From their perspective, whether it is bait or not, they only benefit from commenting on it. People buy into their news media if it either asserts what they already believe to be true or outlines something outrageous.
This news coverage is just the beginning, but it'll probably fizzle out because it's a lose-lose for news media. It has also been started in public and is easily debunk-able.
The most brilliant counter to this I've seen is replacing the "it's ok to be white" paper that was removed with a blank piece of paper. Hopefully, once seeing blank paper is sending people to the campus police, this can all come to a truly ridiculous end.
I think this really highlights the stupidity of the "okay symbol". As long as we allow people to change the meaning of words and symbols, this will continue to happen.
When such a large group of people begin using the symbol it's hard to combat, but a few people on the internet with a small amount of usage should be easier to combat.
Speaking to some people in these circles, this is quite likely in direct response to a news piece: "High School Spends $53,000 To Reprint Yearbooks After Students Flash Racist Symbol" [1].
I don't think this will work. Excuse my nonsense logic but the swastika works well as a symbol of hate (despite having other origins and meanings) in that it has a single center with coherent angular spirals, the center signifying the ego and the spirals signifying logic and order complying with it... or something.
The hashtag has an empty center and four equal points that sort of radiate in multiple directions... seems more oligopolistic and ambivalent than totalitarian and opinionated.
/pol/s campaigns can work surprising magic. The okay sign worked reasonably well. And still the "it's okay to be white" continues to make people mad on both sides. This one.. it'll be more difficult.
/pol/ works magic b/c everyone is so far up their own ass, utterly humorless, and can't look at things in context. Nuance and context have eroded in favor of absurd, rigid tribalism. And /pol/ pulls on that thread constantly. And as a progressive (at a high level - a BLM, OWS, #MeToo supporting) - i find it utterly amazing. The inability for the left and the press to have nuance, take things with a grain of salt, have a chuckle from time to time (even at yourselves), is their greatest weakness right now.
If they succeed yet again it will only be more evidence Western civilization has gone completely off the rails.
(The first time around they managed to convince nearly the entire left wing community that the universal "okay sign" was a symbol of hate. Yes, that was them too.)
I look forward to the fringe left and mainstream media conceding more and more ideas, symbols, and words to their alt-right enemies.
I'm waiting for the Gay Pride Flag / LGBT Flag to be conceded. So that I can finally be called a Nazi for supporting LGBT rights and refusing to let the alt-right co-opt everything and anything they decide to meme. For anyone imaging how they would co-opt the flag: Colors aren't mixed in a rainbow. White supremacists are against "color mixing" (interracial relationships).
Supreme (the clothing brand) will be targeted soon and it isn't a huge leap to tie the name with white supremacy.
Media coverage knows this is a hoax to make them look like idiots. They'll drum it up anyway for the clicks and ad revenue because people don't seem to care how accurate or intelligent their media coverage is: it's long been about entertainment - not news.
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[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 62.1 ms ] threadThis news coverage is just the beginning, but it'll probably fizzle out because it's a lose-lose for news media. It has also been started in public and is easily debunk-able.
A good first step would be if journos stopped treating Twitter as if it were a meaningful representation of the real world.
[1] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/high-school-yearbooks-racist-...
The hashtag has an empty center and four equal points that sort of radiate in multiple directions... seems more oligopolistic and ambivalent than totalitarian and opinionated.
more along the lines of the "okay" gesture https://www.adl.org/blog/how-the-ok-symbol-became-a-popular-...
The curio will combat the troll.
Imagine if these guys chose to use their powers for good instead.
(The first time around they managed to convince nearly the entire left wing community that the universal "okay sign" was a symbol of hate. Yes, that was them too.)
I'm waiting for the Gay Pride Flag / LGBT Flag to be conceded. So that I can finally be called a Nazi for supporting LGBT rights and refusing to let the alt-right co-opt everything and anything they decide to meme. For anyone imaging how they would co-opt the flag: Colors aren't mixed in a rainbow. White supremacists are against "color mixing" (interracial relationships).
Supreme (the clothing brand) will be targeted soon and it isn't a huge leap to tie the name with white supremacy.
Media coverage knows this is a hoax to make them look like idiots. They'll drum it up anyway for the clicks and ad revenue because people don't seem to care how accurate or intelligent their media coverage is: it's long been about entertainment - not news.