Palin Suggests Young Daughter Endangered By Letterman?

For goodness sakes, will these Alaskans spare us the DRAMA?

BABY RAPERS BEWARE!

 Sheesh, double sheesh. If you haven’t followed the ‘trashy news’ cycle, I’m talking about Sarah Palin feuding with David Letterman. Of course he’s been using her as material since she put herself in the limelight. For christ’s sake, who wouldn’t! But that’s comedy. It’s always been comedy to go after politicians, and their children. Remember all the ugly jokes about Chelsea Clinton? I do. Let’s take a look at what the buzz is. First the main joke in question, from Letterman’s monologue:

“One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game, during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.”

Palin was in New York with her 14-year-old daughter, Willow. Sarah apparently thought that Willow was the daughter in the joke. That prompted an angry response from the Palins. In a statement distributed to the press yesterday, the governor said: “Concerning Letterman’s comments about my young daughter (and I doubt he’d ever dare make such comments about anyone else’s daughter): ‘Laughter incited by sexually-perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is not only disgusting, but it reminds us some Hollywood/NY entertainers have a long way to go in understanding what the rest of America understands – that acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone’s daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others.’ ”

Todd Palin added: “Any ‘jokes’ about raping my 14-year-old are despicable. Alaskans know it and I believe the rest of the world knows it, too.”

RAPING? 14 YEAR OLDS? what the…..Did anybody from the Palin hunting party hear/read the joke? If they really thought it was about rape, why would they think it’s a joke? As for the actual joke, I do believe Mr. Letterman has a comedy writing staff. Did he actually write this? Is it possible the writers made a mistake about which child or her age? I don’t know. What does Dave say about all the rightous outrage?

Reverse Discrimination: A Talking Point the Right Cannot Give Up

The BTSNBN served as an important inspiration for me today.  On a thread at that place there was a discussion about how “racist” Rev. Wright, Obama’s former pastor, is/was.  My point to the many intellectual giants that frequent that blog was that it seemed to me that the damages done unto whites because of racism were pretty minor compared to the results of racism practiced (and codified in law) against black people in this country over our history.

Needless to say my position did not match up with the conservative talking points.  One conservative blogger who, before today, I did not necessarily consider stupid, argued that racism against whites resulted in them being denied entrance into college in California.  My first thought was the expression made famous by P-mom – “boo-fucking-hoo!”  Slavery and Genocide vs. having to apply to a community college or a private college – I was, and still am, having a hard time seeing the moral equivalency.

Does anyone understand why those dudes over there and white dudes like Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh, want to hold on to the argument that white men are victims of minority racism and discrimination?  It honestly bewilders me.

This is how I relate to the conservative position (not very well, actually):  where I work we have a pretty ardent feminist CEO.  I think it is empirically true that if you are a woman, you have a better chance of being promoted than if you are a male.  Do I go around griping about that?  I’d  be too embarrassed to, quite frankly.  Who cannot argue that the tables were tilted in the opposite direction for far too long in this culture?

I’ll conclude by saying:  conservatism – it’s better than thinking… (for some people any way).

Iggy Donnelly

Broken People

Who do you think of when you read the words ‘broken people’?  Do your thoughts ever include yourself?  Do you feel empathy, sympathy, compassion, disgust, aversion?  I would like to discuss the unique variants of brokenness, and how we as people and society as a whole react.

Did you think of addicts, homeless people, maybe those with some definitions of mental instability as broken people?  I did.  And my emotional reactions were all across the spectrum, some I’m not at all proud of feeling!  I even went to the dictionary and looked up definitions for words like addict, empathy, sympathy, compassion…  I realized I don’t live in a dictionary and every definition fit someplace within my perceptions, but not others.  So I would like to know what you think, I would like to turn this issue over in my mind, take it out to examine it and see if I can grow in understanding.

Addict.  It’s one of the thoughts that came into my mind when I wondered about ‘broken people.’  Is this person addicted to alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription drugs, or maybe coffee?  Should it make a difference?  If I am approached on the street by a homeless woman asking if I can help, how do I react?  Do I automatically start putting restrictions on what help I might offer, or my ability to be compassionate?  Do I wonder if this homeless person is an addict, if giving money will help her continue her addiction?  And haven’t I already decided what the word ‘addict’ means to me!?  Yes, and it had nothing to do with coffee.  I feel differently depending on what choices another person has made, I react differently.  I want to learn how to not do that!

Maybe I need to examine how I define the word compassion.  After much thought I’ve decided compassion is accepting each person for who they are.  This is totally different than empathy which is responding to a person’s emotions and opinions with similar emotions and opinions.  It’s also totally different than sympathy which means feeling sorry or regretful for another’s suffering.

If I am acting out of compassion I won’t sit in judgment of this homeless woman, but will accept her for who she is. Whether she spends money I might give her on McDonald’s, drugs, or the medical bills that may be the reason she is homeless, doesn’t really matter.  Is it not her right as a human being to make her own choices?  For sure I won’t be accountable for her choices, but she will be.  I don’t get to decide what is a poor choice or what would be a better choice for her — not if I accept her for who she is, accept the fact that she has the right to her own choices, and agree to honor that right for everyone.

I think the person I want to be would be compassionate to all who suffer, and try to cultivate a loving attitude to everyone else—even those who don’t.  I am not the person I want to be!

How do I cultivate compassion for privileged people who remain oblivious to the consequences their self-centeredness visits upon others?  How on earth do I offer compassion to someone who regards him/herself as superior and who feels no discomfort on account of being oblivious?  I’m personally going to have the hardest time with those unable to recognize happenstance may be the only difference between them and anyone else, particularly someone less fortunate.

Aren’t we all “broken” to some degree or other (certainly, myself!) And I need to try harder to interact with others with compassion for their unique variant of brokenness.  I have found that many people’s “addiction” is to a state of denial that they are broken at all.  This addiction is no less vicious than alcoholism or drug addiction, and, like those addictions, is rarely willingly abandoned.

Saturday, 06/13/09, Public Square

What makes a fun Saturday around your house?  Hope whatever is most pleasant is part of your day today!  This is your thread — decide the topics and discuss what’s on your mind.

fnord