Saturday, February 11, 2012

Who Is Behind All the Propaganda Against President Obama?

I got another one of those anonymous viral emails "warning us of the Enemy Within" and great disaster awaiting America if we don't get rid of President Obama, this one from my Aunt in North Carolina.  The narrative is how the anonymous writer was hosting a BBQ for a Cuban refugee who compares President Obama to Fidel Castro. It goes on to argue that Obama has "nationalized our auto industry" and "stripped GM bondholders of their assets", let "Black Panthers go free because their crimes are against Whites...etc." Here is an excerpt and the ending from the anonymous email where the reader is urged to forward the email or face death under "fascist rule": 
We began with a simple discussion about our country, and the direction it has taken since Barack Obama came to power. We shared the usual complaints about the sour economy and liberal social engineering emanating from the rulers in Washington. But then he said it. The sentence came naturally. I assume it was unplanned. But it carried the weight of a freight train. "You know when Castro took power, none of us knew he was a Communist". We sat stunned. He continued, "Yes, we all thought he was a patriot, a nationalist. Before the revolution he didn't sound like a radical." The comparison at this point was easy, and I interjected, "You mean just like Barack Obama?" He responded; "Yes, just like Barack Obama."
****
PLEASE SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!! And...may God save the United States of America !  ...the least you can do is forward this email. 6 million plus Jews didn't believe it would happen in Germany either!!! If you're a Christian in these United States of America, you're next on the list. The real problem here is, the boy from Cuba did manage to make it to the U.S.We will not have any place to escape to...except death! 
From an Anonymous email with subject: "What others often see, we often ignore"

Where does such an email come from?  Are these viral emails the work of a private citizen who honestly wants to alert his friends and family members of a secret plot he has uncovered and the dire consequences to our country if we fail to act?  Is this a letter from an earnest patriot who is rallying his fellow citizens to take up arms against a dictatorship?  Is this a message to Christians to rise up against Herod, or even worse, the "Anti-Christ"? Or are there other hidden forces at work who want to subvertly influence our selection for the President of the USA? 

An entire industry of "conspiracy theorists" churn out bizarre videos, blogs, and chain emails to "expose" the supposed "hidden agenda" of this President.  Look at this weird one that is just one of hundreds of thousands of similar crazy videos posted on You Tube. 


A lot of the propaganda out there is attributed to the so-called grassroots organization of patriots called the Tea Party. But how much of the Tea Party is really grass-roots and a spontaneous uprising of the people?  The Tea Party Movement arose in 2009 just one month after President Obama took office after a democratic election of the people.  The election in 2008 was another example of how America resolves its differences through an exercise at the ballot box with majority rule rather than through violent conflict and civil war. Tea Party members like to present themselves as patriots who are seriously concerned about the direction our country is taking as a result of President Obama taking office.  A campaign arose questioning his citizenship, his religion, and his values via viral anonymous emails, rallies,  legal challenges, and right wing talk shows.  Were all these actions the spontaneous out-pouring of the grass roots of America?  During the summer of 2009, Town Halls conducted by Congressmen and Senators back in their home districts were subject to angry mobs (some toting guns) who shouted down their elected representatives as they tried  to answer questions about pending health care reform legislation.  What is the truth behind the headlines?  Where is the money coming from to support the anti-government movement that arose as soon as President Obama took office?  An Austrailian film maker, Taki Oldham, came to the US to make a documentary about the Tea Party Movement.  Here is his film produced in 2011.  Take a look at it and tell me what you think.


Here is a Study Guide for this film distributed by the Media Education Foundation.   After you watch this film, if you think the Koch Brothers and their Americans for Prosperity organization threaten American democracy, please send them a message by boycotting their companies' products:

Koch Brothers Companies and Products:

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3 comments:

  1. As a Canadian I don't say much but my husband's half sister lives in Texas and sends all this crap out all the time. I have challenged her on the content where they take quotes from his books (which I have read and she hasn't) out of context and even splice comments together. I have sent her the hoax information showing the original quotes in context and such and yet she prefers to believe the garbage any way.
    This is, in my never to be humble Canadian opinion, racism and not politics no matter how they dress it up otherwise.
    Always heartening to know that people are not all believing this propaganda.

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  2. You're right, Lori, these folks want to believe their own version of reality. And yes, I believe it is largely because they cannot abide by a democratic election when the guy they wanted is rejected and a Black man, well-educated and the son of a mixed marriage, has become President. These largely working class individuals who send out this crap end up being used by a wealthy plutocracy to act against their own interests.

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  3. Well said Vicki. These oil billionaires come from fringe stock that's for sure. Sad to say their John Birch founding father was regarded as a flake in his day. The sons have founds that undercover dirt and lies and sponsoring seemingly reputable foundations and flunkies seems to be more effective. Yuk!

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