On Gremlins and Gizmos

When I was a kid in the 1980s, I remember watching Gremlins for the first time.  It was one of those gloriously campy 80s movies.  The basic premise was this:  a guy received a "mogwai" as a gift.  A "mogwai" is an adorable, fluffy, and mysterious animal.  He is also given three instructions:  never expose it to bright light (sunlight can kill it), never get water on it, and whatever you do, do not ever, ever feed it after midnight.  He names the creature Gizmo.

 As you would expect, each of one those rules is broken during the course of the movie.  Gizmo is exposed to water, which we learn causes him to "multiply" -- other mogwais burst of his body.  Those mogwais are fed after midnight and turn into gremlins (thus the title of the film) who wreak havoc until the end of the movie, when Gizmo (who always played by the rules and is still a fuzzy little angel) helps destroy the last gremlin by exposing him the sunlight.

This primary season has brought out a little bit of gremlin in some of our most admired gizmos. Some of our fellow progressives throughout the blogosphere (this site being no exception) have been transformed from friendly to ferocious, from being helpful and enlightening to hindering a full debate on the issues.

If there were three rules for the delicate creature that is the modern day political junkie, they would be (1) never expose said junkies to a contested primary after Super Tuesday; (2) never feed said junkies shitty and inevitably warped 24/7 cable news coverage; and (3) never give these junkies candidates that they can actually like and be inspired by.

This primary season, of course, has broken all the rules.  I've seen progressives that I respect and admire, Clinton and Obama supporters alike, turn into fact-averse, logic-impaired, sensationalistic and reactive "yes" men and women for their respective candidate.  Others have changed into members who do not hesitate to be rude or insulting, even in reaction to the most benign of comments or the most novice of users here.

As to the how of this ugliness, it's simple:  this high-pressure, endless primary in which two mammoth campaigns are pitted against each other, coupled with a steady stream of shallow and often provocative press coverage results in short fuses all around.  It has all been, in a single word, exhausting, even for those of us who are not involved in the campaigns but merely watch from the sidelines.

But the why, that is most complex. It cannot be traced back to the simple explanation of being a supporter of a given candidate.  It can't be linked to merely to dislike of a given a candidate.

As we wonder how the most beautiful minds on this site and others can take such an ugly turn sometimes, context matters.

Nearly eight years of Bush corruption, nearly five years of painful war, and over a year of a frustrating legislative defeats have left all of clamoring for an exit.  Whether it's Clinton or Obama, for many, that candidate represents that exit, that change from the nightmare we've experienced as a nation over Bush's last two terms to the dream of better tomorrow.

It is the tragedy of eight years and the frenzied need for change that has raised the stakes in this election, that has caused so many to become so invested in their candidate, and that has brought all of our fears and hopes and angers to a boil.

This is not an excuse for the horrible behavior I've seen, nor it is an attempt to wave away the insults and ignorance as a byproduct of some excited soul.  It is, however, context, and it is that context which gives me hope that logic, reason and, yes, common sense and courtesy courtesy will return to these people soon enough.

And even if they don't, even if a few people remain gremlins well into the general election, there's thousands of reasonable and logical and productive people out there who will keep these communities vibrant and resourceful.  Until then, it may be chaotic a bit and it may be frustrating, but take it from me -- a girl who practically lives on this site and reads far too much of it for my own good --- the gizmos far outnumber the gremlins, even in the craziness of Silly Season.

Except they're not as cute as the original Gizmo.  Or as furry.  And they have a much larger vocabulary. Which is good, because one-syllable diaries wouldn't be that interesting at all, now would they?