House of Eratosthenes

So the focus of MM’s complaint is a video clip in which Fox seems to have skipped forward to the good part with the sons-of-bitches…leaving out the bit about voting. From reviewing the second clip, it seems this is a valid complaint but it’s also a trivial one. How many times a week have we been admonished to treat the office of the President of the United States with respect — by people who can’t tell the difference between respect and reverence? And then go on to make introductory speeches for the President with language like “take these sons of bitches out,” or defend people who make speeches like that. Respect for the office of President? We need someone to pick & choose when that is due, and when it is not, I guess.

The weasel who comes on to defend Hoffa, says it strikes him as “disingenuous” to complain about Hoffa when you have these Tea Party people “roaring” and “foaming at the mouth.” Nothing provided to back up that story; guess we’re not supposed to ask for it. Okay so the defense is now complete. Everybody does it, and Hoffa didn’t.

Progressives just love to talk about “the video takes his remarks out of context” and they just love talking about what the other guy did. Both tactics divert the argument into thicket patches of details, and it takes time for fair-minded people to sift through the details. How much time do you have every day for watching YouTube clips?

Meanwhile, the whole “context” thing is a complete bunny trail. Go round up a hundred people who think it’s inappropriate for Hoffa to make these remarks. How many, do you think, believe he was actually threatening physical violence?

Most of them, I think, will see it the way I do: It manifests a mindset, an us-versus-them mindset. These are the people who are not supposed to have that mindset. They want to bring the whole world together, supposedly. Overcome differences, world without borders, we’re all in this together, blah blah blah et cetera.

Megyn Kelly notes that everyone on the left seems to be getting a pass for putting this nastier “get the sunsa bitches” sentiment to voice — everyone seems to be getting excused by their colleagues, very few on the progressive side are trying to police their own. I think they’re playing a game of “let’s see where the boundaries are.” Ever have a relative who made it into adulthood without ever having been meaningfully disciplined? Every now and then they’ll make some slight against somebody, and better-than-even-odds they’ll do it without being aware of it, and get called on the carpet for it. The response? Anger. Theatrical, audible anger…and it’s anger because of what happens next. What happens next is a change of subject. Now just a minute, are you accusing Bubbins of something? How dare you. Oh yes, let’s all have a long, drawn-out circular conversation about whether it was fair to expect Bubbins to have known he shouldn’t do that…were his words taken out of context…Officer Krupke, I have a social disease but deep down inside me there is good. Bubbins will get an apology out of the person from whom the conflict emerged — or, he will get a proxy apology, a consensus decision that Bubbins was the victim here. Either way, Bubbins wins.

So give it a try, Bubbins! “HOW DARE YOU PUT WORDS IN MY MOUTH!”

They’re in a game of throw crap at the wall, see if it sticks. Like the dysfunctional and over-indulged brother or cousin…the one who is constantly blowing up in some kind of rage, without appearing genuinely angry about anything, usually right after having stepped in something and getting caught. The one who, typically, is never given any meaningful responsibilities.

But these people are in charge right now.

Update: Neal Boortz thinks what we’re seeing is the rage of a large hungry beast that has lately been starved. He’s got links to data that back this up, and more examples to offer of the predatory rage.

The left, as always, have awarded themselves a permanent exemption from the rules they seek to foist on the rest of us.

We’re told that little bullseyes on electoral maps printed by Republicans were the actual, honest-to-God, direct cause of Gabby Giffords’ shooting, but “let’s take these s.o.b.’s out” is just one man speaking passionately.

Tea Partiers carry signs around that are less than polite about President Obama, and that’s just a jackboot away from Kristallnacht. So-called “anarchists” break windows and burn cars at every WTO meeting, and they’re –surprise! — merely “passionate.”

It’s the left’s “passion” that actually results in monetary damages and broken bones, but somehow the Tea Partiers are the dangerous extremists who threaten our democracy. I call it the academic asterisk, since they learn to talk this way in college — every hard-and-fast rule they insist must be followed for the good of the planet should be read like this.*

*except for me, and everyone who shares my political views.

It’s disgusting, but that’s just how they do. Can anyone think of any prominent leftist who actually lives by his/her own rules?
- Severian | 09/06/2011 @ 10:51
1. How many “anecdotals” make up a stereotypical? How many stereotypicals are there in a cultural?
2. Do we absolutely HAVE to bring tu quoque into popular discourse?
3. Is “unexpectedly” tu quoque inappropriate for ironic sarcasm usage?
- CaptDMO | 09/06/2011 @ 14:58

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Everybody’s Getting a Pass, on a Piecemeal BasisTuesday, September 6th, 2011

Everybody’s Getting a Pass, on a Piecemeal Basis
Tuesday, September 6th, 2011