Slog
News & ArtsMonday, January 17, 2011
News / Media / Strangercrombie Satire and Obscenity
Posted by Dennis Dale on Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 2:01 PM
Dennis Dale's daughter purchased the right for him to post on Slog for a week through our annual holiday auction Strangercrombie, which this year benefited neglected children and the homeless. More info about our charity auction here. The views expressed in Dale's editorials on Slog are his alone and have not been edited based on ideology.
From The Onion:
NEW YORK—According to media analysts, the nation's TV commentators and political pundits have proved uncannily accurate when describing the deeply disturbed inner thoughts of accused Arizona gunman Jared Loughner. "It's strange, but when it comes to getting inside the mind of this human being who seems to possess no empathy, sense of morality, or hold on reality, and who is motivated only by personal animus and self-glorification, the nation's major political pundits have been amazingly adept," said Horizon Media analyst Bob Cullen, who has studied extensive tape of commentators on all major TV news programs and found their remarks on "what the killer is thinking" to be consistently thorough and detailed across the board. "It's almost as though they have some way of knowing, firsthand, exactly what this demented and highly dangerous individual with the eyes of millions upon him is going through." Researchers at Horizon Media also reported that a number of prominent TV pundits appeared to be mimicking the exact same chilling gleam in Loughner's eye for what they could only speculate was "dramatic effect."
But satire fails a nation that routinely lies to itself. Cue America's meaty mc of the maudlin, Al Sharpton, yes, that Al Sharpton, invoking MLK in the Washington Post on, yes, civil discourse.
I'll let you decide if Arizona "changed everything." One thing is certain, demagogues of all stripes are still in business, and they aren't selling "civility" any more than they're practicing humility. You didn't really think it would be otherwise, did you?
3
Of course there's always the option to ignore the demagoguery and create and foster a "higher culture of civility." I wonder why many Americans are too apathetic to do that, and how to find the few Americans who are fostering a higher culture to join and support them.
4
The Strangercrombie rules say "two posts a day maximum". Canuck, that's eight posts to come. Eight. Maximum. Let's have a running countdown.
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Speci…
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Speci…
7
Deal. Mine will be espresso, since this fellow seems to post during daylight hours. (I understand you and Kim in Portland would never let that stop you....)
8
Too true, gus, if I can't have vodka in my cheerios, it really isn't worth getting out of bed....but, even I have to attempt propriety on occasion, so I will join you in espresso shots...well, maybe espresso/Baileys...
12
Awesome, so calls for civility can be ignored and mocked so long as there exist demagogues on either side. Jesus said "Turn the other cheek." He did not say scream louder and longer than the other guy until your side wins.
Chill. Out. And. Grow. Some. Empathy. For. Your. Fellow. Man.
Chill. Out. And. Grow. Some. Empathy. For. Your. Fellow. Man.
14
Gus,
Tis true that a fine dram of bourbon and an espresso is a brilliant way to start a morning. And, I consider it the breakfast of champions if I have a freshly baked baguette to round out the meal (that means I must get up and bake it, though), so it's only a weekend thang. I am a hedonist, that is true, but I know when to maintain propriety and act the good girl. Ha!
Canuck,
My favourite up to no damn good song, to enjoy with your espresso and Baileys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQgraAlg_…
Cheers!
Tis true that a fine dram of bourbon and an espresso is a brilliant way to start a morning. And, I consider it the breakfast of champions if I have a freshly baked baguette to round out the meal (that means I must get up and bake it, though), so it's only a weekend thang. I am a hedonist, that is true, but I know when to maintain propriety and act the good girl. Ha!
Canuck,
My favourite up to no damn good song, to enjoy with your espresso and Baileys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQgraAlg_…
Cheers!
15
Oh come on, you guys. A little civility here. Mr. Dale is a damn sight more interesting than Charles Mudede.
16
@16:
Civility? For the guy who just mocked civility?
Yeah, I'll get right on that.
And sorry, I'll take someone who's read Wittgenstein in depth over someone whose favorite philosopher is Glenn Beck any day of the week.
Civility? For the guy who just mocked civility?
Yeah, I'll get right on that.
And sorry, I'll take someone who's read Wittgenstein in depth over someone whose favorite philosopher is Glenn Beck any day of the week.
17
In my defense, I hadn't read his earlier post. Although in fairness, I'm not sure anyone else did either.
18
Um, also, if you want to know more about what makes a demagogue from someone who actually understand rhetoric: http://www.drw.utexas.edu/roberts-miller…
19
That is a very cool song, Kim! And luckily, "up to no good" is my middle name, along with "stop setting a bad example for the children," so that will do quite nicely. BTW, have you heard Map of Tasmania by Amanda Palmer yet? It is 9 shades of fabulous, and has taken up residence on my iPod...
http://www.amandapalmer.net/afp/
http://www.amandapalmer.net/afp/
20
And sorry, I'll take someone who's read Wittgenstein in depth over someone whose favorite philosopher is Glenn Beck any day of the week.
Is this what it's come to? There's no space on the continuum between Glenn Beck and Al Sharpton? How depressing.
I will say this for Beck; at least he doesn't have two anti-Jewish pogroms and four false rape accusations to his discredit. But I'll defer to your wisdom as to who's beyond the pale.
Is this what it's come to? There's no space on the continuum between Glenn Beck and Al Sharpton? How depressing.
I will say this for Beck; at least he doesn't have two anti-Jewish pogroms and four false rape accusations to his discredit. But I'll defer to your wisdom as to who's beyond the pale.
21
Thank you, Canuck. Indeed, 9 shades of fabulous! Great for moving, now that I've put my bunda back into the dance studio! Making music, playing music, shaking it to the music is always, always on the agenda.
Cheers!
Cheers!
22
@15 Dale and Mundede both need to learn that when something is hard to understand most of the time it's not because it's deep and complex, it's because it's poorly written.
23
@20 Pretty sure that wasn't at all trstr's point, but anywho... I'm not a particular fan of Sharpton, not familiar with his past, but he actually organized 2 slaughters of Jews? Wow.
24
What scares me more is the prospect of how horrific a thing Mr Dale's daughter obviously must be planning, given the defence she is plainly putting into place:
'You see my client before you as a monster...and there is little we can say about that but to point the finger back toward the man who raised her, the man responsible for this!' [WAVES COLLECTED POSTS IN AIR, BARES THE DAUGHTER'S BREASTS AS HYPEREIDES DID PHRYNE'S IF HE THINKS IT WILL HELP]
Judge: What chance did she have? Not guilty! [BANG]
'You see my client before you as a monster...and there is little we can say about that but to point the finger back toward the man who raised her, the man responsible for this!' [WAVES COLLECTED POSTS IN AIR, BARES THE DAUGHTER'S BREASTS AS HYPEREIDES DID PHRYNE'S IF HE THINKS IT WILL HELP]
Judge: What chance did she have? Not guilty! [BANG]
25
@20:
I wasn't aware that Charles Mudede had two anti-Jewish pogroms to his belt. I know he's a busy guy, but still...
(PS: You might want to look into Beck's anti-semitism while you're shrieking.)
I wasn't aware that Charles Mudede had two anti-Jewish pogroms to his belt. I know he's a busy guy, but still...
(PS: You might want to look into Beck's anti-semitism while you're shrieking.)
26
Al Sharpton sounds very contrite in the article posted. So he wins over Glenn Beck on that account.
I'm nowhere near a fan of Sharpton, but the Crown Heights Riots were not a pogrom. A Jew (white) run ambulance chose to treat an uninjured Jew (white) adult before a severely injured South American child who later died.
Sharpton said some ugly things, and he was and maybe is an anti-Semite, but accusing him of leading a pogrom is as wrong as Sarah Palin accusing Obama of convening death panels to kill grandma.
Wait, I should come up with an example from the left of such grievous lies told for the sole purpose of inciting violence against their political enemies, but there aren't any.
I'm nowhere near a fan of Sharpton, but the Crown Heights Riots were not a pogrom. A Jew (white) run ambulance chose to treat an uninjured Jew (white) adult before a severely injured South American child who later died.
Sharpton said some ugly things, and he was and maybe is an anti-Semite, but accusing him of leading a pogrom is as wrong as Sarah Palin accusing Obama of convening death panels to kill grandma.
Wait, I should come up with an example from the left of such grievous lies told for the sole purpose of inciting violence against their political enemies, but there aren't any.
27
A Jew (white) run ambulance chose to treat an uninjured Jew (white) adult before a severely injured South American child who later died.
The driver of the vehicle that struck the children was evacuated because the immediate response of four bystanders was to drag him from his car and beat him, according to the first EMS who were three minutes in arriving--the recourse to violence was virtually immediate, in other words. This was under instructions from city police and EMS; a crowd of black youths had already gathered, chanting anti-Semitic slogans.
Getting him out of there might have saved his life and prevented a riot. Much is made of the "apartheid ambulance" (Sharpton's phrase)--a private ambulance service funded by CH's Lubavitch community. The fact is by providing their own services they free up public services for others. A second Hatzolah ambulance came to the aid of one of victims, Angela Cato, who died later in hospital. The Wikipedia article on the subject is capable and fair.
You should find a more civilized phrase than "Jew run ambulance", by the way. "Jew" as an adjective is a derogation. It's "Jewish". Offered in a spirit of comity.
The driver of the vehicle that struck the children was evacuated because the immediate response of four bystanders was to drag him from his car and beat him, according to the first EMS who were three minutes in arriving--the recourse to violence was virtually immediate, in other words. This was under instructions from city police and EMS; a crowd of black youths had already gathered, chanting anti-Semitic slogans.
Getting him out of there might have saved his life and prevented a riot. Much is made of the "apartheid ambulance" (Sharpton's phrase)--a private ambulance service funded by CH's Lubavitch community. The fact is by providing their own services they free up public services for others. A second Hatzolah ambulance came to the aid of one of victims, Angela Cato, who died later in hospital. The Wikipedia article on the subject is capable and fair.
You should find a more civilized phrase than "Jew run ambulance", by the way. "Jew" as an adjective is a derogation. It's "Jewish". Offered in a spirit of comity.
28
Al Sharpton shows Sarah how it's done:
"My words were immediately raised in the media. My initial response was to defend the fact that I had never condoned such violence, and never would. But the fact is, if I in any way contributed to the climate - which was clearly more volatile than I had thought - I had to be more careful and deliberate in my public language rather than sharpen my defenses.
As we sort out what happened in Tucson, we must resist the temptation to merely cast blame, and we all must be more aware of the weakness of the idea that we do not somehow contribute to the vitriolic atmosphere. Everyone must be alert. Much as I went over the line years ago, those with public voices must ensure that their messages cannot be misconstrued as calling for a heinous act." (Sharpton, Washington Post).
I also thought he was reasonable on Meet the Press on Sunday.
"My words were immediately raised in the media. My initial response was to defend the fact that I had never condoned such violence, and never would. But the fact is, if I in any way contributed to the climate - which was clearly more volatile than I had thought - I had to be more careful and deliberate in my public language rather than sharpen my defenses.
As we sort out what happened in Tucson, we must resist the temptation to merely cast blame, and we all must be more aware of the weakness of the idea that we do not somehow contribute to the vitriolic atmosphere. Everyone must be alert. Much as I went over the line years ago, those with public voices must ensure that their messages cannot be misconstrued as calling for a heinous act." (Sharpton, Washington Post).
I also thought he was reasonable on Meet the Press on Sunday.
31
@27:
Oh, nevermind. I didn't realize that you were a fan of the white-supremacist hate sites American Renaissance (linked to from your blog) and VDare.
Slog, please, get this person off of this site.
Oh, nevermind. I didn't realize that you were a fan of the white-supremacist hate sites American Renaissance (linked to from your blog) and VDare.
Slog, please, get this person off of this site.
32
@27 - why are you still talking about Sharpton? Why are you holding a grudge about this incident? Do you think we follow Sharpton? Is it because of his race?
Please stop with the "but look at these blacks and leftists who also stoke racial tension and uncivil discourse!" line of argument. It's a straw man, doesn't further any sort of point, and distracts us from the meat of the matter. You sound butthurt, not reasonable.
Please stop with the "but look at these blacks and leftists who also stoke racial tension and uncivil discourse!" line of argument. It's a straw man, doesn't further any sort of point, and distracts us from the meat of the matter. You sound butthurt, not reasonable.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
All You Motherfuckers Complaining That aPodments Are Too Small at 200 Square Feet by Dominic Holden
-
Portland Voters Are Stoopid by Goldy
-
SL Letter of the Day: Did You Think I Was Going To Tell You Not To Come Out? (PLUS: Help Free Kate!) by Dan Savage
-
Rightwing Anti-Gay French Activist Commits Suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral by Dan Savage
-
Spoiled Rotten: Star Trek Into Darkness by Paul Constant
-
There Are No Atheists In Foxholes by Dan Savage
-
Tornado Truthers by Dan Savage
-
Why They Break Windows by Unpaid Intern
-
Listen Up, Gays: They're Coming to Recruit You by Cienna Madrid
-
America's Epidemic of Toddler-on-Toddler Gun Violence Continues by Goldy
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (32) RSS