I hope everyone gets the chance to take a deep breath today and maybe step out to touch grass for a bit.
Nasrallah’s death is heavy news whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist. It doesn’t do the Resistance any favors, but it’s also not going to kill the will to fight.
It is going to get people like us emotional and heated though. Conflicts are rarely smooth affairs and while this is a big hit, it’s also not the first setback. That’s how it goes, whether the path leads to victory or defeat. Sacrifice is inevitable. Be sure to take care of yourself if the situation is getting you stressed out. And if you have the energy, don’t forget to support any comrades who may be taking this extra hard for whatever reason.
I think music probably a part of it. Many people are pointing out that leftist commentary are ignored and just as many artists have not been lefties historically. I agree with this, but if the changes in music consumption really are a factor, then I think it boils down to how part of the music scene used to be the structural framework holding together a semi-coherent counterculture. Countreculturists are rarely well-read in theory but they do absorb and reinforce a lot of concepts if you give them enough time.
That’s the part of the industry that would have affected people, and it’s also (imo) the side of the industry that has disappeared in recent decades. I suppose the countercultural artists still exist, but it’s much harder for them to break out and develop fanbases now. Everything is streaming now and streaming numbers are highly correlated with artist/label budgets. The rumor is that you can buy top playlist placement on Spotify if you have the right connections and/or enough money. Often it’s labels dealing with placement and the trend in labels is that they want formulaic music - which imo explains why all of the playlists are so bland and soulless.
Other than that, I believe the right-wing pipelines (especially in topics young men populate) are in a very mature state at this point and are probably another factor.
I don’t expect any of this to get better without mass cultural changes. We’ve eliminated the feelings of belonging, community, and purpose. Or at least commodified them and put them behind paywalls. I think this is one reason why so many people are grasping at reactionary ideologies, to fill a sense of emptiness. And if those ideologies promote misogyny (which they usually do), then they’re going to lead to greater and greater divides and repercussions for everyone.