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Young people do not appreciate Beck it seems. AP Photo Evan Agostini
Despite his claims that he is not a "polarizing guy" Glenn Beck seems to have caused some conflict between the older and younger generations. Many of the Christmas tweets involving Beck featured younger people saying something like "Oh God why do my parents love Glenn Beck?" A sampling of some of these tweets included:
HKnight86: Nothing says Christmas like driving to Louisiana with Dad
listening to Glenn Beck Radio, and talking back to it. Merry
Christmas, everyone."
MongooseML: @LiveRandom Mmmhmmm. D: I want to burn that Glenn Beck
book my mom got. She won't shut up."
TheUndomestic: @saeedjones My dad likes Glenn Beck, and thinks
O'Reilly is too "moderate." What?"
nuccbko: grandpa just gave me glenn beck's book. dislike."
derrickriley: It's awesome when family quotes Glenn Beck. Thank you
Fox News: Uneducating America for 50 years."
So what can we learn from what is admittedly a small sample size of tweets?
First if you are a parent you may want to ask your son or daughter about their political beliefs before buying them a Glenn Beck book. I understand that everyone is passionate about their politics but I would think twice before if I bought "The Audacity of Hope" for my ultra-conservative uncle as it would probably show poor taste.
Second, contrary to Beck's own assertion it turns out that he is in fact a "polarizing guy." Younger people have always tended to be more liberal than their older counterparts but Beck has managed to increase the intensity of both sides of the debate. Conservatives have become more conservative and certain of their beliefs through Beck while liberals simply stand amazed that anyone could believe the Beck rhetoric.
Comments
It's very interesting. I'm 22 and just graduated from college. I consider myself in between conservatism and libertarianism and yet I hate Glenn Beck. Even if I agree with some of the things that he says, and am concerned over such things as ACORN and the SEIU, I hate his lame-brained conspiracy theories and accusations. One of the things I generally don't understand is his insistence that the government is incapable, yet is constantly planning well orchestrated events to take away our freedoms. I think Obama is a well-educated man who has made some very big mistakes that will be harmful in the long run. Beck, however, denies the humanity of the opposition all to often (something liberals were all to willing to do under Bush). This is not constructive for discourse. O'Reilly, Larry Elder, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity (even if he is a bit brash) are more reasonable than Beck's nonsense. I tried to tell this to my grandparents who adore Beck this Christmas; I hope they get it.
If parents know something to be true, we should share it with
our children.
That is our responsibility, even at the risk of rejection.
Who's going to tell them, if parents won't; their public school teachers; their friends; MSNBC; David Letterman; Michael Moore???
Hey Ryan, were there any positive tweets from young people about Glenn beck that did not fit your narrow world view? Hehe, just like the main stream media and offering a tiny, slim view of things that just happen to match your, no matter how small and faint. Please tell me you did not go to journalism school or anything for this. If so and I were, I would ask for my money back.
Why do you continue personal attacks as apposed to refuting something that Glenn Beck has said. Tell us your version of the truth. When you resort to personal attacks, it proves what Glenn Beck has said. Glenn Beck called Bush to task contantly, about his policy's, not what the kids tweet. Grow up!
Glenn does makes history more palatable when he uses his kermit the frog voice. And remember kids, your president, "he hates ...... white people or the white culture."
The Mormon Church must be so proud of their favorite son Glenn Beck, I know I am.
Please take a moment to scroll up and look at his angelic countenance.
the Mormon Church must be so proud of your guy...Harry Reid....Not!
Becks demos in the young dynamic is off the charts. So your theory is falls, again. Check his ratings...Clown.
Beck draws thousands to see and hear him. You're lucky if you get ten responses when you open you mouth.
I should consider myself among the lucky majority who's parents are just as disgusted by Glenn Beck as I am. I'm also finding that there are still a lot of moderate Republicans out there who feel the same as we do.
My only hope is that the current environment does completely polarize the country.
Where is this guy getting his information?? I am young and I have tons of friends who listen to Glenn Beck. It is so great that somebody sticks up for the truth because we don't hear these things from main stream media..
Wendy says:
"...I am young and I have tons of friends who listen to Glenn Beck..."
something wrong with your group...must have the boringest "girls gone mild" parties.
B-Rad says "I'm 22 and just graduated college. I don't yet grasp the proper use of the word, "to" and I hate Glenn Beck. I may some day agree with Beck, probably after I get a job, if the Democrats haven't driven unemployment even higher than they already have, and actually start footing the bill for people who refuse to work through massive gubmint programs paid for by my tax dollars, but by then I'll be a parent with an ungreatful kid who thinks his college degree entitles him to pass judgement on my experience.
D-man if you think economic mess we're in is Obama's fault you are in worse shape than you think! Do you realize that at the end of the Clinton administration this country was on track to actually settle the national debt by 2013.
Beck is a chronic misinformer... He mocks educated people as being indoctrinated, then indoctrinates his listeners and viewers with his revisionist history. He quotes Saul Alinksy and says progressives are playing dirty, all-the-while employing the tactics of Alinksy. He's a guy who makes money off people who are ignorant, and angry that they have no efficacy... He tells them they are already brilliant, and that together they can re-make the nation as t"he"y sees fit... And worse yet, the baby boomers buy his nonsense... Just proving, once again, that the Baby Boomers were the Greatest Generation's greatest mistake.
Hey King: Moderate republicans have no principles except to get re-elected and sponge off of ever increasing big government; your tax dollars. GB has principles that are firmly grounded in moral behavior. That makes him a target of the government funded progressive monkees. They are increasingly concerned about "their" cashflow and will say and legislate anything to protect it.
Dan, listen to me. I don't think my college degree entitles me to anything. I have a great amount of respect for people that didn't graduate college and I'll admit that they probably have a much better grasp upon reality than I do. I've spent my entire existence surrounded by books, radios, and television screens. I know that I belong to the most privileged generation that has ever walked the face of the planet. I'm angry about that stimulus bill too. I don't want government run healthcare, but I'm entitled to my opinion and I'm not about to become a fan of Glenn Beck. He's too weepy, to emotional, and makes ridiculous accusations. I don't know how you feel about Bush but I defended him against people in college who had no idea what they were talking about. I saw a complete rejection of the idea of the right's basic humanity and whenever I tried to defend it I was reviled. A lot of people in my college thought that 9\11 was done by the American government.
I find no inaccuracies in this post. I will assume the tweets are real.
My experience is that kids don't want to hear it. They have been instructed by their teachers, "Capitalism bad, Government good, and large wealth transfers even better." Highschool kids live in a world where clicks rule everything and to step outside that world as a moral person invites big trouble. College is a bastion of progressive thought. Then comes the day of the first real paycheck and eyes begin to open to the possibilities they've been had. But if they have learned anything from school it is to remain silent, don't speak out. You'll attract a hostile response from some really bad people.
That is one of the reasons I hate Beck. He has proposed ridiculous conspiracy theories against Obama and the American government and yet he also claims that they are incompetent. This is a charge I have never understood. The government supposedly is an evil entity that desires to rob the populace of its freedoms and yet they are also inept? Personally, I agree with Beck's idea of limited government, I simply hate the man's style. He appeared on Fox and Friends in March and claimed that he could not debunk the "FEMA camp rumors". The "FEMA camp rumors" are a fabrication of the idea that the government wishes to force urban populations into concentration camps. Lunatic truther Alex Jones advertises it on his show. This is why I hate Beck. I also thought that the 9\12 Marches were a stupid and callous act that divided the country, rather than unified it toward a common goal. I don't disagree with the idea of limited governance, I simply think that Beck's style is divisive.
@klatoo Well it depends on the specific school. I won't deny that the education system in America is extraordinarily liberal in general, but I am a staunch supporter of capitalism and I knew several professors that adored it too. Of course many professors considered themselves to be socialists as well. But there was a professor in my college who was an original New Yorker, an atheist, a homosexual, and currently lives in a progressive state. These are things that many would consider a perfect candidate for "liberalism." And yet he was not explicitly a "liberal." He said he respected Bush (he didn't vote for him), and was a staunch capitalist.
Brad: People will say anything. I recognize liberty, capitalism and free markets as a superior political choice because of its higher moral values and fairness as much as I recognize the other political choices for the tyranny and miseries they impose. But greed runs deep in a progressive and they are well organized and funded. They know how vulnerable the individual is and the tools most effective to be used against that individual. GB is feeling the pinch right now. Progressives have access to your tax dollars and union dues and they are very effective in using it against you.
@klatoo Greed runs rampant in every part of human society, not just in conservative or liberal camps. You speak as if there is a conspiracy afoot by liberals and progressives to rob America of its freedoms. There isn't. This is exactly the way liberals talk about conservatives. I don't think that conspiracies are usually possible, for a very simple reason. When was the last time you told a friend or relative a secret to have them blab the entire thing to somebody else? Obama may be incompetent in some ways but he isn't trying to destroy America with nefarious plots.
Brad: I don't believe in conspiracy even though we have laws dealing with such. And for the reasons you just stated. It's about progressive conservatives (republicans)and progressive liberals (democrats). Those two groups are the political class and maybe 20% of the population. Their greed is power, not dollars. Because they are funded with your tax dollars or union dues your liberty is at risk. The other 80% (or so) want their freedoms but because they are just individuals with very little real power as individuals the political class will ultimately control every aspect of their lives. That 80%, if they value their liberty, needs to get together and get rid of the progressives. They don't respect the constitution and they don't respect you.
Klatoo:
Just replace the word "progressive" in your posts with the word "Americans." ...Because they ARE interchangable...
Major Tom: Maybe in some cases yes. But like I've always said, the progressives want to make you feel helpless but don't ever let them get you down. If you want to run with the big dogs you got to be against the man. Stick it to the man. Vote them out.
Glenn is sticking it to them. Keep the faith. This iron curtain congress is going down in 2010.
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