Monday, December 13, 2004
The Soft Bigotry of Farging Iceholes
MEMO TO PETER BEINART AND AL FROM:
Michael Moore and MoveOn.org are not the equivalent of the pro-Stalinist left. To suggest they are the American Taliban places you dangerously close to the camp of farging iceholes pretending to be patriots (i.e. your average Republican).
In point of fact, lefties have shown remarkable restraint in the face of creeping fascism. They have met right wing attempts to steal elections, repeal environmental protections, and exploit the fuck out of 9/11 with non-threatening protests and the negotiated settlements of traditional mass politics. Sure, you can point to any number of kooky statements on the Internets, but American leftists have not called for armed national liberation or proletarian revolution, have not erupted into the sorts of acts that really threaten the power structure (see Ukraine), and do not possess real hate, in the I-will-kill-your-ass-for-the-cause sense.
Precisely because the American left did not respond to the attempt to roll back the 20th century with open rebellion, the farging iceholes on the right have had to portray them as traitorous to justify their hold on power. Their argument is, “You think we are scary? Michael Moore wants Osama bin Laden to kill you!” Unfortunately, various Democrats are now reiterating this shameless McCarthyism.
Hey Peter and Al, instead of Islamo-baiting people who should be your allies, why not focus on holding conservatives to higher standards? We all know Bush benefits from the soft bigotry of lowered expectations, but rarely point out that his supporters do too. For example, many Bushies do not even care that he lied about WMD, reasoning that he had to do what he had to do to do what he had to do. These iceholes need to be shamed incessantly into demanding truth from their leaders. They should be embarrassed that our government does not base its decisions on an open and honest assessment of facts. I suspect many Bush voters are embarrassed—a fact that could explain exit poll discrepancies—but in the absence of anybody calling them out in a sustained critique, they are able to live with their conscience.
Michael Moore and MoveOn.org are not the equivalent of the pro-Stalinist left. To suggest they are the American Taliban places you dangerously close to the camp of farging iceholes pretending to be patriots (i.e. your average Republican).
In point of fact, lefties have shown remarkable restraint in the face of creeping fascism. They have met right wing attempts to steal elections, repeal environmental protections, and exploit the fuck out of 9/11 with non-threatening protests and the negotiated settlements of traditional mass politics. Sure, you can point to any number of kooky statements on the Internets, but American leftists have not called for armed national liberation or proletarian revolution, have not erupted into the sorts of acts that really threaten the power structure (see Ukraine), and do not possess real hate, in the I-will-kill-your-ass-for-the-cause sense.
Precisely because the American left did not respond to the attempt to roll back the 20th century with open rebellion, the farging iceholes on the right have had to portray them as traitorous to justify their hold on power. Their argument is, “You think we are scary? Michael Moore wants Osama bin Laden to kill you!” Unfortunately, various Democrats are now reiterating this shameless McCarthyism.
Hey Peter and Al, instead of Islamo-baiting people who should be your allies, why not focus on holding conservatives to higher standards? We all know Bush benefits from the soft bigotry of lowered expectations, but rarely point out that his supporters do too. For example, many Bushies do not even care that he lied about WMD, reasoning that he had to do what he had to do to do what he had to do. These iceholes need to be shamed incessantly into demanding truth from their leaders. They should be embarrassed that our government does not base its decisions on an open and honest assessment of facts. I suspect many Bush voters are embarrassed—a fact that could explain exit poll discrepancies—but in the absence of anybody calling them out in a sustained critique, they are able to live with their conscience.
