From your perspective, sure.
I don't care.
OK.
I define "Division Pimps" as media professionals who have a vested professional interest in keeping their fans angry, mal-informed, and isolated from the other tribe. An excellent example from each tribe would be Rachel Maddow and Sean Hannity.
While each of them have their own style (Maddow very calm, articulate and professorial, Hannity very passionate, animated and aggressive), they both play the same game to keep their flocks angry.
What they do is start with FACTS -- verifiable, provable, inarguable FACTS that they can lean on. That gives them and their flocks full license to claim that they "Speak The Truth". But THEN, while standing on those FACTS, and among those FACTS, they insert wild hyperbole, ridiculous assumptions and extrapolations, and abject distortions of the words, positions and thoughts of the other tribe. They also fully ignore, avoid, downplay and dismiss all FACTS that don't fit their intellectually dishonest agenda.
THAT'S WHAT THEY DO. They know that their flocks will buy the whole burrito as DA TROOF, since they started off with FACTS, and because their flock is so comfy with what they're being told.
Because they START with actual FACTS, they and their flocks can defend it by asking: "Gee, what facts are they providing that are wrong?" IT'S NOT THE FOUNDATIONAL FACTS. IT'S THE BIG ONE-SIDED PICTURE THAT THEY'RE INSERTING BETWEEN THE FACTS TO SUPPORT THEIR AGENDA.
What I don't know, what I can't say for sure, is whether they
realize they're doing it, or if they are just so lost in their partisan ideology that they
don't realize it. I honestly don't know which would be worse. That type of behavior is why I find the psychology of partisan ideology so fascinating, and why I observe it so carefully. I want to at least understand things that are this destructive.
These people have a great deal of influence, and they have a significant responsibility in our increasing divisions. All I can hope is that one day they'll truly see what they've done, and they'll be honest enough and brave enough to admit it and push back in the opposite direction, against what they have done.
en.wikipedia.org
