For Thursday night, please read Erving Goffman’s article On Cooling the Mark Out. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about “confidence games” and how Goffman is able to go from talking about a very specific topic — people who have been defrauded — to talking about society at large.
See you in class!
I am not really sure where I should post this, but I found an article which somewhat touches upon what we talked about in Tuesday’s class.
Tropicana Discovers Some Buyers Are Passionate About Packaging http://tinyurl.com/clxfsg
This is another example how the interraction between the producers and consumers led to a positive outcome for those who wanted it.
Earlier today, CNN televised a speech given by Rush Limbaugh, the conversative Radio Talk Show Host, to the core conservative members of the GOP (Grand Old Party) – Republican Party.
His speech was very thought-provoking. However, the section that caught my attention the most, was his attempt to explain a very controversial comment he had made on his radio program, shortly after President Obama took office. Rush Limbaugh was reported saying on his radio broadcast “I hope Obama fails!”
Today, in that CNN broadcast, he said that what he meant by this comment is that Obama’s present policies intend to change America from the country he knew when growing up.
He said that president Obama is attempting to change America from a capitalist country with his intent to let the Bush tax cut to the wealthiest Americans (those making over $250,000?) expire. Rush Limbaugh, in his speech today to rally the GOP, said that he wishes Obama to fail in his attempt from changing America from capitalism, instigating that Obama is attempting to ‘re-distribute’ wealth, to poorer Americans, which is more a form of ‘socialism’.
I found this relating to our sociology class in that it went to the core of the argument about ‘class’ in America. Some conservatives are feeling fear at President Obama’s attempt to address the issue of class and are interpreting his attempts to fix the struggling economy as an attack on their identity and status, and as a personal loss.
The attendees at the speech today stood and cheered at every chance they got, at Rush Limbaugh’s comments. Rush stated that America would be better served to “pull up” those at the bottom of the American socioal system rather than “bring down” those at the top, by taxing them unfairly.
He said that this is what he meant by saying that he hopes Obama fails. Although he was busy tearing down Obama’s attempts to address the issue of class and the struggling economy, Rush did not offer his own solution on how to “pull the poor up” (better their quality of life).
The role he played today in his speech, also reminded me of our class disscussion on Thursday, 2/26/09 regarding Erving Goffman’s paper on “Cooling The Mark Out”. Limbaugh performed to a public stage as the “cooler” to the many angry conservatives (GOP) who felt displaced from losing the election and felt that they are now the minority. His overall speech was to reinforce conservation values and to cool out his “marks,” (party members), by reminding them that they were every bit justified in not wanting to share their wealth.
Whatever he wants to call his speech, I call it “unpatriotic”. During this time of economic crisis and massive job layoffs, I think the last thing we need to do is play on people’s fears; that taxing those who can afford it means that they are being robbed of their values of status and class, and that they are being forced into a socialist culture of having their wealth being re-distributed. Shame on you Limbaugh!