[mmooss]

I think many people (and the parent comment) are getting played because they don't realize the game and its stakes:

'Trust' is an issue under the old rules, in a context where an essentially democratic, free society was desired by all and where therefore public trust and a well-informed public mattered.

The new rules are about power alone, which is essentially anti-democratic. Bezos has power and he demonstrates it - demonstration is essential under the new rules - by mocking and thumbing his nose at trust and at informing the public. He uses his power to bend public opinion his way; lots of people still read the Post, and in a post-truth world, truth doesn't matter to many of them. He doesn't care about trust, and he actively and intentionally demonstrates it.

It's the context of post-truth philosophy: Words are about power, they are weapons; they are not about truth, expression, or information.

The worship (rather than distrust) of power, post-truth, it all leads to the non-democratic outcome.

[jquery]

IMO, the rules haven't changed at all, shit has always been bad. Ask any Black American. The silver lining to all this open corruption is that even the most milquetoast centrists of 2020 are turning into people calling for actual consequences for the corruption going on in our government.

As unpopular as Bush was in 2008, not very many people seriously thought he would be or even should be arrested. I think the patience of good people is getting severely tested in 2025 though, I think by 2028, or sooner, people will be demanding scalps.

[mmooss]

> IMO, the rules haven't changed at all, shit has always been bad. Ask any Black American.

What, of the things I described, have Black Americans experienced more than others?

> even the most milquetoast centrists of 2020 are turning into people calling for actual consequences for the corruption going on in our government.

I see the opposite: Look at congressional and other Dem leaders - they talk about economics and healthcare despite everything else going on.

[jitumaat]

>What, of the things I described, have Black Americans experienced more than others?

in a context where an essentially democratic, free society was desired by all, black people were systematically shut out from, (redlining, the gi bill, etc.). Like how you were supposed to trust that stop-and-frisk and the broken window policing policies were not thinly veiled attempts to over-police black neighborhoods because the paper you read or the politician you voted for told you so... but the people that were the victims knew otherwise.