We still don’t take them seriously. The media just discovered that they make the most advertising money by seeking the most extreme examples of the “other” and

We still don’t take them seriously. The media just discovered that they make the most advertising money by seeking the most extreme examples of the “other” and holding them up as if it’s their average view. If your audience is liberal, you find someone bombing abortion clinics and tell them “this is what conservatives are”. If your audience is conservative you find the people who make accusations of racism because they heard a word in a foreign language that sounds like a racial slur and you tell your audience “this is what liberals are”. These aren’t representative of the vast majority on either side, but they’re what drives lots of engagement so that’s what gets shown. The more it gets shoved in everyone’s face the more they believe that the “other” are just completely insane psychos who can’t be reasoned with.