this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2025
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Rush Limbaugh was broadcast on the free radio, you could listen to it on $1 worth of junk parts if you knew what you were doing. The ease of access is not what made republican bigotry accessible or popular.
Sure, but we're talking about a way different scale. "If you knew what you were doing" being a key word here.
It's never been easier to come across this garbage when youtube/Instagram/Tiktok comes installed on most phones by default. What's worse, there have never been so many grifters spewing the same shit.
Back in the day, you might have been able to call Limbaugh an isolated instance of a clear grifter getting paid to spread lies.
Nowadays, the Tate clones are so ubiquitous that it's hard to point out the flaws in thinking because so many people seem to believe in them. But its just the algorithm feeding you more of the same, over and over.
It was almost the entirety of AM radio for the past 40 years. Sports and this right-wing trash. On in the background at every work place, hardware store, and cafe until Muzac took over. Had that ranting asshole and his friends pumping into our ears wanting it or not. Many areas of the country had only that and Country Music for hours in any direction.
When I said "if you knew what you were doing" I meant you can build an AM receiver out of literal trash with a middle school understanding of electrics but no one bothered because you had one built in to every car, every tape player, boom box, alarm clock, and anything else with a speaker. You had a radio in every room of the house and 2 in the garage even if you never turned it on. There's no way to believe that phones have less cultural push than AM radio had pre-1990.
I mean, you can believe whatever you want, but the answer is yes there is.
You should watch the series Adolescence, btw. It deals with this exact topic. Its 4 episodes long and it shows how social media and constant connection and more importantly INTERACTION with everyone, has an effect that is fundamentally different from passively listening to AM radio.
Sorry, didn't pay my Netflix cultural tax this year. Maybe I'll sail the sees for it.
I highly encourage you to. 🏴☠️