to carefully, cynically replicate the feel good cognitive dissonance seen in the wrestling fan. (Lots of other Trump voters "holding their noses" didn't buy the premise of the Donald, but perhaps were willing to buy the Right's product of Hillary corruption or ideology.) An oligarchy of Ailes, Koch's and Murdochs has gleefully manipulated almost half the US population into believing that dropping taxes on the rich, deporting migrant workers, promoting dark money in politics or eliminating Government support of healthcare will somehow improve quality of life and dissolve economic disparity. Sometimes seems that we might as well be watching WWE...
3
Was kayfabe what got those Dems who still worship Obama through the eight years after there was clearly no hope and no change occurring? He's still black, so there must be hope and change... Is that what caused many Dems to tell us that a mediocre Secretary of State was the most qualified candidate ever? They wanted to believe? When are we going to reach a happy medium? I don't want to be expected to believe clear falsehoods to signal tribal allegiance, and the voting public is also not going to go read websites full of technical jargon and policy assertions to be motivated to vote for a candidate who represents them. Candidates - Use simple truths to convey a message.
1
No wonder Linda McMahon fits so well into the Trump administration.
3
And now in this corner......straight from co-founding World Wide Wrestling, great Trump campaign donor and great donor to Trump's Charity so he could use the money pay his personal legal fees of some $300,000.......your new Head of Small Business Administration...Linda McMahon....a great round of applause, folks, thank you, thank you!
1
Well, the 1929 play "Rope" by Patrick Hamilton was about intellectuals taking their abstract mind games into reality, with deadly results. Some people argue that it abstracted/predicted the Nazi horror. (Alfred Hitchcock made that play into a 1948 movie).
The concept of the 45th President phenomenon as taking the WWF world into reality is disturbingly interesting.
The concept of the 45th President phenomenon as taking the WWF world into reality is disturbingly interesting.
3
It just shows to go ya'-- there are numerically more losers in need of emotional joy juice in the red states that recently dominated the Electoral College than there are grownups in those same states who are equipped to solve real problems with real solutions. Time to boycott the biggest companies in those red states until they bleed green. Then let's see who's left standing when the bell rings for the 2018 mid-term elections.
1
In fewer words, this is looking into the abyss looking back.
Kayfabe? As in Moment of Hate?
Aren't we talking about emotional immaturity here? Children create fantasies to satisfy some emotional need. But eventually the real world intrudes and they are forced to face reality. Trump enthusiasts strike me as overgrown adolescents. They refuse to grow up and instead live in a world where "Harvey" their magical rabbit presides. Trump performance art is perfectly attuned to their under-developed minds. I've never been able to figure out if Trump voters are inherently stupid or are just too lazy to become adults and do the required thinking for themselves.
If the NYTs digged up the old tapes of Donald Trump's appearances on the WWE, they would most likely find something interesting. Before he ran for President, I believe, he promised to make the WWE "great again".
Is it such a stretch that the wrestling venue would be where a politician would earn his stripes. You learn the art of the insult, the retort, audience manipulation, and how to put on a good show.
Above all he learns that the villains get the highest emotional response. Heroes turn heel and back again. It is all about keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.
Fortunately, wrestlers keep their antics in the ring. Unfortunately, we now have a President who at times does not seem to realize he is not in a wrestling ring and that his actions have consequences for all of us..
Is it such a stretch that the wrestling venue would be where a politician would earn his stripes. You learn the art of the insult, the retort, audience manipulation, and how to put on a good show.
Above all he learns that the villains get the highest emotional response. Heroes turn heel and back again. It is all about keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.
Fortunately, wrestlers keep their antics in the ring. Unfortunately, we now have a President who at times does not seem to realize he is not in a wrestling ring and that his actions have consequences for all of us..
1
How are we supposed to make sense of kayfabe and Trump's belligerent attitude towards North Korea?
1
It's the emotions, stupid. The last sentence in Blair's '1984' was about loving the oppressor. You smart people reading this article have to figure out how they do this and devise something to counter it. Please.
Kayfabe is what you get when you don't have critical thinking skills.
2
Trump believes in government as entertainment and there have been a number of references to his involvement with WWF. Trumpistas are certainly not a monolith and kayfabe is only one faction but it certainly explains a lot.
NYT readers and writers continue to tie themselves in knots attempting to explain how a man they so thoroughly loathe could be elected president. Comparing him to a professional wrestler or a performance artist, as this piece does, seems about par for the course. At least Nazis and Hitler weren't brought up. Will the Times still be running these pieces on a daily basis three years from now, as Trump approaches the end of his term? How's the weather inside your little echo chamber?
3
Ban WWW wrestling, especially when the loser starts to beat up the opponent after he has won. TRUMP wom, so My NYTimes, stop encouraging your writer to write anti Trump boring fact-less lies.
1
Thank you. I learned something new and interesting today.
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Also, that pro wrestling is fake.
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Also, that pro wrestling is fake.
President obama's unwillingness to preen, puff and put on a show were the cause of a lot disappointment on the left and right, and notably a certain Times' op Ed maven. Honesty and respect for citizens' intelligence failed to entertain.
2
You can add that Old-time Religion to the list, too.
1
This seems really on point. Going beyond this, it probably says a lot about how the average American's feelings have evolved about the office of the President.
1
Certain entertainment events are willingly attended where for a brief and possibly cathartic moment reality is suspended. And for which one is willing to pay. By that exchange of lucre for performance, the audience knows a finish-line is in sight: in short, we pay, so that we may leave, and rest confident in the knowledge that yes, soon it will end...The denouement in DC will take a good deal longer, I suspect we didn't pay enough on admission...
1
An excellent point. To add to it, a moment of venting frustration may be healthy, but voting in make believe to run the country isn't.
1
"But if they continue to ignore the human need for things to feel true, they will do so at their political peril."
Will the list of "things" liberals must do in order to accommodate those who fail to face reality, or who wish to deny reality, ever end? No, their emotions are not as, or more important than, truth. It's called growing up.
Resist.
Will the list of "things" liberals must do in order to accommodate those who fail to face reality, or who wish to deny reality, ever end? No, their emotions are not as, or more important than, truth. It's called growing up.
Resist.
2
Just a sophisticated and an entirely theoretical ad-hominem attack which of course is logical fallacy. If you have a problem with the beliefs and non-beliefs of a person you disagree with, the correct thing to do is to prove with actual physical scientific corroborating evidence. Without real good and evaluated evidence belief will rule and that is just so much myth and religion.
1
This column is necessary, brilliant, and terrifying. Necessary and brilliant because it so simply articulates for the world how the Trumpists function, and terrifying because it explains why they will never, ever, desert Trump?
Baffled that after the least productive first-hundred-days of any president (Except for maybe the two who died in office.), 96% of Trump's voters would vote for him again if the election were held tomorrow? Kayfabe, baby, kayfabe.
Baffled that after the least productive first-hundred-days of any president (Except for maybe the two who died in office.), 96% of Trump's voters would vote for him again if the election were held tomorrow? Kayfabe, baby, kayfabe.
1
I know a Trump supporter, a highly educated person who went to Williams College and MIT, who knows from personal experience that Trump cheats at golf. It doesn't seem to bother him much. He finds it curious and amusing that someone with so much money would spend his time that way.
1
this is brilliant.
The antics of Jones and Trump make professional wresting appear cerebral by comparison.
A fine op-ed! Brief and not self-important, yet insightful and thought-provoking.
Also note Obama's frequent analogy between professional wrestling and cable news itself. Which is worse, I don't know.
Another guest editorial slamming Trump but this time using the novel strawman of professional wresting. Was there ever an editorial that cited Wheel of Fortune when opining on Obama's teleprompter skills? Of course not, because that also would have been nonsense. An editorial should more substantive than a blog comment.
1
Most Americans would rather be entertained than educated or informed. The Trump voters represent the " I need to feel not think" group.
I'm sorry, now I have to worry about that voters "feel true"? AM radio like wrestling are shows. The government of the United States is about peoples lives.
Hello Supreme Court decisions.
I am tired of fake news, alternative facts, and now "feel true".
It is high time for Americans to get an education and learn the truth, the facts.
I cannot quote and attribute correctly, but I agree with whomever said that an individual is entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts.
Hello Supreme Court decisions.
I am tired of fake news, alternative facts, and now "feel true".
It is high time for Americans to get an education and learn the truth, the facts.
I cannot quote and attribute correctly, but I agree with whomever said that an individual is entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts.
If Mr. Rogers is correct, then God help us all.
The problem here-Donald Trump is the President of the United States.
Those alternative universes Trump choose to inhabit on and off his whole life, rich-boy millionaire, hotel magnate millionaire, the on-air Apprentice personality, and most recently and prior to being president, candidate Trump, he actively believed in, they were not false realities, but truthful and credible expressions of his person-hood. He was a classic delusional. He actually believed in what he thought, felt, and portrayed. And guess what? Right now, every waking minute of every day, Donald Trump believes everything he's saying. It may be just in the moment or the spew that comes out as Tweets, but in his own sick, delusional way of thinking, he truly believes it. But in his first 90 days, amidst all that goofy Tweeting, playtime excursions to Mar-a-Lago for fine dining and golf at our expense, and attending ego-boosting rallies, Trump's delusional thinking has him provoking North Korea into threatening to light up South Korea and the United States with Nuclear Blasts. And people are acting like this is just A-OK and not calling for his impeachment. Simply amazing.
Those alternative universes Trump choose to inhabit on and off his whole life, rich-boy millionaire, hotel magnate millionaire, the on-air Apprentice personality, and most recently and prior to being president, candidate Trump, he actively believed in, they were not false realities, but truthful and credible expressions of his person-hood. He was a classic delusional. He actually believed in what he thought, felt, and portrayed. And guess what? Right now, every waking minute of every day, Donald Trump believes everything he's saying. It may be just in the moment or the spew that comes out as Tweets, but in his own sick, delusional way of thinking, he truly believes it. But in his first 90 days, amidst all that goofy Tweeting, playtime excursions to Mar-a-Lago for fine dining and golf at our expense, and attending ego-boosting rallies, Trump's delusional thinking has him provoking North Korea into threatening to light up South Korea and the United States with Nuclear Blasts. And people are acting like this is just A-OK and not calling for his impeachment. Simply amazing.
3
Alex Jones is responsible for Sandy Hook parents persistent abuse by conspiracy theorists who deny the tragedy. Can you imagine losing a child, to a violent criminal act, and then being publicly harrassed and accused of participating in a government plot?
1
First, to describe Mr. Jones's conspiracy theory as "uncoventional" is too generous. Let's be clear. Mr. Jones has no evidence that such a conspiracy exists because there is no such evidence. Instead, Mr. Jones fabricated this farce thereby taking advantage of a human tragedy. Specificially, this tragedy involved the senseless murder of six year old children and their teachers by a mentally ill young man wielding an assault rifle.
Now Mr. Jones justifies his exploitation of this tragedy as "entertainment." Really it is a simple formula. To atract listeners in the realm of right-wing talk radio, a professional talker has to say outrageous and absurd things. And it is a race to the bottom. Because if Glen Beck claims Obama has set up concentration camps on Long Island (he actually made this claim) then Jones and Limbaugh have to top that.
Now most of us would be too ashamed to exploit tragedy and/or shamelessly lie. We realize that it poisions our national discourse, weakens faith in our institutions and confuses weak minds. We do not see this as entertianment, we see it as lying for profit.
But it is profitable and that is what is so sad. Rush Limbaugh is a billionaire or nearly so from pedaling lies.
This, my friends, is abuse of freedom of speech. Ironic that those who wrap themselves in the Constitution and the Flag do not respect either. They simply use them to make a buck.
There should be consequences for lying for profit but "That's Entertainment."
Now Mr. Jones justifies his exploitation of this tragedy as "entertainment." Really it is a simple formula. To atract listeners in the realm of right-wing talk radio, a professional talker has to say outrageous and absurd things. And it is a race to the bottom. Because if Glen Beck claims Obama has set up concentration camps on Long Island (he actually made this claim) then Jones and Limbaugh have to top that.
Now most of us would be too ashamed to exploit tragedy and/or shamelessly lie. We realize that it poisions our national discourse, weakens faith in our institutions and confuses weak minds. We do not see this as entertianment, we see it as lying for profit.
But it is profitable and that is what is so sad. Rush Limbaugh is a billionaire or nearly so from pedaling lies.
This, my friends, is abuse of freedom of speech. Ironic that those who wrap themselves in the Constitution and the Flag do not respect either. They simply use them to make a buck.
There should be consequences for lying for profit but "That's Entertainment."
3
One word - truthiness. God help us!
Truthiness. Is that what we are talking about here?
2
A lie that acknowledges and appeals to others' basest emotions and prejudices, is still a lie. Our culture has come to this, a big bold lie is as acceptable as a little white one? Our politics is just entertainment? Then "America land of the free" is the biggest lie of all.
I get the same feeling when I ask Environmentalists why they drive cars, live in large houses and fly on jet aircraft. They're all like: "It's not what we do, dummy, it's what we say."
1
Excellent article.
1
Excellent article!
We were very critical of the "Mind Control" in the Soviet communist system. What plans do we (a free society with its learned social psychologists) have to eradicate the menace of all-pervading mega-BRAINWASHINGs? :( |:-}.
... if they continue to ignore the human need for things to feel true, they will do so at their political peril.
“Humans see what they want to see.”
~ RICK RIORDAN (b. 1964) U.S. author
“Humans see what they want to see.”
~ RICK RIORDAN (b. 1964) U.S. author
1
What you say is true. Scary, isn't it?
1
As the aide to a US Senator once said to me years ago, "There are only two truths in the world: God is love, and life imitates professional wrestling"
Mr Trump is not doing "emotional work", but directing and channelling emotions. He takes anger against inequality, frustration and despair at falling living standards, and directs them against out-groups: immigrants, people of colour allegedly making inner city "war zones", Muslims. This might have the value of getting him votes so that he can reduce taxes on the rich; and reducing trust in politics further, so people wanting to do something more constructive for the good of all cannot convince the electorate.
Mr Jones would be a bad parent if he were a sincere kook, getting so angry about untruths; but is a worse parent if he is manipulating and stoking the anger and hatred of others, for financial gain.
Mr Jones would be a bad parent if he were a sincere kook, getting so angry about untruths; but is a worse parent if he is manipulating and stoking the anger and hatred of others, for financial gain.
This is the best explanation of that certain brand of info-media that I have seen. While many people might find it disturbing, anyone who has gone to a grocery store and seen the headlines on some of the fake news papers as the checkout stand (I am not going to mention any names National Enquirer.) knows that it is not a recent phenomena. It is a bit disturbing that we seem to have a president who is able to get into this stuff without feeling his brain meat bleed. Do people of normal intelligence pay attention to this stuff?
Trump supporters seem to keep thinking that Trump will make a heel-face turn - go from the blustering villain to the hero of America. How long will they believe that Trump's antics are performance and not reality?
A shrewd analysis.
What a bunch of coddled babies we are!
Imagine living in a world in which reality is such a mild threat that nonsense must be conjured in order to provoke fear and loathing!
This is not the USA that existed in civics lessons 50 years ago. In fact, it was just about 50 years ago that Hofstadter diagnosed the paranoia that has been mother's milk to our right-wing confreres.
This is addictive behavior, the sort that's kinda fun and bracing at first but later becomes a need, a necessity. Can you imagine how wonderful it was for some of our fellow citizens who had been sitting on their racism for several PC decades to shout insults at the Kenyan usurper? I bet you can.
America has lost its mind, and the GOP has enabled it every step of the way.
I have a suggestion that I saw posted on a friend's site: If the Trumpistas are so sure that the President will get Mexico to pay for the wall (eventually), why shouldn't they empty their savings accounts today and send the money to Washington?
Oh, and Syria? That's not fake.
Imagine living in a world in which reality is such a mild threat that nonsense must be conjured in order to provoke fear and loathing!
This is not the USA that existed in civics lessons 50 years ago. In fact, it was just about 50 years ago that Hofstadter diagnosed the paranoia that has been mother's milk to our right-wing confreres.
This is addictive behavior, the sort that's kinda fun and bracing at first but later becomes a need, a necessity. Can you imagine how wonderful it was for some of our fellow citizens who had been sitting on their racism for several PC decades to shout insults at the Kenyan usurper? I bet you can.
America has lost its mind, and the GOP has enabled it every step of the way.
I have a suggestion that I saw posted on a friend's site: If the Trumpistas are so sure that the President will get Mexico to pay for the wall (eventually), why shouldn't they empty their savings accounts today and send the money to Washington?
Oh, and Syria? That's not fake.
1
KAYFABE requires more than the suspension of belief. It requires its audience to give up the idea of justice and remedy in the present. Remedy and justice(good guy vs. bad guy ) will only be be achieved in a world of fabrication. There is then only the world of will.(winners and losers). Sometimes of its release of emotion and its suspension of belief creates a 'temporary unity.' In that itis unlike religion but like religious passion.
1
In other words, Trump is P. T. Barnum, and middle America has always enjoyed a good circus.
That might also translate to the obvious delight of those super wealthy ridiculous super brainy Clinton supporters who giggled their approval to her deplorable comments. Like the Trump supporters you describe, it was clearly cathartic. Why? I don't know why. But their cheap laughter certainly didn't do the rest of us much good.
This is old news. Read here how pro-wrestling explains Trump. Trump was even directly involved in pro-wrestling: https://thinkprogress.org/this-french-philosopher-is-the-only-one-who-ca...
The parallel you draw from WWE and Alex Jones to Donald Trump is unfortunately a valid one.
Tragically, though, we have arrived at a point where almost half of the people that vote apparently feel that it's OK to suspend disbelief when electing and evaluating the fitness of a president.
It's nothing less than a complete abdication of the responsibility of being a thinking, plausibly serious adult.
If we can't even take the election of the president seriously anymore, I don't hold out much hope for our future. It's intellectual slothfulness and apathy of the highest, most disgraceful order.
Tragically, though, we have arrived at a point where almost half of the people that vote apparently feel that it's OK to suspend disbelief when electing and evaluating the fitness of a president.
It's nothing less than a complete abdication of the responsibility of being a thinking, plausibly serious adult.
If we can't even take the election of the president seriously anymore, I don't hold out much hope for our future. It's intellectual slothfulness and apathy of the highest, most disgraceful order.
32
Thank you for explaining a concept many of us are unfamiliar with and would not have had the chance to know about.
However, this explains how Mr. Trump defeated the 17 other haters (to be fair, Mr. Kasich tried to be decent, but had to pose as a hater to fit in the crowd). It does not quite explain how he won the electoral college. That bit was good legwork by his campaign strategists and a colossal failure of competence in the Hillary campaign - from the candidate on down to the decision-makers at almost every level.
Once again, thank you for teaching me something new. It is amazing how complicated the software running our bodies really is. The more we learn, the more we learn how little we really know.
However, this explains how Mr. Trump defeated the 17 other haters (to be fair, Mr. Kasich tried to be decent, but had to pose as a hater to fit in the crowd). It does not quite explain how he won the electoral college. That bit was good legwork by his campaign strategists and a colossal failure of competence in the Hillary campaign - from the candidate on down to the decision-makers at almost every level.
Once again, thank you for teaching me something new. It is amazing how complicated the software running our bodies really is. The more we learn, the more we learn how little we really know.
12
George Harrison wrote in his song "It's All Too Much" decades ago......."The more I learn the less I know."
Humans are operating from the maturity level of early adolescence. For individual adolescents fantasy plays a big part in this stage of development which is fine, because most adolescents live long enough to grow out of it. We humans do not have the luxury of leisurely outgrowing our current emotional age, because we face existential threats on many levels which grow ever closer. I hope our synchronistic enlightenment comes soon.
2
In other words, human beings are not much more than the animals from which we evolved, driven more by instinct/emotions than by thoughtful reflection/reason.
If only we could at least give our selves over to that most fascinating of all human instincts/emotions --- empathy, then, maybe, we'd be OK.
Maybe.
If only we could at least give our selves over to that most fascinating of all human instincts/emotions --- empathy, then, maybe, we'd be OK.
Maybe.
5
While I appreciate the author's articulation of the obvious, he treads too closely to validating the practice of turning the faux-crafting of public policy into just another form of low-grade entertainment. Because the policy-making decisions politicians carry out have much more consequential effects on the American people than a staged wrestling match ever will. And when all of this myth-making and reality denying results in thousands of people dying in a war in Iraq, or bankrupted by predatory financial practices, the effects are quite real and tragic.
10
If the expressions of hatred, anger, and fear are necessary for the entertainment and psychological wellbeing of the population then Jones and Trump couldn't be better for the country. They are prime examples of our basest instincts and the two have ridden them to the top of their fields. I suspect we must be essentially flawed to not have developed beyond the attraction of bravado and violence by now.
12
This is a very interesting article that plumbs the essence of Donald Trump and the importance of human emotions. The author, I think, was trying to get at the essentiality of emotions, so he strips the body of flesh, bones, sinew and tissue and asks us to see two emotional bodies interacting with one another, and with that interaction the emotional truth that is demanded of one from the other. How do two purely emotional beings interact? The one problem with the author's exposition is using the wrestling paradigm, because the purpose of that interaction is dominance. Is this how human emotions teach us to regard and interact with one another? I've heard it said and believe that the object of all human wisdom and its development over millennia is to foster humans living together peacefully. Such wisdom that is fostering human community is both intellectual and emotional, although emotional wisdom might well be the oldest and most important. Nonetheless, it is a flourishing and peaceful coexistence that is the object of wisdom. Two people trying to achieve dominance over one another is thus a paradigm that in the end fails to fully explain the essence of our humanity.
I have always thought that underneath all of it, the people who fall for Trump are those who think professional "wrestling" is real. This article suggests that in a sense I was right.
However, the influence of such as Rush Limbaugh and Jones has gone on for so long that much of our population can no longer switch cognitive gears from the "this is fun" to "but it is not real" positions. Reality, alas, always gets the last word, something that never happens on "Raw".
However, the influence of such as Rush Limbaugh and Jones has gone on for so long that much of our population can no longer switch cognitive gears from the "this is fun" to "but it is not real" positions. Reality, alas, always gets the last word, something that never happens on "Raw".
2
Well, fine, I suppose -- but is anyone (in particular Trump supporters) prepared to extend this sort of perspective to his or her health? Or mortgages and retirement plans? Doctors can just eschew all these silly little tests and instead pump their patients up with what sounds emotionally true -- we'll see how this goes for treatment of hypertension and diabetes. Bankers can do the same with mortgage and pension plans, and Trump supporters can see how well they do with this sort of thing.
Yes, it's all harmless fun to participate in a bit of willing self-deception for entertainment's sake. We've always known that the magician doesn't really saw the lady in half or make her float in the air; and that rabbit didn't just magically appear out of the top hat. It's all good fun. But when it comes to building bridges, designing aeroplanes, open heart surgery, mortgages, and what politicians do with the economy and our national security -- we need a bit more than fake pile-drivers and goofy cheering, and this is what some Trump supporters (and quite possibly Trump himself) just don't seem to get.
After all, who knew that health care could be so complicated?
Yes, it's all harmless fun to participate in a bit of willing self-deception for entertainment's sake. We've always known that the magician doesn't really saw the lady in half or make her float in the air; and that rabbit didn't just magically appear out of the top hat. It's all good fun. But when it comes to building bridges, designing aeroplanes, open heart surgery, mortgages, and what politicians do with the economy and our national security -- we need a bit more than fake pile-drivers and goofy cheering, and this is what some Trump supporters (and quite possibly Trump himself) just don't seem to get.
After all, who knew that health care could be so complicated?
8
I'm a progressive civics teacher, but I have little patience for progressive teaching fads in which the students construct their own historical narrative based on gut feelings and cherry picked evidence, ironically similar to how fundamentalists use selective quoting of scripture to validate their contemporary prejudices. Argumentative writing in HS is often evaluated on the basis of whether claims are supported with evidence -- never mind if that evidence can be debunked by a more knowledgeable authority. Rejecting unsubstantiated claims is a good start, but hardly sufficient. Conservatives have redeployed relativism and the politics of victimization to create a toxic and irrational brew that threatens democracy itself, and liberals have provided some of the tools. It is possible to teach multiple perspectives without indulging adolescent narcissism, but it takes an authority from respect that only some educators are afforded, or have earned.
8
"Professional Wrestling" (as embodied by the WWE) is nothing more than a fairy tale - every punch, body slam and folding chair assault acted out like a choreographed ballet.
And Mr. Trump is also a choreographed fairy tale - acting out the worst impulses of the American Id to raucous applause from his rapturous audience.
This parallel is not hard to understand in the abstract. Many folks enjoy "make believe" (theater, scripted TV shows, Hollywood films, novels, etc.). Most folks like to "escape from reality" now and then for entertainment and diversion.
But it's INCOMPREHENSIBLE when almost half the voters of our once-great nation choose "make believe" over "reality" when it comes to selecting our political leaders.
Only when most Americans come to their senses and put our government back into the hands of serious, pragmatic and experienced leaders (rather than entertaining buffoons) will we be on the road to "Make America Great Again".
And Mr. Trump is also a choreographed fairy tale - acting out the worst impulses of the American Id to raucous applause from his rapturous audience.
This parallel is not hard to understand in the abstract. Many folks enjoy "make believe" (theater, scripted TV shows, Hollywood films, novels, etc.). Most folks like to "escape from reality" now and then for entertainment and diversion.
But it's INCOMPREHENSIBLE when almost half the voters of our once-great nation choose "make believe" over "reality" when it comes to selecting our political leaders.
Only when most Americans come to their senses and put our government back into the hands of serious, pragmatic and experienced leaders (rather than entertaining buffoons) will we be on the road to "Make America Great Again".
7
When people prefer the fake to the real, that says a lot about how these people feel about reality. Having given up on real change, they will settle for the fake kind.
For all the technological and consumer advantages of our modern and globalized world, nobody has really offered up a comforting vision of the future for average people living in average places. In the absence of that, perhaps a preference for the simulated over reality makes a bit of sense?
The problem. of course, is that North Korea, while living in its own version of unreality, is playing with real nuclear weapons. Assad is using real poison gas. At some point, in order to actually lead, reality is a force with which one must contend. And perhaps that may also include thinking a bit about people being left behind in a changing world.
For all the technological and consumer advantages of our modern and globalized world, nobody has really offered up a comforting vision of the future for average people living in average places. In the absence of that, perhaps a preference for the simulated over reality makes a bit of sense?
The problem. of course, is that North Korea, while living in its own version of unreality, is playing with real nuclear weapons. Assad is using real poison gas. At some point, in order to actually lead, reality is a force with which one must contend. And perhaps that may also include thinking a bit about people being left behind in a changing world.
2
I guess this is why people get caught up in "reality" tv, which is not only artificial from the get-go, but scripted and sculpted after filming.
I am reminded of a scene in When Harry Met Sally, when (the late, great) Carrie Fisher rattles on about her relationship with a married man:
Marie: The point is, he just spent $120 on a new nightgown for his wife. I don't think he's ever gonna leave her.
Sally Albright: No one thinks he's ever gonna leave her.
Marie: You're right. You're right. I know you're right.
People see what they want to see.
I am reminded of a scene in When Harry Met Sally, when (the late, great) Carrie Fisher rattles on about her relationship with a married man:
Marie: The point is, he just spent $120 on a new nightgown for his wife. I don't think he's ever gonna leave her.
Sally Albright: No one thinks he's ever gonna leave her.
Marie: You're right. You're right. I know you're right.
People see what they want to see.
4
Yes! And from a fellow Long Islander!
Here in the City, now, I've been trying to explain to all my fellow liberals/progressives that they're taking Trump far too seriously. (After decades of involuntary exposure to this guy, since back in the Days Of Disco, I can see clearly that the actual threat is the Conservative Movement; Ryan et al.)
Thanks to Rogers I finally have a way to help them understand.
My only question is "How does Mr. Rogers know so much about wrestling?"
Here in the City, now, I've been trying to explain to all my fellow liberals/progressives that they're taking Trump far too seriously. (After decades of involuntary exposure to this guy, since back in the Days Of Disco, I can see clearly that the actual threat is the Conservative Movement; Ryan et al.)
Thanks to Rogers I finally have a way to help them understand.
My only question is "How does Mr. Rogers know so much about wrestling?"
I don't want to make a false equivalence with Trump, but supporting Bernie's candidacy also required one to suspend their rational faculties. Few of his policies were budgeted; no operational details were well thought out; where Trump scapegoated foreigners, Bernie scapegoated the rich. Bernie could have reached Trump voters not because those voters cared about real, honest change, but because they were as willing to be fooled by the left as by the right.
4
Tom L. says he doesn't want to draw a false equivalence and then goes right ahead and draws one. Sheesh.
1
Excellent article! This is why I subscribe to the NY Times: it introduces me to whole new realms, both real and intellectual. Applying the "kayfabe" concept to politics is brilliant, and it fits with notions of charisma and "mob appeal." Using it for Trump and his supporters is hilariously appropriate, and encourages non-supporters to bypass "why would they do this?" disbelief and move on to "this stuff happens -- now what is next?"
2
The President is not supposed to be an "entertainer in chief", but rather a public servant and commander in chief for the country. I strongly disagree with the assumption of kayfabe that "feelings are inherently more trustworthy than facts". Human emotions can be misleading or worse, subject to manipulation by a "strong leader". We must encourage people to think, rather than rely on primal emotions. Otherwise, how can America thrive with informed citizens?
3
I hope the concept of kayfabe enters the vocabulary of our political discourse. It explains a lot. It also describes a pathological thought disorder.
I wonder if Hollywood is also contributing to the idea that feeling is more important than thought. All the blockbusters these days manipulate basic emotions of family, love, and survival while depicting totally unrealistic computer simulations of superheroes, space travel, evil geniuses, explosions, post-apocalytic landscapes, and fantastic martial arts. The audience feels for the oppressed superhero or super-spy even though the plot and action have little to do with the real world. Like wrestling.
We must resist a descent into a post-rational world.
I wonder if Hollywood is also contributing to the idea that feeling is more important than thought. All the blockbusters these days manipulate basic emotions of family, love, and survival while depicting totally unrealistic computer simulations of superheroes, space travel, evil geniuses, explosions, post-apocalytic landscapes, and fantastic martial arts. The audience feels for the oppressed superhero or super-spy even though the plot and action have little to do with the real world. Like wrestling.
We must resist a descent into a post-rational world.
I don't believe that Jones's audience knows he is a fraud anymore than Trump's supporters know that about Trump. I am sure most of his supporters would write off the courtroom admissions of fraud as something he had to say to maintain custody of his kids. In interview after interview, I hear these supporters repeat as truth things that are demonstrably false. When asked for the source of these beliefs, they cite "news" sources. The crux of the problem in America today is the inability of the majority to distinguish between real facts and the hate and lies being spewed by people like Jones and Trump.
3
Mr. Rogers insights about kayfabe, the electorate, and the current Washington regime are very illuminating--even it the word doesn't appear in most dictionaries. WWE is about entertainment, but it is interesting to contemplate how the concept applies to more portentous topics--organised religion and government for example.
If kayfabe regarding the benign nature of the universe leads people to behave courageously and well--to emulate the love and mercy they perceive in nature--then I am all for it. Likewise in their loyalty to political leadership. However, it will not do for engineering, medicine, or even economics (though Wall St. may deny this in the short run).
Just as kayfabe does not really decide who prevails in a sporting contest, strongly felt belief is no substitute for scientific or legal truth. Gravely, Republican leadership seems intent on remaking society in service of their sincere, but irrational belief structure.
If satire works because it preserves the cognitive dissonance that kayfabe suppresses, perhaps that explains the golden age of satire that dawned with the elections of last November.
If kayfabe regarding the benign nature of the universe leads people to behave courageously and well--to emulate the love and mercy they perceive in nature--then I am all for it. Likewise in their loyalty to political leadership. However, it will not do for engineering, medicine, or even economics (though Wall St. may deny this in the short run).
Just as kayfabe does not really decide who prevails in a sporting contest, strongly felt belief is no substitute for scientific or legal truth. Gravely, Republican leadership seems intent on remaking society in service of their sincere, but irrational belief structure.
If satire works because it preserves the cognitive dissonance that kayfabe suppresses, perhaps that explains the golden age of satire that dawned with the elections of last November.
1
Let’s not use the concept of kayfabe to simplify the concept of Donald Trump. Kayfabe explains a part of President Trump’s support, but it doesn’t explain 100% of it. To get elected he needed the kayfabe faction. But he also needed many more people, with the swing group being those who felt abandoned by mainstream Republicans and Democrats.
Except now he’s President of the United States, and I’d like to hope his non-kayfabe supporters are becoming increasingly disenchanted with his antics.
I have two hopes. The first is that he makes it through the remainder of his four years without doing major damage to the country. The second is that Republicans and Democrats realize his election was a bit of a revolt against the status quo, and the way in which our politics had become about tribalism and inertia rather than going to work for the benefit of the people of the country. If they do, we will start seeing leaders emerge who will finally begin talking about what we really need to do to get the country moving forward (e.g., not build walls with Mexico). The, one of them will be elected president in 2020, and the Trump supporters driven by kayfabe will become irrelevant.
Kayfabe is real, but it doesn’t explain all of President Trump, and hopefully it won’t save him when Americans come to their senses.
Except now he’s President of the United States, and I’d like to hope his non-kayfabe supporters are becoming increasingly disenchanted with his antics.
I have two hopes. The first is that he makes it through the remainder of his four years without doing major damage to the country. The second is that Republicans and Democrats realize his election was a bit of a revolt against the status quo, and the way in which our politics had become about tribalism and inertia rather than going to work for the benefit of the people of the country. If they do, we will start seeing leaders emerge who will finally begin talking about what we really need to do to get the country moving forward (e.g., not build walls with Mexico). The, one of them will be elected president in 2020, and the Trump supporters driven by kayfabe will become irrelevant.
Kayfabe is real, but it doesn’t explain all of President Trump, and hopefully it won’t save him when Americans come to their senses.
4
Unfortunately for Trump, you can't Kayfabe your way through things like health care reform, an overhaul of the tax code, and foreign policy. The same people who embraced his appeals to their emotions on the campaign trail, and are willing to chalk up The Wall as emotional experience rather than a policy, will demand health care that is actually less expensive, taxes that are actually lower, a foreign policy that avoids further entanglements, and solutions to the opiate crisis. And with Republicans in charge of both the House and Senate, he lacks a villain (aside from the media) to take the blame when these things don't happen.
Everyone likes to take the time off from actually focusing on what is real, but most of us reserve the 'kayfabe' for the circus, the non important.
What Trump has learned is that the same group that enjoys the WWE are willing to bring in it to the real world.
Such is the consequence of little education and a bad attitude.
What Trump has learned is that the same group that enjoys the WWE are willing to bring in it to the real world.
Such is the consequence of little education and a bad attitude.
Brilliant analysis. I would add that there is a component of kayfabe in all politicians. They generate enthusiastic and strong feelings with meaningless statements, ones the enthusiasts would stamp as meaningless if they thought about them. Trump's achievement, one that all educated people thought was impossible, was to jump from a little kayfabe to 100% kayfabe: the US presidency run like, as Nick Rogers has it, the wrestling arena, or the Jerry Springer show. All that matters is ratings. Trump says he will keep his ridiculous press secretary because he has high TV ratings. Truth? Do we complain that a TV show is fiction? No, all that matters is ratings. But ratings don't necessarily translate into votes, at least political votes. People tune into live coverage of disasters, but that doesn't mean they are in favor of disasters. Let's hope so, anyhow.
I once crossed paths with Vince McMahon whilst he was representing the WWE as CEO. It was in a New York office building, both of us in suits for separate meetings. But as an appreciator of wrestling' s ethos of Kayfabe I was ever so tempted to approach him and do my best Grand Wizard of Wrestling imitation. I thought better of it, because when people like myself outside of wrestling cross the line from Kayfabe to satire or farce, then wrestlers have a code and they make it real. There was a reasonable chance that Mr. McMahon would have body slammed me for crossing the line. In any case, as someone who abhors Predident Trump as a person on many levels, I totally get jos connection with voters using Kayfabe. Even as many of those voters in the light of day now feel regret.
This is an interesting and unique perspective on the appeal of Donald Trump. I think the real danger is that when this "kayfabe" permeates our leadership and beomes accepted or normalized. I would be interested in having Mr. Rogers build on this by describing why it is that some people find this "kayfabe" so appealing. Perhaps this would give us a sense of how to cope with this phenomenon.
1
Content still matters. If what people "feel" to be true comes out as racist, sexist, authoritarian, or otherwise cruel, I'm sorry, they're just bad people. If a political leader has a positive vision and can articulate it, making the audience feel things can be a plus. But a politician who plays to the worst in human nature is just... the worst.
The showmanship is neither here nor there. Trump's wasn't bad. He did some clever things with staging and camera angles and what-not. Not fabulous, but competent. But then what came out of his mouth was vile.
The showmanship is neither here nor there. Trump's wasn't bad. He did some clever things with staging and camera angles and what-not. Not fabulous, but competent. But then what came out of his mouth was vile.
There should be some kind of "reality test" required of voters before they receive a ballot. As Churchill said, "“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."
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Fascinating - but what is unbelievable to me is that enough people voted in this election as if it were a professional wrestling match, apparently not caring a whit about the consequences.
I wonder how Bernie would have done?
I wonder how Bernie would have done?
The trouble with being a person who does and says things just for show is that there quickly comes a time where the show doesn't, can't end. Neither the performer nor the audience can cease belief.
I loved professional wrestling and totally believed it was real. When I was 7 years old.
I even went to a wrestling match when I was a kid (or rather had my mother take me). And my mother still delights in recounting the story of the little old lady sitting next to us screaming "rip that motherf'ers head off!"
And that was kind of the beginning of the end of kayfabe for me.
This article is absolutely brilliant. I hadn't thought of it in this light before but the author is totally correct and this explains the trump phenomenon better than any political pundit I have yet heard.
So how do we get the trumpistas to let go of this absurdity? We can't actually let our government become a professional wrestling feud.
I even went to a wrestling match when I was a kid (or rather had my mother take me). And my mother still delights in recounting the story of the little old lady sitting next to us screaming "rip that motherf'ers head off!"
And that was kind of the beginning of the end of kayfabe for me.
This article is absolutely brilliant. I hadn't thought of it in this light before but the author is totally correct and this explains the trump phenomenon better than any political pundit I have yet heard.
So how do we get the trumpistas to let go of this absurdity? We can't actually let our government become a professional wrestling feud.
It seems to me that there is more than a little similarity between believers in Trump, religion and professional wrestling. How many religious people have felt doubts about the truth of their faith or the existence of God but believe because they want to believe, because they need to believe, despite the doubts. We have religious-like belief by Trump supporters as well as by professional wrestling fans. Is belief in the truths of Trump, professional wrestling, and religion a new holy trinity?
How is self delusion complimentary to reason? A parallel exists between belief people accept in the arena of pro wrestling and the suspension of reason. inherent to the acceptance of religion in politics. Both require denying observable fact to accept a predetermined outcome
While it may be considered by many as an affront to their belief, I consider, Priests, Ministers and Rabbis, however decent, as intellectually misleading people who exist to prevent major change in the status quo. There is no religious reductio ad absurdum which proves existence of an afterlife or the quality of a certain candidate
People of faith are for the most part decent human beings, but that does not support an argument for the existence of some god who taught them to follow the path of decency. We are all born clean, most free of problems severe enough to curtail a fulfilling life without turning to others for "spiritual" guidance. It is for reasons of control many are raised believing we are born less than perfect, with a stain of manufactured sin needing to be cleaned from manufactured souls.
It is rare those who are brought up in this manner ever change which makes the appeal to belief, regardless its' lack of reason, so powerful.
Faith is the next step which prompts us to accept or reject belief as reasonable, but too often faith which should be limited to the observance of abilitiy, determination and accomplishment is often applied to the unknowable and therefore unreasonable.
While it may be considered by many as an affront to their belief, I consider, Priests, Ministers and Rabbis, however decent, as intellectually misleading people who exist to prevent major change in the status quo. There is no religious reductio ad absurdum which proves existence of an afterlife or the quality of a certain candidate
People of faith are for the most part decent human beings, but that does not support an argument for the existence of some god who taught them to follow the path of decency. We are all born clean, most free of problems severe enough to curtail a fulfilling life without turning to others for "spiritual" guidance. It is for reasons of control many are raised believing we are born less than perfect, with a stain of manufactured sin needing to be cleaned from manufactured souls.
It is rare those who are brought up in this manner ever change which makes the appeal to belief, regardless its' lack of reason, so powerful.
Faith is the next step which prompts us to accept or reject belief as reasonable, but too often faith which should be limited to the observance of abilitiy, determination and accomplishment is often applied to the unknowable and therefore unreasonable.
This is the core problem with Trumpers: they know they are being lied to, but it feels so much better than the truth - as is true of any addictive substance. What is more deplorable is the attitude of so-called mainstream Republicans, who knew others were being lied to and are trying to take advantage of it.
Both groups are in trouble though: their fantasies are in direct conflict with each other's. It was unrealistic to expect it to completely unravel in 100 days, but it certainly won't survive 1,460.
Both groups are in trouble though: their fantasies are in direct conflict with each other's. It was unrealistic to expect it to completely unravel in 100 days, but it certainly won't survive 1,460.
Good article.
In recent years we've learned that the human mind isn't as rational as once thought. Two books that opened my eyes to this were Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking Fast and Slow" and Jonathan Haidt's "The Righteous Mind."
It seems people on the Left take pride in being, on average, more intelligent than people on the Right. Assuming this is true, then people on the left should be able to figure out how to get though to a significant fraction of republican-leaning voters before the 2018 mid-term elections and persuade them to vote democrat. It's crucial that they do so. Nothing should be taken for granted this time around.
In recent years we've learned that the human mind isn't as rational as once thought. Two books that opened my eyes to this were Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking Fast and Slow" and Jonathan Haidt's "The Righteous Mind."
It seems people on the Left take pride in being, on average, more intelligent than people on the Right. Assuming this is true, then people on the left should be able to figure out how to get though to a significant fraction of republican-leaning voters before the 2018 mid-term elections and persuade them to vote democrat. It's crucial that they do so. Nothing should be taken for granted this time around.
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Activities like voting depend on kayfabe. My vote in California meant nothing, however I cast it. The state was reliably going to Clinton. If voters took seriously the negligible chance their vote would matter, they would not vote. Yet they voted, and did so with enthusiasm. That's kayfabe.
Most forms of political action are kayfabe, including all the heated discussions. These things have no effect yet people engage in them as if they were important. What is important is the catharsis, and that's kayfabe.
The last sentence in the article is important too, 'humans need for things to FEEL true'. That means you can't point out that it is all kayfabe, because that is a good way to get beaten up, never mind 'ruining the magic'.
Most forms of political action are kayfabe, including all the heated discussions. These things have no effect yet people engage in them as if they were important. What is important is the catharsis, and that's kayfabe.
The last sentence in the article is important too, 'humans need for things to FEEL true'. That means you can't point out that it is all kayfabe, because that is a good way to get beaten up, never mind 'ruining the magic'.
It finally happened and it didn't take that long. What Stephen Colbert satirically dubbed "truthiness" is now a suitable substitute for facts if it fits the needs of the listener. Fact-based truth is now the realm of "cultural elites" and not relevant to the "human need" for kayfabe. If it "feels" true, that is good enough whether in professional wrestling or in democracy. How proud we will be when the USA is just like the WWE and we can measure our government on the kayfabe scale. Can we dispense justice in a kayfabe court and hey, doc, how do you "feel" about this lump on my body (and the one growing on my country)?
This provocative and brilliant piece didn't even mention that Linda McMahon, who with her husband are by far the most important entrepreneurs of pro wrestling, sits in Trump's cabinet as Administrator of the Small Business Administration. And Trump himself has appeared on on the wrestling stage.
On the 'need to feel true':
It's not that the fans need to feel it's true--they need to feel that it's important, and larger than themselves, and that they are part of it, of the world created-- sort of like Harry Potter and the wizarding world for, er, non-readers...
It's not that the fans need to feel it's true--they need to feel that it's important, and larger than themselves, and that they are part of it, of the world created-- sort of like Harry Potter and the wizarding world for, er, non-readers...
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As Mel Brooks put it in the musical, The Producers, "everything is showbiz!" But Samuel Johnson got it wrong. It's not the willing suspension of disbelief that makes theater work, it's the willingness to believe. Only critics say "make me believe." Audiences (and voters) say "let me believe!" So, Dems must give voters something to believe in. Obama gave us hope. Hillary gave us good policy, but she's an ineffective performer. Bernie has conviction, but little charisma (and limited emotional range). We don't need "kayfabe." But we can combine dramatic emotion with truth. Campaign in poetry, yes--DRAMATIC poetry. Reagan was a "Hero," Nixon a "Villian," Clinton (Bill) and "Lover" and now we have Trump--the Clown (all good theater archtypes). I would cast Obama as a hero, too, but more in the lines of Henry V than the Gipper. In 2020, Dems are going to need to counter the Clown with either a Lover or a Hero. Oprah could play either part.
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How is kayfabe any different than crying at the death of a protaganist in a high-end art film? Wrestling is just theater for the lower middle class.
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"It rests on the assumption that feelings are inherently more trustworthy than facts."
Finally, at least a partial explanation of how someone could delude oneself into voting for Donald Trump. It is pathetic, but it makes sense in a perverse sort of way.
Finally, at least a partial explanation of how someone could delude oneself into voting for Donald Trump. It is pathetic, but it makes sense in a perverse sort of way.
Wow. So it has come to this. In a monochromatic world where things are grinding us down, where the ranks of the precariat relentlessly swell and nature is beginning to fight back, we seek to experience emotion even if kayfabe and eschew truth. Faulkner said it first in his Nobel acceptance speech: "This is the way the world ends--not with a bang but with a whimper".
So, "at our political peril" how do we emotionally adult people appeal to this voting section of the populace? You leave us with a pregnant pause at the end.
We certainly are not going to make falsity "feel" true and truth has always "felt" true to me and those I know.
The earth is round. Gravity and human induced climate change are real - not theories - and have real world effects that can be seen and "felt".
I don't need an adrenaline rush to "feel" truth, don't need to be pumped up or screaming.
I'm not sure how to translate the truths of healthcare and public education as rights; the insane economic inequality and greed of the corporations and super rich at the expense of the middle class and the poor; the need to spend our billions on infrastructure jobs creating concentric circles of consumerism and prosperity; the need to drain the swamp of cronyism and nepotism and conflict of interest and stupidity that Trump has brought to Washington - into garish costumes and silly names creating the absurd and mindless "kayfabe" you preach.
There's an old joke, "I wouldn't belong to a club that would have me as a member". Well, I wouldn't want to be among the voters that needed kayfabe to "believe" truth.
We certainly are not going to make falsity "feel" true and truth has always "felt" true to me and those I know.
The earth is round. Gravity and human induced climate change are real - not theories - and have real world effects that can be seen and "felt".
I don't need an adrenaline rush to "feel" truth, don't need to be pumped up or screaming.
I'm not sure how to translate the truths of healthcare and public education as rights; the insane economic inequality and greed of the corporations and super rich at the expense of the middle class and the poor; the need to spend our billions on infrastructure jobs creating concentric circles of consumerism and prosperity; the need to drain the swamp of cronyism and nepotism and conflict of interest and stupidity that Trump has brought to Washington - into garish costumes and silly names creating the absurd and mindless "kayfabe" you preach.
There's an old joke, "I wouldn't belong to a club that would have me as a member". Well, I wouldn't want to be among the voters that needed kayfabe to "believe" truth.
That's the first I've ever heard of kayfabe specifically, but I'm struck by how it's just another way of saying what we've known all along about these people. And now that they've made it clear that they can't separate professional wrestling from the leadership of the free world, the chickens are really home to roost. Unfortunately they're roosting on all of our heads.
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Except in fantasy, professional wrestlers do not have armies, navies, and air forces. Nor do they have nuclear weapons.
Let us put away childish things before more people get hurt.
Let us put away childish things before more people get hurt.
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Just because satire, performance art, or kayfabe are possible does not mean that they are appropriate. Satire, performance, and the like are used knowingly, as genres of expression. When the genres are out of control (performance art in the operating room, anyone? Kayfabe in an election?) it is not something to accept lightly.
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No enduring, successful project can be built on anything but truth. And by truth I am not referring to authority (things are true because of who said they are true, or true because of how long they have been true, or because they MUST be true).
I am not referring to truth as magic (a thing becomes true because enough people believe a thing to be true without any doubt and close their eyes and hold hands fiercely, and voila, it exists as true as long as the impregnable belief wall holds fast). Not that.
What I am referring to has nothing to do with tribal adherence or signaling, nothing to do with anything actually except the ONE THING, and that is the sometimes painful, always tentative in humanity Drive to Authenticity. That is the single-minded, relentless premium placed on the inherent correspondence of a thing to the world outside our perception of it - truth that stands scrutiny, performs as claimed when examined and is put to the test, truth which does not require heavy doses of magical reasoning.
This ingrafted import from logic, empirical science, and hard-won wisdom explains how bridges and building don't fall down, medicine actually makes people get well and live longer, planes fly, societies live in freedom and harmony, and generally lives which defy long-held iron laws about what was possible, but turned out to be possible.
Orthodoxy is our great human failing, and it doesn't stop at the edge of the cultural Right. Truth is all. What works. What is real.
I am not referring to truth as magic (a thing becomes true because enough people believe a thing to be true without any doubt and close their eyes and hold hands fiercely, and voila, it exists as true as long as the impregnable belief wall holds fast). Not that.
What I am referring to has nothing to do with tribal adherence or signaling, nothing to do with anything actually except the ONE THING, and that is the sometimes painful, always tentative in humanity Drive to Authenticity. That is the single-minded, relentless premium placed on the inherent correspondence of a thing to the world outside our perception of it - truth that stands scrutiny, performs as claimed when examined and is put to the test, truth which does not require heavy doses of magical reasoning.
This ingrafted import from logic, empirical science, and hard-won wisdom explains how bridges and building don't fall down, medicine actually makes people get well and live longer, planes fly, societies live in freedom and harmony, and generally lives which defy long-held iron laws about what was possible, but turned out to be possible.
Orthodoxy is our great human failing, and it doesn't stop at the edge of the cultural Right. Truth is all. What works. What is real.
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Let's not focus on bait and switch tactics of deception.
It's all about hiding the real facts about Trump's relationship to Russia and what his tax returns will tell us.
It's a smoke and mirrors game. We will not be conned anymore. It's about Russia and tax returns. That's the news' goal. Not moving the goalposts.
It's all about hiding the real facts about Trump's relationship to Russia and what his tax returns will tell us.
It's a smoke and mirrors game. We will not be conned anymore. It's about Russia and tax returns. That's the news' goal. Not moving the goalposts.
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I'll preface this by saying I don't like Trump and didn't vote for him.
This editorial ultimately is just calling Trump voters stupid rubes in a new way. There are many reasons why Trump beat Hillary. Since Trump's win his opponents have been searching for explanations and understanding, and this editorial is a step back.
This editorial ultimately is just calling Trump voters stupid rubes in a new way. There are many reasons why Trump beat Hillary. Since Trump's win his opponents have been searching for explanations and understanding, and this editorial is a step back.
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WWF aficionados and Alex Jones's audience can suspend judgment and reason all they want, and I will not care one bit. When I go to a Broadway production, I am transfixed for two hours and I forget the real world around me. But when I step out on the street, I know that the real world isn't Revoutionary France or the American colonies, and I think and act accordingly. If a majority of Americans elect leaders because they cannot tell the difference between reality and illusion, rational policy debate and fantasist entertainment, we are headed for a world I do not want to inhabit.
The sad part is that in a wrestling match the outcome is pure entertainment for a night but in government it creates real consequences that affect lives profoundly for many decades. The future of the world is nothing to be toying about for entertainment sake. When the president sends missiles to a country and kills people; without even knowing where the action was taken is cause for grave concern regardless of party affiliation.
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Ok, Captain Obvious. I think most opposed to Trump already know this (with the addition of the term "kayfabe"). We oppose, not only Trump and enablers like Alex Jones, but more consequently his base supporters, because their beliefs, which we all know aren't rational and just reflected by Trump and Jones, etc., play acting or not, are horrible. No one thinks they are going to be convinced by facts. We are simply going to out vote them.
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Incredibly astute analysis! Perhaps the best explanation I have read. It is easy (and "feels"right) to call him Fascist, or Authoritarian, but this explanation actually make more sense. To extend the analogy, the one thing Professional Wrestlers have in common (the successful ones) is the ability to make themselves very, very rich. And the punters are only too eager to give them the money, pay for the merchandising, and pay for the "brand", even if they (the punter) can barely afford it.
Snake oil salesmen I can cope with, but snake oil salesmen that have access to the power to determine how everyone, in both America, and the rest of the world, live their lives, that is a bridge too far.
Snake oil salesmen I can cope with, but snake oil salesmen that have access to the power to determine how everyone, in both America, and the rest of the world, live their lives, that is a bridge too far.
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Kayfabe and truth are irreconcilable only in "some contexts", and are "complementary rather than competing"? Wow. Does Rogers have a list we can consult to tell the difference when outside a wrestling area? I hope he can at least let Kim Jung-un (and the rest of the world) know if Trump is playing at kayfabe when he says that all options are on the table with N. Korea.
If your boss told you he/she really wanted to pay you more money, but absolutely couldn't, though not volunteering to reduce his/her own compensation, which would be one way to effect a higher salary for you, Americans today believe the boss because they know he/she is just "playing the boss role"? Or at least fans of Donald Trump do? Sad, if true. Yet will the Trumpites volunteer for the military to fight in whatever Trump's first war turns out to be? They could volunteer their weekends to build The Wall too. This is all very nice psychology, but Jones listeners/Trump supporters are perfectly able to recognize reality when it affects them. The loss of jobs, the evisceration of their earnings because a company making billions a year "can't afford" to pay them any more, though it can afford to increase dividends: they know these things are quite real. Why can't they recognize that Trumpish kayfabe will not put food in their kids' stomachs or enable them to keep paying the mortgage? Or is all the suffering they claim also just kayfabe? "We're playing the role of suffering and ignored workers, ya know, like in Evita." Feelings can be as accurate as facts if your emotions result from rational conclusions reached in your subconscious. Neither the president nor many of his followers fit into the category of people who can rely on emotions to lead to positive outcomes in their own lives, much less the lives of 325 million Americans and 7.2 billion of our fellow human beings.
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I'm a Trump zealot. I read these various offerings, as to who my side is, mostly to see how ignorant these analysts are, and to encourage such ignorance, as the pathway (1) to further Dem ruin and (2) the pathway to one, two, three, many more Trump presidencies
so keep on getting it wrong, warms me on cold evenings
so keep on getting it wrong, warms me on cold evenings
I always wondered why people queue for hours to go to political rallies, don't they have anything better to do? But then I guess I feel the same about sporting events, which probably sums the whole thing up. The organizers aren't so concerned about who wins or looses, it's getting the $50 out of your wallet that matters and if it takes some 'kayfabe' to get it, who cares?
This one of the most illuminating (if not the most illuminating) things I've read since Nov 9, 2016.
For the sake of the country and the world, I'm calling on responsible media to note, most especially, this point: “'kayfabe' has referred to the unspoken contract between wrestlers and spectators."
"Unspoken" being the key word.
Let the contract remain unspoken in the case professional wrestling. Let the fans have their thrill (i.e., "emotional release"). Doesn't matter.
But, when it comes to politicians and professional political rabble-rousers (like Alex Jones), the media must expose the role of kayfabe. That will lessen, if not completely wipe out, its thrall.
Thanks for this brilliant -- and truly hope-offering -- piece!
For the sake of the country and the world, I'm calling on responsible media to note, most especially, this point: “'kayfabe' has referred to the unspoken contract between wrestlers and spectators."
"Unspoken" being the key word.
Let the contract remain unspoken in the case professional wrestling. Let the fans have their thrill (i.e., "emotional release"). Doesn't matter.
But, when it comes to politicians and professional political rabble-rousers (like Alex Jones), the media must expose the role of kayfabe. That will lessen, if not completely wipe out, its thrall.
Thanks for this brilliant -- and truly hope-offering -- piece!
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Your title is wrong. "Professional wrestling" is not wrestling. Wrestlers are truly some of the toughest, hardest working, and best athletes in the world and they give everything to win - without ever intending to hurt their opponents. There's no fantasy. "Professional Wrestling" is the farce that you speak of.
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Ignoring that people "need" to feel that something is true is not what puts us in peril. Ignoring that people don't feel that the truth is true is what puts us in peril. Your analysis of why WWE, AJ, and DJT are able to sway so many makes good sense. What doesn't make good sense is that we as a society are so un-grounded and so afraid that we choose to believe only simple truths.
I'm with Ann from Dallas, civics, history, and what the heck lets return to educating our children in the humanities as well where complex nuanced discussions have been going on for dozens of centuries.
And for the record, AJ and DJT "perform" their "acts" under their real names, unlike the WWE actors. This clearly eliminates any credible argument that the opinions they express and the "show" they put on is not part and parcel of their own persona. For Clint Eastwood to claim he is not Harry Callahan is a viable argument. John Oliver is John Oliver, Alex Jones is Alex Jones. Both have a hugely slanted opinion, but they represent themselves and their opinion under their own name. For Alex Jones to claim he is not Alex Jones is simply ludicrous. In my humble opinion.
I'm with Ann from Dallas, civics, history, and what the heck lets return to educating our children in the humanities as well where complex nuanced discussions have been going on for dozens of centuries.
And for the record, AJ and DJT "perform" their "acts" under their real names, unlike the WWE actors. This clearly eliminates any credible argument that the opinions they express and the "show" they put on is not part and parcel of their own persona. For Clint Eastwood to claim he is not Harry Callahan is a viable argument. John Oliver is John Oliver, Alex Jones is Alex Jones. Both have a hugely slanted opinion, but they represent themselves and their opinion under their own name. For Alex Jones to claim he is not Alex Jones is simply ludicrous. In my humble opinion.
I agree with Aaron S. of New York. This is a tragedy for democracy.
The Donald, friend of Alex Jones, Bill O'Reilly, Sarah Palin and Ted Nugent and what's his name, and Gen. Flynn, and all the others, I mean, when you have so many millions of voters who can't see the difference between a deranged entertainer and qualified or sort of qualifed would be presidents, that Donald Trump is elected POTUS, you have to wonder if giving the right to vote to every citizen of age is a really good idea. Like Winston Churchill once said of capitalism, it may be the worst system except for all the others, but, Donald Trump, POTUS, I just can't wrap my head around that.
The Donald, friend of Alex Jones, Bill O'Reilly, Sarah Palin and Ted Nugent and what's his name, and Gen. Flynn, and all the others, I mean, when you have so many millions of voters who can't see the difference between a deranged entertainer and qualified or sort of qualifed would be presidents, that Donald Trump is elected POTUS, you have to wonder if giving the right to vote to every citizen of age is a really good idea. Like Winston Churchill once said of capitalism, it may be the worst system except for all the others, but, Donald Trump, POTUS, I just can't wrap my head around that.
It occurs to me that the magical thinking described here would be comforting to Trump supporters in the same way that a person preparing to jump off a bridge would be comforted by the belief that he could fly.
I understand the impulse that Trump is able to illicit in his supporters even though I completely reject their idea of truth. We lie to ourselves all the time to be happy. Whether this means your dog went to a special farm, when your significant other says, "It's not you, its me.", when we imagine an afterlife that everyone or just some people get to go. These are all easy lies that we tell ourselves to make life easier.
Trump supporters bought the lie of fear that Jones and Trump peddle of fear. Fear that immigrates will take their jobs, fear of competing religion causing terrorism, fear that we will never be safe and that the government is run by lizard people and is trying to wipe out 80% of the population. Once you have bought into the fear it is easy to comfort yourself by pushing this fear onto a strong leader who can rescue you from your woes.
Each of us has to recognize that this phenomenon is not new or unique to trump voters. We have to resist the easy "truths" and live in the reality of life, regardless of how uncomforting and scary it might be. Only then can we be honest with our situation and work to address issues that plague the planet.
Trump supporters bought the lie of fear that Jones and Trump peddle of fear. Fear that immigrates will take their jobs, fear of competing religion causing terrorism, fear that we will never be safe and that the government is run by lizard people and is trying to wipe out 80% of the population. Once you have bought into the fear it is easy to comfort yourself by pushing this fear onto a strong leader who can rescue you from your woes.
Each of us has to recognize that this phenomenon is not new or unique to trump voters. We have to resist the easy "truths" and live in the reality of life, regardless of how uncomforting and scary it might be. Only then can we be honest with our situation and work to address issues that plague the planet.
Trump and Alex Jones are both fraudsters, no doubt about it. They exploit the need of far too many gullible and misinformed individuals to believe in something they already know in their bones is 'the subjective' truth (most of us call it opinion, or fabrication if prejudiced); in which case, reality as is becomes just a distraction from their preconceived world where fact and fiction become interchangeable. The tragedy is that these two professional liars are in a position of power to delude some folks into believing their fantasies are the dogma truth; and even worse, some borderline psychiatric cases may feel the need to act on them, a highly venomous, hence, dangerous path. These two unscrupulous thugs must be denounced for what they are, charlatans, and hopefully removed from circulation. They appeal to deep emotions of resentment, where reason has no place, and justice a mere afterthought.
When the Philippines' most famous actor, Joseph Estrada, who had appeared as an action hero in scores of films, ran for President in 1998, one of the barons who opposed him apparently assured his colleagues that he would deliver his province for one of Estrada's opponents.
A few weeks later he had to admit that there was no way he could persuade the people not to vote for Estrada. They had to vote for him, they said, because he was the only candidate who had fought against the Japanese.
Estrada, who was born in 1937, was unsuited for the post and ultimately was deposed by an extra-judicial national consensus, EDSA II (an echo of the events that had deposed Marcos).
A few weeks later he had to admit that there was no way he could persuade the people not to vote for Estrada. They had to vote for him, they said, because he was the only candidate who had fought against the Japanese.
Estrada, who was born in 1937, was unsuited for the post and ultimately was deposed by an extra-judicial national consensus, EDSA II (an echo of the events that had deposed Marcos).
This kinda nails the phenomenon upon which Trump and increasingly the Republican Party rides. And yes, it is now the Party of Trump.
Pro "wrestling" used to be on TV for an hour on Saturday morning. Competing with various cartoon shows. Going over to the Trumps to watch in color the thrill of the week. The real bruises from "lil donnie the sadist" were almost worth it.
Thanks for a very insightful op-ed. It explains so much I couldn’t quite fathom before. These must be people who have no outlet for their hatreds, fears, or feelings of aggression. Jim Crow in the South gave people permission to act out such emotions in behaviors demeaning to others, or even through beatings and lynching. What’s a person to do when such releases are no longer available? We saw “what’’ at Trump rallies, and every day with the nonsense spewed by the likes of Fox, Breitbart, Alex Jones et al. This explains everything from alternative facts to why people vote for politicians hostile to their well-being. The need to emote one’s inner demons, then, trumps reason, logic, and self-interest.
Two thoughts:
First, Kim Jong-Un presents to his subjects all of his fantastical nonsense as the absolute truth, not as kayfabe. North Koreans have been utterly and completely brainwashed and have no capacity or desire to know what is real, and will not question him on fear of death.
Secondly, you manage to define for our elucidation (we skeptics and realists – the un-brainwashed) the mechanics of how Alex Jones and Trump manage to fool their minions, but seemingly without passing judgment or negative opinion on this kind of behavior. It's as if you think that the behavior of Alex Jones and the so-called president toward their audience is as benign as pro wrestling is among its followers and that we just need to understand it better. Well, it is not benign; it is having a lasting destructive effect on our nation and our lives.
First, Kim Jong-Un presents to his subjects all of his fantastical nonsense as the absolute truth, not as kayfabe. North Koreans have been utterly and completely brainwashed and have no capacity or desire to know what is real, and will not question him on fear of death.
Secondly, you manage to define for our elucidation (we skeptics and realists – the un-brainwashed) the mechanics of how Alex Jones and Trump manage to fool their minions, but seemingly without passing judgment or negative opinion on this kind of behavior. It's as if you think that the behavior of Alex Jones and the so-called president toward their audience is as benign as pro wrestling is among its followers and that we just need to understand it better. Well, it is not benign; it is having a lasting destructive effect on our nation and our lives.
1
I wonder: are there any masters of kayfabe who are women? In a way, it's a kind of operatic surrender to hyper-emotionality what would seem too feminine were not the practitioners the most macho of men. Any woman who did this would be regarded as hysterical and dismissed out of hand.
Kind of like finally getting a diagnosis after a lengthy illness it's good to have a word to describe our malady. Trump clearly took advantage of kayfabe among his followers which allowed him to lie yet be believed. What's not clear is WHY people so passionately believe in something they know to be false. Perhaps this is how cults are born?
1
Nick Rogers nails it when he compares the appeal of Donald Trump has to his supporters as being the same as that a professional wrestler has to his fans: both groups "admire a man who can identify their most primal feelings, validate them, and choreograph their release."
And the reason this analysis is so politically valuable is that it refutes the often made claim that Trump voters will turn on their man as soon as they realize that he has failed to deliver on the many promises he made to them as a candidate.
Trump's supporters are not in love with his policies, they are in love with his performance. And, as long as he keeps delivering the rage and the bluster and the Fox-News-fueled tweets, they are going to keep applauding.
It's better for Democrats not to waste their time trying to change the minds of these die-hard DJT fanboys and, instead, use shifting demographics to bring more people into the electoral process and out vote them at the polls.
And the reason this analysis is so politically valuable is that it refutes the often made claim that Trump voters will turn on their man as soon as they realize that he has failed to deliver on the many promises he made to them as a candidate.
Trump's supporters are not in love with his policies, they are in love with his performance. And, as long as he keeps delivering the rage and the bluster and the Fox-News-fueled tweets, they are going to keep applauding.
It's better for Democrats not to waste their time trying to change the minds of these die-hard DJT fanboys and, instead, use shifting demographics to bring more people into the electoral process and out vote them at the polls.
48
One should rue the election that clearly brought the antics of the WWF to the presidential stage. But here we apparently are indeed.
Those on the left likely cringe as such a destruction of the democratic process, but one need look only as far as Middlebury or Yale to find university students trading in a similar way as Trump and his band: using emotions to drive their views, not facts. Just as the left bemoans the knuckle draggers who deny climate change, explaining it away with contorted, tortured logic, one can say similar things about the emotions tied to the need for safe spaces and trigger warning and constant accusations of cultural appropriation. Neither side is using much in the way of fact or any objective reality. Rather both simply tap into the emotional and allege their opposition is using "fake" facts or "hate" speech to create an opinion. Just as patriotism may be the last refuge of the scoundrel, emotional diatribes, either from those calling themselves liberal or conservative, robs us of any real debate. We now just have bread and circus.
Those on the left likely cringe as such a destruction of the democratic process, but one need look only as far as Middlebury or Yale to find university students trading in a similar way as Trump and his band: using emotions to drive their views, not facts. Just as the left bemoans the knuckle draggers who deny climate change, explaining it away with contorted, tortured logic, one can say similar things about the emotions tied to the need for safe spaces and trigger warning and constant accusations of cultural appropriation. Neither side is using much in the way of fact or any objective reality. Rather both simply tap into the emotional and allege their opposition is using "fake" facts or "hate" speech to create an opinion. Just as patriotism may be the last refuge of the scoundrel, emotional diatribes, either from those calling themselves liberal or conservative, robs us of any real debate. We now just have bread and circus.
18
Makes sense to me to hear that this whole Administration is fake: fake election, fake facts, fake promises, fake President. We're all being taken for a ride as "roller coaster enthusiasts" on a "runaway mine car."
The reason our country is divided is that Democrats decry the false promises and fake solutions of the GOP, and Republicans embrace them as part of "the ride." Doesn't matter whether government "works" or not: we're all screaming for our lives. Dems want the ride to be over, and Republicans want to go again, just for the thrill of it all!
The reason our country is divided is that Democrats decry the false promises and fake solutions of the GOP, and Republicans embrace them as part of "the ride." Doesn't matter whether government "works" or not: we're all screaming for our lives. Dems want the ride to be over, and Republicans want to go again, just for the thrill of it all!
27
One of the Sandy Hook parents who lost a child admitted that he listened to Alex Jones regularly before the terrible shooting tragedy. He claimed that Jones provided "entertainment value," and indeed that may be why a lot of people listen to his gonzo rants.
After Jones claimed that Sandy Hook was a fraud perpetrated by actors to provide an excuse for gun control, this parent woke up and realized what a fraud Jones was. Jones has never recanted this insane claim.
Infotainment commentators like Jones and Rush Limbaugh know that being an off-the-wall commentator touting crazy conspiracy theories attracts an audience. They are not promulgating journalism. They are marketing cartoonish craziness, like the National Enquirer spouting headlines like "Princess Diana didn't die--she was abducted by aliens."
Unfortunately, people become addicted to this nonsense and start to believe it. There are a lot of Trump supporters in this category.
After Jones claimed that Sandy Hook was a fraud perpetrated by actors to provide an excuse for gun control, this parent woke up and realized what a fraud Jones was. Jones has never recanted this insane claim.
Infotainment commentators like Jones and Rush Limbaugh know that being an off-the-wall commentator touting crazy conspiracy theories attracts an audience. They are not promulgating journalism. They are marketing cartoonish craziness, like the National Enquirer spouting headlines like "Princess Diana didn't die--she was abducted by aliens."
Unfortunately, people become addicted to this nonsense and start to believe it. There are a lot of Trump supporters in this category.
50
Great essay, thank you so much. The one thing Rogers didn't quite say is that the reason kayfabe works is because the thing that is pretended is something the audience very much WANTS to be true. The audience wants fake wrestlers to be godlike warriors; they want Hilary Clinton to be a child abuser or terminally ill, so she won't win the election; they want Sandy Hook to be a hoax, so it won't drive gun control legislation; they want the President to build a wall so they can feel America is dominant again, etc. Many (most?) voters vote on image identity and not policies. Donald Trump won because voters in key states preferred the identity he projected (a real, tough man) over Clinton's smarty pants woman. This explains why so many people vote against their policy interests. Image is everything, and substance is nothing.
82
This works in wrestling because no one is going to get hurt, no real punches or slams are going to happen. Too bad for us that any wars we now start will have real bombs and any toxins dumped in our waters will be real poison, and people who lose health insurance will have real illnesses they can't get treatment for. We're kufubed.
49
It's worth noting that Donald Trump is the only President in the WWE Hall of Fame. He and Vince McMahon are buddies and he beat Vince, by proxy, in a haircut match and Vince had to have his head shaved.
Wrestling has evolved so most fans know the matches are fake, but they still believe the backstage episodes are real. By that I mean the romances and so on. Every WWE wedding has ended in disaster.
The sad thing about Trump is there is no reality on stage or off. I heard the authors of a book on the campaign say that unlike Bernie and Trump who believed what they said, that Hillary thought it was her job to hire people to tell her what to say.
I think that is wrong because Trump never believed in anything, unless you count the racism and hate that underlies most of his positions. Clearly none of the specific policies ever had any meaning to him. It is so sad that so many Trump supporters believe in him, and in my opinion, it is because they share his underlying racism and hate. I don't think there is an easy solution to that,
Wrestling has evolved so most fans know the matches are fake, but they still believe the backstage episodes are real. By that I mean the romances and so on. Every WWE wedding has ended in disaster.
The sad thing about Trump is there is no reality on stage or off. I heard the authors of a book on the campaign say that unlike Bernie and Trump who believed what they said, that Hillary thought it was her job to hire people to tell her what to say.
I think that is wrong because Trump never believed in anything, unless you count the racism and hate that underlies most of his positions. Clearly none of the specific policies ever had any meaning to him. It is so sad that so many Trump supporters believe in him, and in my opinion, it is because they share his underlying racism and hate. I don't think there is an easy solution to that,
22
Wrestlers involved in the McMahon productions were juiced with steroids for years to produce the entertaining rage roids and cartoon physiques.
Five dozen pre 50 yr old wrestlers died from heart ailments, suicide, violence. They were a dispensable part of the lucrative corporation run by Donald's small business pick. Fantasy. Exploitation. Ignorance. Abuse. Billions in profit with zero regard for real consequences to real people. Tax policies that rewarded McMahon with credits in one state because income was declared in another. Credits could be sold resulting in a double win. A scam. Legal. No wonder Trump picked her. Only thing real about their dealings is the Fix is in. Americans won't win. Science is not part of the equation. Nor morality, justice, truth, patriotism. Sham. Beginning to end. Jones, McMahon, Trump. A trifecta of nastiness. And people seem to love it.
Five dozen pre 50 yr old wrestlers died from heart ailments, suicide, violence. They were a dispensable part of the lucrative corporation run by Donald's small business pick. Fantasy. Exploitation. Ignorance. Abuse. Billions in profit with zero regard for real consequences to real people. Tax policies that rewarded McMahon with credits in one state because income was declared in another. Credits could be sold resulting in a double win. A scam. Legal. No wonder Trump picked her. Only thing real about their dealings is the Fix is in. Americans won't win. Science is not part of the equation. Nor morality, justice, truth, patriotism. Sham. Beginning to end. Jones, McMahon, Trump. A trifecta of nastiness. And people seem to love it.
59
A major point Rogers misses is that professional wrestling, like Donald Trump and Alex Jones, vindicates its audience's feelings about an enemy that the 'sport' vilifies. In the 80s, lots of wrestling villains were foreigners, particularly Russian, and the heroes were all-American (read: white, blonde) patriots like Hulk Hogan; now you can find greedy businessmen manipulating down-and-out blue collar workers in the ring. The villains are very wealthy; the heroes are struggling people who lose their house and their job.
The same is employed by Trump and Jones. Trump echoes and thereby validates his supporters' feelings about, say, Mexicans, and Jones validates his audience's feelings about the government---both are going to kill you and everyone you love. Therefore, they must be stopped.
The main difference is that wrestling fans know what they're watching is fake (for the most part). That can't be said about supporters of Trump and Jones.
The same is employed by Trump and Jones. Trump echoes and thereby validates his supporters' feelings about, say, Mexicans, and Jones validates his audience's feelings about the government---both are going to kill you and everyone you love. Therefore, they must be stopped.
The main difference is that wrestling fans know what they're watching is fake (for the most part). That can't be said about supporters of Trump and Jones.
35
It's a very good analogy, except for two important differences.
(1) Kayfabe requires the audience know it's fake. The people who follow Infowars and voted for Trump do not know that. Exhibit A: the moron who went into the pizzagate restaurant, literally gun blazing, to rescue the children Hillary Clinton had supposedly kidnapped.
(2) Kayfabe does not inflict real damage. When one wrestler hits another with a metal chair, nobody gets a concussion. Nobody actually gets hurt. Not so with Alex Jones and Donald Trump. Jones's antics sent a moron on a holy mission to blaze away with a rifle inside a pizza restaurant, where guests were eating and employees were working. Trump's antics will leave a mess this country this country will have to clean up for decades to come (assuming things do not end in a literal nuclear mushroom cloud.)
(1) Kayfabe requires the audience know it's fake. The people who follow Infowars and voted for Trump do not know that. Exhibit A: the moron who went into the pizzagate restaurant, literally gun blazing, to rescue the children Hillary Clinton had supposedly kidnapped.
(2) Kayfabe does not inflict real damage. When one wrestler hits another with a metal chair, nobody gets a concussion. Nobody actually gets hurt. Not so with Alex Jones and Donald Trump. Jones's antics sent a moron on a holy mission to blaze away with a rifle inside a pizza restaurant, where guests were eating and employees were working. Trump's antics will leave a mess this country this country will have to clean up for decades to come (assuming things do not end in a literal nuclear mushroom cloud.)
72
The exceptions do not negate the theory. All Trump's negative emotion that he generates is the wake of his Kayfabe. I've learned to step back from that emotional reaction to him, which is helpful.
That millions listened to the Infowars rant but only one person went to investigate Pizza Comet indicates that the overwhelming majority of listeners know it's fake and as such don't inflict physical damage. The analogy works very well.
What you describe in this article is the same willing suspension of disbelief required to enjoy MacBeth or get engaged in a video game like Skyrim or Grand Theft Auto. We pretend that the unreal is real and our imaginations take us into a space.
This is fine for entertainment, whether "high brow" or not. When it invades the real world that effects human lives, it has dire effects. Hitler and Stalin wouldn't have been able to kill tens of millions without willing suspension of belief by their populations. For that matter, we couldn't have butchered millions of Germans and Japanese in terrorist bombings of their during World War II if we hadn't been able to pretend that all the innocent lives we were taking were somehow combatants. Your article recognizes an unfortunate side effect of faith and imagination that has wreaked havoc throughout human history. I wish someone had a suggestion as to what to do about it.
This is fine for entertainment, whether "high brow" or not. When it invades the real world that effects human lives, it has dire effects. Hitler and Stalin wouldn't have been able to kill tens of millions without willing suspension of belief by their populations. For that matter, we couldn't have butchered millions of Germans and Japanese in terrorist bombings of their during World War II if we hadn't been able to pretend that all the innocent lives we were taking were somehow combatants. Your article recognizes an unfortunate side effect of faith and imagination that has wreaked havoc throughout human history. I wish someone had a suggestion as to what to do about it.
15
Perception first made it possible for us to survive caveman days. Times have changed much more then we have.
Without development perception will be used as judgment.
The comfort of an opinion without the discomfort of thought cannot be over come until logic and values are integrated into perception. This means outcomes must rejected or retained in terms of others constantly.
In this manner perception is in service of judgment.
If outcomes merely benefit me and those like me - over time dependence will set in. Humans cling to the familiar beyond all reason.
Habituation is a inevitable and necessary. What we habituate determines our lives and culture. How perception is developed determines what we habituate for better or worse.
I wrote a book about this for substance used disorder prevention. It's called "Prehab Leveraging Perception to End Substance Abuse".
Without development perception will be used as judgment.
The comfort of an opinion without the discomfort of thought cannot be over come until logic and values are integrated into perception. This means outcomes must rejected or retained in terms of others constantly.
In this manner perception is in service of judgment.
If outcomes merely benefit me and those like me - over time dependence will set in. Humans cling to the familiar beyond all reason.
Habituation is a inevitable and necessary. What we habituate determines our lives and culture. How perception is developed determines what we habituate for better or worse.
I wrote a book about this for substance used disorder prevention. It's called "Prehab Leveraging Perception to End Substance Abuse".
Alex Jones needs the bracing clarification of lawsuits to help him figure out how to tell libel from wrestling games. This is as absurd as it gets.
13
Thanks. This helps me understand and accept Trump supporters as fellow Americans. I wasn't in denial, but struggling to come up with a model to explain the breadth and depth of the Trump tide. And not that kayfabe explains everything, but it's an important piece.
9
Trump plays to his audience. Hillary played to hers. Neither candidate played to the middle. Trump won by default, America loves, 'Change You Can Believe In'.
2
Hillary did play to the middle class! Minimum wage,increase , more green energy jobs,college more affordable,etc. Wake up!
Why can't the Left do some kayfabe?
7
Yes, because Donald Trump is the first president to ever mangle the truth. I guess Nick Rogers missed LBJ; Nixon; Ford; Ronald Reagan; Bush, Sr.; Clinton; and Bush, Jr. Not sure yet about Obama, liked him well enough but no doubt there were plenty of lies also. Jimmy Carter didn't seem to lie that much overall but turned out to be ineffective (including failing to direct his DOJ to pick up the ball from the House Select Committee on Assassinations investigation).
3
The author and the people he is discussing are pathetic, Jones, Trump, the fans are ignorant hollow people unable to understand the value of authentic. These people are on track to derail meaningful values around the world, what we have here are alternate people satisfied with the bogus.
5
This is a beautiful and poignant article and I have nothing to add to it.
1
George Orwell, 1984
2
Would it be at all possible for the NYT to amend the headline for this story -- please make a distinction between wrestling (ala Olympics, NCAA, and so on) and the theater of the absurd known as "professional wrestling"? The NYT, which has something of an able Sports reporting staff, should understand this distinction.
11
I have an Indian friend with whom I travel sometimes in that country. One afternoon I found him glued the TV watching World Wrestling as if it were a religious experience which I suppose it was on some level. When I tried to tell him it was all show and scripted he looked at me as if I were a mad man. After all these were powerful gladiators noble in their attempt to rip each other apart and their graceful movement were high art completely without artifice.
its like watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in top hat and furs in the depths of the recession. To the down and out watchers it is a perfect reflection of what real life should be and a denial of their poverty. A politician like Trump as you say is all bluster which is taken for the truth and how dare anyone take away their sacred illusion. which his followers will cling to even when the dream is revealed only to be a lie.
its like watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in top hat and furs in the depths of the recession. To the down and out watchers it is a perfect reflection of what real life should be and a denial of their poverty. A politician like Trump as you say is all bluster which is taken for the truth and how dare anyone take away their sacred illusion. which his followers will cling to even when the dream is revealed only to be a lie.
6
I don't like the comparison with Putin. Yes, he is a vain thug playing to an audience, but he really does ride horses, and really is a tough thuggish guy who WILL
- invade nearby Slavic neighbors when he can
- kill journalists when he can
- imprison his rivals when he can
- direct his security forces to hack into the organizations of other states when he can
- and so forth.
There is NOTHING "fake" about this guy. He is a KGB operative for goodness sakes. So why, why, compare him with Trump? Because he ALSO likes to project a tough guy macho image? So what? It's that sort of mushy-headed writing that makes me so sad. I mean, this is the TIMES for god sakes. And we see such laziness all the time.
- invade nearby Slavic neighbors when he can
- kill journalists when he can
- imprison his rivals when he can
- direct his security forces to hack into the organizations of other states when he can
- and so forth.
There is NOTHING "fake" about this guy. He is a KGB operative for goodness sakes. So why, why, compare him with Trump? Because he ALSO likes to project a tough guy macho image? So what? It's that sort of mushy-headed writing that makes me so sad. I mean, this is the TIMES for god sakes. And we see such laziness all the time.
9
This opinion piece presents a problem with no solution that I can decipher. The audience for keyfabe sounds like the zombie apocalypse: they want what they want, and they won't be happy until someone gives it to them. There is no mention of self reflection or conscience, just raw emotion. What if, rather than YELLING with venom against a common enemy, the leader of the crowd tells his disciples to ACT with venom against a common enemy? This is how genocide works, and it is exactly what happened in Germany and Rwanda, among other places. Does the author not realize that in cases where we have observed the commission of beatings and lynchings by crowds, that the crowds are actually enjoying themselves? In order to halt the progression of this human need to spew venom, exactly what are we supposed to replace it with?
9
Bravo!
But allow me to ask, what is the term for voters who need a feel-good experience out of politics?
But allow me to ask, what is the term for voters who need a feel-good experience out of politics?
Perfect, thank you. Sad part is that the theater in politics actually hurts real people. I wonder if this is what Glenn Beck realized in his change of heart, that the rabid theatre of the right hurts real people, like maybe his grandmother. Maybe when the Trump administration's assaults on real people start to filter into the minds and bodies of his supporters, they will say, wait a minute, nobody was supposed to get hurt here. Kayfabe. It's has always struck me as odd that speakers on the right sound scripted to me. Now it makes perfect sense. They are scripted.
7
To understand kayfabe check out the movie Idiocracy. Wow!
2
This posturing of extremities is kabuki theatre. Good and evil are exaggerated, painted to ensure clarity and stark contrast are delivered. The president of the Great Unwashed postures his battle against evil for the consumption of the viewers, using television and twitter for his stage.
5
Well stated. The connection between Wrestling, Jingoism (Remember the hollow, Reagan-era "I Am A Real American" intro music of Hulk Hogan's), Bible-Thumping and machismo over mental prowess, all wrapped tightly in the stars and stripes and served on a hot bed of conspiracy theory, it's no surprise the tin foil crew gravitated toward Jones and Trump like flies to filth.
12
How far can these Kayfabulous personalities go before they jump the shark?
2
Great question; I don't know the answer. But in this era of cruise and nuclear missiles, 'jumping the shark' can have real and lasting consequences that Fonzie never dreamed of.
Why does this essay make me loathe and despise humanity even more?
13
Shorter version: People aren't bright. We're doomed.
15
Or, never underestimate the the stupidity of people in large groups...
Very interesting and useful analysis! I think it would be helpful to explore the motivations and process by which people choose (possibly unconsciously) to suspend disbelief so much that they treat politics like wrestling. For some, it has to do with feeling powerless and disrespected by what is perceived as elites or unjust authority figures.
It began as an personal escape and fantasy of power and/or revenge, but with encouragement from the right-wing anger lobby (starting with Rush Limbaugh), it became a political orientation which was exploited not just to elect Trump. The love of laudable has warped political discourse to such an extent that the "right" people saying the right magic words can get away with lying, fraud, sexual impropriety, and even double-crossing their own supporters.
The one thing they cannot do is look weak. Which is problematic when your enemy is not another fake wrestler, but is Kim Jong Un, say.
What to do? We should have learned by now that telling about facts and logic doesn't good when the yellee doesn't care about logic or facts. Herein lies the power-grab of this approach! Insulting those who operate this way will also not work. It's a nihilistic approach for some and a coldly calculated political gamble for others. I don't know what the answer is, but I do believe we are in grave danger if we cannot base decisions on facts.
It began as an personal escape and fantasy of power and/or revenge, but with encouragement from the right-wing anger lobby (starting with Rush Limbaugh), it became a political orientation which was exploited not just to elect Trump. The love of laudable has warped political discourse to such an extent that the "right" people saying the right magic words can get away with lying, fraud, sexual impropriety, and even double-crossing their own supporters.
The one thing they cannot do is look weak. Which is problematic when your enemy is not another fake wrestler, but is Kim Jong Un, say.
What to do? We should have learned by now that telling about facts and logic doesn't good when the yellee doesn't care about logic or facts. Herein lies the power-grab of this approach! Insulting those who operate this way will also not work. It's a nihilistic approach for some and a coldly calculated political gamble for others. I don't know what the answer is, but I do believe we are in grave danger if we cannot base decisions on facts.
7
A profound insight. This is a stunningly true, yet intuitive, revelation of the human condition almost everywhere, and especially that of people who feel a deep sense of betrayal and powerlessness at the pace of change. This article is an achievement and one of the best explanations of the Trump win I have ever read.
1
I would also add that we should never forget that half the population (and thus the assumption that this also applies to the voting age population) has an IQ of 100 or less.
While true, I think the article, or at least the intention, is that even those that have high IQ's are, in the end, still primates with massive frontal lobes that require or need cathartic release when under 'stress'. Remember that Trump's voter's median income was $70000 (which I acknowledge is an imperfect proxy for IQ) - these weren't exactly minimum wage earners.
1
To the extent 'kayfabe' is a kind of infantilization of a part of the adult mind, one could say an entire spectrum of technology (video, Facebook, etc) is spreading the ethos of kayfabe far and wide. A disturbing thought in these challenging times.
This piece is an important perspective on the phenomenon that's brought our nation to this point in our history. It deserves closer examination.
This piece is an important perspective on the phenomenon that's brought our nation to this point in our history. It deserves closer examination.
4
This is brilliant. No wonder I can't understand his supporters or why they continue to support him.
3
It seems like all the examples he cites are from the looney right. Any of this coming from the left?
Let us all "believe" North Korea has no nuclear weapons even though we know they do. Let us all believe that nobody goes hungry in the U.S., that global warming is a myth, that certain groups of people threaten us, that we are good and they are bad, that Shariah Law will take over if we let any refugees into this country.
At let none of us doing that try to run a government or deal with the real problems in this country and the world, because "real" people suffer and die.
At let none of us doing that try to run a government or deal with the real problems in this country and the world, because "real" people suffer and die.
2
If Alex Jones believes what he's saying--including the announcement (see YouTube) that President Obama and Hillary Clinton are actual, satanic demons--he is insane.
If he doesn't believe these things but says them to gain power and profit, he is among the worst frauds and charlatans of our time, perhaps even worse than Trump. The damage he has done to thousands of impressionable minds is truly criminal.
If he doesn't believe these things but says them to gain power and profit, he is among the worst frauds and charlatans of our time, perhaps even worse than Trump. The damage he has done to thousands of impressionable minds is truly criminal.
5
Wow. Just wow. I think Mr. (Dr.?) Rogers hit the nail on the head. Drove it all the way in with one swing of the hammer.
You call it kayfabe. I have another word for you to describe this sad and very depressing moment in American history: bamboozled
2
This is one of the most horrifying columns that I've read in a while.
4
And if we reify feelings over facts we put the planet at peril.
1
Very insightful but the Nick Rogers side steps too lighty around the major form of "kayfabe" - religion. Religion is "kayfabe" with the added belief that such "kayfabe' represents a greater, or deeper, truth, than empirical or scientific "knowledge; indeed, believers insist their standard of truth - faith - provides them with unassailable (and irrefutable ) access to the nature of reality, unattainable by rationalist or scientific method.
3
Let's make one thing perfectly clear; Donald Trumps supporters (let's call them "followers") are living in a fools paradise. Their visceral response to everything this charletan says is reason to deport them all... but THEY ARE IN THE MINORITY. They need to be crushed under a landslide vote for the truth.
Translation: Every Republican needs to fear the upcoming election...As does Trump. When we flip the house the impeachment can begin. His perp walk out of Trump tower will allow me to die a happy man.
Translation: Every Republican needs to fear the upcoming election...As does Trump. When we flip the house the impeachment can begin. His perp walk out of Trump tower will allow me to die a happy man.
7
I learned a good lesson back in the late '60s when I ran for Vice President of the 6th grade at my school. As part of the process, we had our own "primary" with eight of us making brief presentations to each grade. One candidate promised "Chocolate Milk in the cafeteria and longer recesses!" The younger grades loved it and she made it to the run-off with the kid that was passing out collectible Snoopy cards with his name on them. In the final election, she had to recant her empty promises and lost in a landslide. Beware of unrealistic promises.
Part of Trump's support comes from the uninformed like the 1st and 2nd graders dreaming of chocolate milk and recess all day. Another portion is wishful thinkers that believe their glory days from the past can live again with Trump at the helm. The other segment, and most hypocritical, are the Supreme Court voters that knowingly supported Trump to get a conservative justice in and influence the next 30 years...they share the "wishful" thinking gene hoping for the past to be reborn again and that Trump can't be that bad. As we are learning, the promise of Trump is an empty one.
Part of Trump's support comes from the uninformed like the 1st and 2nd graders dreaming of chocolate milk and recess all day. Another portion is wishful thinkers that believe their glory days from the past can live again with Trump at the helm. The other segment, and most hypocritical, are the Supreme Court voters that knowingly supported Trump to get a conservative justice in and influence the next 30 years...they share the "wishful" thinking gene hoping for the past to be reborn again and that Trump can't be that bad. As we are learning, the promise of Trump is an empty one.
1
Well, this is all fine and good when its in the realm of entertainment. But for crying out loud, it's one thing to honor the human need for things to feel true, it's quite another to claim that not doing so is at our political peril.
This is not like the movie Ideocracy wherein a World Wrestling champion becomes president of the United States. Or is it? The movie begins with the a great and cataclysmic garbage avalanche. We've had quite a few of them in that last little while, some of them coming to rest inside the White House.
There is a wee bit more at stake here than some crying fan who summarizes the mind set: "It's still real to me, dammit."
Believe it or not, there are countless people who actually believe Sandy Hook massacre was staged. For them, its not entertainment. It's how they view the world. They live their lives in serious paranoia. They do not accept the concept of "Kayfabe". And to claim we need to cater to their needs is to be held for ransom by the inmates of the asylum.
Donald Trump did not become president of the United States because we didn't dignify their delusions. It wasn't Kayfabe to them. It was real. Very real. Alex Jones and his cadre have stepped away from the ring and entered the real world and its not because we ignored their human need for their make believe world. We honor that world far too much as it is.
This is not like the movie Ideocracy wherein a World Wrestling champion becomes president of the United States. Or is it? The movie begins with the a great and cataclysmic garbage avalanche. We've had quite a few of them in that last little while, some of them coming to rest inside the White House.
There is a wee bit more at stake here than some crying fan who summarizes the mind set: "It's still real to me, dammit."
Believe it or not, there are countless people who actually believe Sandy Hook massacre was staged. For them, its not entertainment. It's how they view the world. They live their lives in serious paranoia. They do not accept the concept of "Kayfabe". And to claim we need to cater to their needs is to be held for ransom by the inmates of the asylum.
Donald Trump did not become president of the United States because we didn't dignify their delusions. It wasn't Kayfabe to them. It was real. Very real. Alex Jones and his cadre have stepped away from the ring and entered the real world and its not because we ignored their human need for their make believe world. We honor that world far too much as it is.
2
A very good discussion on the concept of "kayfabe." At some point, another concept from professional wrestling is going to creep in: "screwjob."
1
We can get swept up in plays or movies and experience genuine emotion even though we know the characters are fictional. In professional wrestling, the story line is controlled to entertain and satisfy, and the underlying reality is that a certain sort of very physical actors are earning a lot of money for themselves and their employers. In politics, the underlying reality is not just a business.
The ultimate example of keyfabe is the Japanese nation around the end of 1944, sending its youth out to commit suicide and delay the inevitable outcome. The keyfabe spell is broken in wrestling when the fighters go off script and actually do physical harm to each other. With the Japanese, it took a couple of atomic bombs to shatter the spell. And there are still Americans who think that victory was still possible in Vietnam if only we had not pulled back.
The ultimate example of keyfabe is the Japanese nation around the end of 1944, sending its youth out to commit suicide and delay the inevitable outcome. The keyfabe spell is broken in wrestling when the fighters go off script and actually do physical harm to each other. With the Japanese, it took a couple of atomic bombs to shatter the spell. And there are still Americans who think that victory was still possible in Vietnam if only we had not pulled back.
5
While this is surely true of some of Trump's voters, it hardly explains all of them or even most of them. If I had to make a completely unscientific analysis of his voters I would say that a quarter of them can be described by this phenomenon.
Far more of them are single issue voters and they will continue to support him, or not, completely dependent on how he handles their single issue, be it tax cuts for the wealthy, or eliminating legal abortion.
Finally, a significant portion, perhaps just as many as the first category, are truly disgusted with the system and want real, honest change. These are the people that, theoretically, could be reached by a liberal candidate like Bernie Sanders that promises to stop the bleeding and make our country fair again, whether it is great or not.
Far more of them are single issue voters and they will continue to support him, or not, completely dependent on how he handles their single issue, be it tax cuts for the wealthy, or eliminating legal abortion.
Finally, a significant portion, perhaps just as many as the first category, are truly disgusted with the system and want real, honest change. These are the people that, theoretically, could be reached by a liberal candidate like Bernie Sanders that promises to stop the bleeding and make our country fair again, whether it is great or not.
56
While I appreciate the discussion presented in this piece, the author seems a bit too sanguine about the often life and death consequences of applying "Kayfabe" morality to our political lives. Mr. Rogers would have us believe that it's a bit like sexual role-playing between consenting adults: no harm, no foul. But the scope of immaturity and irresponsibility when this so-called "Kayfabe" is allowed to flourish, like sport, in our very serious day-to-day civic lives is actually nothing less than criminal negligence. As a rationalist, I will never for one moment forgive those indulging "Kayfabe" in the political sphere, not when the ice caps are melting, CO2 is piling up in the atmosphere, minorities and LGBT brothers and sisters are being persecuted, immigrants scapegoated and demonized, and totalitarian hate is rampant. These people should be ashamed of themselves. And they should apologize, desperately, to their children and grandchildren.
10
Wow ... a lot of words for something that is entirely depressing: people want a president "who can identify their most primal feelings, validate them, and choreograph their release. "
Whatever happens to the nation or even to themselves as a result of this ... is apparently of no concern.
Whatever happens to the nation or even to themselves as a result of this ... is apparently of no concern.
3
Funny that wrestling gets invoked with Trumps relationship with the WWE. Also note worthy is that Kane is running for office in Tennessee on a Regan-esque platform.
Good column. At the end the author states, "the human need for things to feel true" ---
See also, "religion."
See also, "religion."
5
So Kayfabe is like a drug that makes you high. And electing DJT is the overdose. And living with DJT as President is the painful withdrawal.
3
This doesn't make me any easier. Trump--unlike wrestling--asks us to be participants on the canvas. He plays with real guns, real bombs, real war and uses our tax dollars to do so.
9
Question for you: what is to be done about this without alienating Trump's believers any further? An honest question.
4
An honest answer: not much can be done. They love him and are unlikely to change. They do, however, isolate themselves and are susceptible to changes in public tastes, values, and demographics.
What matter the most are unity among the opposition and patience, leading to better turnout.
What matter the most are unity among the opposition and patience, leading to better turnout.
We all live in an illusion bounded by our experiences, myths, beliefs, etc.
All of our entertainment creates villains and heroes ....which may have little relationship to the truth (whatever that is).
Folks vote for their tribe, buy the t-shirts, and join in group chants. Few can read enough to understand complex issues. So, folks vote D or R because their family has always been D or R, or they have a pet rock issue, or they vote because they're unhappy, or they vote because the candidate is handsome and confidant or they vote because the economy has put buggy whips out of business or coal stokers out of a job.
The side issue is that memories are not stored by degree of truth. So, watching 500 hours of movies creates lots of memories. Most of our school teach inaccurate history. It all goes into the same pot. So, when you interview Soldiers, they say they need a better gun. Why? A good gun would blow the bad guy off his feet instantly dead. Why do you believe that? Well, it's true. Etc. That's not what Physics 101 says.
After all, we vote every 4 years for a Presidential candidate to fix things when the Constitute defines the President as an administrator. An administrator who is not in charge of very much. Yet we repeat the illusion every 4 years. THIS time the spell/incantation will work.
Kayfabe? Kayfabe is life.
All of our entertainment creates villains and heroes ....which may have little relationship to the truth (whatever that is).
Folks vote for their tribe, buy the t-shirts, and join in group chants. Few can read enough to understand complex issues. So, folks vote D or R because their family has always been D or R, or they have a pet rock issue, or they vote because they're unhappy, or they vote because the candidate is handsome and confidant or they vote because the economy has put buggy whips out of business or coal stokers out of a job.
The side issue is that memories are not stored by degree of truth. So, watching 500 hours of movies creates lots of memories. Most of our school teach inaccurate history. It all goes into the same pot. So, when you interview Soldiers, they say they need a better gun. Why? A good gun would blow the bad guy off his feet instantly dead. Why do you believe that? Well, it's true. Etc. That's not what Physics 101 says.
After all, we vote every 4 years for a Presidential candidate to fix things when the Constitute defines the President as an administrator. An administrator who is not in charge of very much. Yet we repeat the illusion every 4 years. THIS time the spell/incantation will work.
Kayfabe? Kayfabe is life.
2
If it feels real but I know it's fake, I don't like it, want it, or respect it. Silly me. I guess I'll never be a politician or a Trump supporter.
3
Up to now, I haven't believed in the Zombie Apocalypse, but maybe . . .
3
Soooo, we should only allow voters rights to people who can pass a kayefab test.
Brilliant. Dead on. It's so important to understand the difference between a "policy position" versus the emotional catharsis of chanting "Build a Wall". The observation that this is more about emotional fidelity, not factual verifiability.
This is why Fox News is so sticky. It ain't about the facts.
Well done Mr. Rogers.
This is why Fox News is so sticky. It ain't about the facts.
Well done Mr. Rogers.
13
Very interesting. Then we need to move Trump from a face act to a heel.
3
Great article! I've been looking for someone to make sense of all this...and this feels true to me.
7
This article amounts to a devastating indictment of our educational system. If emotional "truth" and histrionics are indeed perceived by vast numbers of supposed adults as more real and believable than actual truth and verifiable facts, then we have just raised millions of overgrown children. People for who being entertained is more important than understanding, and willful ignorance is superior to the 'elitist' activities of learning and seeking the truth. All of which, if true to the extent this author suggests, presents a truly terrifying scenario for the very real future of this country.
13
As the Renaissance demonstrated Knowledge banishes ignorance and superstition. What we didn't realize is that ignorance is a powerful persistent force, there are always barbarians within us willing to tear down civilization. Your simple truth deserved a NYTpick.
When jobs don't come back that will feel real. When people lose their health insurance that will feel real. When you stick your head in the sand, one day you will be blindsided by reality.
12
As a proud wrestling fan (and ivory tower, coastal elite PhD), I resent the ridiculous spectacle I enjoy being used to explain con men and liars. Kayfabe is no different from the willing suspension of disbelief inherent in any form of theater. The author simply cites it to appeal to stereotypes of flyover rubes... an idea both ridiculously outdated (wrestling fandom has been the province of nerds, not rednecks, for decades now) and condescending.
In fact, in my experience, appreciating the multiple layers of "truth" in a wrestling show has made me MORE aware of fakery in entertainment: what feels true (this wrestler is bad so I hate him) and what is true (this wrestler is deliberately acting bad so I will hate him) interact so blatantly, it's impossible to ignore either.
So if anything, Alex Jones fans could use more wrestling in their cultural diets. The problem with conspiracy theorists isn't that their feelings override facts, it's that they don't care about plausibility: a ridiculous, complicated chain of events is considered just as readily as something simpler and more reasonable. Wrestling storylines are deeply implausible... but kayfabe doesn't make you ignore that, it makes you so aware that it's all happening for your entertainment, you go with the flow.
In fact, in my experience, appreciating the multiple layers of "truth" in a wrestling show has made me MORE aware of fakery in entertainment: what feels true (this wrestler is bad so I hate him) and what is true (this wrestler is deliberately acting bad so I will hate him) interact so blatantly, it's impossible to ignore either.
So if anything, Alex Jones fans could use more wrestling in their cultural diets. The problem with conspiracy theorists isn't that their feelings override facts, it's that they don't care about plausibility: a ridiculous, complicated chain of events is considered just as readily as something simpler and more reasonable. Wrestling storylines are deeply implausible... but kayfabe doesn't make you ignore that, it makes you so aware that it's all happening for your entertainment, you go with the flow.
3
I've watched Alex Jones a fair bit over the last few years and find that he is most often supporting his claims with factual evidence - most often from mainstream, publicly available ones at that.
Why is it that when the government or MSM comes out with something as implausible and unsupported by evidence as Assad's recent supposed nerve gas attack that the appropriate response is supposed to be just to accept it?
A lot of things popularly dismissed as conspiracy wackiness are often more straightforwardly plausible and better supported by evidence than the official meme...
Conspiracy theorizing AKA - paying attention.
Why is it that when the government or MSM comes out with something as implausible and unsupported by evidence as Assad's recent supposed nerve gas attack that the appropriate response is supposed to be just to accept it?
A lot of things popularly dismissed as conspiracy wackiness are often more straightforwardly plausible and better supported by evidence than the official meme...
Conspiracy theorizing AKA - paying attention.
1
Missing from this analysis is a recognition that the Republican Party has long felt that their cause is so noble that the ends justify the means, even if that means becoming willing participants in this "kayfabe" fraud. "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." So as long as we get our Supreme Court justice, it matters little how we got here, or how we badly we mangle the truth along the way.
11
"It rests on the assumption that feelings are inherently more trustworthy than facts."
Let's give a shout out to Stephen Colbert and "Truthiness" as well. How prescient was Colbert; of course that is just the performance artist Stephen Colbert, not the real one.
Let's give a shout out to Stephen Colbert and "Truthiness" as well. How prescient was Colbert; of course that is just the performance artist Stephen Colbert, not the real one.
8
It's a good article, and definitely sheds some light on our truth-trashing President. And yet, it seems to me there is more to it.
It's been years since I've watched professional wrestling, but one thing I vividly recall was the occasional/frequent (?) depiction of one "bad guy" wrestler so obviously breaking a rule or using an illegal maneuver to dispatch his opponent, complete with the aggrieved announcer's blow-by-blow.
There is something about that "glee with breaking the rules while the spectators watch" that comes to mind over and over again with this President.
Share his tax returns? Who cares if that was the rule until now; it just got broken, because he's under audit. Or because the public doesn't care.
Put his business into a blind trust? To hell with that, if his sons can still run the business and make a profit, while getting a government-funded security detail for their travel.
His Muslim ban stopped cold, who says he can't verbally assault Judges--even Judges that may rule against him? (but this may yet come back to bite him, with Judge Gonzalo Curiel)
Honor our country's promises to the world in the Paris Accords? If he wants to renege on this and trash our environment, so be it!
The fact that we have so many citizens who are Ok with turning the other cheek while these displays of cheating are daily thrust upon us is, quite frankly, unfathomable, disorienting, and frightening, all at the same time. It helps makes almost anything possible.
It's been years since I've watched professional wrestling, but one thing I vividly recall was the occasional/frequent (?) depiction of one "bad guy" wrestler so obviously breaking a rule or using an illegal maneuver to dispatch his opponent, complete with the aggrieved announcer's blow-by-blow.
There is something about that "glee with breaking the rules while the spectators watch" that comes to mind over and over again with this President.
Share his tax returns? Who cares if that was the rule until now; it just got broken, because he's under audit. Or because the public doesn't care.
Put his business into a blind trust? To hell with that, if his sons can still run the business and make a profit, while getting a government-funded security detail for their travel.
His Muslim ban stopped cold, who says he can't verbally assault Judges--even Judges that may rule against him? (but this may yet come back to bite him, with Judge Gonzalo Curiel)
Honor our country's promises to the world in the Paris Accords? If he wants to renege on this and trash our environment, so be it!
The fact that we have so many citizens who are Ok with turning the other cheek while these displays of cheating are daily thrust upon us is, quite frankly, unfathomable, disorienting, and frightening, all at the same time. It helps makes almost anything possible.
19
It all sounds like religion to me. Believe what you want to, because it makes you feel better. Yes, it is television magic: there it is, believe your lyin' eyes. Wink wink. It is also carnival, ritual, and voodoo. Anti-intellectualism verified and reinforced. These Believers want THEIR reality, not truth. Truth, in Al Gore's cogent film title, is inconvenient. They want super heroes. They want extreme. They want visceral: indeed, they want blood.
5
Thank you for this -- for anyone who's struggled to draw a distinction between Alex Jones and Stephen Colbert (in character), this is a wonderful way to point out the difference between keyfabe and satire. And a very good explanation of how the supporters of Trump and Jones are not merely stupid, but craving the basic emotion historically fed by the concept of "give them bread and games".
3
Absolutely brilliant (and frightening) analysis. Feelings trump facts, so to speak. Where do we go from here? How do you educate an electorate that doesn't want to make rational decisions?
5
The fact that victims of Trump's fraud continue to support him is not surprising if you do some research on professional con artists. Many times, victims of a con artist, including those who have lost thousands of dollars or worse, return to the con artist knowing that their previous encounter was a con. It's like a craps player knowing that the dice are loaded returning to the game. There is some kind of weird bond between the con artist and his victim.
4
Kayfabe is just another label for inventing your own reality common to self-help books devoured by salesmen like Trump. Also peddled by Werner Erhard, and George Costanza (it's not a lie if you believe it). Colbert's truthiness put in office (truthy, not facty).
OK, but lots of people who listen to Jones BELIEVE the conspiracy garbage he spews.
So the analogy falls short. Wrestling is staged, but almost everything Jones says is a complete made up lie.
There is a difference.
So the analogy falls short. Wrestling is staged, but almost everything Jones says is a complete made up lie.
There is a difference.
7
Ignorant pathological liars like Alex Jones and President Trump are actually performance artists?
Well, I always did think performance artists were a joke so maybe you have something there.
Well, I always did think performance artists were a joke so maybe you have something there.
7
OK, so how about let's have The Donald wrestle the Little Fat Kim on a WWF WrestleMania and use the proceeds to help fund the wall. Now that should be something Donald's voters/fans could support and like to see. Why the T-shirt sales alone might generate enough sales to build the wall.
5
of course, neil postman (AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH:public discourse in the age of show business; 1985), neal gabler (LIFE THE MOVIE: how entertainment conquered reality; 1988) and many others saw this coming, but we were all too interested in our portfolios and more gadgets with screens and flying cars to actually do something about it, weren't we?
so now, here we are.
so now, here we are.
3
I had the privilege of taking a course with Neil Postman. Ronald Regan brought entertainment methods into the public sphere. While there always was an element of theater in politics, prior to Reagan, it was separated from the content of policy.
I think you are conflating "doing what's right but perhaps in vain" with being pretend in certain circumstances. Voting to repeal Obamacare and the people shouting "You lie!" didn't do it out of theatre. They did it because they felt it was the right thing to do despite knowing in the back of their minds it would change little. Shirtless Putin and Kim Jong Un? Sure, I get it. But I think there are important differences.
Kayfabe is all fine and dandy until people start dying. But sometimes it takes a lot: The British had to lose 20,000 in one day at the Somme before beginning to sober up. The US had to go through a grinding Depression and Dust Bowl that scarred a generation. Perhaps a society really does need that pain that cannot forget, drop by drop, against our will, for that wisdom to come.
12
Thank you for that allusion to Aeschylus. Yes. Man must suffer to be wise. And we do not seem to be able to pass our wisdom to our children.
I've seen it and haven't been able to explain it for a while now. Thanks for articulating it.
1
One should keep in mind that Bill O'Reilly, who bragged repeatedly that he was the most watched cable news show for 15 years running, was beaten, repeatedly, in the ratings by the world wrestling matches that were on opposite him at 8 O'clock weekdays. That's why he had to say "news show" when he made his claim. Mind you both programs relied on the "good guy", "bad guy" memes that are crucial in good storytelling. Keith Olbermann told a story of an unguarded moment with Bill's co-worker Sean Hannity when Sean admitted that it took him by surprise that so many people believed that he meant what he preached. I don't condemn everyone for being in it for a buck but I am discouraged that so many of my fellow citizens can't see through the scam. President Trump has a vocabulary of, maybe, 100 words, and yet, there are those that consider him brilliant. I rest my case.
8
Though it is not absolutely certain that P.T. Barnum said "there is a sucker born every minute" I am pretty sure the statement stands true on it's face value. How else can we explain the popularity of Mr. Jones or the presidency of trump?
5
The "emotional need" that Alex Jones and his ilk satisfy is, apparently, the need to hate. If the only way to get DJT out of the White House is for liberals to embrace hate-mongering, we are truly doomed.
3
Alex Jones has repeatedly and,IMHO, convincingly stated that he supports non-violence. As well as the right to self-defense. I find some of his histrionics to be distracting, but at bottom his concerns are genuine and he generally backs claims with evidence - most often from mainstream but poorly reported sources.
Having also spent a fair amount of time on liberal sites as well as Infowars, etc. I can say that the level of intolerance and hate is
far higher on the former - although the appearance of harmony is maintained on sites like Daily Kos by the simple expedient of summarily banning dissent and disappearing discussion threads altogether that are deemed inappropriate.
It is the "ANTIFA" left (probably disappointed that they missed out on being Red Guards in Mao's Cultural Revolution) that are pushing hate - not the alt media who are models of probity and rationality by comparison
Having also spent a fair amount of time on liberal sites as well as Infowars, etc. I can say that the level of intolerance and hate is
far higher on the former - although the appearance of harmony is maintained on sites like Daily Kos by the simple expedient of summarily banning dissent and disappearing discussion threads altogether that are deemed inappropriate.
It is the "ANTIFA" left (probably disappointed that they missed out on being Red Guards in Mao's Cultural Revolution) that are pushing hate - not the alt media who are models of probity and rationality by comparison
1
The way to get him out is simply for Democrats to be smarter with their votes, i.e. not voting for a record-breakingly disliked candidate (except that Trump broke her record simultaneously) rather than the most liked candidate. Another option is for the Democratic Party to also allow Independents to vote in primaries. It doesn't really matter what registered Democrats want. What registered voters want is what matters.
Most people are not as foolish/childish/pathetic as those who support that clown. Most people do not agree "..that feelings are inherently more trustworthy than facts."
Why are people trying to figure out how to reason with trump supporters? They can continue killing themselves with pills, as far as I'm concerned. Ignore them; choose the right candidate in the primary.
Most people are not as foolish/childish/pathetic as those who support that clown. Most people do not agree "..that feelings are inherently more trustworthy than facts."
Why are people trying to figure out how to reason with trump supporters? They can continue killing themselves with pills, as far as I'm concerned. Ignore them; choose the right candidate in the primary.
This is the first high profile instance I'm aware of of kayfabe vs. a court. If he wins, gets to keep the kids, be successful in fronting his 'fake persona' AND keep his audience the entire justice system is at risk.
3
I agree that DJT is engaging in kayfabe. It is extraordinarily clear that, if he had thought that espousing progressive ideals had been a better path to becoming president, he would have been arguing for additional union protections, promoting women's right to choose, preserving universal healthcare, jailing all bankers, and so forth.
Given that he personally doesn't care about any of his campaign promises, I had thought that, as president, he was going to back away from more or less all of them, since implementing them would be very difficult, and essentially be a fiscal liberal, who was also a protectionist, a nationalist and business friendly. I can't imagine anyone who cares less about religious liberty, ending abortion, fiscal conservatism and other supposed traditional "conservative" values than Trump does. I underestimated the influence of Bannon, however, who took DJT's campaign promises very seriously. Now that he's being marginalized I suspect we'll see a Trump who's business friendly but also generally not averse to most policy initiatives liberals would also support. Nevertheless, he'll still engage in kayfabe as it suits him to deflect blame and his likely inability to accomplish anything.
Given that he personally doesn't care about any of his campaign promises, I had thought that, as president, he was going to back away from more or less all of them, since implementing them would be very difficult, and essentially be a fiscal liberal, who was also a protectionist, a nationalist and business friendly. I can't imagine anyone who cares less about religious liberty, ending abortion, fiscal conservatism and other supposed traditional "conservative" values than Trump does. I underestimated the influence of Bannon, however, who took DJT's campaign promises very seriously. Now that he's being marginalized I suspect we'll see a Trump who's business friendly but also generally not averse to most policy initiatives liberals would also support. Nevertheless, he'll still engage in kayfabe as it suits him to deflect blame and his likely inability to accomplish anything.
3
You nailed it. Tie this with the media's desperate claw for profitability and attention and we have the perfect conditions for what has transpired.
What makes news is what sells and the algorithms that govern what gets attention put all of the emphasis on the sale and zero on the content or credibility of the news itself. Algorithms don't care whether something is true. We are expected to sort that out later.
This makes us all vulnerable to the manipulators who have learned to spike the dollar chasing bots that govern what we consume on a daily basis. Mr. Trump discovered that his outrageous behavior is an asset because it sells. And oh does it sell.
Mr. Trump has grabbed us all by the pussy hat.
5
It seems to come down to play and imagination, and possibly a few more quirks of the mind. A person wears a funny costume, walks into a room, sits in a large chair where everyone else is standing, listens, uses a pretend hammer, and we take what that person said as law. Police officers have badges, but how different are those badges from talismans?
Too often we get wrapped up in our feelings and act out a part we believe that we have to do, to be, forgetting to step back and question our own behavior.
And that is what makes this sudden rise of figures like trump dangerous. A person goes to a rally, buys a hat, chants build a wall, sees a brown person and commits a violent act because they believe they are supposed to. Religions and mass movements have used this playbook for a long time. Eric Hoffer in his "True Believer" outlined those most susceptible to this kind of influence. There is also a more recent German film called "The Wave".
It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and people are already getting hurt.
Too often we get wrapped up in our feelings and act out a part we believe that we have to do, to be, forgetting to step back and question our own behavior.
And that is what makes this sudden rise of figures like trump dangerous. A person goes to a rally, buys a hat, chants build a wall, sees a brown person and commits a violent act because they believe they are supposed to. Religions and mass movements have used this playbook for a long time. Eric Hoffer in his "True Believer" outlined those most susceptible to this kind of influence. There is also a more recent German film called "The Wave".
It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and people are already getting hurt.
8
Will you please stop with these incessant alternative theories of Why Trump Won? In spite of being relentlessly investigated and demonized for 2 years, in spite of her 'baggage' and 'flawed campaign', Hillary was heading for a 6-point win on October 27, 2016, with Democrats poised to take back the Senate. Then, a seemingly trustworthy FBI Director inexplicably sabotaged her candidacy. Moreover, there was no wrongdoing on her part ultimately revealed, while the other candidate's campaign was being investigated due to real evidence of treasonous activities. This betrayal of the country's electorate and soiling of the election is why Trump won, everything else is Kayfabe.
29
Regardless of who won and why, it disturbs me that such a large portion of our citizens and voters think that kayfabe is "ok" as a basis to govern and lead. It is not. In the sports world WWE and it's ilk are a very small portion of the total - particularly when we consider professional, collegiate and Olympic sports.
I am trying to understand the visceral motivations of those who want and need to believe this fakery. Those motivations are certainly real. They have deep roots in self-preservation going back to pre-historic times. But they should not be a lazy excuse for dangerous decisions and actions in a nuclear age.
I am trying to understand the visceral motivations of those who want and need to believe this fakery. Those motivations are certainly real. They have deep roots in self-preservation going back to pre-historic times. But they should not be a lazy excuse for dangerous decisions and actions in a nuclear age.
This is a truly disturbing piece that should trouble us a little in the context of pro wrestling, a little more in the context of broadcast bloviation and a whole lot more in the context of governing the most powerful nuclear armed state in the history of humankind.
That we live in an era when the "most primal feelings" of a critical mass of citizenry responds so viscerally to the siren appeal of kayfabe that it swings presidential elections, we should worry. The furies of consequence care nary a fig about kayfabe.
That we live in an era when the "most primal feelings" of a critical mass of citizenry responds so viscerally to the siren appeal of kayfabe that it swings presidential elections, we should worry. The furies of consequence care nary a fig about kayfabe.
6
WWE is not nuclear war. Nor is it dying from cancer caused by pollution that the EPA can no longer regulate. Etc.
10
From Ivanka Trump’s 2009 book, The Trump Card: Playing to Win in Work and Life, she wrote: 'Perception is more important than reality. If someone perceives something to be true, it is more important than if it is in fact true. This doesn’t mean you should be duplicitous or deceitful, but don’t go out of your way to correct a false assumption if it plays to your advantage.'
Who better to enunciate the world view and mindset of her father Donald, where actual truth is 'inconvenient' and so called 'alternate facts' reign supreme, as in the end, what is most important to self serving people is that whatever serves their ends in pursuit of wealth and power is what is most important (for them).
It is what their deceptions and complicit silences are doing which is so deeply worrying. Trump has only been in office for about 100 days, from what we have witnessed so far, what will be unleashed on our nation and the world over the span of the next four years?
Who better to enunciate the world view and mindset of her father Donald, where actual truth is 'inconvenient' and so called 'alternate facts' reign supreme, as in the end, what is most important to self serving people is that whatever serves their ends in pursuit of wealth and power is what is most important (for them).
It is what their deceptions and complicit silences are doing which is so deeply worrying. Trump has only been in office for about 100 days, from what we have witnessed so far, what will be unleashed on our nation and the world over the span of the next four years?
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"This doesn’t mean you should be duplicitous or deceitful, but don’t go out of your way to correct a false assumption if it plays to your advantage."
There, in a nutshell, is why I view the GOP and their fans as immoral and not worthy of any public office.
Or perhaps my belief in the American Dream, as typified by Norman Rockwell's images of the "Four Freedoms" is itself kayfabe?
There, in a nutshell, is why I view the GOP and their fans as immoral and not worthy of any public office.
Or perhaps my belief in the American Dream, as typified by Norman Rockwell's images of the "Four Freedoms" is itself kayfabe?
1
This is just sad.
it is clear that Trump is a skilled performance artist.
What is not clear is why so many can be so irresponsible in their voting that they would choose a performance artist..
After all, the young men and women the Commander in Chief sends into harm's way die real deaths and suffer real injuries.. this is not a joke. This is not reality tv.
Anyone who cites Alex Jones or Infowars as reasons for their views is simply irresponsible.
it is clear that Trump is a skilled performance artist.
What is not clear is why so many can be so irresponsible in their voting that they would choose a performance artist..
After all, the young men and women the Commander in Chief sends into harm's way die real deaths and suffer real injuries.. this is not a joke. This is not reality tv.
Anyone who cites Alex Jones or Infowars as reasons for their views is simply irresponsible.
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Months before the election, I called Trump a performance artist in the NYT comments. At the time, I had no idea he might win. But win or loose, he clearly has a limited and cursory experience with the rigorous process of finding the truth.
The real question is "why"? I fear he's not only after the adulation of the crowd; he has an agenda under all the buffoonery, and he's using creating outrage to distract the public from his real objectives.
The real question is "why"? I fear he's not only after the adulation of the crowd; he has an agenda under all the buffoonery, and he's using creating outrage to distract the public from his real objectives.
It also feels true that global warming isn't happening, because it was cold last night. Or, Donald Trump and the Republicans are on our side because they treat our adversaries with rage and cruelty.
I attended the March for Science in San Francisco on Sunday. Unbeknownst to much of the public, scientists are just like us, and often funny, emotional, and creative. They do have this weird quirk, though: they are interested in truth. Lies, emotional manipulation (as in WWF) and fantasy annoy them.
Problem is, manipulating people's feelings- as with WWF, a former hobby of our President- is often rewarded with applause- and money. That seems to be the main goal these days.
What the hell happened? I thought Google and the Web were going to make the truth available, and expose fantasies. Wrong. Humans, at this stage of our evolution, are hopeless fantasists, easy targets for hucksters, advertising and, incredibly, Donald Trump.
I don't think the fantasist journalists- Fox and CNN employees come to mind, along with the rest of them- could have survived the likes of H.L. Mencken or Ambrose Bierce. Problem is, we are dumber now, except in mathematical calculations. And Mencken and Bierce would not be allowed a column in today's newspapers.
Wake up, humans. I don't think we will, but prove me wrong.
I attended the March for Science in San Francisco on Sunday. Unbeknownst to much of the public, scientists are just like us, and often funny, emotional, and creative. They do have this weird quirk, though: they are interested in truth. Lies, emotional manipulation (as in WWF) and fantasy annoy them.
Problem is, manipulating people's feelings- as with WWF, a former hobby of our President- is often rewarded with applause- and money. That seems to be the main goal these days.
What the hell happened? I thought Google and the Web were going to make the truth available, and expose fantasies. Wrong. Humans, at this stage of our evolution, are hopeless fantasists, easy targets for hucksters, advertising and, incredibly, Donald Trump.
I don't think the fantasist journalists- Fox and CNN employees come to mind, along with the rest of them- could have survived the likes of H.L. Mencken or Ambrose Bierce. Problem is, we are dumber now, except in mathematical calculations. And Mencken and Bierce would not be allowed a column in today's newspapers.
Wake up, humans. I don't think we will, but prove me wrong.
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Mike,
I marched with my boyfriend, a former Republican (truthfully he switched parties long ago) in San Francisco this past Saturday. We have been to virtually every march since the inauguration.
But had we known that Mike Roddy, formerly of Yucca Valley, and now, edging closer to Alameda, was in the crowd with us, we would have tried to guess which of the tens of thousands was the great Roddy. I am even now flipping through our photos wondering which might have been you.
I hope you are working on a book about your experiences. I very much enjoy reading about your adventurous travels, especially the 1960s, in the Times comments. You and ScottW and Karen Garcia are real gems.
I marched with my boyfriend, a former Republican (truthfully he switched parties long ago) in San Francisco this past Saturday. We have been to virtually every march since the inauguration.
But had we known that Mike Roddy, formerly of Yucca Valley, and now, edging closer to Alameda, was in the crowd with us, we would have tried to guess which of the tens of thousands was the great Roddy. I am even now flipping through our photos wondering which might have been you.
I hope you are working on a book about your experiences. I very much enjoy reading about your adventurous travels, especially the 1960s, in the Times comments. You and ScottW and Karen Garcia are real gems.
Thanks, B, I am flattered to have a fan, especially a local one. Get in touch next time you're in Alameda, [email protected]
Bring your boyfriend, and you'll meet my squeeze, Linda Sills of Global Issues Network, who is much more accomplished than I am.
Bring your boyfriend, and you'll meet my squeeze, Linda Sills of Global Issues Network, who is much more accomplished than I am.
Professional wrestling is harmless entertainment (except for injuries to the wrestlers, the effects of PEDs, and when youngsters attempt some of the moves at home). Screwing with the body politic, with the economy, and international security in the name of emotional catharsis is not harmless.
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Yep. Absolutely. All the people stunned at Hilary's loss were having a completely different intellectual experience of the election.
75
And are we tired of bigly winning yet?
Yah, that experience being, "how could people be so moronic", and "so much for America's future", and "welcome to fascism".
1
I wouldn't call the winner's experience 'intellectual'. Intellect had nothing to do with it...
There is a difference between "kayfabe" and libel. it is likely that Mr. Jones' defense will fail but he, and his supporters, will cry foul claiming that their First Amendment Rights were violated.
Of course Mr. Trump's claim to strengthen libel laws from the campaign trail will haunt the libel suits. I guess it is just fine for Trump and his supporters to utter outright lies about their opponents whereas going after them is not allowed. Another one-way street.
Of course Mr. Trump's claim to strengthen libel laws from the campaign trail will haunt the libel suits. I guess it is just fine for Trump and his supporters to utter outright lies about their opponents whereas going after them is not allowed. Another one-way street.
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This makes a lot of sense and it is totally frightening. And what does Rogers mean in the final sentence when he says that if devotees of truth continue to ignore the need for things to FEEL true they do so at their political peril? Children may not know that a movie or TV show are not real, but adults certainly do. It is absolutely terrifying to think that voters cannot make the distinction nor can they separate their emotional fantasies from their job as citizens of a democracy. Excuse my while I go have a good cry.
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There are a lot of beneficiaries of Medicare, the ACA, and Medicaid that might have felt a real rush shouting about those things at one of donnie's rallies. That sure felt good. It will probably feel very different when the checks shrink or stop coming.
3
What does the final sentence here mean? It means giving up on reasoning with the people who are caught up in the false alter-world. It means using emotion, not reason, using pathos to reach them, as people like Jones, Limbaugh, and Trump do. Because they don't care about truth, your proving anything doesn't matter. Your pointing out consequences doesn't matter.
To me, in Oklahoma, it seems that they are living in a sleep-walking state, or in a dream. How did it come to this? Was it having so much entertainment and so little challenge to their minds in their daily living? Was it giving up books after school days ended? I don't know.
But people who know how to appeal to them in this state used it well. Anger-words make them "angry", plot/conspiracy words make them "scared", hero-words make them feel potent and important. And they are fans, not supporters, but fans, of the people who perform these operations on their feelings. More importantly now, being part of a crowd is intoxicating. When Trump came here, the people were beside themselves. He said, "Reporters are terrible people!" and the crowd went wild with joyful anger. It suited the right-wing masters of local media to preempt news on every local channel to show the whole rally here before the election.
I don't know how to fix it. But if we have to compete with these intoxication-peddling fascists, it's going to be grim for us. It's happened before, you know.
To me, in Oklahoma, it seems that they are living in a sleep-walking state, or in a dream. How did it come to this? Was it having so much entertainment and so little challenge to their minds in their daily living? Was it giving up books after school days ended? I don't know.
But people who know how to appeal to them in this state used it well. Anger-words make them "angry", plot/conspiracy words make them "scared", hero-words make them feel potent and important. And they are fans, not supporters, but fans, of the people who perform these operations on their feelings. More importantly now, being part of a crowd is intoxicating. When Trump came here, the people were beside themselves. He said, "Reporters are terrible people!" and the crowd went wild with joyful anger. It suited the right-wing masters of local media to preempt news on every local channel to show the whole rally here before the election.
I don't know how to fix it. But if we have to compete with these intoxication-peddling fascists, it's going to be grim for us. It's happened before, you know.
2
I am reminded of an event from 40 years ago. One of our neighbors left their 2 year old son watching Sesame Street. In one episode, the Cookie Monster was stealing a cookie from Burt. Thinking quickly, the boy hurried down to the basement and fetched his dad's hammer. He "stopped" the Cookie's attempted theft with a powerful swing.
Amid the shattered glass of the TV, he proudly told his mom: Bert's OK, I stopped the Cookie Monster!
False feelings can lead to real peril. Ignoring this can, for example, make the planet unlivable for almost all of humanity because denying climate change "feels" true.
Amid the shattered glass of the TV, he proudly told his mom: Bert's OK, I stopped the Cookie Monster!
False feelings can lead to real peril. Ignoring this can, for example, make the planet unlivable for almost all of humanity because denying climate change "feels" true.
I guess it's OK for someone to suspend disbelief for purposes of entertainment. Entertainment often depends on make-believe. Suspension of disbelief can be useful in religious settings also. Religion depends on faith. But to suspend disbelief when the truth is essential, like for justice in a courtroom, or medical matters, or decision-making in government--areas where people's lives depend on knowing the truth--well, such a suspension of disbelief and willingness to accept lies is just...deplorable. There's no room for make-believe when truth is a necessity.
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A big part of Trumps simple appeal was learned in his reality-TV show "The Apprentice," of course which was fully orchestrated, produced and edited, if not outrightly scripted. of course it is baffling that so many people can discern a reality or a plausible truth vs. facebook anecdotes and silly conspiracy theories.
I think it is very dangerous in religious beliefs.
The Clinton-Kaine campaign did not provide Americans a "common enemy" to vanquish. Trump, lying through his teeth, did. Here are some of the lies and half-truths he fed his base.
1. We
Trump says...
• We need to build a wall on the Mexican border and Mexico will pay for it.
• We are going to make great trade deals.
• We are going to bring back our jobs.
• We are going to win so much that you’ll get sick of winning
• We are going to throw out the bad hombres
• We are going to get rid of Muslims
• We will totally dismantle Iran's global terror network.
• We need somebody who can take the brand of the United States and make it great again.
• We will defeat ISIS in 30 days.
2. They
Trump says...
• (on immigrants) They're pouring in.
• They are bringing drugs,
• they are bringing crime.
• (on immigrants) The Mexican government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States.
• They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc.
1. We
Trump says...
• We need to build a wall on the Mexican border and Mexico will pay for it.
• We are going to make great trade deals.
• We are going to bring back our jobs.
• We are going to win so much that you’ll get sick of winning
• We are going to throw out the bad hombres
• We are going to get rid of Muslims
• We will totally dismantle Iran's global terror network.
• We need somebody who can take the brand of the United States and make it great again.
• We will defeat ISIS in 30 days.
2. They
Trump says...
• (on immigrants) They're pouring in.
• They are bringing drugs,
• they are bringing crime.
• (on immigrants) The Mexican government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States.
• They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc.
2
Here's one tell: Did anyone else notice the WWE phrase "choke out" that Mister Trump slipped into his Syria remarks?
66
"choke out"? What is that? I'm a fan and I never heard that term. And by the way, the WWE is real good old American snake oil and proud of it. Entities like Alex Jones are total fails and should be ignored.
You go to great lengths to justify the DNC's railroading of a winning candidate and their manipulation of the democratic principle.
Couldn't it be...just ever so slightly...that self-reflection and change might be a better path to take versus 7.5 more years of Mr. Trump?
Couldn't it be...just ever so slightly...that self-reflection and change might be a better path to take versus 7.5 more years of Mr. Trump?
21
Sigh ... where in this article is one word about Bernie? Why is anything and everything about Bernie to you?
And can you at least acknowledge truth? Bernie lost. He lost the primaries to HRC substantially.
And can you at least acknowledge truth? Bernie lost. He lost the primaries to HRC substantially.
2
PK - are you commenting on this article or are you kayfabbing?
While Democrats need self-reflection, your analysis that the DNC railroaded Sanders is a false narrative. Democratic primary voters overwhelmingly nominated Clinton. It's important not to let false narratives go unchallenged.
1
As good an analysis as any about how Donald Trump became president It may explain why his supporters will not abandon him should he not deliver on his campaign promises. They never thought he would.
187
Yes. Much of the electorate took him seriously, but not literally. The NYT and its echo chamber did the reverse.
2
Um, maybe it's because they get their information from the Alex Jones's of the world?
Oh, they thought--believed--he would, but his failure will not disillusion them, or many of them anyway, because they won't blame him for his failure. They will blame the "fake media" and the "elites," etc., whose true, factual arguments are less emotionally real to them than Trump's bedtime stories.
In other words these people have no lives, and any door leading to the real world is labeled 'fiction.'
120
Bottom line: Trump supporters are emotionally children -- ignorant, malignant children.
350
@Chris - prefect description. And more specifically it's Reagan's "children" fed on a daily diet of Fox and co. (faux) news (info-tainment) for 30+ years.
Well, no - it sounds like you haven't hung out with many pro wrestling fans, but part of it is, they aren't being childish. It's actually similar to the fans of any other sport - or for that matter, a lot of party loyalists of the mainstream parties - only with more of a fantasy element - a kind of suspension of disbelief. Not at all unusual among grownups, for better or worse. Not childish. Malignant, yes, in the case of Trump fans, there is that...
2
And those are their good qualities.
Kayfabe... better known as alternative facts.
How do you reason with someone who acknowledges they're being lied to and believes it anyway?
How do you reason with someone who acknowledges they're being lied to and believes it anyway?
425
One can't. That is the essence of the modern right -- to believe untrue things because it is easier and lazier than thinking.
1
You don't reason with them.
You organize and vote them out.
You organize and vote them out.
They don't believe it because they are in on it with a wink and a nod.
Nick,
OK, fine. I feel much better now knowing that our president is a fake and a fraud of a specific kind. The difference between the relationship between pro wrestlers and their audience, and the president and all of us is this: everyone at a pro wrestling match volunteered to be there, and the match doesn't effect the lives of those not in attendance. As president Donald touches all of our lives with his fraudulence in very serious ways. I'd rather not have an actor at the helm..
OK, fine. I feel much better now knowing that our president is a fake and a fraud of a specific kind. The difference between the relationship between pro wrestlers and their audience, and the president and all of us is this: everyone at a pro wrestling match volunteered to be there, and the match doesn't effect the lives of those not in attendance. As president Donald touches all of our lives with his fraudulence in very serious ways. I'd rather not have an actor at the helm..
378
Actually, all presidents are, to some degree, actors. Reagan was a legitimate actor--and he wanted to play the part of a kindly and effective president, and for the most part, did so. I was certainly never a fan of his, and did not want what he was doing--but could certainly appreciate the effort he made to play his part.
Trump's problem is not that he is an actor. The problem his that he wants to play the part of an unhinged dictator, dealing cruelly with anyone who will not faun before him.
Trump's problem is not that he is an actor. The problem his that he wants to play the part of an unhinged dictator, dealing cruelly with anyone who will not faun before him.
Alex Jones claim that he's a performance artist rests on the same slippery legal foundation that won Hulk Hogan his case against Gawker last year. Donald Trump may stand before a judge one day and also claim that the man in the Oval Office is a separate persona from the real Donald Trump. These characters hide behind masks layered atop masks and never accept responsibility for their destructive acts.
258
Exactly. We used to tar and feather people and put them in stockades. All of the villagers would come and and see them. The point was to shame people into behaving. Now the Trumps have no shame are and as corrupt as they come. Just today he was caught advertising his golf resort on a State Department website.
1
A very important and eye-opening article. A must-read for all Resisters. Thanks Mr. Rogers.
102
Eye-opening? Important? Please explain what you learned, and what you believe the take-away to be.
Now it all makes sense. Illusory movies gave us Reagan; kayfabe TV gave us Trump. Who will the Internet and smartphones give us?
61
Maybe we could just elect a bot to serve as POTUS. I shudder to think.
1
Human beings isolated from one another.
1
Thanks for this excellent explication of why "alternative reality" is so frustratingly intractable.
Much of what you've described here can also be applied to the disconnect between humanist and fundamentalist Christian persectives on the nature of "truth."
Much of what you've described here can also be applied to the disconnect between humanist and fundamentalist Christian persectives on the nature of "truth."
209
Mr. Rogers:
this is quite a load that you are proposing to take on - -
an "explanation" of AJ & DJT . . .
there is no humor or humanity in anything that these two perpetuate,
and it will require far more than an NYT Op-Ed to accomplish even a preface.
the effort is,
nevertheless,
appreciated.
45
I'm guessing the AJ you are referring to is Alex Jones and not pro wrestler "The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles.
My dearest Mr. Rogers,
Are you kidding me? This may explain just a tiny bit of what is currently going on. However, it doesn't make sense for us not to acknowledge the underlying xenophobia, racism, 'nativism' and other phobias and 'isms' that made these two palatable to an embarrassing large minority of Americans.
Are you kidding me? This may explain just a tiny bit of what is currently going on. However, it doesn't make sense for us not to acknowledge the underlying xenophobia, racism, 'nativism' and other phobias and 'isms' that made these two palatable to an embarrassing large minority of Americans.
111
Susan, I think those phobias and -isms are probably what has primed most Trump fans to buy into the kayfabe.
3
Susan, I think maybe the analogy of kayfabe does indeed apply to the other noxious elements of Trump Ian that you cite. Suspension of belief, denial, self-aggrandizement by identification with fantasy characters, and designation of other fantasy characters as evil, all conducted by actors in a phony environment. The trumpkins pay, watch, and scream. Dick the Bruiser would approve.
2
The kayfabe speculation doesn't explain the 'isms' you point out, but it does explain how the Trumpists assuage thier cognitive dissonance - or as the author posits here, the utter lack thereof on behalf of the true believers. It provides both an excuse for believing the deplorable (yes, deplorable is the correct word) things they believe, and an anthem with which to reinforce those same twisted convictions. Yet too much credit is given in calling this a 'philosophy about truth itself' - it is more appropriately recognized as the grasping for understanding among those lacking the intellect to apply reason. "Feelings are inherently more trustworthy than facts;" this is the outcome of being so feeble-minded as to have nothing else to rely upon.
2
How is democracy supposed to work?
We need, like yesterday, an overhaul of school curriculums with quadruple the civics classes and history lessons.
We need, like yesterday, an overhaul of school curriculums with quadruple the civics classes and history lessons.
174
Good luck getting the Texas dept od Education to agree on truthful textbooks on civics and history. We all know public school textbooks are controlled by Texas.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2012/06/21/how-texas-inflicts-bad-textbo...
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2012/06/21/how-texas-inflicts-bad-textbo...
We ABSOLUTELY do!!!!!
I feel like you just discovered the existence of germs or even the way to a cure for cancer! Thanks, man.
42
Oh and you could also explain burning witches, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Rising Sun Japan with kayfabe too. But that does not make it desirable or a positive influence on human activity. Anytime you are distorting the facts to rely on emotional reactions, you are playing a dangerous game with human nature. In WWE it might be harmless fun, but not with the presidency of the USA.
247
don't forget organized religion, yoga, and gluten free and organic food for the masses .....
1
Yes, you can explain witches, Nazis, etc this way, but no, it is not intending to make it desirable or a positive influence. Mr. Rogers is not attempting to make it desirable or positive. I believe the author's hope is to formulate the understanding by parallel, so that the next level of creative thinkers can take it to the next level of understanding where a remedy can be composed. Therefore, it would be wiser if readers attempt to take that next step, rather than criticize this one. See, for instance, "The parable of the Three Domains", as retold by Idries Shah.
1
But the author never said it was desirable or positive. He is explaining to us so we can understand Trump supporters. I personally have been at a loss trying to figure out how over 90% of Trump voters approve of the job he is doing. This article helps a bit.
1
What a great argument against the concept of democracy.
107
Winston Churchill said another way: "The best argument against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter."
2
Unfortunately the alternatives to democracy are even worse...
1
Or we can turn that argument around and we'll have a great argument for registering and voting.
OK - Infowars has reported for years on crime, terrorism and and other social ills they associate with mass immigration into Western Europe, Naturally, Germany and Sweden figure prominently due to their size and liberal policy toward immigrants.
So, Ami Horowitz - independent documentary maker (unconnected to Infowars) - goes to Sweden and reports on the numerous (over fifty) "no-go" zones there where immigrant crime has become rampant and emergency services will enter reluctantly, if at all - this consistent with what Infowars and pretty much anyone else who actually bothers to go there has been reporting all along.
Trumps sees the doc on TV and refers the next day at a rally to "what happened last night in Sweden" and is skewered in the press for citing a non-existent incident - despite his retraction/clarification that he was referring to a pervasive ongoing situation there;
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/world/europe/last-night-in-sweden-tru...
NYT continues to assert that things are really fine in Sweden even as people there stuck in areas run by immigrant gangs flee if they can or live in fear if they can't - and the body count from terrorist attacks continues to climb.
https://www.infowars.com/feminists-mute-on-muslim-rape-epidemic-sweeping...
Just who is fooling whom here?