We've always had people who make their living on causes. Maybe they first got involved out of genuine concerns but at some point, to paraphrase Upton Sinclair, a person can't be expected to find solutions when his salary depends on the existence of the problem.
Also, and related to another post[1] on the front page right now, we have the rather recent element of twitter and other social media that is deliberately manipulated to create and amplify emotional, flash-mob types of dust-ups over isolated events in order to make it appear that there is a huge systemic crisis happening. That gambit is as old as politics, but the rise of social media and the "report first, get the facts later" type of approach to "news" reporting taken by many blogs and even some previously objective media sources has made it much more efficient.
Also, and related to another post[1] on the front page right now, we have the rather recent element of twitter and other social media that is deliberately manipulated to create and amplify emotional, flash-mob types of dust-ups over isolated events in order to make it appear that there is a huge systemic crisis happening. That gambit is as old as politics, but the rise of social media and the "report first, get the facts later" type of approach to "news" reporting taken by many blogs and even some previously objective media sources has made it much more efficient.
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[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9826200