Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Sorry Sarah


As it turns out Sarah Palin, the subject of my last post, was using, cryptically at least to me, a phrase that was first used in the title of a Wall Street Journal editorial about the Tucson shooting.  The Journal compared the factually unsupported allegations that Palin’s cross hairs contremps caused the Tucson Shooting to alleging falsely, that Jews kill kids to get their blood for ritual use – a blood libel.

The phrase was picked up by a writer at HumanEvents.com.

Here’s Palin again:

“But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.”

If she is referring to the unsupported argument of a connection between the right’s rhetoric and the killing, and I think she is, the fault is mine as I didn’t know what the phrase meant. 

Sorry Sarah.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe I'm missing something, but it appears that her defense of vitriolic political speech includes a condemnation of people who indulge in vitriolic political speech. She doesn't like it when she's the one in the crosshairs, but believes she has the right to put others in the crosshairs.

Dave said...

She's still a hypocrite, just a literate one (or the person that wrote her speech).

I just figured since she used the phrase correctly I had to call myself out on my attack.

The Curmudgeon said...

I'm tired of Ms. Palin. But I'm also tired of the irrational hatred directed toward her as well.

Of course she's a hypocrite. She's a politician, isn't she?

She's the new Ann Coulter -- someone whose continued fame depends on the unceasing vitriol directed at her by her detractors.

What I'm trying to figure out is why is it acceptable and mainstream to savage Sarah Palin (see this Oliphant cartoon for a recent example) but dangerous, irresponsible and maybe even criminal (because one would be 'stirring up hate') to viciously parody other people?

At the risk of being accused of stirring up violence by using a martial metaphor: Cease Fire! To quote that original American philosopher Rodney King, "Can't we all get along?"

Dave said...

I don't hate her Curmudgeon. I'm fascinated by her in the can't take your eyes off a train wreck sense. I'm also baffled by her popularity with her fans.

fermicat said...

If I never heard anything about Palin or her family ever again, it would be too soon. She's utterly vacuous.