I published this post a few days ago, then deleted it because I'd like to stay away from politics on this blog, to focus on books, writing and writers, on publishing, occasionally on the beauty of my island. But sometimes it's hard to keep a discreet distance from ugly realities, as evidenced by my last post on the state of crime in my country.
Now it's the elections brouhaha in the US. I read about the latest Fox News (Faux News? Fox Noise?) obscenity earlier this week and, thanks to Kevin over at It Only Seems Random, found a terrific post by writer John Scalzi on the issue. I'm really grateful to the Internet, and to bloggers in particular. I'm continually reassured that there are indeed Americans of all races and walks of life, many, many of them, who are as horrified as the rest of us at the bigots* in their country who continue their desperate, pathetic stranglehold on their outdated prejudices. (*I'm not implying that the US has a monopoly on bigots; they're a common species that thrives even in the most hostile environments, much like cockroaches.)
And while I'm at it, here's a link to another great article, this time by Tim Wise who so eloquently examines an issue that has appalled me - the assertion I've read on blog after blog, in hundreds of comments in a number of threads, that women who supported Hillary Clinton will not support Barack Obama unless he makes her his running mate, and in fact will either not vote at all or vote for McCain. Don't get me wrong. I understand their hurt and disappointment. And people are free to vote for whoever the hell they want, or not at all. But to hand the election to McCain based on this kind of rationale? What kind of lunacy is that?
5 comments:
The things people do to be comfortable.
Obama has a big up hill task ahead of him in proving to people he is human like everybody else. I have to say this again but I am not a big fan of US network news because of the lengths the Networks go to be entertaining. But then again, what is entertaining to one may be damn offensive to another.I am a BBC and CNN International person because I don't like my news tainted.
akalol, "proving to people he is human like everybody else"? Hell of a thing.
I have my beefs (beeves?) with the BBC and CNN as well, but they are indeed preferable to some of those others - once you remember to assume the skeptical position.
I posted about this too. It was a low blow even for Faux News.
Nice to be linked. Sorry it has to be on such a topic. There's a lot I love about my country. The behavior of conservative political factions is not one of them.
I listen to NPR for most of my news. Though for in-depth analysis, it's hard to beat the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Brace yourself. The Republican party is famous for what's now called swiftboating. We can expect more craziness as the endless campaign continues. (Elections used to last 4 months. What happened?)They've already forced the Obama campaign to set up a web page of facts to counter their lies.
nyc/caribbean, abysmally low. But why am I surprised?
Kevin, thanks for those links. Swiftboating? I suppose one must resort to smear campaigns when one can't win on issues...
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