As hysteria over the Parkland massacre heightens in right wing extremist circles, Kevin Kruse provides a little historical background in a Twitter comment:
When nine black teenagers integrated Central High School in Little Rock, many segregationists insisted they were paid protesters who had been imported from other states.
In a reply, Heather Richardson notes similar behavior during the American Reconstruction period (1865 to 1877).
Not only are they a little nuts, they have virtually no imagination. I suppose this is a reaction to the idea that members of the immediate community are not entirely happy in their roles, a thought repugnant to those who find their positions in society to be more than satisfactory. Rather than admit to imperfections in their creations, they create an imagined external enemy which wishes to crush them, thus saving themselves the hard work of actually reforming society into something more equitable – and the personal cost in wealth and prestige which would inevitably accompany such an endeavour.
That was then, this is now, and I’m not so sure such an analysis necessarily applies, although the meaning of immediate community has certainly changed. Paul Waldman supplies a somewhat different explanation in The Plum Line in connection with the Parkland survivors’ protests:
The idea of the paid actor criticism, like the charge that the students must be using PR agents to book their interviews, is that if you can find some reason that their words aren’t a pure expression of their feelings without any strategic intent behind it, then their testimony is no longer valid and need not be addressed substantively. So either they’re just emotional and naive and therefore need not be listened to, or they’re too savvy and strategic and therefore need not be listened to.
Sounds reasonable enough to me. Anything to avoid the substantive issues facing you, eh? And, you know, everyone is tempted by this sort of behavior. Reforming society – especially when you hold an advantageous position – is unappetizing work. And when your notion of justice supports your position, well, why do the hard work? Just condemn those pricking your conscience and move on.
