The über-patriot in action again, here is Sarah Palin delivering a speech at Elon, North Carolina, yesterday :
We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation.Does Petite Syrah mean to imply that other parts of America are less wonderful, less patriotic, and less pro-America? According to another report, her speech was briefly interrupted after a protester was led away in handcuffs. Here is how Sarah Palin responded:
"You know what, maybe we need to tell security that maybe he need not go," she said. "Maybe he needs to stay and learn a little from all of you." The crowd then cheered.What exactly did Sarah Palin have in mind? Did she intend to have the protestor drawn and quartered? Have him fed as raw meet to the cannibals? Here is another account from Mark Binker who was covering another rally:
I sidled up to one of the Obama supporters and asked why they were there, what they were trying to accomplish. As he was telling me a large, bearded man in full McCain-Palin campaign regalia got in his face to yell at him.Yup, it’s sure getting ugly out there.
"Hey, hey, " I said. "I'm trying to interview him. Just a minute, okay?"
The man began to say something about how of course I was interviewing the Obama people when suddenly, from behind us, the sound of a pro-Obama rap song came blaring out of the windows of a dorm building. We all turned our heads to see Obama signs in the windows.
This was met with curses, screams and chants of "U.S.A" by McCain-Palin folks who crowded under the windows trying to drown it out and yell at the person playing the stereo. It was a moment of levity in an otherwise very tense situation and so I let out a gentle chuckle and shook my head.
"Oh, you think that 's funny?! " the large bearded man said. His face was turning red. "Yeah, that 's real funny…" he said.
And then he kicked the back of [my] leg, buckling my right knee and sending me sprawling onto the ground.
In light of the current campaign climate, Obama supporters probably ought not to taunt McCain supporters. Otherwise they run the risk of being accused of becoming or acting like those McCain elements they complain about. Would be nice if Obama supporters could rise above the behavior of McCain supporters.
ReplyDeleteThis is becoming a more & more mean campaign season. Maybe squids are more squeamish - but I'm sick of negativity & meanness in any form. Especially from myself - the mean spiritedness I feel towards SP is not good & is self-destructive in the end.
Ok - enough pontificating . . .
I agree with you about Obama supporters staying away from McCain-Palin rallies. To stay above the fray, we must stay below ... far below where those ad hominid humanoids get the bends.
ReplyDeleteSquid,
ReplyDeleteYes, it's fair to suggest that Obama's way of dealing with these nattering nabobs of negativity is just to "be cool." It has been working well for him. To me, the basic thing to bear in mind about today's extreme conservatives is that they are like fearful, unpleasant children with adult bodies (and adult responsibilities). So I guess whacking them upside the head until they apologize is bad "parenting." One only wins (to the extent possible) by changing social conditions so that fewer and fewer of such "adult children" end up constituting the voting-age population.
Another tidbit to share with you;
ReplyDeleteRecently, I have been goading a wingnut blogger into a debate about the financial meltdown. Short story: I focused on the systemic problems of deregulation and runaway speculation. The wingnutter gave me a lecture about home-buyers borrowing beyond their means and totally ignored the systemic issues. Platitudes and slogans, typical wingnut stuff.
At one point, the wingnut says to me: “Your comments are intentionally sophomoric and remind me of my 16 year old having a pre-menstrual tantrum.”
My reply to him: “Someday your teenager should take you to task for that unwarranted, sexist remark. Mind your manners!”
Squid, Dino, shall I invite him over for toast and tea, meaning should we snack on him?
A response from the wingnutter: "And as far as the sexist remark? This is a prime example of outrageous silliness. Just because it steroetypes something uniquely female does not mean that I see the fairer sex as less than human."
ReplyDeleteBut he did say this: “Your comments are intentionally sophomoric and remind me of my 16 year old having a pre-menstrual tantrum.”
Referring to his own teenager daughter, he was. Or was he really talking about someone else? Or something else? How silly of me?
octo, your wingnutter is probably far less capable of systemic analysis than his sixteen-year-old daughter. Pre-systemic humans go well with fava beans and a nice chianti. Bon appetit! But all seriousness aside, I'd say that such "folk" (or is that "Volk"?) are precisely the reason why strategies that revolve around "Joe the Plumber" work as well as they do: these imbeciles cannot think beyond their own soiled little paper sack of a situation. They start caring about things like disease and poverty only when it happens directly to them or at least to someone in their inner circle. Then they're all for doing something about what has suddenly become a problem. Idiots!
ReplyDeleteI'm losing my sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteChildren have tantrums.
Females are NOT fairer - how smugly paternalistic & condescending.
How dare he.
Earlier today, I thought the subject wingnut would be a nice addition to our grocery basket (it is important to provide for the pod), but I am now having second thoughts.
ReplyDeleteFirst, he compared me to his “16 year old having a pre-menstrual tantrum.” If I were his kid, I would feel mortified having a very private subject turned into a subject of derision by one’s very own father who posted the dumb comment, of all places, on the Internet, a public forum.
Later, I followed up with this comment: “Someday your teenager should take you to task for that unwarranted, sexist remark. Mind your manners!” I could have said more, much more.
Subsequently, our subject wingnut replied with: “And as far as the sexist remark? This is a prime example of outrageous silliness. Just because it stereotypes something uniquely female does not mean that I see the fairer sex as less than human" [but it does].
In my lexicon, the word “stereotype” connotes a conventional or even derogatory conception, the opposite of “individual” and “worthy.” Perhaps his use of the term offers us insight into the callous attitudes of the autocratic, social dominator-type wingnut.
I did not mention in the previous account the presence of another commenter named “Jennifer” of whom subject wingnut said: “Besides, Jenn wasn't offended, and that is pretty much my benchmark for whether it was funny … Good to see you Jenn!”
With a sample size of n=1, one need not go into lengthy discussions about statistical validity, or the lack thereof.
Overall, our subject wingnut speaks in platitudes and certitudes, mistakes assertions for facts, and veers off topic with irrelevant digressions.
To feed, one must first forage. I thought this wingnut might make a good catch but, on second thought, it would give Squid a bad case of indigestion.
But Fogg, having missed his monthly trip to the shooting range might appreciate the target practice. Of course, and upon second thought, reasoning with the passionately unreasonable might be too much like archery with day old spaghetti.
ReplyDelete