This is a pure and perfect version of the past that did not exist. Bigotry was always here. And even in the few "polite" places that smacked of Leave It To Beav

This is a pure and perfect version of the past that did not exist. Bigotry was always here. And even in the few "polite" places that smacked of Leave It To Beaver that didn't talk about "those people" at the dinner table, it was just under the surface. Or, like sexism, openly accepted, so don't worry your pretty little head about it, honey. Social media did not change this. The larger change has to do with where people get their news. It's not the same big 3 networks anymore. There are fewer actual local news sources (like papers). The stuff that's marketed to people as news is targeted but generally untethered from everyday life. It can be pretty raw ideology.