Quote:
Originally Posted by Wooster
What segment of the population does this actually appeal to?
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The Nancy Grace squad.
Otherwise known as "some white girl got kidnapped, so the po-lice better be out in force - but if one fucking red cent of my tax dollars are spent on anything else, there will be bloody hell to pay!".
It's an incredibly vocal minority that does manage to convince a lot of otherwise intelligent people with appeals to emotion, strawmen, and fear mongering.
You'll also notice Bell uses the classic "omg I'm so persecuted" paranoid angle - those evil scheming urbanists are trying to FORCE him to change HIS lifestyle, don't you know. This is a devastatingly effective tactic. Just look at the anti-gay movement over the past few decades. Surely gay people are trying to subvert straight people's rights?? Gay marriage means straight marriages aren't valid anymore!! Due to the same rhetoric, American Christians actually truly believe that Christianity is under "attack" in their country, which I don't think needs more comment. Go a bit further back in history and you'll see just how effective this is - I'll Godwin this thread by pointing out that this was precisely how Hitler kept Germany in agreement with his more disagreeable policies. Those evil, scheming Jews are just trying to destroy your life and take all your rights away, just by being JEWISH.
No, I don't think I'm exaggerating. Rick Bell comes across precisely like this. Same motivation (hey if I scare people they'll take my side!), same effect (marginalizing a group of people), and he's a pretty crude example of a human being for doing it.