Incoherent, incompetent, devoid of ideology beyond inchoate rage at not getting their way, they mulled and milled about — posing, posturing, taking selfies and live-streaming their exploits. “Our house!” West Virginia state delegate Derrick Evans exclaimed on Facebook Live as he joined the rioters who had smashed windows and bullied their way through doors. Social media platforms reward bored doomscrollers with content that becomes more polarizing, untrue and violent as they click through. Politics has morphed from being about what we believe to who we are; disagreement has curdled into existential threat. And, with movies imitating the immersive head space of video games, it was only a matter of time before spectacle morphed into LARP-like life.

Source: Washington Post January 08, 2021 19:47 UTC