@snood,
Quote:And what did the interviews net you, is the picture any clearer? I no longer think the dead-enders have anything to say that can enlighten. I no longer can give them credit for being able to distinguish whether they are afoot or horseback.
Good question. One aspect that was clarified was how young, politically uneducated and naive they seemed. It strengthened my impression that they were analogous to Occupy Movement folks. They hung on to talking points/cliches and simplicities - neither of the three demonstrated much intellectual resiliency.
But let me add two points to that. First, movements always have a strident and emotionally driven contingent and movements always have the feature of experimentalism (because the fundamental protest is that things-as-they-are are out of kilter and we're not quite sure yet of the proper path forward). You see this stuff in any splinter group. So I have some sympathy here.
Secondly, at least one of the main rabble rousers in this bunch also heads up and heavily promotes a social media site. Though she wasn't one of the three interviewed, she put herself in front of the cameras when opportune and did it with dramatic gestures. One of her compatriots alerted a WP reporter to this, pointing the reporter to her use of the venue for self-promotion. Related to this is my experience with the Clintons4McCain crowd. You couldn't tell immediately who was and who was not faking their motivations. You had to dig in.