Monday, March 31, 2008

Words That Go CLANG!

The other day in a comment to my “Hillary Clinton, FIRST LADY” mock radio play, some anonymous troll came along and started blathering. I deleted the comment because I normally don’t care for hit and run slurs from people who don’t have the balls to post under even a persona. Later, however, I had second thoughts, because it would just be more fun to mock the craven little bitch. Unfortunately, the comment was gone and can’t be resurrected, so I’ll summarize.

Bear with me, there’s actually a point to this.

In response to the mockery of Hillary Clinton, “Anonymous” sneered from his or her dark corner something to the effect of “So because she didn’t go to a racist and anti-Semitic church for twenty years, she’s not liberal enough for you and you feel free to make fun of her.”

Well, actually, that’s not why I feel free to mock her, Anon (can I call you Anon?) I feel free to mock her because she did something stupid, namely exaggerated what a tough and connected operative she was during the Bill Clinton years, and then she got caught at it. Caught, I might add, with ridiculous ease. By, among others, Sinbad.

Oh, and by the way, Anon? It was a joke. Lighten up.

And here’s a hint, Anon….when you toss around that “she’s not liberal enough for you” malarkey, you immediately out yourself, not as a real Hillary supporter, but as a right winger. And why, one might ask , would the right wing be so supportive of Hillary Clinton? Why would the right really really really want Hillary to win? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Which leads me to the actual point of this post. There are certain words and catch phrases much beloved of the far right loons that, when used, pretty much go CLANG! That's the sound of any actual reading shutting down. These are words and phrases that make it impossible for me to take the writer seriously. When I see one of these buzzwords , I tend to stop reading that post or that article, or at least quit reading for anything other than amusement value. They include, as noted above, the careless tossing around of the word “liberal” as a pejorative. The ridiculous references to centrist or even liberal Democrats as “leftists’ likewise draws derision, when it doesn't bring on outright yawning.

Others are:

  • Any reference to “Barack Hussein Obama” . Yes it’s his actual middle name. But unless you also use John McCain’s or Mike Huckabee’s middle name every time you mention them, it’s very clear what you’re trying to do, namely use his Kenyan ancestry to create fear.
  • Dragging the fact that Robert Byrd was a member of the KKK before any of us were born into every single political discussion, whether it’s related to Robert Byrd or not. Hint: he also left before any of us were born.
  • Tiresome “Al Gore invented the Internet” and “What your definition of is, is” jokes. They’re just old and worn out. Get some new material.
  • Any reference to “Islamofascism” or “Islamofascists.” This just shows that you’re too pig-ignorant to know what “fascism” actually means. I suspect it’s also used because calling our enemies what they are-- “Radical Religious Fundamentalists”-- cuts too close to the right's own power base.

Any other words or phrases you can think of that basically cause you to quit reading?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Anyone who says "lies of the liberal media," "vast right-wing conspiracy," or - my personal pet peeves - "Communist News Network/Communist Broadcasting Network" automatically forfeits the argument and 75 IQ points.

That's 75 of the points they use. There are some very intelligent people who refuse to use more than a fraction of their IQ.

pattinase (abbott) said...

George Bush's voice in the announcer's booth at the first baseball game last night caused me to stop listening. I literally couldn't stand to hear him pretending to be a regular guy.
As to words: the N word, the liberal media, the Democrat Party (rather than Democratic Party), words deifying Ronald Reagan.

Anonymous said...

"Socialism" or "socialist" in reference to Democrats. Pursuant to that, I heard a really good talking point over the weekend in a conversation about the Bear Stearns bailout: Republicans are just fine with socialism as long as it's about RISK. They're perfectly happy to distribute the risks to everyone, as long as they get to keep all the benefits.

Phoebe Fay said...

Lately, any comment on any blog posting that uses the word LIES. Repeatedly. And in ALL CAPS! With exclamation points!!!! Because we need to know about the LIES!!!! Did you get that? LIES!!!!!

Also, any word that manages to stumble out of Bush's mouth. If I even see him start to open his mouth, I rush for the mute button.

Anonymous said...

"At the end of the day." "Going forward." "Basically."

David Terrenoire said...

I'm with Patty on the Democrat Party.

But the most recent phrase that makes me stop listening is "on day one."

Cornelia Read said...

"Nuke-ular."

I never, ever, ever want to hear that pronunciation again. Ever.

Anonymous said...

Agreed with most of the above, especially nuke-yaler.

Another big clanger for me is "feminazi" or just "feminist" spit out with contempt. The best one of these I've run across online was a right-wing female college student majoring in psychology planning to make a career of the Navy who "has no time for feminists." Jesus wept...

David Terrenoire said...

One more: Drive-by media.