The argument is still raging over the extent to which violent rhetoric and images from the right wing have contributed to the toxic, violent political climate in the US, and now the woman at the centre of it—the former half-term governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin—has stirred the pot. She must retire from public life.
The implicit violence in her rhetoric and images are indisputable to mainstream people. She should have been a statesperson and apologised, but she wouldn’t do that. She could have at least shown some empathy and said, “It’s absurd to say that images I posted or words that I said incited violence, but I’ve nevertheless decided to avoid them in the future.” But she couldn’t even manage that. No, instead, she went on the attack, denied everything, ducked responsibility and ended up looking like the worst kind of craven politician covering her butt.
But that wasn’t the worst of it.
In her attack, Palin said her critics were engaged in a “blood libel” against her. That phrase has a horrible historic meaning: Christians claimed Jews used the blood of Christian babies and children to make matzos for Passover or for use in other religious ceremonies. The origins of the blood libel extend back to the Middle Ages, but some segments of Christianity still persist in the libel.
Either Sarah Palin didn’t know what that phrase means, in which case she’s an idiot, or she knew and used it anyway as a coded message to her supporters, in which case she’s far worse than merely an idiot.
No matter how you look at it, Sarah Palin has long since gone too far. It’s time for her to exit the public stage and leave politics to responsible people.
7 comments:
as the article in truthout says: "Poor, poor Sarah." She's actually playing the victim card in all of this.
It's the eternal question with Sarah Palin: is she just clueless or outright malicious? Or a dangerous combo of both? Either way, yeah, she needs gone. By which I mean retired, nothing imprecatory implied, because I have a heart.
Roger: That's it exactly. In her "blood libel" video she never mentioned the name of a single victim because, in her warped mind, Sarah Palin is the only victim.
Seawall: I deliberately chose the word "retire" because I knew that Palin's fans try to spin everything criticism into some sort of death threat. Right now, they're busy trolling Twitter for any ill-timed, poorly expressed or bad attempt at humour in order to "prove" that the left is "worse" than Palin in invoking violence.
But, you're right: We have a heart. Despite constant provocation and incitement from the far right, we just don't think or respond like they do. I wish no harm whatsoever on Palin, I just want her to retire from the politics and leave it to the grown-ups and mentally stable.
She won't of course. But yeah, I really didn't think anybody could be worse than Bush II, but honestly, she appears primally to the most venal, ignorant and nasty-minded parts of the American psyche. It's a real horror and while I hate Hitler comparisons I have to admit I can see something similar in the naked way she manipulates fear and prejudice to serve her whims.
What a contrast between her rant and Obama's beautiful, sad speech.
I agree, but I wonder how much of it is good luck and how much is good planning? Reports are that she's heavily shielded by Todd and a small cadre of loyalists (sycophants?), so it seems to me that here manipulative politics may be the result of a far right that knows how to use what she gives them.
In any case, you're right: She won't retire.
Once again Palin shows she is unable to take any sort of responsibility for her actions. Perhaps responsibility is too strong of a word. But certainly she could have said something along the lines of while at the time I didn't think the targets on the map were over the line I do now.
But then again they were surveyor marks and some outside consultant did the ad anyway so how could Paling and company possibly be responsibly for anything.
Yeah, Sarah's never responsible for any of her mistakes. Which is why she's so awful.
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