The Absurd Arena – Useful Idiots Discussion Board Week of 12.5

For the Useful Idiots who think they can talk back to a podcast.

Hey Useful Idiots,

Wilson here. I know these Absurd Arena articles I write are usually comically melodramatic to match the over-the-top bleakness of our world, and if you listen to Useful Idiots for hours every week like I do, it’s hard not to internalize the constant news of power, killing, and deception, but this has honestly been one of the more discouraging weeks for me as Useful Idiots producer.

Start with the rail workers. “Union Joe” Biden promised us he was a pro-labor president, but as Michael Paul Lindsey and Max Alvarez showed us last week, Biden’s happily selling them out like “faceless meatbags” to further enrich his ruling class. And it’s working.

Take student debt. Joe Biden told us if we voted for democrats he’d help millions of people struggling under crippling debt find some relief. But this week it’s become only more clear that, as David Sirota has been trying to tell us, he plans to once again rip out the rug from under the working class, flashing that winning Biden grin.

And now the Twitter Files. Useful Idiot Matt Taibbi broke a huge story that Twitter employees have been accepting requests to censor tweets and shut down or boost certain accounts. This is a major free speech violation, and I bet you can guess who has been one of the big recipients of Twitter’s generous policy…

But the real discouraging part of the week has been the reactions I’ve heard in everyday conversations. Claims that the Twitter Files turned out to be Fake News because the New York Times says so, that it’s just more anti-Biden propaganda, that they’re really just about some nude texts Hunter Biden sent, or about him getting a job he didn’t really deserve, even that it’s good that Twitter is censoring news if it’s negative toward Biden.

I’m not sure if those people hadn’t read the actual stories or if they’re willingly helping suppress the truth, but this blind loyalty, all while workers are getting beaten down at every turn, has been very discouraging, especially for a guy whose job doesn’t let him have a break from the news.

I want to hear your thoughts on the nonsense. But remember, this is the absurd arena, which means you can talk about anything you want: Taibbi’s Twitter Files, the rail workers, student debt relief, your dream last night, a song you can’t quit, the scary blue alien that has started living in your closet.

As usual, the best comments will be read on the show. Here’s the starter prompt:

Are more voters across the political spectrum becoming Trumpian in their loyalty to their candidate? How do we escape the idolization of celebrities in politics? What questions do you have for Katie and Aaron to answer on the show?