How racism was injected into the Trump campaign and Cambridge Analytica connection

[HomerJS]

Not that a lot of us didn't already know a large chunk of Trump's campaign was based on racial animus. They actually had a name for it. Here's the connection to the CA scandal.

The company’s early 2014 work turned on Bannon’s efforts to harness the power of anti-Establishment, far-right, and populist messaging, which would later be injected into Trump’s campaign. One year before Trump announced his candidacy, the firm had apparently already identified a swath of alienated white Americans. In focus groups centered around the 2014 midterms, voters responded to the suggestion of a border wall, racism towards African-Americans shrouded in the term “race realism,” and tactics intended to “drain the swamp” of Washington’s political elite. The firm also gauged opinions of Vladimir Putin. “The only foreign thing we tested was Putin,” Wylie noted. “It turns out, there’s a lot of Americans who really like this idea of a really strong authoritarian leader and people were quite defensive in focus groups of Putin’s invasion of Crimea.” (The Mercers did not respond to previous requests for comment.)

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/03/the-secret-history-of-steve-bannon-and-alexander-nix

 

[BonzaiDuck]

If you could design a subtle questionnaire that would identify respondents with racial issues -- and one could do that -- then CA's data-mining could identify it. Respondents might still adamantly deny they had a racial bias -- to themselves and to others. It is easy to be comfortable in that sort of mind-space, the more simplistic one conceives of what might be their personal racial bias.

"I have many friends who are . . .[racial minority]," "I'm not prejudiced against anyone." They believe it themselves.

I also suggest that groups of people hold the study of psychology in different degrees of recognition or seriousness. They might not be able to conceive of psychological disorders that are still "functional," and have preconceived notions of things like "schizophrenia" or "histrionic." So again -- oversimplified understanding of the world and the convergence of certain disciplines -- social sciences in general, perhaps.

That's how a college-educated dentist would dismiss the meaning of a presidential candidate with narcissistic personality disorder: "Narcissist?! What's that? So what?!" There are probably people with similar blind spots in the IT disciplines.

Just a theory or some ideas I happen to entertain . . . .

 

[HomerJS]

Unfortunately Bannon and CA used respondents biases (was going to say shortcomings but I guess that is biased) and weaponize the information. It didn't take any recognition from the respondents.

I've also though about the idea of the functioning ______ drug addict, alcoholic, racist. Despite the functioning noun they can go about their daily live seemingly minus those characteristics.

I always considered Lyndon Johnson an example of a functioning racist. The same guy who almost accidentally called MLK a ni**er in the White House. That part of his history is well known but this same guy signed into law the 64 Civil Rights Act and the 65 Voting Rights Act. He did it knowing the damage it would do to the Democratic Party in the South and stated so publicly. He was crude and gruff but a smart guy. I just wondered how he concluded to do right by minorities in the United States.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Unfortunately Bannon and CA used respondents biases (was going to say shortcomings but I guess that is biased) and weaponize the information. It didn't take any recognition from the respondents.

I've also though about the idea of the functioning ______ drug addict, alcoholic, racist. Despite the functioning noun they can go about their daily live seemingly minus those characteristics.

I always considered Lyndon Johnson an example of a functioning racist. The same guy who almost accidentally called MLK a ni**er in the White House. That part of his history is well known but this same guy signed into law the 64 Civil Rights Act and the 65 Voting Rights Act. He did it knowing the damage it would do to the Democratic Party in the South and stated so publicly. He was crude and gruff but a smart guy. I just wondered how he concluded to do right by minorities in the United States.

I was only born in Texas, like Eisenhower was born there. But I came up through age 10 in Illinois, and then moved to CA. I think we resented Johnson as Kennedy's successor, and we were pretty naïve and green in those adolescent days. Country Joe and the Fish focused our biases, and we hated Johnson for the Vietnam War. But he got a bad rap.

I haven't sought to inform myself further, but I think the county where LBJ taught school was in the south of the state in the vicinity of San Antonio. There would've been a lot of Mexican Americans. But between the Civil Rights Act and the Great Society, Johnson left a positive mark.

He was just misguided by the hawks in the JCS, and that's how they expanded the war, when "Vietnamization" was already a failure.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I think LBJ's affinity is simply, he had a big ol dick and he liked waiving it in other people's faces, especially his political adversaries. He probably did it for the exact same reason. Surprised it wasn't called the BBC Meatspin the GOP Act.

 

[ElFenix]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1310584937356103686

https://twitter.com/x/status/1310639404394967041

Facebook helping destroy democracy

 

[ivwshane]

I’ll post later about this story but the underlying story is actually much worse than what bannon did.

 

[HomerJS]

The entire premise of the Shelby decision was things like this no longer exist. Thanks John Roberts

Here we have an example of overt and systemic racism.

 

[vi edit]

Wonder if this is the "wait for the next stories" they were talking about with Parscale.

Brad might have some 'splaining to do.

 

[cytg111]

Holy shit.

*did you micro-target based on race*
Brad : No. No, not at all.

And Trump be like : I didnt know about that stuff...

 

[HomerJS]

but...but...Trump's election wasn't based on racism at all, right??

 

[cytg111]

but...but...Trump's election wasn't based on racism at all, right??

I wanna hear how Candance Owens is gonna spin this... I am sure she will get it down I just lack the imagination....

edit: I hope this makes it into the debate...

 

[hal2kilo]

Holy shit.

*did you micro-target based on race*
Brad : No. No, not at all.

And Trump be like : I didnt know about that stuff...

No, no, and no. It would be, I hardly knew him, he didn't work for us, but a couple weeks.....ect.

 

[ivwshane]

What this story really shows is just how dangerous social media companies can be. The amount of data they can mine from their users can be used for good or bad. This data, as we’ve already seen, in the wrong hands can be used to manipulate or focus people for or against a cause/issue and people wouldn’t even know it.

The article stated that Cambridge analytica found some disaffected groups who were motivated by race and had strong positive feelings towards authoritarian leaders. They identified them and brought them together to form trump’s base, where had it been a more competent person, could have caused some serious, irreversible damage to this country and to others. We are extremely lucky that trump was incapable of not only being president but putting together a competent administration.

The fact that the data they gathered allowed a con man with a history of failed businesses to become president should be extremely concerning to everyone.

 

[nickqt]

The entire premise of the Shelby decision was things like this no longer exist. Thanks John Roberts

Here we have an example of overt and systemic racism.

Roberts isn't a good guy.

Roberts will vote with liberals on social issues that don't mean a fucking thing.

As soon as it comes to voting rights, civil rights, or the oligarchy gaining more power, he's going to vote with his paymasters.