KKCR Crisis in Demagoguery #3: Analysis & Reflections on Comments

“Demagogues, are not interested in sharing and contrasting their thoughts and feelings with people; they merely want to club them into line with their own.”

Blogs are an interesting media. Blogs are asynchronous. You post an article and at a time of their choosing those that wish to engage do so. A number of  KKCR affiliated  commenters posted a number of comments. I will use quotes in my analysis of comments but will not attribute these quotes as the curious reader can simply dig out the authors by reading the quotes in context for themselves.

The topic of my post was voter enfranchisement  as a best practice of democratic governance; The questions I posed were two 1) Which of the two non-profits (KKCR or KIUC) is the most democratic? and 2) Who decides whom and based upon what criteria do some peoples who offer to volunteer to become a radio talk show host actually get on the air? No commenter directly answered either question and instead provided a few examples of frequently deployed propaganda techniques.

Off Topic Flak

Some commenters immediately tried to change the subject to smart meters although my post never mentioned smart meters. Here’s a sample:

“Well, you are missing a few really important elements in this report. As one of the community affairs programmers I have an insight on this issue. I am one of those who is opposed to the "Smart" meters. It is researching caller opinions that cause me to eventually have an opinion. Smart meters, GMO's, the PLDC, the illegal takings of Hawaiian lands and many other complaints that are raised to my attention were not on my radar screen until I begin to vet the stories raised to my attention through community voices.”

This quote goes on ad nauseum  and has nothing to do with the topic. You would think a talk show host would have the courtesy to stick to the subject instead of trying to hijack it to discuss their issue. This is a typical blind spot for radio talk show hosts. Since as talk show hosts they are so used to setting the agenda or topic they don’t know how to act when someone else is in this role. They are trying to flip the power relationship and try to switch the issue to their own. Moreover they try to ignore the fact that this power relationship exists, which is summed up nicely with the talk show host mantra “you are always welcome to call in”.

Ad Hominem Attack

Another talk show host (posting on my facebook page brought up smart meters as well as launching an ad hominem attack without answering either question.

“ i'm just questioning Ed's timing and there seems to be some beef from our local bloggers against KKCR's programing that is critical of KIUC's handling of the smart meter program and the ballot question slanted to one side over the other. that's all!

“i wondered if Ed posted because of his relationship to the board of KIUC.”

Instead of answering the questions the ad hominem attacker questions character and credibility of person asking the question to avoid answering the question itself. Though this attack against the person is typically done through innuendo of the “are you still beating your wife” variety. Here is a sample from a KKCR talk show host posted on my FB page.

• why did Ed start this blog now?
• could some  “local bloggers” beef over smart meters be the reason?
• what is Ed’s relationship to the KIUC board?

So we are left with the KKCR talk radio hosts answering neither of the question posed, but going off topic and attacking the questioners character through innuendo. Sounds fair and balanced to me.

KKCR is different, small, and supporters don’t want democracy

Some commenters focused on the differences between the two non-profits, however none of these differences prevents any of the democratic practices, such as allowing supporting members to elect the Board of Directors, or instituting a fair and democratic process to select talk show hosts. As anthropologist Gregory Bateson once commented “a difference that makes no difference is no difference”.

Next time I will discuss why radio demagogues are a threat to democracy, the types of democracy and suggest a democratic process whereby a KKCR talk show host can be selected so they really are voices of our community.