White anxiety finds a home at Fox News

[Mockingbird]

Quote

 

It wasn't so much a dog whistle as it was an airhorn. Or perhaps a primal scream. But whatever it was, Laura Ingraham's forceful denunciation of "massive demographic changes" served as another raw example of a Fox News host echoing white nationalist language.

 

Perhaps it was a glimpse into President Donald Trump's well of support, too. 

 

The Fox News audience is almost 100% white, according to Nielsen. And on the channel's highest-rated shows, the politics of white anxiety play out practically every day, as hosts and guests warn about the impacts of immigration and minimize or mock the perspectives of people of color. The talk show segments are clearly intended to appeal to people who perceive they are losing their grip on power. 

 

In 2018, Tucker Carlson, at 8 p.m., and Ingraham, at 10 p.m., spend the most time on this subject. (The host in between, Sean Hannity, concentrates more on defending Trump.) 

 

"The America we know and love doesn't exist anymore," Ingraham said Wednesday night. "Massive demographic changes have been foisted on the American people, and they are changes that none of us ever voted for, and most of us don't like." 

 

Ingraham said "this is related to both illegal and legal immigration." 

 

The commentary was amplified on social media by the liberal, anti-Fox watchdog group Media Matters. Many people who viewed it on social media were shocked, as her rhetoric went beyond what other conservative commentators have said in the past. 

 

Nearly 24 hours later, Ingraham's name was still a top trending topic on Twitter. Media Matters made a video asserting that Ingraham's "anti-immigrant rant" was "ripped from white supremacists." Some Democratic lawmakers also spoke out. Senator Tammy Duckworth tweeted that the "racist" comments "shouldn't have been aired by @FoxNews." 

 

Fox News declined to comment. 

 

In a part of the commentary that didn't circulate widely on social media, Ingraham said, "There is something slipping away in this country and it's not about race or ethnicity. It's what was once a common understanding by both parties that American citizenship is a privilege, and one that at a minimum requires respect for the rule of law and loyalty to our constitution." 

 

But Ingraham's critics said her "not about race" line didn't negate her inflammatory lament about "massive demographic changes." 

 

Fox declined CNN's requests to interview Ingraham, Carlson or a network executive. 

 

Where are the Murdochs?

 

Fox's opinion hosts tap into — and sympathize with — a deep vein of concern about cultural displacement. Whiteness under threat is a common theme, especially on Carlson's show, during which he often laments the mistreatment of white people and the influx of foreigners. 

 

Media Matters and other outspoken Trump critics have accused him of promoting white nationalist ideas, a charge he has repeatedly rejected. 

 

Although some advertisers avoid some of Fox's talk shows, citing various controversies, the shows are highly profitable for Fox and its parent company 21st Century Fox. Among the beneficiaries are Rupert Murdoch and his sons James and Lachlan, who jointly run the company. 

 

Do the Murdochs encourage Fox's prime time direction? Or do they hold their noses? That's unclear, even to experts who follow the industry closely. In the past, the Murdochs have expressed opposition to Trump's hardline immigration policies and rhetoric. 

 

But Fox absolutely knows what its audience wants. It's not exclusive to the network: Researchers say the anxieties of white Christian America have also fueled conservative talk radio and digital media. And Trump expertly tapped into the same thing with his speeches about restricting immigration and saying "Merry Christmas" again. Infamously, Trump decried immigrants from places in Africa and Latin America, which he described as '###### countries.' 

 

All of it relates to a supposed loss of cultural dominance among white people. 

 

"When Ingraham talks about America not looking like the America it used to be, that does indicate a perceived lack of status," said Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University. "And some people are motivated by a desire to regain that status." 

As Gillespie and others have noticed, Trump wasn't penalized by voters for expressing racial anxieties that politicians previously would have avoided. Quite the opposite, in fact. 

 

"It was exactly these kinds of fears about cultural change, cultural displacement and immigration that were the key drivers of support for President Trump," said Robert P. Jones, the head of the Public Religion Research Institute. 

 

Fox's particular appeal to white Christian voters has been well documented for years. Sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild, in her 2016 book "Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right," found that "Fox is family" for some Tea Party supporters in Louisiana. 

 

"Fox News stokes fear," Hochschild wrote. "And the fear seems to reflect that of the audience it most serves -- white middle- and working-class people." 

 

Right now, the biggest fear among Fox viewers might be the changing face of America, or as Ingraham put it, "changing demographics." 

 

White supremacist websites express anger over the changes in far more hateful and hostile ways than anyone on television does. 

 

But Fox is often perceived to be giving voice to those views. 

 

Carlson himself seems perplexed by the white nationalist label; on his show last year, he said he didn't "even know what 'white nationalist' means." 

 

But white nationalists are certainly familiar with Carlson. As Vox's Carlos Maza detailed in a videothat went viral last year, Carlson's show has won praise from white nationalist Richard Spencer, former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke and the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer, which called the host its "greatest ally." 

 

Carlson has impressed those types with his repeated on-air complaints about immigrants and Muslims. In fact, Ingraham's comments on Wednesday essentially echoed what Carlson has said on his own show. In March, Carlson commented on Hazleton, Pennsylvania, where the Hispanic population has grown exponentially since 2000, saying such demographic changes were "bewildering for people." Behind Carlson was a graphic that read: "Changes in America." 

 

"That's happening all over the country. No nation, no society has ever changed this much, this fast," Carlson said. "Now before you start calling anyone bigoted, consider and be honest: how would you feel if that happened in your neighborhood?" Last month, Carlson went even further, saying that "Latin American countries are changing election outcomes here by forcing demographic change on this country, at a rate that American voters consistently say they don't want." 

 

Carlson did not cite a source for that claim. Recent Gallup polls indicate an overwhelming majority of Americans -- 75% -- view immigration as a "good thing" for America.

 

[...]

 

https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/09/media/fox-news-laura-ingraham-tucker-carlson-white-nationalism/index.html

[theyarecomingforyou]

We're witnessing the rise of fascism. Demographics are being turned against each other to distract from the abuses of the capitalist class. What's needed is a socialist movement to bring people together and to seize the means of production, allowing people to work for the greater good instead of furthering the obscene wealth of a infinitesimal minority. We cannot allow the environment to be polluted and the masses forced to work long hours in tedious jobs just so that shareholders can make more money.

[+Biscuits Brown MVC]

I'm putting on my shocked face... So, Fox News caters primarily to white Americans and CNN Caters to pretty much anyone but white Americans. Yep, its official, the U.S. is a mess, message received. Now, does anyone have any REAL news today because this junk is getting old.  Both sides are doing their finest to ensure we stay in a state of misery and angst against one another.  I wish we had leaders that lead without extremism and news organizations that just reported what happened, without any bias. Neither of those are going to happen. 

[Mockingbird]

1 minute ago, Zag L. said:

I'm putting on my shocked face... So, Fox News caters primarily to white Americans and CNN Caters to pretty much anyone but white Americans. Yep, its official, the U.S. is a mess, message received. Now, does anyone have any REAL news today because this junk is getting old.  Both sides are doing their finest to ensure we stay in a state of misery and angst against one another.  I wish we had leaders that lead without extremism and news organizations that just reported what happened, without any bias. Neither of those are going to happen. 

That's not true.

 

Many white Americans believe in science and Fox News doesn't.

[Gone]

I love how racist Democrats are.

 

You don't hear conservatives saying "Whites this blacks that", but the democrats are always breaking people into their racial groups "Black, white, asian, etc."

 

Proof is in this threat of how intolerant the left is. Yawn.

[+primortal Subscriber²]

2 minutes ago, SpeedyTheSnail said:

I love how racist Democrats are.

 

You don't hear conservatives saying "Whites this blacks that", but the democrats are always breaking people into their racial groups "Black, white, asian, etc."

 

Proof is in this threat of how intolerant the left is. Yawn.

What the what?

 

You might want to take those rose colored glasses off.  Conservatives are more racist today then liberals.

[Gone]

2 minutes ago, primortal said:

What the what?

 

You might want to take those rose colored glasses off.  Conservatives are more racist today then liberals.

Please elaborate, how are conservatives racist? Because they want to enforce immigration laws?

[+primortal Subscriber²]

Just now, SpeedyTheSnail said:

Please elaborate, how are conservatives racist? Because they want to enforce immigration laws?

See that's how the fool you, by disguising it as immigration laws.

 

What about voter suppression that targets minorities imposed by Republicans?  That's not racism?

Why are there more conservative racist politicians coming out of the woodwork that are running for office?

 

Now your turn, elaborate how are liberals racists?

[Astra.Xtreme]

9 minutes ago, primortal said:

See that's how the fool you, by disguising it as immigration laws.

 

What about voter suppression that targets minorities imposed by Republicans?  That's not racism?

Why are there more conservative racist politicians coming out of the woodwork that are running for office?

 

Now your turn, elaborate how are liberals racists?

I see a whole lot of biased opinionism coming out of your mouth....  How about some actual facts for those claims?

 

You trying the pick a fight over "who's more racist" just proves how ignorant you are to reality.  Take your blinders off and stop being a sheep to the liberal media...

[Gone]

9 minutes ago, primortal said:

See that's how the fool you, by disguising it as immigration laws.

 

What about voter suppression that targets minorities imposed by Republicans?  That's not racism?

Why are there more conservative racist politicians coming out of the woodwork that are running for office?

 

Now your turn, elaborate how are liberals racists?

How do Republicans suppress minority votes? You spew garbage without facts. Meanwhile, the Democrat party created the KKK and intimidated blacks and minorities to enforce their racist views, especially at the ballot box. They were also the party against the civil rights movement and created the Jim Crow laws.
https://www.cnn.com/2014/04/10/politics/civil-rights-act-interesting-facts/index.html

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/9/8/16263710/fox-news-presidential-vote-study

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-kkk/

https://www.history.com/topics/ku-klux-klan

https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/06/democratic-party-racist-history-mona-charen/

https://www.cnn.com/2014/04/10/politics/civil-rights-act-interesting-facts/index.html

[tmorris1]

1 hour ago, theyarecomingforyou said:

We're witnessing the rise of fascism. Demographics are being turned against each other to distract from the abuses of the capitalist class. What's needed is a socialist movement to bring people together and to seize the means of production, allowing people to work for the greater good instead of furthering the obscene wealth of a infinitesimal minority. We cannot allow the environment to be polluted and the masses forced to work long hours in tedious jobs just so that shareholders can make more money.

Name a place where socialism has worked and get back to me...

 

It sounds like you are too lazy to work for a living.

[+Warwagon MVC]

1 hour ago, theyarecomingforyou said:

so that shareholders can make more money.

1

Then invest in the company and become a shareholder

[+primortal Subscriber²]

3 minutes ago, Astra.Xtreme said:

I see a whole lot of biased opinionism coming out of your mouth....  How about some actual facts for those claims?

https://thinkprogress.org/study-finds-republican-voter-suppression-is-even-more-effective-than-you-think-3b2562ae2f52/

https://www.thenation.com/article/election-2018-is-off-to-the-racists/

 

I don't see you asking SpeedyTheSnail for facts to back up his biased opinion, why is that?

 

3 minutes ago, Astra.Xtreme said:

You trying the pick a fight over "who's more racist" just proves how ignorant you are to reality.  Take your blinders off and stop being a sheep to the liberal media...

Oh look, who's picking a fight now?  Sorry because my beliefs lean towards liberals doesn't mean I'm a sheep to liberal media, thank you very much.  So, I take it you're a sheep to the conserved media then?

 

10 minutes ago, SpeedyTheSnail said:

https://www.cnn.com/2014/04/10/politics/civil-rights-act-interesting-facts/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-kkk/

https://www.history.com/topics/ku-klux-klan

 

This would be true if we were living in the past.

 

11 minutes ago, SpeedyTheSnail said:

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/9/8/16263710/fox-news-presidential-vote-study

What's does this article have to do about your statement that Democrats are racist?

 

17 minutes ago, SpeedyTheSnail said:

https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/06/democratic-party-racist-history-mona-charen/

National Review, National Review was founded in 1955 by William F. Buckley Jr. as a magazine of conservative opinion. The magazine has since defined the modern conservative movement and enjoys the broadest allegiance among American conservatives.  A little bias wouldn't you say?

[tmorris1]

2 minutes ago, warwagon said:

Then invest in the company and become a shareholder

It is easier to sit on the internet and complain about how you aren't being given enough.  Educate yourself with marketable skills and get a job.  Things will work out for most if you follow that thought.

[+Biscuits Brown MVC]

Reading through this, the problem continues. Until both sides, team red and team blue stop the jaw jabbing and take equal responsibility for the problems, we aren't going to get anywhere.  Neither side is right nor are they wrong. Speedy isn't going to change primortal beliefs anymore than Mockingbird is going to change Doc M. You guys just don't realize that we're all the problem. The key to success is compromise and that just doesn't exist. Not in D.C., not in the State Capitals and not on this forum.  All the Fox News/right wing outlets are just as much a propaganda mouthpiece as are CNN, Axios and Politico are for the left and all that does is divides us even more. The result of that division is that we stopped being open to accepting that people with different views might really have a better idea.  

 

I don't expect those here from other countries to really fathom the depth of the issue here in the U.S. While all governments contain a certain level of greed and corruption, ours is unique.  We have cities that are more populated than entire countries in Europe. New York City is about the same population as Switzerland. Economic principles from the EU just will not scale up. The state of Texas alone is physically larger than every country in Europe aside from Russia.  Many of the bigger issues we face are so ingrained, so long in creation that there is no easy fix anymore. Issues that have been building for (in some cases) generations. I say this to help some understand why are problems (and we have some biggies) aren't easily addressed.  

 

No, for us, the only solution at this point is compromise and that's just not on the table. 

 

 

[Mockingbird]

1 hour ago, SpeedyTheSnail said:

I love how racist Democrats are.

 

 You don't hear conservatives saying "Whites this blacks that", but the democrats are always breaking people into their racial groups "Black, white, asian, etc."

  

Proof is in this threat of how intolerant the left is. Yawn.

Have you ever heard of the Southern strategy?

[Astra.Xtreme]

35 minutes ago, primortal said:

https://thinkprogress.org/study-finds-republican-voter-suppression-is-even-more-effective-than-you-think-3b2562ae2f52/

https://www.thenation.com/article/election-2018-is-off-to-the-racists/

 

Of course you would cite some biased lefty publications...

Voter ID laws apply to everybody, and that's proof enough that it's not racist.  It's common sense...  There's a huge list of things you can't do without an ID, so it's pathetic that people think that something as serious as voting shouldn't require it.  Is it racist that these people can't drive, can't work, can't buy alcohol, can't travel, etc because they don't have an ID?  Logic says you would have to say yes to that...

 

Making false racism claims is incredibly racist in itself.  Going by it's constant overuse by the left and them only seeming to care about white vs black issues, it's a pretty darn good indicator that the left has it's own extreme racism issues.  Don't be a hypocrite...

Racism will never get better if people keep using it as a crutch or excuse in an argument...

[Mockingbird]

57 minutes ago, SpeedyTheSnail said:

How do Republicans suppress minority votes? You spew garbage without facts. Meanwhile, the Democrat party created the KKK and intimidated blacks and minorities to enforce their racist views, especially at the ballot box. They were also the party against the civil rights movement and created the Jim Crow laws.
https://www.cnn.com/2014/04/10/politics/civil-rights-act-interesting-facts/index.html

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/9/8/16263710/fox-news-presidential-vote-study

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-kkk/

https://www.history.com/topics/ku-klux-klan

https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/06/democratic-party-racist-history-mona-charen/

https://www.cnn.com/2014/04/10/politics/civil-rights-act-interesting-facts/index.html

That was before the Southern Strategy

[Randy B]

24 minutes ago, Astra.Xtreme said:

Of course you would cite some biased lefty publications...

Voter ID laws apply to everybody, and that's proof enough that it's not racist.  It's common sense...  There's a huge list of things you can't do without an ID, so it's pathetic that people think that something as serious as voting shouldn't require it.  Is it racist that these people can't drive, can't work, can't buy alcohol, can't travel, etc because they don't have an ID?  Logic says you would have to say yes to that...

 

Making false racism claims is incredibly racist in itself.  Going by it's constant overuse by the left and them only seeming to care about white vs black issues, it's a pretty darn good indicator that the left has it's own extreme racism issues.  Don't be a hypocrite...

Racism will never get better if people keep using it as a crutch or excuse in an argument...

I don't view myself as anything but a Moderate but it does seem true that, especially in the Deep South, there has been a not-so-inconspicuous, conscious intent at voter suppression by the GOP.  The Republican Party as presently constituted bears little resemblance to what the GOP was when I, a baby boomer, was growing up:  Now the GOP supports tariffs and trade wars rather than Free Trade; it condones White Nationalist sentiment (David Duke, KKK); the far right Tea Party - and it no longer stands for fiscal conservatism, these Tax Breaks for the rich having contributed to a massive, record deficit.  The Party of Lincoln has never hated immigrants til now, either.  iMHO, the Republican Party is presently unspeakably corrupt.  ?

[+primortal Subscriber²]

5 minutes ago, Astra.Xtreme said:

Of course you would cite some biased lefty publications...

Voter ID laws apply to everybody, and that's proof enough that it's not racist.  It's common sense...  

 

So even the paper linked in the article with includes evidence is a biased lefty publication?  Prior to 2006, no state required identification to vote so why all of the sudden it was a problem and that Voter ID laws were being implemented?

 

22 minutes ago, Astra.Xtreme said:

There's a huge list of things you can't do without an ID, so it's pathetic that people think that something as serious as voting shouldn't require it.  Is it racist that these people can't drive, can't work, can't buy alcohol, can't travel, etc because they don't have an ID?  Logic says you would have to say yes to that...

Again, people were happily voting without vote id laws prior to 2006 so what does your logic have to say about that?

 

23 minutes ago, Astra.Xtreme said:

Making false racism claims is incredibly racist in itself.  Going by it's constant overuse by the left and them only seeming to care about white vs black issues, it's a pretty darn good indicator that the left has it's own extreme racism issues.  Don't be a hypocrite...

 

So then you agree that the right also has it's own extreme racism issues or are you a hypocrite?

 

24 minutes ago, Astra.Xtreme said:

Racism will never get better if people keep using it as a crutch or excuse in an argument...

Hence why I called SpeedyTheSnal out

 

You got that  @SpeedyTheSnail, don't use racism as a crutch or an excuse in an argument.  Straight from the mouth of Astra.Xtreme

[shockz]

Nice to see the standard framework and usual suspects here derailing the thread. Par for the course in domestic politics forum. 

[Gone]

7 minutes ago, primortal said:

So even the paper linked in the article with includes evidence is a biased lefty publication?  Prior to 2006, no state required identification to vote so why all of the sudden it was a problem and that Voter ID laws were being implemented?

 

Again, people were happily voting without vote id laws prior to 2006 so what does your logic have to say about that?

 

So then you agree that the right also has it's own extreme racism issues or are you a hypocrite?

 

Hence why I called SpeedyTheSnal out

 

You got that  @SpeedyTheSnail, don't use racism as a crutch or an excuse in an argument.  Straight from the mouth of Astra.Xtreme

I never used racism as an excuse in an argument. Fox news is not racist, nor are its viewers. CNN on the other hand... boy are they racist, as are their viewers.

 

Why do I need an ID to buy beer and cigarettes and also to fly, but not to vote? Saying that minorities can't afford a $15 ID is in itself racist, so please use that excuse as the left always does. Common sense dictates that voter ID laws exist to prevent voter fraud, I'm surprised the left doesn't support this with their hysteria over Russia's collusion with Hillary Clinton [oh wait they are diverting the truth about them (DNC) paying a foreign spy to come up with a fake dossier to get President Trump to lose] President Trump during the election.

[Mockingbird]

16 minutes ago, SpeedyTheSnail said:

I never used racism as an excuse in an argument. Fox news is not racist, nor are its viewers. CNN on the other hand... boy are they racist, as are their viewers.

LOL

[+primortal Subscriber²]

11 minutes ago, SpeedyTheSnail said:

I never used racism as an excuse in an argument. Fox news is not racist, nor are its viewers. CNN on the other hand... boy are they racist, as are their viewers.

You just did....

 

12 minutes ago, SpeedyTheSnail said:

Why do I need an ID to buy beer and cigarettes and also to fly, but not to vote? Saying that minorities can't afford a $15 ID is in itself racist, so please use that excuse as the left always does.

Because of laws.  IF you read my last post voter id laws didn't come into effect till after 2006.

 

14 minutes ago, SpeedyTheSnail said:

Common sense dictates that voter ID laws exist to prevent voter fraud

Voter ID laws haven't proven to prevent voter fraud at all.  As per, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/why-voter-id-laws-arent-really-about-fraud/ majority of voter fraud is done via absentee vote which voter id laws don't cover.  You might want to read the section, Who Is Impacted by Voter ID Laws? in regards to discriminating against minorities.

 

22 minutes ago, SpeedyTheSnail said:

I'm surprised the left doesn't support this with their hysteria over Russia's collusion with Hillary Clinton [oh wait they are diverting the truth about them (DNC) paying a foreign spy to come up with a fake dossier to get President Trump to lose] President Trump during the election.

How would voter id laws help in this scenario? (grabbing some popcorn)

[wakjak]

4 minutes ago, primortal said:

How would voter id laws help in this scenario? (grabbing some popcorn)

I bet you he's gonna say something about the "millions" of illegal votes... 

 

Or the one where the democrats bussed people to other cities/states to vote... hmmmmm sounds pretty sheepish...