When I read the comments of the raving wingnut segment of the net about the Obama Blago and birth certificate "scandals," I can't help but think of the wisdom of Jack Handey who in his prescient genius had this to say:
"I can still recall old Mister Barnslow getting out every morning and nailing a fresh load of tadpoles to that old board of his. Then he'd spin it round and round, like a wheel of fortune, and no matter where it stopped he'd yell out, "Tadpoles! Tadpoles is a winner!" We all thought he was crazy. But then we had some growing up to do."
We may think the wingnut right is crazy, but then we have a lot of growing up to do.
But entertain if you will the unlikely idea that the average reader of Michelle Malkin, Matt Drudge, Reason or any other host of conservative blogs IS a few donuts short of a dozen. What does it say that our major news media not only entertain the ideas of these people but spend hours and hours building hypotheticals based upon their ranting under the guise of asking "honest" questions? What does it say about us if we continue to put up with it?
Should the people who dress up like Teddy Roosevelt and spend their days digging the Panama Canal in the basement really be the people setting the agenda of our national discourse?
Call ME crazy but I don't feel that those people who are really one step away from being caught in a butterfly net and stuffed in a rubber room should expect to have their opinions given sober consideration by the rest of us.
Perhaps I'm being too mean. Maybe it's just wrong of me to ascribe insanity to political positions that differ from my own. Personally, I think I'm being generous.
Because if they're not crazy then they're just really, really stupid. If it were up to them I'm sure they'd pick crazy.
If you ask me they already have.
(Bonus Jack Handeyism: "We tend to scoff at the beliefs of the ancients. But we can't scoff at them personally, to their faces, and this is what annoys me.")
"I can still recall old Mister Barnslow getting out every morning and nailing a fresh load of tadpoles to that old board of his. Then he'd spin it round and round, like a wheel of fortune, and no matter where it stopped he'd yell out, "Tadpoles! Tadpoles is a winner!" We all thought he was crazy. But then we had some growing up to do."
We may think the wingnut right is crazy, but then we have a lot of growing up to do.
But entertain if you will the unlikely idea that the average reader of Michelle Malkin, Matt Drudge, Reason or any other host of conservative blogs IS a few donuts short of a dozen. What does it say that our major news media not only entertain the ideas of these people but spend hours and hours building hypotheticals based upon their ranting under the guise of asking "honest" questions? What does it say about us if we continue to put up with it?
Should the people who dress up like Teddy Roosevelt and spend their days digging the Panama Canal in the basement really be the people setting the agenda of our national discourse?
Call ME crazy but I don't feel that those people who are really one step away from being caught in a butterfly net and stuffed in a rubber room should expect to have their opinions given sober consideration by the rest of us.
Perhaps I'm being too mean. Maybe it's just wrong of me to ascribe insanity to political positions that differ from my own. Personally, I think I'm being generous.
Because if they're not crazy then they're just really, really stupid. If it were up to them I'm sure they'd pick crazy.
If you ask me they already have.
(Bonus Jack Handeyism: "We tend to scoff at the beliefs of the ancients. But we can't scoff at them personally, to their faces, and this is what annoys me.")
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7 comments:
Call ME crazy but I don't feel that those people who are really one step away from being caught in a butterfly net and stuffed in a rubber room should expect to have their opinions given sober consideration by the rest of us.
Preach it.
Though I can hear the wingnuts now. "Oh, but you want to TALK and UNDERSTAND radical Islam!"
Sure, I want to lessen the chance of terrorism surviving. You I just have to avoid in line at the Piggly Wiggly.
Did you hear how Newt Gingrich (Newt of all people!) told the RNC to stop trying to link Obama with Gov. Lego-hair? It's got to be stupid if Newt defends Obama.
She turned him into a Newt!
Well, he got better.
Don't censor Malkin et al... the crayon is mighter than the scissors after all.
Crazy or stupid? Methinks you give them too much credit. Don't remember who, but early in the Bush years some commentator pointed out that the discussion of "stupid, incompetent or lying" regarding Bush overlooked the possibility that he was in fact all three. "Stupid and crazy, youbetcha! Also, agree with Don(as do many of my friends) that the best way to bring down the right wingnuts is simply to let them have their say. The problem, of course, is that too many seem to believe every word out of their mouths.
It has become tiresome to argue and debunk the beliefs that your typical right-wing-nut carries around. We're dealing with people who believe (or at a minimum pander to people who believe) that the universe is 6000 years old. It might be OK if they just muttered it to themselves quietly while shuffling down the street. But no, they have entire media empires built on broadcasting it everywhere. I can only hope that any alien civilizations in our part of the galaxy do not have active S.E.T.I. programs.
Love the reference to Arsenic and Old Lace!
randal-
Talking and understanding, like chewing gum and walking at the same time, are not something the radical right does well.
arkon-
Wow. How extreme does that make the guys that continue to push this story?
don-
Censor her? I just want her off my teevee. Lots of people aren't ON my teevee so I don't get why she should have that honor.
Lockwood-
I agree that a spotlight will get rid of the mold, but am simply saying that their tantrums shouldn't be front page news.
There's a political agenda to this that goes way beyond their ranting. They're trying to kneecap Obama before he even gets started.
So when it gets down to stupid v. crazy I think the real answer is "evil."
thoughtcriminal-
It has become tiresome to argue and debunk the beliefs that your typical right-wing-nut carries around.
They also have the advantage in that they're not arguing from a position of honesty and have no interest in debate as a way to search for the truth of whatever the subject is.
Aaron-
I'm so happy someone caught the reference. Especially that it was you.
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