WHAT IS THE "CORRECT" WAY TO DEAL WITH DEMAGOGUES?

You never can tell what's going to happen when you post on facebook.  Case in point, I posted a link to a really funny Sean Hannity moment, where he goes on about how he was spanked as a child, how it was no big deal, and he even pulled off his belt and beat on his desk to illustrate.

But then a weird conversation ensued in comments between me and an old high school friend who is extraordinarily intelligent:

Ron Just beatin' his belt on the table. Brilliant.

Jeff Sharing articles and talking about him on social media only helps him.

Ron Jeff, you don't really think I'm helping Sean Hannity, now, do you?

Jeff You are. Every mention of his name or share of his article online helps his social media buzz. Doesn't matter if it's a negative comment.

Ron I don't really think anything I say about Hannity has anything to do with whether people watch his show. Seriously, I could go on about him all day long, all week long, and it would make no difference. People watch his show. His viewers have absolutely nothing to do with what I say on facebook. This is a weird assertion you're making, Jeff.

Jeff Every time you share a Sean Hannity link publicly, you help his metrics on trend-tracking companies like Klout, Facebook and Google. None one differentiate between positive and negative mentions.

http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=Sean%20Hannity

Ron Right, right, I get that part. What I'm saying is that, in the grand scheme, anything I say about Hannity online, anything at all, will have absolutely no bearing on his overall reach in terms of his demagoguery. Also, there's not even an organized action on this, and my refraining from commenting on his antics would be like my not shopping at Walmart: I hurt myself and only myself.

For that matter, can you name a single instance, just one, in the history of mass media when a group of people who weren't a particular celebrity's audience managed to make that celebrity go away by ignoring him? There aren't any.

Personally, I think the best way to handle the likes of Hannity, Rush, O'Reilly, etc., is to ridicule them. So that's what I do. It's also fun.

Jeff "For that matter, can you name a single instance, just one, in the history of mass media when a group of people who weren't a particular celebrity's audience managed to make that celebrity go away by ignoring him?"

Yes I can. Sean Hannity. Look at that graph again. It seems a lot of people are ignoring him. Let him fade into obscurity.

Ron Jeff, you're speaking as though his television show is irrelevant. You're also speaking as though Sean Hannity is all about website hits, which he's not. He's a plain old fashioned television demagogue. And ignoring him online is just about the same as paying attention to him online. That is, so what? It makes virtually no difference.

I mean, can you show me some connection between his Google rating and his television ratings? Is he losing money, viewers, advertisers? It seems like the campaign against Rush's advertisers, in sharp contrast, actually has the potential to do something: Rush is increasingly finding it difficult to make money. I am EXTRAORDINARILY skeptical that what you're suggesting would have ANY EFFECT AT ALL on Hannity.

Excelsior!

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