posted 2005/08/10 at 14:40
Band on the run over 'fat' insult (timesonline.co.uk)
Of course, I just love how in an article about how careful selection of words can lead to big dust-ups, the first word of the byline to this article refers to the Magic Numbers as "chubby." Irony, thy name is British journalism.
I got this link from the Huffington Post, which I've been meaning to write about for a while here. Whenever I scrutinize the success of right-wingers like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and Bill O'Reilly (among others), I always wonder if maybe the left-wing hasn't been succeeding in politics this past decade or so because there's a certain segment of the population that really doesn't have opinions one way or the other when it comes to politics, but will listen to (and vote for politicians who agree with) the loudest, most obnoxious voices out there.
When the Huffington Post launched, it was clear that they were setting up to be a combination blog and left-wing version of the Drudge Report, and I thought both those things were needed. However, when I saw the comparisons in format between the Huffington Post and the Drudge Report, I didn't expect the Huffington Post to engage in some of the same questionable tactics of the Drudge Report, such as using misleading language in links (always to the detriment of right-wingers or big businesses mentioned in the linked articles) or linking to inane bullshit having nothing to do with politics. (Does Arianna have some sort of Tom Cruise fetish? Granted, I hate Tom Cruise and scientology as much as the next person, but Arianna's really taking it too far.) As far as the blogs go, I stopped trying to comment on there because for all the personal vitriol that's allowed to seep through in the comments, my reasoned writings on why principled progressives need to leave the Democratic Party and go Green just never seem to make it past the censors over there. As the kids of today would say, fuck that noise.
I guess this really points out one of the conundrums that I, and I'm guessing other progressives, face these days. I want to belong to the party of principle; I want to belong to the political movement that has sound thinking, compassion, and honesty going for it more than any other group out there. At the same time, though, it seems like being dishonest, loud, mean, and abusive is the only way to get any headway in politics these days. Especially given how quickly this country is going to shit, I'm worried that if we progressives are more concerned with being principled than "winning" (for lack of a better term), that there could come a day, very soon, where I will imply not be welcome in this country any longer. At the same time, the obnoxious left-wingers out there -- like Mike Malloy and (sometimes) Ted Rall -- just turn me off. What is a principled progressive supposed to do, I ask you?
copyright © 2008 Sean Shannon