Remember that little children's song? It occurs to me that Andrew Breitbart and Mel Gibson deserve each other. They would likely fight over which one is the more homophobic, the more racist, the more hate-filled -- and wouldn't those fights be a hoot to watch? -- but perhaps they'd work through it and find true happiness. They seem a perfect pair
Of the two, I think Breitbart is the bigger threat. Gibson's a celebrity and we have, alas, come to expect bad behavior from our celebs. Breitbart though is an opinion maker and it scares me that there are Americans stupid enough to fall for his twisted and manipulative spin on the truth.
The Shirely Sherrod affair is a disgrace. No one comes through it untainted -- even Ms. Sherrod, I dare say, who might have stuck up for herself a bit more. The USDA and the White House look like fools and the NAACP like scared-as-a-rabbit idiots. But Breitbart is a case unto himself. "Damn the truth, full speed ahead" seems to be his mantra. He seemingly will do anything, say anything to attack his enemies, collateral damage be ignored.
What's wrong with this man? What's wrong with our political process that such venom is encouraged? Why is it even tolerated? Why do racist homophobes find an audience? Alas, the answer to that one is all too obvious.
Recently I reminded myself of who Mel Gibson is, where he came from. His father moved the family from the US to Australia in 1968. He was educated by Catholic Schools there. Australia is an extremely conservative country today. Can you imagine the inculcation of values by the Church in the late 60's and early 70's in Australia? The attitude toward women, minorities, etc. is *still* not one I can think about without cringing, so the bases for his homophobia, misogyny and anti-Semitic attitudes are deep.
ReplyDeleteThis is no excuse. Many of us spend our whole lives attempting to overcome the ignorance and narrowness of our upbringing. Obviously Mel never felt the need to overcome anything.
As for Andrew Breitbart, I know little of him. However, I suspect he is afraid and afraid to admit it. When one is afraid of "nothing", then one is afraid of everything. He lashes out to cover his own inadequacies. He would be a sad little man if all those other sad little men weren't listening.
Oh, and they listen because they are afraid.