The world needs someone.
But it doesn't need you.
By time this is over, Tucker Carlson will be marginalized. Not extinguished, but marginalized. And he didn't commit a faux pas, this is who he is. And it caught up with him.
I'm not saying white nationalists won't continue to like Carlson, but I'm saying the mainstream, and it's always about the mainstream in the end, elections are mainstream, never forget that, will back away from him. Because the only people who endorse white nationalism are fringe actors. Donald Trump brought them out of the woodwork, endorsed them, after all there are good people on both sides, but racism is a bad look, it's a third rail, it's impossible to defend and be taken seriously, and by jettisoning Tucker, Fox has separated itself from the man and his views. Fox is trying to save its reputation, it cares not a whit about Carlson.
As for plausible deniability... This shows how myopic and out of touch Carlson was, or at least digitally ignorant. You never put it in writing. If someone repeats what you said you deny it, it's their word against yours. But if it's in writing... This happens again and again in society. People get caught up in their own power, their own myth, believe that they're bigger than the rules, and ultimately find out that they are not.
So all those stories about Tucker Carlson emerging from the ashes... Ain't gonna happen. Oh, he's gonna be somewhere, he'll have fans, but his influence will be neutered. Carlson will be fenced off from polite political society. He's toxic. You don't want to defend him, befriend him, at the risk of your own career.
This is a story as old as time. Unless you're a dictator, don't believe you're all powerful. And as long as it took you to ascend the ladder to your exalted perch...that's how fast you can fail, instantly.
And people are gunning for everyone in the public eye these days. Hell, kids are even bullying other students on social media. Did you see that Lawrenceville story, about the kid who killed himself after being falsely labeled a rapist? Sure, you've got to try and have a thick skin. But you definitely don't want to give them ammunition. Someone tells you what Tucker Carlson said and you dismiss it out of hand because he's a racist.
Like I said, this is who Carlson is. Well, they told us it was an act. But there was all the Replacement Theory nonsense, all this heinous stuff that Fox defended as "opinion." But once it's shown in your private life that you're not just asking questions, but think you know the answers, and your answers are abhorred by most, you're toast.
So all those articles talking about the second act of Tucker Carlson, those are from people who are not students of history. Tucker's fall is akin to that of Joe McCarthy. Will the world pivot as a result of Tucker's demise, as it did after McCarthy's? I'm not saying that people stopped being afraid of Russia and Communism, I'm just saying it was no longer a witch hunt.
Is Fox going to air someone with the same views as Carlson in his spot? OF COURSE NOT! I mean not only do you have Carlson's words in print, but the Dominion settlement. It's all public. And those on the right might be unaware of the three-quarters of a billion settlement with Dominion, but they know Carlson is no longer on the air. And they've been wondering why.
And, once again, this is why the mainstream media does not deserve the derision it is dealt. Ever since Carlson was axed, there have been a million theories by those not in the know. But the "Times," the WaPo and the "Journal" have been following this story assiduously, looking for the smoking gun, looking for answers. And they stayed on the story. And the "Times" ultimately won the race.
But you can't read the "Times." It's biased. Better to find your own little niche online, whether it be left or right, because conspiracy theories make you feel powerful. That's the story here, everybody feels powerless, and they want to stick it to the man. Well, Tucker Carlson kept sticking it to the man to the point where he didn't stick.
We keep hearing truth doesn't matter.
I'd argue that, but one thing is for sure, reputation certainly does. And credibility. Sacrifice them at your peril.
P.S. This will have a chilling effect on the nonsense spewed by other Fox personalities. They now know they're expendable, their job is the most important thing to them, and they don't want to lose it.
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