Everything Ruder Than Everything Else
As long as we are a people driven by fear and selfishness, we will also be attracted to hatred and prejudice.
As my friend Dale will tell you, the day after the Don Imus scandal broke, I pretty much knew he was done… that’s nothing to brag about; I had a 50/50 shot, in or out. But this time his stink had gotten fanned into the national a/c system, there was no other big story out there to cover the scent, and between bloggers and YouTube, there are too many noses in the air now to miss the smell. My friend Joe thinks it’s because it was simulcasted on MSNBC; if it had just been radio, it might have gone right by…
Maybe.
This could turn into a rant, and there are others who’ll do that better than I. Let me just respond to a few comments I’ve heard from Imus defenders:
This is an overreaction to a single incident. Even Imus’ apologists are using the words “disgusting” and “reprehensible,” but what they leave out is “and totally in character.” This is not an out-of-the-blue remark for Imus; it’s not unexpected at all. That he got called on it probably shocked the hell out of Mr. Shock-Jock himself.
That Imus is only giving people what they want. Fine, I’ll accept that most humans need their taste and preference meters adjusted; I’m a Christian who believes in total depravity. But I also believe that the goal is upward, not downward, and that playing to our baser instincts is a bad thing to do. See also “Francis, Joe.”
That Imus is not a bad guy. That’s fine; I’ll buy that too. I’m not suggesting he be jailed or exiled or beaten. I’m just saying it’s appropriate that he lost his job. He’ll get another. In fact, he’s probably got a standing offer from Sirius in his desk drawer at home.
That this is a free speech issue. I call BS on that one. Imus has the right to say whatever he wants. He doesn’t have the constitutional right to be paid $10 million a year to say it over 60+ radio stations. Give him a soapbox and a streetcorner and let’s see how many folks think he’s clever.
Maybe I’m overly sensitive because I work around college students all day long. If you’re a politician or an actor, this is part of the deal; taking public abuse and criticism is the flip side of the power and wealthy and fame if you’re Hillary or Barak or Tom or Oprah, or even wannabees like Kato Kaelin or Larry Birkhead. But a bunch of teen-age girls playing basketball? This is a viable target? As I recall, the only email I ever sent to sports talk host Jim Rome was when he was running smack on a 12-year-old girl who had won a spelling bee. I don’t remember exactly what I wrote, but it was something about if this was the best he could do anymore, maybe he could get his old job back introducing the strippers at the Doo-Drop-Inn Gentlemen’s Club (hmm, come to think of it, I don’t think he ever wrote back…).
Tim Rutten has a good take in the LA Times today (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-et-rutten13apr13,0,6022815.column), wondering if maybe we have finally satiated our appetites for vile and meanspirited public ‘conversations.’ I wish it were so… but as long as we are a people driven by fear and selfishness, we will also be attracted to hatred and prejudice. During the LA riots, when Rodney King asked, “can’t we just all get along?,” Christian philosopher Dallas Willard wistfully responded, “No, we can’t… not until we become the kind of people who can get along.”
You Must Think the Sun Shines Out of Your MSG
One thing about New Yorkers: they’re often so self-absorbed that it’s hard to know when they’re being sarcastic.
One of the NYT columnists, William Rhoden, suggested the other day (it’s a paywalled story, so I won’t link it) that it would be in the best interests of the NBA for the Knicks to be allowed to ‘write off’ all the ludicrous contracts they’ve provided, so that they can ditch all their stiffs, get under the salary cap (which otherwise won’t happen until 2010), and essentially start over. The argument being, of course, that NY is essential to the NBA’s success, and thus special dispensation is warranted.
One thing about New Yorkers: they’re often so self-absorbed that it’s hard to know when they’re being sarcastic. But I have a solution that doesn’t just reward (and perpetuate) ineptitude; if the Knicks (and the Celtics, and the 76ers, etc.) are so critical to the success of the NBA, why doesn’t the NBA ‘reclaim’ their franchises (buying them back at market value) and put them in the hands of some at-least-semi-competent management? They are franchises, right? If I owned a McDonald’s franchise, and started selling horsemeat quarter pounders, I imagine that McDonald’s would find a way to pull my franchise, for the good of the brand. What these teams have been serving up over the past several years wouldn’t even qualify as horsemeat, although another term comes to mind…
There are drawbacks, of course; the entertainment value of the NBA would certainly drop without the astonishing antics of Isiah Thomas, James Dolan, Danny Ainge, Billy King, the Maloof brothers, Billy Knight, Kevin McHale, whoeveris running the Seattle franchise (if anyone), and of course the inimitable Donald Sterling. But that’s too much ineptitude spread across too many teams; I would suggest to David Stern that he designate two franchises as the official league buffoons (my votes are the Knicks and the Celtics, but I’m biased), relocate all of the above-named suspects therein, and tell the rest of the league to start taking this seriously.
When I Look in the Mirror:
Have you noticed that, as the chastened GWB moves closer to his father’s more moderate policies and stances, he’s also taken on some of his gestures?
I can’t wait to hear him say ‘prudent.’ But come to think of it, I don’t think that’s a concept he’s familiar with.
And a Belated Closing
Not that there’s no value at all to the NYT; check this out [paywalled], in case you missed it on Mother’s Day. God’s pretty smart, you know. Genesis 5:2 says that “He created them male and female. He blessed them and called them humans when he created them.” I just don’t think a male, left to his own devices, would’ve made a different choice… and would have been much the poorer for that choice.
The Cost of Hubris
…we like to imagine that we are above that sort of thing; that in world affairs, we have the moral high ground.
The GOP loses both houses of Congress. I know there are a dozen things to point to, including failure to acknowledge Wallace Shawn (“never get involved in a land war in Asia”). But I would still argue that it goes back to Gitmo and Abu Ghraib. Americans don’t torture. Americans don’t incarcerate without trial. The documents guaranteeing these ‘rights’ may technically not apply to non-citizens, but they are based upon a Weltanschauung that says these are inalienable and thus universal. More practically, whether we are or not, we like to imagine that we are above that sort of thing; that in world affairs, we have the moral high ground.
It will take some time and some hard, smart work to re-establish that in the eyes of the world. And of course, that it was the responsibility of perhaps the most explicitly evangelical-Christian President we have ever had is the hugest disappointment; more than any other, it should have been this President who said, “we will do what is right, we will take the high road, even if it is not expedient, and even if it is dangerous.” But trust requires humility. Hubris has its price.
This is hardly exclusively a GOP problem; recommended reading, “The Best and the Brightest” by David Halberstam, about the American (specifically, the Democratic) arrogance that landed us in Vietnam.
Better late than never department, Part 1
I finally saw “American Beauty” (1999) on DVD. After 20 minutes, I was ready to turn it off; I hated pretty much everybody in the movie, and I’m less tolerant than I used to be of cynicism passing itself off as black comedy. But I stuck with it… and I realized that I was being played. The marketing theme was ‘look closer,’ probably playing off the rather tired idea that beneath the orderly streets of suburbia lurks chaos… but it was more than that. It took ‘looking closer’ at the characters, and realizing they were more than tired caricatures… there were pretty good reasons why they were what they were.
And all of them step right up to edge of the abyss, but only one steps over… in a satisfyingly twisty sort of way. The acting was amazing; Annette Bening, never a favorite of mine, was absolutely astonishing. I don’t know if you can take away a single moral from it; I counted half a dozen almost immediately. But maybe the one that stuck with me the most was, sometimes you get a second chance… and sometimes you don’t.
Better late than never department, Part 2
Simple Plan’s Still Not Getting’ Any (2004). Well-produced post-punk-pop (along the lines of newer Green Day); ‘Shut Up’ and ‘Welcome to My Life’ got substantial airplay. But the revelation here is “Untitled,” the final cut and whose lyrics are curiously left off of the booklet. It’s teen angst and dissatisfaction wrapped in a classic power ballad (which of course meant I immediately liked it), but more significantly, it’s about the tragic aftermath of teenage drunk driving. The song is powerful; the video is devastating. Show it to your kids next time they head out to a party.
And the obligatory sports comment
how ‘bout those Knicks? This is a team that I loved as a kid, second only to my hometown Lakers. Walt Frazier was the coolest of cool, Jerry Lucas was a rock, Willis Reed was a lion, and my favorite non-L.A. player of all time was Dave DeBusschere… and I’ve left out Bill Bradley and Earl Monroe and Phil Jackson. But now the expectations are so low that getting to within six games of.500 earns coach Isiah ‘Midas Touch’ Thomas a contract extension. Amazing. If he wins a playoff game, he might get a lifetime appointment. And if this is good coaching, what adjectives do we have for Phil Jackson riding his one-trick pony to sixth place in the much tougher West?
To close…
Kevin Spacey’s final, post-mortem monologue from “American Beauty,”
“…it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much… my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst...and then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain…
“…and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... (chuckles) You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry...
[FADE TO BLACK]
“You will someday.”
Things That Aren't Here Anymore...
“His attitude of amused detachment could transmit devastating critiques and probing analyses without being harsh or mean-spirited, much less boring. He made serious journalism a pleasure to watch."
Ralph Story
Grumpy Old Man Mourns Passing of Other Grumpy Old Man
I thought it was worth noting that we lost a great gift today. Former Los Angeles television newsman Ralph Story passed away at age 86. If you never saw Ralph, well, he managed to be both Mike Wallace and Huell Howser for LA in the 60s & 70s. Warren Olney, another LA treasure, not unexpectedly did a wonderful job of summarizing what made Ralph great: “He was able to use humor and irony to make a serious point, something you virtually never see on television anymore…. [His] attitude of amused detachment could transmit devastating critiques and probing analyses without being harsh or mean-spirited, much less boring. He made serious journalism a pleasure to watch."
Of course, that was when there was serious journalism on local newscasts. That, and now Ralph himself, have joined his own list http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325841/, of “things that aren’t here anymore.”
Christopher Knight
Totally unconnected sidenote on beer
I’m English by lineage… one summer when I obviously had nothing else to do, I traced the family line back to Northamptonshire, England, mid-1500’s. So, yes, I’ve got some pride in my heritage.
But the English drink their beer warm. Good God, what an awful idea. Drinking unrefrigerated beer is like watching a VH-1 reality show; every minute, you’re reminded “this is just wrong.”
Of course, you can help the beer situation by just burying that baby in some ice for a few minutes. I’m not sure what can be done for Christopher Knight.
From today’s news, Sept 26, 2006!
Gibson's Promotion of New Movie Leaves Jews Baffled
Director’s cut of “Passion” has Jesus come down off cross and beat Pharisees senseless with a bottle of Tequila, then drive away in Lexus LS 430.
Have You or Your Kids Had Problems With Rubber Clogs?
You know, if you’d be more careful what you put down it, it wouldn’t clog.
Dallas Cowboys’ Terrell Owens In Suicide Attempt
What, he just realized Drew Bledsoe is quarterbacking this team?
Air Force Jet Wins Battle in Congress
Multiple strafing runs wear down beleaguered and outgunned legislators.
For the Third Time, a Jury Fails to Convict Gotti
This just in: Most humans still averse to having kneecaps broken.
Mr. Blutto
Source of Spinach Taint Located
“I didn’t do nuthin’ wrong,” claims farm owner A. W. Blutto.
Secretary Vows to Improve Results of Higher Education
“Anticipating at least six more years of a GOP-led government, we need to prepare graduates for the real American economy,” said Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. “We’re therefore cutting English, literature, and philosophy, and requiring 12 units of Computer Game Beta Testing and Bedpan Changing. The foreign language requirements will also be reconfigured so that each graduate will be tested on their ability to say ‘Welcome to Wal-Mart’ in 12 different languages.”
And finally, on the sad state of American manufacturing,
Wagoner Says GM Can Save Itself but Open to Alliances
Of course, why didn’t we think of this before!
