In Defense of Mockery

[pokerfan]

"Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions."
(Thomas Jefferson)

Mock. Point. Laugh. State facts. Satirize. Call a lie, a lie. Mock again. Laugh again. Point to facts again. Repeat. Repeat again. Repeat yet again, until everyone thinks twice before ever uttering anything so destructive, ignorant and idiotic in public. How more people skewering right-wing falsehoods would not lead to a better world escapes me.

In Defense of Mockery
by Iris Vander Pluym
February 19, 2011

I read with profound weariness a piece in Salon by Michael Lind entitled Hey, liberals: Time to give the Beck bashing a rest. Lind is apparently under the impression that (a) Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews engage in “constant mockery” of bloviating right-wing demagogues such as Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann and Glenn Beck, and that (b) this would somehow be a bad thing, because it is likely to backfire on “liberals.”

He could not be more wrong.

First, Lind’s charge of “constant mockery” is patently ridiculous. Rachel Maddow has committed some of the most astounding acts of journalism on a major cable network that a U.S. primetime audience could possibly hope to see. Maddow regularly does long, in-depth interviews over multiple segments for which she is extremely well-prepared, enough to swat away any bullshit a guest might dare to fling at her. Even Tweety has his moments. Lind’s implication that anyone on MSNBC fills all or even most of their airtime snickering over the jaw-droppingly stupid and inane bullshit that right-wing politicians and pundits say every day is simply absurd. I just cannot fathom how anyone — much less someone with a platform on Salon — could possibly be unaware that one can report on our devastated economy, or revolution in the Middle East, and also mock morons.

http://perrystreetpalace.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/in-defense-of-mockery/">Read the rest

[snappyturtle]

1. I love Rachel. Last night while listening to her recount of Wisconsin's

union history, I couldn't help but think we'd NEVER hear that type of educating process on faux news.

I also agree with Jefferson.

[pokerfan]

2. Yeah, I've paraphrased that quote before

without realizing that it was Jefferson. Added to my ever expanding favorite quotes file...

Some favorites:

"To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing."
- Elbert Hubbard

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.
- Bertrand Russell

There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”
- Elie Wiesel

The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.”
- Elie Wiesel

[snappyturtle]

5. Oh, thank you! Great quotes! I've copied and pasted them into docs....

those should come in handy! The one about indifference..wow!

[pokerfan]

6. I have a file full of favorite quotations

It was supposed to be short and therefore easy to browse but it's grown completely out of control and is now closing in on 10,000 quotes.

Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth. -- Ludwig Borne

Life is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel. -- Horace Walpole

This I believe: That the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world.
And this I would fight for: The freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected.
And this I must fight against: Any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. --John Steinbeck (East of Eden)

It will yet be the proud boast of women that they never contributed a line to the Bible. -- George W. Foote


“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” -- George Bernard Shaw

I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn't know. -- Mark Twain

[Buns_of_Fire]

3. I disagree, Mr. Lind. Ridicule is one of the strongest weapons we have.

And, IMNSHO, there's not nearly enough mockery bring being tossed at the Kochsuckers and their ilk these days. So there.:P

These almighty molders-of-opinion can't stand to be made fun of. As far as I'm concerned, that's all the more reason to do it!

[pokerfan]

4. ....

Kochsuckers

:rofl: