Are we more comfortable apart? On the everyday roots of American extremism.
Mar 25 2017
What we lack is not a filter in the media, but a critical lens with which to examine ourselves and current events. Yeah, we do tend to overblow random terror attacks and the idea of terrorism altogether, but by the same token, terrorism is just the extreme manifestation of some deep-rooted, distorted mentalities out there that do us harm, even if they don't escalate to the point of attack.
Journalist Michelle Chen examines the explosion (sadly not literally) of hate groups in the US - as a reaction to the Obama and Trump presidencies, and an indicator of larger trends of social isolation and economic failure across American society - and discusses the media's role in normalizing, and amplifying, the alt right white supremacist agenda.
Michelle wrote the article Donald Trump’s Rise Has Coincided With an Explosion of Hate Groups for The Nation.
Guest
Michelle Chen
Michelle Chen is a contributing editor at In These Times, a blogger at The Nation, an associate editor at CultureStrike and co-host of Dissent's Belabored podcast.
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