But give a guy a couple of beers and a smartphone (or just a smartphone, really) and all of a sudden it's like he's found his "special purpose" and he just can't wait to show and tell you about it, he's just so proud of it.
It's not that I specifically believed Weiner was framed -- but I did have strong suspicions in that area. Who can blame me for equating the name Breitbart and the concept of deceptive misinformation campaigns against individuals and organizations with the intent to damage their image? And Rep. Weiner's high-visibility attacks on conservative nonsense meant he was a likely target for a smear campaign. This is why circumstantial evidence is a bad thing which should be disregarded even if it tends to agree with your worldview. Especially if it tends to agree.
As I've commented before, I do believe social networking is an important tool for almost all modern public figures who wish to reach their audience. But with anything this new, we haven't yet come to the place where the average non-geek has the requisite skill level to navigate the potential minefield of being in charge of their own digital brand. It takes a delicate combination of authenticity and restraint that seems like it should be a no-brainer, but trust me, it's much harder than it looks.
Speaking of that, does anyone know which reporter, at the end of Rep. Weiner's press conference, shouted the question about whether the wiener in question was fully erect or not? What kind of question is that, really? I'm not sure whether to be more disappointed in Weiner's confession, or concerned that our level of national discourse really is the 6th grade.
According to a Politico article re Breitbart:
ReplyDelete"“Andrew, would you go to the podium?” WCBS reporter Marcia Kramer, who just days earlier was threatened with arrest when she staked out Weiner’s congressional office in Washington, asked."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56359.html#ixzz1OYU01i56
Here's a fun game. Google blogs* for "Anthony Wiener resign" - sort by time (one of the bottom two choices on the left), and click a few until you find a choice wingnut site demanding that Wiener resign.
ReplyDeleteBonus points if you find one saying that "If this was a republican, his career would be over!!!1!"
Then, feel free to use some variation of this response.
Yeah, I been trolling these fuckers for a while (this one's only 2 years old). I feel it's time to train a new generation.
That's correct, grasshopper. Wax on, wax off.
___
* If you don't know how, do you see that line of choices at the upper left? "Web Images Videos... Mail more"? That "more" is a dropdown, and one of the choices is "Blogs"
Hint #2 - if they respond with an explanation that includes "Gingrich is a washed-up (whatever)", the quickest answer is often to google "gingrich site:theirsite.com" - and if they ever quoted him positively, point out (with the link, of course) "Funny, you thought he was awesome here..."
ReplyDeleteSadly, my days of fighting the good fight in wingnut blog comments sections are pretty much behind me. I find it so exhausting.
ReplyDeleteHowever I've totally bookmarked that response in case I do get sucked into arguing about this, it's very well-done.
Arguing on this one, though, might be hard. I don't care to sit around pointing fingers at other things that were worse or just as bad -- because I am still just so damn disappointed. Weiner was one of our strongest voices, and he behaved really, really, really stupidly. Especially when you consider that he knew full well he had wingnuts stalking his ever move, waiting for him to screw up. At that point, isn't it time to be a grown-up and keep it in your pants?
(sigh)
Also, @Leslie, agreed on the Twilight-Zone thing with Breitbart. No matter what, he's still a complete tool, and it's interesting to see how desperately he clings to the fact that for once he was actually right. Savor the moment, Andrew, it's not going to happen very often.
ReplyDeleteFellow lizard,
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I know what you mean about the balance issue regarding "authenticity." Being in edjikashun the way I am means making one's peace with being oneself while performing in front of a fair amount of people, at least in a small way. After a while, you get used to it, and it's almost second nature. If I wanted to use Twitter, I'd probably have no difficulties with it, based on my experience as a public speaker used to playing a role of sorts. Yes, the technology involved in the present case seems to throw some of these powerful chaps for a loop -- they apparently see it as a chance for absolute freedom, which of course it isn't.
Anyhow, I think the Beltway folks are making way too much out of the Wiener's wiener story: it's terribly important to them, but most of us outside that chatty and politics-obsessed region probably don't think there's much more in it than some bad, immature conduct. It's no big deal, really, though it's sad that the fellow abused his wife's trust. He ought to stay on for his present term, and if he wants to run again, the voters in NY's 9th can make up their own minds about whether they want him representing them, or not. He hasn't really broken any laws, so far as I can tell, unless making an ass of oneself is now a felony.
Anyhow, I had to chuckle at the "show the junk" mention -- I don't get that, either. But then, I'm just a male dinosaur, so what do I know? I have no idea what these human males are thinking....
I think that the Internet invites a level of anonymity combined with a pseudo intimacy that makes people let down their guard and their common sense. There are thousands of chat rooms devoted to sexually laden interchanges between their denizens.
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for Weiner. I certainly wouldn't want my private indiscretions to become public fodder.
Assuming there are rabid political hacks everywhere, such as Andrew Breitbart, seeking any dirt they can find on liberal opponents, what Weiner did was outsized stupid; and I feel the same exasperation for Weiner as I felt towards Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. There is no excuse dumbness of this magnitude.
ReplyDeleteWith respect to Twitter and Facebook, I have no fondness for either. Although I opened an account with each, these are used exclusively for Swash Zone business, which I use to broadcast posts from our members and keep track of followers. I have no personal accounts or interest in using social media because, frankly, I do not have the time.
My daughters have FaceBook accounts. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer direct and personal contact with them via phone or email. I value my privacy and feel no need to have our exchanges witnessed by other people, even by other members of my family.
So what is the point! Is there something about Twitter or Facebook that is beyond my comprehension?
Sometimes I feel like a geriatric patient in a residence home when the nurse barges into my room at lunchtime, strips off her clothes and says: “Soup or sex!” At my station in life, I prefer the soup.
To be honest, I'm not especially surprised that Weiner actually did it. There's probably a certain feeling of privilege and invulnerability that comes along with a plurality of people preferring you over all comers and electing you to office.
ReplyDeletePeople doing stupid crap rarely surprises me, to be honest. I've found it's more often the norm than the exception, really. People, especially Americans, are the one creature on this planet who can be counted on to act in their own worst interest in the long run.
I don't think it's that he found his "special purpose" either, so much as it was simply this.