Being on my sabbatical from blogging my comments on political issues, i've watched numerous things come and go from the news cycle (even the progressive news cycle where serious things last longer) and my intention to refrain from speaking has made me notice that it's just one disaster after another.
I'd really like it if sane people could take control of the narrative.
Okay. But here's a comment on something that doesn't require a lot of thinking.
Recently, some right-wing USA blog showed a photo of Obama in Europe that appeared to show him ogling some woman's ass. I saw a clip from the MSM (on some pro-Democrat blog) showing the MSM actually "investigating" this important story and revealing (imagine!) that the right-wing blogger was wrong. A video shows Obama clearly helping someone else down a flight of stairs and not looking at the ass at all. The MSM anchors all got a chuckle at the French Sarkozy's obvious staring though.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there was no MSM coverage of John McCain's obvious staring at Sarah Palin's butt when he introduced her at the Repug national convention right? That was on video-tape and it was quite obvious.
I took away two important things from this idiocy.
1. Obama's blackness is a huge problem for the right-wing. Right down to obsessing about his sexuality (in their minds it being so difficult for black men to control their raging animalistic urges). And the MSM's even deigning to look at the accusation while ignoring McCain's ogling of Palin (on top of his history of being an obviously horny fellow) shows that stereotypes and "concerns" about black men's sexuality are held by the "respectable" press as well.
2. All of this stupidity is a convenient smokescreen for Obama's service at perpetuating Wall Street's greed and the USA's imperialism that the bush II regime was (with some minor differences) implementing as well. Instead of substantive debate about the domination of democracy by finance capital, we get arguments about Obama looking at a woman's ass, and the racism implicit in even caring about this makes it semi-meaningful that it's being discussed at all.
Then, when I related this story to my partner, a third observation occurred to me. That there would be people in the USA (hundreds of thousands of 'em, constituting a large part of the "politically active" minority of the most powerful country in the world) who would have a position on the most superficial aspects of this incident ("Obama is an over-sexed disgrace to the United States of America!" "NO! Obama is being slandered* by your racist obsessions! He didn't look at that woman at all!") and they would say that this constitutes following "politics."
[*I can't resist saying that Obama's been given a bum rap here.]
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9 comments:
Sadly, it's true. Probably the biggest single development of the past quarter century has been the depoliticization of economics. Actual structures that really affect people's lives are now widely thought to be undiscussable, which leaves only celebrity-style gossip as a topic.
What a perfect cover for blatant theft.
" ... they would say that this constitutes following "politics."
I don't know about "hundreds of thousands of Americans," but you clearly do. Dope.
"I'd really like it if sane people could take control of the narrative."
Then why are YOU commenting?
It's all in the post, if you've got the comprehension skills to find it.
Why would I bother wade through your turgid prose? You do realize that your writing style is that of a psychopath, don't you?
abu-asshat,
A long time ago, I banned commentor "wayne" for saying something that really offended me, after a long period of enduring his drivel.
Not quite so long ago, I told you that you were banned. Not for anything that you said but for what you didn't say, which was anything other than mindless snark about my supposed mental problems in attempts to bait me.
After a long absence you reappeared (just when i was taking a break from blogging) and now you've returned to form as my blogging has been renewed.
I'm a pretty mellow guy and I didn't remove your posts straight away, I thought that I'd ignore you. Then you dropped those first two turds in my comments section and I thought that I'd give you one more chance.
Then you typed the following:
"Why would I bother wade through your turgid prose? You do realize that your writing style is that of a psychopath, don't you?"
So, I'm going to show you that you can't read and then I'm going to show you the door. You've proven time and time again that you're incapable of actually demonstrating why I deserve to be mocked by one such as you, all you do is type these puerile insults.
You're tiresome and a mediocrity and simply not worth my sustained attention.
So, my last lesson to you. I said:
" ... they would say that this constitutes following "politics."
and you said:
"I don't know about 'hundreds of thousands of Americans,' but you clearly do. Dope."
Now, abu-asshat, I also said:
"That there would be people in the USA ... who would have a position on the most superficial aspects of this incident ... and they would say that this constitutes following 'politics.'"
Which is to say that they would either believe the claim about Obama's leering or they would say that it was false, without the subtext of racism that informs the whole issue and which makes the mainstream media's even discussing the issue revelatory.
Dumbass.
I had also made it clear that my talking about the underlying racism of this story was:
"a comment on something that doesn't require a lot of thinking." and I said THAT in the context of my recent non-blogging. So it was quite clearly a way to ease me back into blogging.
Next, I said:
"I'd really like it if sane people could take control of the narrative."
and you said:
"Then why are YOU commenting?"
I'm not sure what the hell you mean by that. Even if you think I'm insane, my COMMENTING on the narrative wouldn't be the same thing as my TAKING CONTROL of the narrative.
I'm saying that I wish the people driving policy weren't insane. I wish the world's stories wasn't about how we're keeping Afghanistan from becoming a home for anti-Western radicalism by killing thousands with airstrikes and predator drones and imposing an unpopular, corrupt government there. I wish there hadn't been an invasion of Iraq to find non-existent WMDs. I wish the economy wasn't run by Wall Street criminals and our interests weren't in the hands of cretins like the Conservative Party of Canada.
Do you follow this? (Not that I care. I'm going to delete any comments you make without even reading them.)
So there you have it my friend. For the last time you've proven yourself a witless clown. For some reason or other you imagine that you're fit to critique me, but however stupid you imagine me to be, you're even more limited.
Goodbye.
Just like that.
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