2024 10 15
Where we are headed. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Relying on any one source for a majority of your information intake is never a good idea, no matter how fair and balanced that source is. Yesterday morning, on twitter, I read a demoralized tweet from a buddy about how Kamala’s campaign was focusing way too much on catering to Jeb Bush Republicans. Reading this plunged me into a hole of despair. He was right, there’s no enthusiasm and she is not doing enough to get out there and convince new voters she can be the change candidate or excite existing voters to actually show up to the polls! Or so I thought, likely because all of the shit I’ve been reading on twitter has seeped into my brain and caused me to believe the situation is as grim as it is.
I’ve always been someone who likes to explore all sides to a story, to see every perspective. I’m strong enough not to allow clear narrative manipulation to rub off on me, right?
Later that night, while working late at the studio, I got a push notification from WSJ about how drones have been flying over military installations for weeks now and The Pentagon has no idea where they are coming from—possibly from space (!!!). This is the kind of headline that a decade ago would’ve made people very curious to learn more but now usually gets completely ignored. It was exciting to think about how, when I got home, I could open up what has become a mecca for conspiracy theorists (twitter) to get all the “takes” on what is actually going on. Surely if the mainstream media and US military are openly reporting on it, there has to be a ton of people looking into it. I shut down the computer and headed home.
Arriving home, I was distracted with dinner waiting for me and Bob’s Burgers so forgot about the drone attack report for a few hours. Then, we switched on CNN and they were doing a big segment on the election. Immediately, I was releived. The coverage of Kamala’s campaign was far more positive than twitter (of course) but it also seemed like she was doing well and saying the right things. Positive and enthusiastic. Their campaign strategy is clearly less traditional, and likely for good reason, however, it seems to be giving the appearance to some of us (me!) that she’s not out there enough — front-and-center. The problem is, front-and-center is now inside our pockets and different for everyone. You can run an entire presidential campaign from your basement (Joe Biden proved it!) and probably win if you’re hitting the right podcasts and youtube channels.
Finally, I remembered the push notification and opened the twitter app, excited to hear more. It was crickets. Nothing. I had to search and still had a hard time finding anyone talking about the mysterious surveillance drones circling military bases. Crazy allegations about Tim Walz were plentiful, however. Brutal fights and car crashes and gun battles plentiful. People dying right in front of my eyes. Twitter has become the gnarly video repository to show everyone the proof that everything Trump and Fox News says is true. They are eating the cats. They are destroying the cities. They are controlling the weather and stealing our land. They are killing and sex trafficking the children. Of course, some of this stuff is happening (shoutout Diddy!) but if you spend too much time on twitter, as I do, you start to feel like it’s happening all around you. It seeps into your brain, even if you know what they’re doing and think you’re strong enough to combat it.
-Clayton
