I don't know if one can say we exactly became meaner, there has often been a popular kids vs loser kids mentality throughout the generation. it can be said that with the increase of less controlled mediums such as the internet, this meaness is having more of an effect. for example, this recent article reminds me of a case from maybe a year ago, in which a woman angry at one of her daughter's rivals assumed an online identity as a boy infatuated with her, and then drove that girl to suicide by posting nasty comments and ditching her (did we talk about this incident in class? i have a feeling we might have). Such bullying figures have undoubtedly existed for a long time, but a generation ago it would have been unfathomable for a hostile woman to drive a girl to suicide through such means. As for the Tea Party movement, I have a feeling that they are a cause rather than an effect to increased media coverage. Also, in my opinion it is a reaction by right-wing elements of society (i.e. corporations) to a perceived change that might diminish their power. Obama is actually quite moderate by pretty much any standards, but because he represents change (being African-American) and because he has successfully energized most Americans around this notion, conservatives feel they must go to extreme to react (in many ways it is the same as what happened in Italy in the 1920s). But yes, some TV shows do perpetuate meaness, and guess consumerism does as well, as we saw from the videos in class a few weeks ago. Perhaps Wall Street's growth in power since Reagan has enhanced its ability to benefit by spreading this meaness, although this is just speculation.