The MSM is not telling us what is really going on. This irritating columnist thinks he has the reason no outrage has come yet. The comments are very interesting. There's a poll I'll post in the other section about your rage level.


chicagotribune.com
Populist irritation doesn't have same ring as populist rage

By Rex W. Huppke

Tribune reporter

Over the airwaves and in print, Americans are being told repeatedly that the stumbling economy has transformed the country into a simmering pot of "populist rage."

Frank Rich at the New York Times posited that "unchecked populist rage" could overrun President Obama's agenda.

Fareed Zakaria on CNN asked, "So, the populist rage against these million-dollar bonuses and the companies that give them--has it all gone too far?" And "Hardball" host Chris Matthews recently went to a commercial with this tease: "Up next, how should Democrats and Republicans harness this populist rage?"

One would think that heads have actually rolled, that the foreclosed-upon and suddenly 401k-less masses are marching up Wall Street, ready to rip out their pound of flesh.

And yet ... not so much.

"I'd alter the words to describe what's going on a little differently," said Michael Sherry, a history professor at Northwestern University.

In place of the word "populist," he'd use "widespread," and rather than "rage," Sherry would choose "discontent." Widespread discontent. More accurate perhaps, but it lacks the pizzazz of "populist rage."

For further clarification, let's ask an actual populist.

"I wouldn't say I'm enraged," said Michael Boldin, co-founder of the California-based Populist Party of America. "I am pretty irritated."

Populist irritation? No way that's going to fly with the pundits and headline writers.

Boldin explained that populists like him focus on what is best for the people.

"Virtually everything that the government is doing now is wrong," Boldin said, referring to the billions in bailout bucks being tossed about. "Almost 180 degrees from that would be the right way to do it. People need to save and be more frugal, and monetary policy needs to chill for a little."

People who say "chill" don't tend to be easily enraged.

"I love the country," Boldin said. "I love my friends, my family, and when I see things being done that are just devastating to the future, that does irritate me. But does charging the capital with pitchforks and flames help anything? I don't really think so."

It seems "the masses" might agree. Jen King, spokeswoman for Home Depot, said: "I haven't heard anything about the sales of our pitchforks increasing." And the torches they stock are strictly the tiki variety.

There are tea party protests scheduled nationwide for April 15, but tea has more of a calming effect. And while the term "populist rage" does pop up all over the Internet, online fomentation isn't a march on Washington, and the actual Twitter account "PopulistRage" has only six followers.

So why, buffeted by economic bad news, aren't we overthrowing something?

Lauren Langman, a psychology professor at Loyola University, said part of the problem is that the people hurt most by the economy are the ones least organized to protest.

"We just don't have powerful economic organizations anymore," Langman said. "The unions are scrambling just to save themselves. In many ways I think we're much better organized in this country to protest abused pets--through groups like the SPCA--than we are to handle these kinds of economic issues."

Another factor, according to Northwestern sociologist Gary Fine, is that we live in a democracy, and democracies--what with the people's ability to "vote the bums out of office"--don't lend themselves well to widespread rebellion.

"The demonstrations, the protests, the anger that we have in the country are situated largely within the political system," Fine said. "We don't have the likelihood of any kind of a coup. Whether you talk about people like Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity or whomever, they're not really talking about overthrowing the government. They're talking about the next election."

Way to go, America. Populist rage finally becomes fashionable and the best we can do is vote angry. Not only are we broke, it appears we're hopelessly boring.

rhuppke@tribune.com

Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune

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