The Mainstream Media Lied to Me About Conservatives

How political media propaganda prevented me from understanding conservatives

Looking back, when I was a Democrat, I never personally knew any Republicans or conservatives yet my entire perception of what they stood for was based on left-leaning media filtering.

I felt that I was being informed when I was being highly misinformed about what an entire political spectrum generally believes and advocates for. Even more so, as a black man, I bought into the bad-faith political position that "all Republicans & conservatives are racist".

No political party or side has a monopoly on ignorance. We are a nation with over 200 million voting-aged adults and immoral people are going to be found on both sides. However, the wholesale belief that conservatism equals bigotry is undoubtedly false.

I realized that I was living my life in bad faith, seeing people for what I thought they were and never giving them the chance to show me who they really are.

I've lived in 5 states and a variety of types of areas throughout my life. I've noticed when people talk about "America is..." they're often projecting their impression of America based on the geography they're most familiar with. If they live in a run-down city, then America must be run-down. Me, I've lived in urban, suburban, and rural areas.

I've been one of four black kids in the entire middle school and one of many black kids in the school.

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I say all of this to point out that I've lived around people of different races and political beliefs but it was incredibly rare that someone ever held racial animus toward me.

When I left the mainstream liberal media bubble & started listening to right-wing media to understand what they want, I became more aware of the world around me than ever before. Without the filter, I got to hear what conservatives actually believe & it's not what I was told.

I removed my bad-faith preconceived notions and just listened to what they had to say but even more important, watched their actions based on their rhetoric. I have some disagreements but I understand them far better than I had previously.

Recently, an interviewer asked me about this political hurdle of "conservatives are racist" and my experience with it. I gave him an example of when I was invited to attend Turning Point's "Americafest" last year.

For a couple of days, I was at this conservative conference, everyone I spoke with was courteous and supportive and I felt completely comfortable. I didn't have people stare at me or give me the feeling that I wasn't welcome. Actually, quite the opposite.

The speakers that I saw on stage preached the importance of family, wanting smaller government, holding Republicans in office accountable, and their unwavering love for America despite our political gripes.

However, when I would go on Twitter, they would show clips from the event and reframed this benign conservative conference as being a "KKK rally". If Americafest was a KKK rally, then it was the lamest KKK rally ever.

But this is the power of political propaganda & it works. Someone would actually think that I, a black man, would actually purposely go to a hate-filled rally where my identity would be the main target to go after. They think I would sign up for my own lynching.

As sarcastic as I'm sounding, I also shamefully realized I was one of those people who would consider this illogical prospect. Being on both sides of the political spectrum has allowed me to see the political world for what it is; biased & imperfect.

Overwhelming, most Americans essentially want the same thing, they just have different pathways to reach that objective.

It's the few that want us to believe they're the majority and the media's job is to highlight the few as being the many so the many cower to the few.

And in every story, you need a villain. The mainstream media's storyline must paint conservatives as being perpetrators of racism because once you believe this bad-faith proposition, nothing else matters as to what they're saying.

It's a political brick wall that many have trouble maneuvering past because it's cemented into place with constant repetition of accusatory rhetoric.

But it's exaggeration & manipulation by the political liberal elite who never want their political foes to be seen as otherwise.

The elitist media propaganda made me overlook my real-life experience. The people who I would identify as conservatives today were actually my neighbors in small-town America and were generally kind to me, I just didn't know their politics but I recognize their behavior & ideals.

There is much to be gained by understanding all political ideologies along with reaching out to people with who you don't normally have a dialogue.

A media filter will always remove information that benefits them but leaves you without some nutrients of knowledge.

We're being malnourished.

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