Depends. For lots of my Southern family, oldschool racist and Confederate roots are deep, and tied to church culture. And I’ve seen examples outside of that where things are ‘learned,’ like a macho, sexist, homophobe jerk kinda ex-friend who’s Dad was the same.
Also, talk radio was like this long before Fox got so extreme. Rush Limbaugh was huge, people like him were a staple across the rural US and can still be heard if you tune in.
In the richer eschelons (like in my private school), libertarian-mindedness is more common, and extreme social conservatism bleeds in from there, as counterintuitive as that seems.
In other words, the Fox environment has been cooking for decades (if not a centuries), and I agree: they’re catering to (and stoking) the market that’s already there.
Depends. For lots of my Southern family, oldschool racist and Confederate roots are deep, and tied to church culture. And I’ve seen examples outside of that where things are ‘learned,’ like a macho, sexist, homophobe jerk kinda ex-friend who’s Dad was the same.
Also, talk radio was like this long before Fox got so extreme. Rush Limbaugh was huge, people like him were a staple across the rural US and can still be heard if you tune in.
In the richer eschelons (like in my private school), libertarian-mindedness is more common, and extreme social conservatism bleeds in from there, as counterintuitive as that seems.
In other words, the Fox environment has been cooking for decades (if not a centuries), and I agree: they’re catering to (and stoking) the market that’s already there.
Interesting, thanks for sharing your insights!