In case anyone hasn't heard, GottaLaff at The Political Carnival has been recognized on CNN for breaking news about a Facebook poll, said polls being on the question of whether the nation's first black president should be assassinated. That's why I'm giving her a Best Blogger nod. She's done a lot to mainstream the progressive 'sphere.
Granted that the subject matter is all kinds of awful. If you read this post yesterday, then you know how angry the poll makes me.
But have you looked at the poll? The options are...well...read for yourself:
The only correct answer, of course, is E) WHY THE FRAKKING HADES WOULD YOU ASK ME THAT?! But I digress.
D is all the way at the end, making it the least-likely random choice. Anyone eager to answer "yes" gets the option first. Those smart enough not to click while Teh Silent Unmarked Helicopters™ circle are given a chance to hint their true feelings. Then there's a chance for someone to voice a specific beef with Obama's agenda before you choose the only nearly-correct answer in the poll.
Hypothesis: this is a poll designed to learn the cumulative total of Stupid, Wacky, and Crazy on Facebook.
Opinions?
Granted that the subject matter is all kinds of awful. If you read this post yesterday, then you know how angry the poll makes me.
But have you looked at the poll? The options are...well...read for yourself:
A) Yes
B) Maybe
C) If he cuts my health care
D) No
The only correct answer, of course, is E) WHY THE FRAKKING HADES WOULD YOU ASK ME THAT?! But I digress.
D is all the way at the end, making it the least-likely random choice. Anyone eager to answer "yes" gets the option first. Those smart enough not to click while Teh Silent Unmarked Helicopters™ circle are given a chance to hint their true feelings. Then there's a chance for someone to voice a specific beef with Obama's agenda before you choose the only nearly-correct answer in the poll.
Hypothesis: this is a poll designed to learn the cumulative total of Stupid, Wacky, and Crazy on Facebook.
Opinions?
Facebook - like all electronic media - is one of the latest channels for really ROTTEN human behavior.
ReplyDeleteA while back some of my former in-laws "friended" me on FB. For the sake of familial peace, I accepted them as FB friends. Within days, some of them were participating in a FB poll entitled - "5 people you would most like to punch in the face" - nice huh? The one former in-law chose Pelosi & Obama in their top 5.
I was furious - though they have yet to sink low enough to participate in this poll you mention - though it's a mere hop away from the other.
They are forever posting idiotic stuff about Obama & health care - not of it offering a reasonable debate about issues - oh no - just reactionary, MEAN-SPIRITED drivel.
I'm also on Facebook at the behest of several people who bugged me with friend requests until I broke down and joined.
ReplyDeleteIt is a nice venue to share pix, catch a glimpse of the day to day of family and friends that are far away and certainly helps waste time; so far I've learned my hippie name is Gypsy Willow Dusk, I belong in Gryffindor, my gemstone is amethyst and my life's theme song is "Unwritten" by Natasha Beddingfield.
I'm afraid what the poll reflects is more on a national scale and that is disturbing and annoying and sickening.
In my youth when, President Kennedy was assassinated, adults put their hands over their mouths in wide-eyed horror.
It is certainly an indicator of how sick our society has become when you hear people actually trying to justify a senseless murder such as the post you cited concerning the cencus worker. The disconnect between the horror of the act and people's reaction is astounding to me.
Around the bloggerhood recently, I was called "Orwellian" for suggesting that along with the freedom of speech comes a great responsibility for the words we speak. It appears many Americans want their rights without any personal responsibility. They are the first to pipe up with that tired old rag "freedom costs" but apparently that only applies to lesser beings than themselves.
I believe we are headed for some very trying times and that, above all else, we who share the ideals of sanity, rationality and civility must band together.
A few days ago, former President Clinton tried to downplay the controversy stirred by former President Carter, i.e., that Birther and Deather claims were a form of disguised racism directed against Obama. Clinton also dismissed the power of the “vast right wing conspiracy” claiming it is weaker now than during Clinton’s administration.
ReplyDeleteLast night, MSNBC challenged Clinton’s all too easy dismissal of the right wing, stating the frequency and magnitude of the anti-Obama fulminations far outweigh anything that was observed during Clinton’s term.
Inasmuch as Clinton is rarely obtuse about political sentiments on Main Street, one has to wonder: Why this time? I believe Clinton is following a script written by Obama, a script that says: “Populist anger is motivated more by economic uncertainties than racism.” It is a way of calming one’s critics, of tamping down a fire that threatens to rage out of control at any moment.
There is no doubt in my mind that the right wing is far more bellicose and virulent than any time in our history. IOW, I agree with MSNBC: It is fever pitch and dangerous.
Another perspective: There is an inland school district in central Florida that banned Obama’s recent speech to schoolchildren. Some of the school officials stated that they, personally, had no issues with Obama’s speech but were forced into their decision by angry parents from the right wing. Point: It is easier to appease and capitulate to an angry crowd than stand up to them.
So I stand with Rocky and friends: We need to “band together,” not allow ourselves to be intimidated and shouted down by rabid hate-mongers. If you read Rocky’s latest post, you will find in the comment thread that standing up to bastards runs in my blood.
Who can post a poll? How long was the poll on Facebook? I've never been to facebook. I joined the other social networking site, MySpace, and I thought that was enough, considering the fact that I don't have any friends.
ReplyDeleteThe poll was pulled -- actually, Facebook was forced to pull the ENTIRE application that lets users to post their own polls. The guy who runs apps at FB has already sent GottaLaff a nastygram that amounts to "why didn't you send me an email instead of calling the Secret Service? WAAAAAAAH"
ReplyDeleteAny word on how the voting on the poll went?
ReplyDeleteI mean, inquiring minds want to know....
Green Eagle, that is indeed my burning curiosity. But we may never know, because I don't think GottaLaff actually TOOK the poll. She did what any good reporter would do: get the screen grab, write the story, and post it to social media.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I would have clicked. Remember: one bizarre upshot of this is that Facebook has a record of everyone who clicked -- and WHAT they clicked.
That could make for some interesting follow-up. The question some smart blogger should be asking is whether the Secret Service does any interviews as a result of GottaLaff's find.
Matt,
ReplyDeleteYes, the poll strikes me as -- like much else along the "Obumuh is 'itler" line -- just short of treasonous. If these people had the guts to SAY what it's fair for us to conjecture they want, they would be advocating the violent overthrow of the republic. So many infuriating things in life are of this "gray area" sort -- on the one hand, for the most part it's protected speech, but on the other, it tends towards anarchy and murder and those who engage in it are despicable morons and cowards.
Squid and Rocky, yes, that's how I ended up on FB, too. It's like the Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Eventually, they'll get us all. :) My experience checking my profile is not unpleasant -- I just restrict search access severely and won't be sucked into having a gazillion "friends" I don't even know. There's no politicking on my page and I hope to keep it that way.
Octo, I think you're right about Will'um Jeffahsun's comments -- President O cannot under any circumstances attribute even the most obvious racist comments against him to racism. That's just a fact of political life for an Af-Am president -- it would only stir up the racist blowhards even more, and it would also turn off a lot of white folk who are "sort of" biased but don't like to think of themselves that way.
Matt et al, check this story for a P.S. of sorts to the twisted FB poll.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I am on FB -- the same reasons you all have mentioned, plus (and no, I'm not proud of it) trying to keep tabs on my oldest child. (A bad idea. Sometimes it's better not to know. Our youngems use the medium irresponsibly, sharing way too much than it's appropriate with the world. Or even their mothers.)
"If these people had the guts to SAY what it's fair for us to conjecture they want, they would be advocating the violent overthrow of the republic."
ReplyDeleteNewsmax had an article yesterday calling for a military coup to overthrow Obama.
They've taken it down, but screen captures of it can be found. It's pretty terrible.