Red state / blue state?

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HomeschoolDad

HomeschoolDad

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Has anyone else ever wondered why the “red” and “blue” states were assigned those colors by the news media?

The initial explanation was that it made them easier to distinguish, and this was done for many years in television reporting, with red and blue alternating between the two major parties from year to year. Also, they were easily distinguished on a black and white TV set (which hardly anyone has these days).

I have wondered whether the permanent “red for conservative” and “blue for liberal” color scheme we see today has some kind of deeper agenda behind it.

Think of the colors and what they are commonly associated with:

Red — “hot”, fiery, lurid, satanic, communistic, evil — the color you would use if you wanted to demonize something or someone

Blue — “cool”, tranquil, peaceful, pleasant to behold, benign (and, I would add, the color of Our Lady) — the color you would use if you wanted to put someone or something in a positive light

Now think — red is the color assigned by the media to Republicans, conservatives, traditional values, whereas blue is the color assigned to Democrats, liberals, and “progressive” values.

An agenda here?
 
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The modern color scheme has only been used relatively recently in history. Prior to the 1990s, red states referred to those that were more liberal, or socialist leaning, because red is the traditional color of communism. Over the past 30 years the news media shifted the colors.
 
Of course. I have flushed the media. Newspaper, TV, radio, never had cable (weasels!), etc. etc. etc. I listen to Catholic radio and watch Catholic YouTibe vids.

I used to be hyper-political and very unhappy. Like any addiction, I am much happier now.
 
I think red and blue are both pretty colors and I never associated red with “bad” and blue with “good”.

No need to overthink this stuff.
 
You could also say red is for red-blooded American workers and blue is for blue-blooded elites, etc.

I think it just randomly ended up that way.

If I recall, this color coding really stuck during the 2000 election, especially when there was uncertainty as to whether Florida would remain red or turn blue with the recount.

EDIT: wikipedia agrees with me…

en.wikipedia.org

Red states and blue states - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
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I see no agenda. They could have assigned one party green and the other party gold.
Friend, I think you are making something out of nothing.
No need to stir the pot.
There is enough angst between liberals, conservatives, and the national media without adding more to it.
 
Everyone knows blue and red aren’t ideal. Green is the best option!
That might be a bit too geeky for most people here. For those who got the reference, sorry for triggering your PTSD.

Anyways, I don’t really see an agenda. Red has a lot of positive connotations itself, such as love and passion. It’s sort of like the elephant/donkey thing. Both were originally meant as insults, but both could be used - and have been used - endearingly.

Ultimately, if you’re starting to read into things this negatively, it might be a good time to take a break from politics and anything else contributing to this paranoia.
 
This divisive categorizing, it all goes back to Dr. Seuss

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Fun fact: In the 1980 election, the Republicans were blue and the Democrats were red, as shown by this picture from NBC. (John Chancellor, former President Ford, and Tom Brokaw)(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
 
I once read a Russian fairy tale where both red and blue were considered satanic colors, and a knight refused to enter a castle because of the colors of the pennants it was flying… It stood out in my mind, because to me, blue was a Marian color, but it seems that prior to its association with Mary, it was perceived as more of a barbaric color, and was often identified as a shade of black in some cultures.
 
ZMystiCat said:
Ultimately, if you’re starting to read into things this negatively, it might be a good time to take a break from politics and anything else contributing to this paranoia.
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I don’t think it’s paranoid at all. Many, many people believe that the establishment media have a liberal bias. NPR is probably the closest thing we have to a “neutral” outlet.

At the very least, it could be a case of “let’s not make the liberals look bad”, i.e., red has a socialist/communist overtone to it, so let’s avoid this, blue looks nicer. There are a lot of subliminal influences in media and advertising.
 
Interesting to see that this really only became standardized in 2000. Maybe that’s why I kept getting them flip-flopped in my mind for a long time.
 
If I’m not mistaken, this color shift has not occurred in Europe. In England, I think the Conservative party is associated with the color blue, and Labor is red.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I think red and blue are both pretty colors and I never associated red with “bad” and blue with “good”.

No need to overthink this stuff.
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Yeah, i don’t think people should vote based on an arbitrary color scheme news channels assign to states or districts in the first place.
 
That these were assigned based on some sort of agenda is a new one on me. That’s some hardcore conspiracy theory stuff.
 
EricF said:
That these were assigned based on some sort of agenda is a new one on me. That’s some hardcore conspiracy theory stuff.
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Actually, as conspiracies go, if it was something premeditated and done for a reason — and it may have been, or it may not have been — it would be pretty benign.

The effect, whether intended or unintended, has been actually to make the “red states” stand out, to make them more prominent, and at least at first glance, to make the conservative movement look larger and more influential than it actually is.
 
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Honestly I’ve never even entertained the idea. Having heard it it still sounds preposterous to me.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
Has anyone else ever wondered why the “red” and “blue” states were assigned those colors by the news media?

The initial explanation was that it made them easier to distinguish, and this was done for many years in television reporting, with red and blue alternating between the two major parties from year to year. Also, they were easily distinguished on a black and white TV set (which hardly anyone has these days).

I have wondered whether the permanent “red for conservative” and “blue for liberal” color scheme we see today has some kind of deeper agenda behind it.

Think of the colors and what they are commonly associated with:

Red — “hot”, fiery, lurid, satanic, communistic, evil — the color you would use if you wanted to demonize something or someone

Blue — “cool”, tranquil, peaceful, pleasant to behold, benign (and, I would add, the color of Our Lady) — the color you would use if you wanted to put someone or something in a positive light

Now think — red is the color assigned by the media to Republicans, conservatives, traditional values, whereas blue is the color assigned to Democrats, liberals, and “progressive” values.

An agenda here?
Click to expand...
This theory would be a stretch for Mr. Fantastic…
 
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