Letters to the Editor
-
At least something good has come of the Administration
Prose that Thoreau, and perhaps Whitman, even some of them old dead Greeks would have applauded with a round of "Right On, Euripides!", but since they're not here, I will.
For such righteous indignance, such florid vituperation a Prize should be established. I'm tired, or I'd write something witty, but that would be coals to NewCastle anyhow.
Dammit, I know Nixon is laughing at us from beyond his grave.
and then you think of the lasting damage the Current Occupant has done to this country, a man who lends new richness to the word "malfeasance" and who is deaf on top of it and relaxed and pleasant in the face of fresh revelations, you see what a crazy country this is, but then we knew that a long time ago.
The French have a new president, the British will soon have a new P.M., and we envy them as we endure the endless wait for this small dim man to go back to Texas and resume his life.
-
True, well said, and yet
I have a problem, in that should the unlikely come to pass and we someday get a president worth the title, Imus and Stern and their ilk will continue to be vulgar and unconscionable as regards him or her. And you don't have to go into bars to hear it. An ordinary coffee shop will do.
If it is true, as Mr. K says, that their sentiments are commonplace, then how can it be supposed in the same breath that the country does not deserve to be laid low by a whiffle ball like GWB and his bedfellows?
Unfortunately, we hold in common with those bedfellows the idea that we are somehow better than whatever, despite some overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
-
Excuses, excuses, excuses.
First, pointing the finger at someone and saying "but he's worse" is an infantile attempt to displace responsibility. Yes, Bush is terrible and the fact that he still has his job is a tragedy, but that doesn't mean that Imus shouldn't be held responsible for the things he has done, however comparatively minor. Should we stop convicting criminals of shoplifting or handing out speeding tickets because our president is a bigger criminal and far more reckless? Of course not. Should we stop ourselves from calling out Imus for being an asshole when Bush is a bigger asshole? No.
Second, it's true that self-righteous indignation over Imus' comments can be extremely off-putting. The fact is that many of us have said awful things, or tolerated assholes in bars for saying such things, and by sounding off at Imus some of us may be trying to dodge our own responsibility for our less than stellar actions or inactions (see point the first). However, we can both admit that we are not "holier than thou" and also point out that Imus was being an asshole and want him taken off the air for persistently being an asshole.
Third, it's not his radio show. It's his network's radio show. When Imus' sponsors voted with their dollars, he was out because he was costing his network money due to his assholery.
Forth, perhaps instead of getting defensive and telling us what should and should not be worthy of censure, Keillor should wonder why it's okay with him that you can hear such things said at any old bar. It's the height of clueless white male privilege to declare that your opinion and the opinion of those like you about the relative importance of the "nappy headed hos" comment is the only really important one. All the African Americans and all of the women who are implicated by those words? Just overreacting, I guess! It is also the height of clueless male privilege to think that, just because you're okay with Joe Schmoe's "severe" opinions about women, the rest of us ought to be as well.
-
Thank you Garrison!
You made me laugh at least twice, and sniffle at least once.
All in just 8 paragraphs.
You Sir are without peer among modern humorists in this capacity.
The closest parallel I can think of is Mark Twain - and I'm sure he's a fan too.
Assuming they get Salon in Heaven.
-
Soon, I hope, we'll realize we're just like Dorothy...
...seemingly trapped in Oz, wishing we could go home to Kansas -- and then we'll remember we can tap those ruby slippers and IMPEACH THE BASTARDS.
We have every tool that's needed to rein in the Current Occupant and his acolytes. All that we have to do is find the guts to DO IT.
The world didn't end with Bill Clinton's impeachment, and won't end with a Bush/Cheney impeachment. In fact, we might actually see the dawn of a renewed and refreshed government OF, BY AND FOR THE PEOPLE. How refreshing THAT would be!
-
Angry privileged white people
"the same dwindling clientele of angry privileged white people"
Perfect! ...although "angry privileged white men" might be a little more accurate. Why are these people, who generally vote Republican, so angry?
They rage at the single women with young children who are not starving in the street, as they ought to be doing because of having made poor decisions, but have food and medical care thanks to welfare programs. They rage at old people who put all their money into their children's educations and by rights should be starving in the gutter, since they saved nothing for their own retirement, but instead live decently off Social Security and Medicare. They rage at young black men, who ought to be in jail or low-paying menial jobs, but instead obtain college scholarships and go on to become middle-class or better, thanks to affirmative action. They rage at black people who dare to become middle class or better, due to equal opportunity laws.
The base of today's Republican Party longs for the 19th century, or maybe even earlier. The days of social stratification, women knowing their place, empire building, slavery and indentured servitude, and government only helping those who could pay in hard cash.
But, as Mr. Keillor observes, the number of these people is dwindling. Plus, it's spring, and hope returns to the world.
-
I too have noticed that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Our public schools are full of caring people. My coworker visits his cousin in jail. My niece is helping fix Greensburg. The current occupant is a mere abberation. Thank God.