From Doug Molitor at THE HUFFINGTON POST:
Fox News’s Megyn Kelly thinks cops pepper-spraying unresisting prisoners isn’t so bad, because after all, it’s “a food product, essentially.”
My advice to Megyn would be first, to spell her name with a normal vowel.
…snip…
My second bit of advice would be not to eat out for a while. Definitely not at any restaurant where the waiters aren’t her fellow one-percenters.
Original images of Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown
[T]hese are exceptionally emotional times. As might be expected in a country whose populace is just becoming aware that their local peace officers can be turned into corporate goons who cheerfully gas grandmas and pregant women.
Even if her favorite eatery does not give Megan (see? I’m helping her get over herself) a painful lesson in just how bad that nasty tongue of hers can burn, she may find herself unwittingly ingesting any number of unsavory “food products.”
And then there’s her partner in crimes against humanity, Bill O’Wrongly (I’m pretty sure I have that name right… anyway, who bothers to fact-check anymore?) Bill, taking time off from his usual job of making viewers less informed than they were before they turned on his show, was the soul of fairness:
“I don’t think we have the right to Monday-morning quarterback the police.”
Well, you didn’t exactly need slo-mo to analyze that play. Office Pike (there’s a Dickensian name for a thug cop, isn’t it?) waddled down the line of unresisting students and carefully sprayed an agonizing, blistering bio-weapon all over them.
Exactly what extenuating circumstance does Bill imagine might excuse this calm, deliberate sadism?
…snip…
Of course, had the police looked cross-eyed at a Tea Party protest, we might have heard a different tune coming out of Billo.
HYSTERICAL RAISINS 
you really didn’t think i’d stop with just one post about this subject, didja kids?
It’s a high value topic… Like… let’s say… $16 muffins…
they’re more expensive when they get stale and they can do some damage when you throw them at people.
Nope. Just for that, I’m blogging my reblog of yesterday’s image.
Pepper spray as a vegetable product: fat-free or fact-free?
😀
…standing alone in the living room applauding…
hello brianwestnbye,
welcome to the raisin! 😀
i’m curtseying right now in response to your applause. you are very kind.
i was just at your blog, and your lovely post about visiting your grandmother in brooklyn made me nostalgic for the days we’d drive down to the bronx to visit my grandparents (though we drove from a different direction than you did). i did have grandparents in brooklyn, too, but those visits were few and far between and far less memorable.
Ya tryin’ ta make me bawl ova heah?!?!? (That’s my futile attempt at phonetic Brooklynese) Thank you so much. So glad I could raise such nostalgia for you. I try my best every Monday and Thursday. Come on back!
at last, an accent i kin unnerstand! i definitely will be back, but you should some over here and remind me! 😉
Where’s the outrage? Now we have shoppers using the caustic spray to gain an advantage in the fight for merchandise at the Black Friday sales along with store security using it on a mass of unarmed shoppers. This as an assault and should be prosecuted as such.
I hope she does find herself unwittingly ingesting any number of unsavory “food products.” And maybe some ‘nudges’ by police batons would change that term to one more accurate.
i’m with you. where is the outrage? certainly not on faux news. if teabaggers had been assaulted with pepper spray and billy clubs, faux news would have been tearing up the airwaves with talk of the socialist cops and the unions they work for.
What I want for Christmas is someone giving the Prince of Tides the pepperspray experience on video.
http://www.change.org/petitions/fox-news-anchor-eat-or-drink-a-full-dose-of-pepper-spray-on-national-television
yeah, after all:
“That just burns your eyes, right?”
I got a kick out of the fun twitter had at Kelly’s expense. Here’s another funny: http://underthemountainbunker.com/2011/11/23/the-megyn-kelly-meme/
😆 Awesome
Why am I sitting here flashing back to “My Fair Lady”, where Audrey Hepburn (in thickest Cockney accent) sings “Just You Wait, Henry Higgins”?
Something like:
“You’re a nitwit, Megyn Kelly, you’re a twit.”
“And you’re head is full of nothing but pure *&@#!”
“You are such a total airhead/I would ear that you are brain-dead,”
“You’re a nitwit, Megyn Kelly, you’re a twit!”
I really hate you, Nonnie, for sticking that in my head! 😉 😀
there’s a thin line between love and hate, john. ♥
a leg of lamb is a food product, too. wonder if Megyn would mind getting smacked in the chops with one?
😆 smacked in the chops with chops! this is why i adore you so, fotc! 😆
She should volunteer to be waterboarded.
Er, I meant pepper-sprayed!
She should volunteer for one or the other as to the MSM neither is very dangerous (and the latter might provide some nutrition!).
Love you!
Suzan
someone should offer to give a substantial amount of money to her favorite charity if she would agree to be sprayed in the face with pepper spray on the air. make it enough so that she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. be seen as the stupid hypocrite she is or as a selfish bitch who won’t suffer a little bit for a very good cause.
Didn’t someone make that offer to Hannity with waterboarding?
just like the other talking bobbleheads, she’ll never subject herself to anything that might even mess up her hair or smudge her lipstick. ♥ you, too, suzan! 😀
I will defend to my dying breath Shepard Smith on Fox News!! Shepard Smith IS Fox News! There is more to Fox than Sean Hannity and O’Reilly (who is far more benign than Hannity). I’ve heard Megyn many times on The Factor (before I got sick of her machine-gun speech) and she is a fair-minded individual. Honestly believe she is being unfairly maligned (and I will defend Megyn [and Bret Baier and James Rosen] to my dying breath). Keeping it honest!
what’s unfair? she said something really stupid, and people are pointing it out and having a bit of fun with it. you can defend her all you want, but she’s a twit.
I like Shepard, too. I will always respect him for fighting for the 9/11 first responders and taking other controversial stands which got him criticized by his fellow right-wingers.
I’ve also watched a few of the Megyn Kelly interviews and think that she is a pitbull-like attack dog. No, she is not evil, but she is definitely mean and not fair-minded. And in my personal opinion, unworthy of being grouped with Shepard Smith.
Um, there is NOTHING benign about someone who suggests that a fifteen year old boy “enjoyed” being kidnapped and serially raped because he didn’t have to go to school, as O’Reilly did. I’m a centrist, and I believe left-wing media bias is nicely counterbalanced by right-wing media bias. Nor do I mistake Hannity and O’Reilly for news broadcasters rather than opinionists. But don’t even think about white-washing O’Reilly as “benign.”
as i said in the long-ass comment at the bottom, i don’t think dr. tiller’s family would describe bill0 as benign. i don’t think he’s evil. i think he can’t live without attention, and he’ll say anything to get it. he doesn’t give a thought as to how it might impact anyone else.
While checking out at my local drug store years ago, I eyed a display of those little keychain pepper sprayers, the ones designed to stop men from having “surprise sex”. I squirted the tiniest amount on my finger and gave it a whiff…It was beyond awful! Good thing they never used this stuff at ‘bagger events. They have guns!
anyone who has accidentally gotten a bit of pepper in their eye (or nose or mouth) can attest to the fact that it burns like crazy, and the pepper you use for cooking is way less hot than that in pepper spray.
“Unfairly maligned?” Seriously? Oh, dear gawd! This attitude of defending the indefensible is the depressing, destructive kind of thing going on in the US right now. It’s all about my side vs. your side – what falls to the sidelines is standing up for what is right and condemning the wrong. The inability to denounce behavior because it’s coming from “my side” is a path to certain destruction for our society. Losing sight of what’s clearly wrong and despicable and refusing to speak out against it is that much closer to walking away, saying “I won’t get involved,” when you see someone being beaten or robbed.
I was gonna let it rest (really!). I’ve worked in psychiatry for decades. I know evil. I‘ve interviewed and treated evil and I abhor evil. In the late 1500s, early 1600s Elizabeth Báthory (and collaborators) tortured and killed over 600 peasant girls in Hungary. Elizabeth was particularly savage and is said to have chewed the skin off of the young girls’ faces and arms in addition to other unfathomable mutilation. That is evil. The Green River Killer is evil. Jerry Sandusky choking a young boy by shoving his penis down his throat is evil. Bernie Madoff is evil. Having differing political viewpoints is not evil. Megyn Kelly is not coming from ‘my side’ because I don’t have a side. I swing both ways (and didn’t I read recently that she comes from a ‘blue’ family?), but I do admit to being turned off by the far-far left and the far-far right. She is not going to torture my puppy (if I had a puppy), break into my home, abuse my kids or slap me silly in public. I respect her views because I have watched enough of her on TV to assess her character. Megyn Kelly is not evil. If you want to get intimate with evil read some Ann Rule crime books or visit a forensic psychiatric unit. Megyn Kelly will start to look peachy (and she is!).
OK, I’ll bite.
I don’t think anyone called her evil. But evil is not the discussion here. Sure, the whole your-side/my-side thing gets a bit vitriolic but there is something else here that upsets people. Susan mentioned waterboarding upthread and it is relevant. Why? Because there has been a disconcerting mentality prevailing for the last few years that says we can minimize violence against people we don’t agree with. That has led to an erosion of principle that many of us hold dear that it’s NOT OK to torture, it’s NOT OK to attack peaceful protesters and it’s NOT OK to use violence to get your point across. Lumping that discussion in with real evil is a bit specious, in my humble opinion. We’re talking about the defending the indefensible. Not evil.
That’s my .02 cents..
well said, jeb.
Good for you, EHersh for being able to define “evil.” As random as that was. I doubt seriously that you don’t have a side, either. You can’t malign Kelly’s comment because that’s the kind of self-indulgent thinking that allows a person to manage to stay on one side at the same time appearing to seem so generous in spirit – yet, it’s a false tolerance – this not being ready or willing to denounce foolish, insipid and ignorant statements by people who act as thought leaders. I denounce outrageous, intolerant, ridiculous statements whether they come from liberals, conservatives or independents. I don’t need your condescending book recommendations either, nor do I need to visit a forensic psychiatric unit to know evil.
C’mon, SDS, do we really need to go there? A large part of the political problems currently IS the use of hyperbole, with the GOP claiming the Dems want to take away everybody’s money a la socialism, and the Dems saying the GOP are uber-conservative whack jobs. There’s plenty of grey area in the middle, and though Megyn Kelly may say some REALLY dumb things, I really doubt she’s of a level of evil equal to Hitler or Pol Pot. And Elizabeth was just trying to introduce those levels of grey. Besides, a wise person accepts input from ALL sides of the spectrum, even those he doesn’t agree with, so that he (or she) can attempt to defend his position with facts, rather than opinion. I really doubt Elizabeth was trying to talk down to you, she was simply trying to give you an alternate viewpoint.
I might not agree with her all the time, but I’m willing to listen, and respond POLITELY. I would ask the same of you. Disagree all you want, but keepit civil, please?
For gawd’s sake, John, point me to the place in any of my comments that included the word, “evil.” And wow, you managed to include Hitler and Pol Pot in your response! Why do people always bring them up to make some kind of point of comparison when no comparison is merited? As far as my comments not being civil – spare me your lecture. I didn’t use ad hominen attacks – I criticized a style of thinking that is very prevalent in our society – the inability or lack of desire that too many people display in denouncing what is distasteful and wrong – it’s what I find wrong with strict party alignment and the weight that so many people give to news entertainment folks on the left or right. And, Elizabeth was being condescending in her last sentence – but go ahead and stand up for her.
“Condescending attitude” is an attack term. And I am standing up for civility, especially toward a person who has been attacked on this site before. And in your haste to trample over my request for civility, you COMPLETELY missed the fact I was using Hitler and Pol as comparison points. They are people that vastly more people are aware of then they are of even Megyn Kelly.
Okay, now you can dump your crap on me…..
(Sorry, Nonnie, but I don’t appreciate “holier-than-thou” types.)
john, (in my best jon stewart voice when he tells us to meet him at camera 3) meet me at the bottom of the page.
sds, (in my best jon stewart voice when he tells us to meet him at camera 3) meet me at the bottom of the page.
(in my best jon stewart voice when he tells us to meet him at camera 3) meet me at the bottom of the page.
Anyone who wants to line up w Megs for a sampling of this food product can be my guest.
I went to the Sabre law enforcement pepper spray web site.
check out the 1st video:
http://www.sabrered.com/servlet/the-template/SABRELawEnforcementDivisionDefenseCatalog/Page
They say Tabasco red pepper (food product) has .02 capsicinoids
Sabre tactical pepper spray has 1.33%
“When you need real stopping power, you need more than spicy food”
is their product pitch!
They go on to say the health effects are temporary. But let’s face it, temporarily not breathing can be a problem, Eh??
Ten (10) most common effects one may experience after having been contaminated by OC sprays:
Swelling of Mucous Membranes of Eyes, Nose & Throat
Nasal & Sinus Discharge
Coughing
Shortness of Breath
Drying of the Eyes
Involuntary Eye Closure
Painful Burning of the Skin
Analgesic Effect
Hyperventilation & Potential Increase in Blood Pressure
Psychological Effects: Fear, Anxiety & Panic
Some re-experience the effects several hours later. Full decontamination occurs after the capsaicinoids are removed from the eyes, pores and outer skin.
Moving on to points 9 & 10, the effects of pepper spray are often quite intense which can cause fear of the unknown, anxiety and panic to take place. These psychological effects can cause hyperventilation and a temporary increase in blood pressure.
the cops don’t have a doctor along to examine people before they’re pepper sprayed. it’s not always, or even usually, apparent when someone has asthma or some kind of lung disorder. unless there’s an imminent danger, there’s no reason to use something like pepper spray.
what John E said //we can minimize violence against people we don’t agree with//
absolutely. Teabaggers extoll the virtue of ‘a second amendment solution’ and then use apologetic balderdash to minimize gross conduct against unresisting students. …. this is well, the beginning of evil… opening the door, saying it is “OK”. O’Reilly and whats-her-name….wallowed in gross misstatement…. Food Product indeed…. it is monitored by the EPA, not the FDA…. and any clown could have found out simply by looking. The Evil lies within a conceit that says, … it is ok to use violence when we disagree. kudos John
exactly, jimm. diminishing it makes it okay, and it’s never okay to pepper spray peaceful protesters who are not a danger to anyone. it really is that simple.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission regulates the labeling of OC spray as a hazardous substance under the Federal Hazardous Substance Act. A prominent and conspicuous warning stating the principal hazard, precautionary measures to take when using the product, and first aid measures to be used should appear on the spray.
Although considered a less-than-lethal agent, it has been deadly in rare cases, and concerns have been raised about a number of deaths where being pepper sprayed may have been a contributing factor.
For those with asthma, taking other drugs, or subject to restraining techniques which restrict the breathing passages, there is a risk of death. The Los Angeles Times reported in 1995 at least 61 deaths associated with police use of pepper spray since 1990 in the USA.[7] The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) documented 27 people in police custody who died after exposure to pepper spray in California since 1993.
the same with tasers. seemingly healthy people have died after being tasered. unless someone is a danger to others, there are better ways of subduing them than using pepper spray or tasers. that’s the lazy cop’s way. of course, there are situations where that kind of force is warranted, but they’re pretty rare.
oy! i step away from the computer for a little while, and this is what happens? what am i gonna do with you kids?
i really dislike stepping into the middle of other people’s arguments, but here i go. first of all, elizabeth is fully aware that there are no fans of faux news (and rethugs) here. she knows i can’t stand any of the people on that channel, and she doesn’t expect any posts here lauding anyone connected to that network. i applaud her for speaking her mind when she knows none of the other raisinettes will be seconding what she says. elizabeth is very welcome here. she’s not one of those trolls who drops a turd in someone else’s punchbowl and then disappears. she sticks around and explains why she feels how she does. things get heated at times, but you have to be prepared for that when you know that nobody is going to agree with you. i hope elizabeth is not insulted when people get a bit angry in response. i honestly don’t believe any of the comments have been an attack on her personally. wrong does not equal stupid. we disagree with elizabeth on some things, but we all know that she’s an intelligent woman with a good heart. she watched faux news, so she probably has a different view of the personalities there than the rest of us. we watch the videos of the stupid and hateful and irresponsible things they say and do. elizabeth said that bill0 does a lot of stories on abused kids. i trust that she’s telling the truth. maybe that’s why she might look at bill0 differently than the rest of us. when i see him, i see someone who sexually harassed and stalked a female underling. i see a petty, nasty, self-centered asswipe who will do or say anything as long as it keeps the spotlight on him. i see someone who has little regard for the truth. i see someone who turns off a debating opponent’s microphone, because he’s not very smart, because he’s a bully, and because he’s a coward. i doubt that Dr. Tiller’s family considers him “benign.” however, like i said, i only see him at his worst. if i could fight the nausea long enough to watch him for a few months, maybe i might see something redeeming in him. we’ll never know, because i will not watch him for an entire show, let alone a few months. as for megyn kelly, the same applies. i don’t know her very well, but from what i’ve seen, she’s bill0 lite in a dress. she’s right, everyone else is wrong, and if you disagree, she’ll cut off your microphone. i don’t like her attitude, delivery, or employer. there’s an astounding lack of empathy and fairness at faux news that i can’t get past, and i won’t try. i no longer watch cnn, because i think the quality of that network has gone into the toilet. that said, i have never seen any anchor on that channel turn off someone’s microphone, because s/he disagreed. i’ve seen cnn and msnbc and current apologize for mistakes and for going over the top at times. that never happens at faux. they’re always right, even when they’re wrong (note to self: email roger ailes, and tell him you have a new slogan for the network).
but enough about faux news. the raisinettes know my disdain for it. back to you kids.
it pains me to see you at each others throats. the raisin is supposed to be a place to laugh and have fun. i think we have to keep in mind that typing a comment is not the same as speaking to someone face-to-face. there’s no inflection or nuance. it’s black and white, and sometimes we don’t realize how someone else might read what we say. i read snoring dog studio’s posts every day. she is always respectful and kind. she’s also passionate (which goes along with incredibly artistic, which she also is), and she speaks her mind. i think that her comment was misconstrued by elizabeth as being harsh. i don’t think it was. if we were all in conversation instead of trying to get our ideas across by banging on a keyboard, i think it would have been interpreted the way i read it. she was disagreeing with the description of megyn kelly being “unfairly maligned.” i said the same thing, and i said so but not as thoughtfully as sds did. she continued on with her train of thought, explaining why giving kelly a pass would be wrong. i just called her a twit (kelly, not sds or elizabeth). i don’t want to put words in anyone else’s mouth, but i took what sds said as a general statement that we shouldn’t make excuses for the inanity coming out of the mouths of those in the public, because that leads us all down the wrong road. i didn’t think she was being rude to elizabeth. she was disagreeing, just as i did. like i said before, if this was an in-person conversation, nobody would have batted an eye. i have to say that i honestly didn’t see where sds called anyone evil. nobody accused anyone at faux news of chewing off other people’s body parts or kicking puppies. i think jeb summed it all up very well (thanks jeb!). if we allow remarks like pepper spray being some kind of harmless foodstuff, then we minimize violence.
i think everyone needs to take a deep breath and relax. let’s keep in mind that we were discussing megyn kelly and bill0 and the other at faux news, not each other. let’s not take things personally that weren’t meant as personal attacks.
john, a word of advice–getting in the middle of 2 women arguing? are you crazy? seriously, i honestly have to agree with sds. i didn’t understand the hitler/pol pot point at all. that just goes to show that 2 people can read the same thing and come away with completely different impressions. and that, i suppose, is my point. we shouldn’t jump to conclusions about what someone else said unless we’re sure we know what they meant.
everyone has said that they disagree with those at the very far fringes of each side. why give them what they want then? wouldn’t they love for us all to be at each others’ throats instead of having reasonable, rational conversations? they’re at their happiest when we’re throwing rotten tomatoes at each other rather than finding things that we might agree on.
i’m not very good at peacemaking or peacekeeping. there are lots of thoughts going around in my mind (sorta like the things twirling in hermie’s brain when someone mentions libya), and my fingers are not as quick as my thoughts (though that’s changing at an alarming rate the older i get). i wish we could all sit down together and talk instead of relying on the infernal internets. i would bet that we’d all get along famously, and the things we disagree on would be fodder for laughter rather than vitriol. we won’t all like the same people, places, or things. that doesn’t mean that we’re enemies, just that we’re human, with our own thoughts and dispositions and biases. i dearly hope that everyone buries their respective hatchets so we can start having fun again.
Well said, Nonnie!
thank you, ken. i needed that.
people always say not to take things personally, but it’s difficult not to do so, even on the internets. i just want all the raisinettes to get along. i don’t want them to agree on everything, because that would make life very boring.
Well said My Dear. It’s like I used to try and to get my old man to understand working a the jewelry store: don’t get into personalities with the customers! If there is a problem, hear them out. If they are hostile, retain self control and get them to calmly explain and listen. If their gripe is legit, work it out. If they won’t calm down you can have the cops put them out for disrupting a business (had to do that once). But dear old dad, as so many business owners like to do, would get loose in the mouth real quick, sometimes using very bad words. I would try to tell him that now this person you insulted will tell 10 friends who will tell 10 more each and it makes you seem like the “crooked jeweler”, the last thing you want associated with a small business. One day he pulled a real corker argueing with an offic type girl and said “Lady, I guess you could improve on Jesus Christ”……Were it my store, I would have fired him on the spot.
i have always had quite a temper. i’ve mellowed somewhat in my dotage, but i still have to watch what i say when i’m angry. it’s even more important when the other person can’t see your facial expressions or hear the intonation in your voice. i try to phrase things in a way that won’t be misconstrued, and i try to remember to check what i’ve said before i hit the post button. even with all that, i still put my electronic foot in my mouth too often.
First off, I would like to offer profuse thanks to John for encapsulating and expounding on the ‘evil continuum’…which he accomplished quite eloquently (and thanks for covering my back John, and lending support!). Secondly, I would like to offer profuse apologies to SDS for any perceived tone of condescension in my comment (truly not intended…mea culpa). A young woman and her daughter were recently stoned to death in Afghanistan which is a truly ghastly way to perish. I saw Megyn Kelly take an intellectual stoning and simply couldn’t reconcile the two assaults with the caliber of vitriol. The Howitzer took dead aim at Megyn (based on a clip and not the full context). Concerning the former stoning, I suspect Megyn and SDS are on the same team which made the vitriol all the more astonishing. Pepper spraying students is by no means an innocuous affair, but put on the evil continuum it adds some perspective (which John clearly grasped and elucidated upon). I get the ridicule and lampooning, but I take umbrage at hate directed toward a young lady who would prosecute the hell out of men who would lob stones at ‘adulterous’ women. (Megyn is an attorney/former prosecutor.)
Thank you again nonnie for your detailed response and warm welcome (it is tough being the odd-man-out). I love finding common ground with people (all people!) and found terra firma with something SDS wrote: “it’s what I find wrong with strict party alignment and the weight that so many people give to news entertainment folks on the left or right.” The further you move down the evil continuum, it becomes more apparent we are (at our core) on the same team. That’s why I invoked examples of evil (which John totally ‘got’).
I would make an icon for an olive branch (to SDS), but wordpress is not cooperating. I’m trying hard not to wear out my welcome (I’m still in ‘guest mode’)!
elizabeth, i just read through the comments again, because i wanted to see if there was something there that i missed the first time. to tell you the truth, i still couldn’t figure out where the evil and the evil continuum came into play. i’m not saying that there was no reason to include it, because evidently, john understood exactly where you were coming from. after your latest explanation, i understand it a bit more. that said, when i went back to the original comments with what you just said in mind, it would still be a stretch for me. that’s neither here nor there, but it just goes to show that what someone writes is not necessarily what someone else reads and comprehends. i suspect sds saw what i saw, and john read what you really meant. it’s the nature of communication on the internets. a couple of weeks ago, eleanor of ‘how the hell did i end up here’ was very angry at me after reading a comment i had made. i answered a comment she had made in a post about hermie cain, and i said something derogatory about chimpy, the nickname i always use for dubya. i’ve seen him called that in many corners of the internet. eleanor, being new to the raisin, thought i was talking about president obama, and she lambasted me. she was really pissed. if i had been referring to obama, she would have been absolutely correct for raking me over the coals. i was so distressed. i replied to her and explained who chimpy was, and she was relieved i wasn’t the racist asshole she thought i was, and i was relieved she came back to see my reply so she would know i wasn’t the racist asshole she thought i was. she made an assumption about me based on what she thought i had said, and i made the stupid assumption that she would know whom i was talking about. we both learned a lesson. had that happened in person, as soon as i said chimpy, she would have gotten an alarmed look on her face or immediately asked me whom i was referring to, and the whole mishegas would have been headed off at the pass. we don’t have that luxury on the internets.
moving on to megyn kelly. i have to disagree with your characterization of the raisinettes’ responses about her. we poked fun. she got called a few pretty innocuous names. mostly, we commented on the wrongness of pepper spraying peaceful students, discussed the effects of pepper spray, and belittled her and bill0 for belittling what the students went through. just as the faux news talking heads did with waterboarding, they pooh-poohed the severity of the methods used. they made it sound like it was much ado about nothing, but they don’t have the courage or maybe the intellectual curiosity to actually undergo what they keep saying is merely uncomfortable. i don’t expect talking heads to subject themselves to torture in order to comment on it, but i do expect them to find out what the truth is and report it.
i didn’t see anyone calling for anything horrible to befall megyn kelly. yes, people are saying she should be pepper sprayed, but everyone knows that isn’t going to happen, and they don’t really want it to happen. instead, it’s a snarky way of pointing out her hypocrisy and her belittling of the students who complained after being pepper sprayed. she doesn’t know what it feels like, but they do, so who the hell is she or bill0 to say that it’s really not that big a deal?
as for her being a former prosecutor who wanted to put bad guys away, good for her. however, that doesn’t make her a good person, just as her stupidity about pepper spray doesn’t make her a bad person. the latter does make her wrong, however. i don’t know her personally. maybe if i did, i wouldn’t dislike her. all i can go by is what i see and hear, and from that, i can tell you that i don’t like her. i don’t like her way of speaking (we agree on that), i don’t like her disrespect for those who disagree with her (to the point where she threatens to cut off their microphones), and i don’t like her employers. i don’t like how faux news skews the facts, and i don’t respect her for walking in lockstep with the talking points most of the time. that’s not saying she doesn’t have some redeeming qualities and that doesn’t mean that she’s wrong all of the time.
i honestly don’t see hate and vitriol being directed at her. i see some good-natured ribbing over something she said that was stupid. i see anger directed at the cops who sprayed the kids and the 84-year-old woman and the ones who put 2 veterans in the hospital, one with a head wound and one with a ruptured spleen. i see anger directed at a so-called news station that feeds their viewers bullshit instead of the truth. you have to admit that, had the teabaggers been treated the way the occupy protesters have been treated, the stories on faux news would have looked a lot different.
i’ll stop so that i don’t start repeating myself. instead, i’ll thank you for apologizing to sds (you should stop by her blog and you’ll see what a talented and gentle spirit she really is), and i’ll add that i sincerely hope that you don’t really feel like a “guest.” you’re a raisinette just like the rest of us. we might not agree on everything, and you might have to have a bit of a thick skin once in a while, but i hope you realize that we are disagreeing with you, not attacking you.
Nonnie, you’re one of the most even-handed and funniest people I’ve ever met. And now you’re one of the most thoughtful and gracious. I’m overcome by your generous support. It was completely unexpected and I sincerely thank you for that.
Elizabeth: I accept your gracious apology, I thank you for offering it, and I offer mine to you. More often than not, I’m a mild-mannered commenter. But I’m old enough to know exactly what my buttons are, one of which is the propensity for “news” anchors to spout off vitriol, unfounded accusations and blind ignorance. It bothers me because it only contributes to the foul aroma of hyperbole, insensitivity and intolerance. It passionately bothers me when I think this practice doesn’t matter to others, when it’s not seen as the pernicious thing it really is, whether it comes from Kelly or Bill Maher (whom I intensely dislike) or any talk show personality whether from the right or the left. BUT I MISSED a good opportunity to explain my points in a much calmer manner. I was civil. But I was far from calm and conversant. I hate missing these opportunities. I truly feel that I’ve failed as a communicator when I don’t make my points in a way that fosters conversation. I am sorry, Elizabeth. In time, I hope we’ll see that you and I may have more in common than not; or, at least, we’ll discover it in a way that’s productive for both of us.
What a truly lovely comment SDS! I would make an icon for a box of Valentine’s Day chocolates, but wordpress is not cooperating with that either! Thank you (and more profuse apologies sent your way). I would comment more, but am several hours past my bedtime. nonnie and I keep crazy hours and I think mine are slightly crazier as I ‘time-shift’ forward 18-24 hours every few months…otherwise I wouldn’t get any day work done. It makes me testy at times. I’m sure we have more in common than we both know! Cheers! 🙂
Sorry I am late in getting back to this. More than a little bit of my apparent testiness is caused by my current battle with neighbors. If that leaked into my comments or attitude, than I am most profoundly sorry.
SDS, I meant no personal attack on you initially. I am also dense enough not to remember your gender (I tend to be FAR more kind with the fairer sex). I had simply asked for a little civility and gentility, not having seen condescension in Elizabeth’s comments. I misread your response to me as a belittling lecture which, given the other crap going on in my life, “set me off” so to speak. For that misinterpretation, I am also profoundly sorry.
I hate flame wars for a personal reason. Long before the Internet, they sprang up in a section of sci-fi fandom in which I was involved, and ended up in decades-long friends literally in fistfights. Since that time I’ve tried DESPERATELY to be the peacemaker. I have learned through this, though, that peacemaking on the Net when you’re at war in the real world.
Sorry all around, I promise to be a better boy next time. 😉
i think we were all a bit on edge, john. don’t apologize for trying to make peace or for expecting or wishing for civility and gentility. words are open to interpretation, and all of us saw things a bit differently. try as we might, we sometimes tend to see what we think is between the lines instead of what was actually meant. that will never change, and i think that’s a good thing, because that can sometimes lead to a greater understanding once the dust settles as well as some innovative thinking when we’re lucky. you’re a good man, john erickson. ♥
i thanked you in my response to sds, but i’ll do it again to make sure you see it. thanks for sticking around and thanks for being gracious to me and to sds. ♥
you’re way too kind, sds. i’m not a very good peacemaker, but you don’t have to be when you’re dealing with grown-ups. thanks to you, elizabeth, and john for being so gracious with me and with each other. it would have broken my heart if any of you had left the raisin because of this little kerfuffle.
nobody failed as a communicator; it’s just the nature having a conversation electronically.
♥
…sniff…God Bless Us, Every One… ;P
(In best Curly voice) “Oh,a wiseguy, eh? Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!” 😉
you’re gonna be a feisty little raisinette, aren’t you brian? 😉
for the record, this is pretty unusual. we almost always get along quite well here at raisin ranch.
i will throw in my 2 cents
the problem is when people like Megyn Kelly say things like the pepper spray comment – a LOT of people believe it is true –
while not evil, the stupidity and the irresponsibility of spouting out this (and the tons of other lies perpetuated on Fox – like putting a D after many Rs – ON PURPOSE) – is where the anger is generated from.
any redeeming qualities Kelly or O’reilly might have (Sean Hannity has NONE) – get quickly lost when they ramble on with the lies, the half-truths and the propaganda to not only make a point (Fox is not a news outlet, but an opinion making media vehicle) but actually sway people.
There is a difference – and Fox makes it clear to their viewers they are news, not opinion – while not evil, they are just liars.
the same goes for the left – however the left rarely goes down the hate pipeline to the same extent as Fox does. (putting Glenn Beck on the air is nothing short of allowing stupidity and ignorance to ran rampant on the air)
PS – Rush Limbaugh is pure evil – and you can argue with me all you like – that man should not be allowed on any airways – 1st amendment or not. He is one giant yell of fire in a theatre.
i couldn’t agree more, dcAp, and i definitely could not have said it better or as concisely as you just did.
Elizabeth and John – The best experiences I’ve had online are these – miscommunication that gets ironed out and leaves behind no traces of ill will. I wish more people could have these kinds of experiences. Meeting people like the both of you restores my faith in the ability of humans to be open-minded, open-hearted, and forgiving. Wonderful, meaningful friendships can blossom out of meetings like these. I’m grateful that you two stayed around to talk with me (thank you, nonnie at the virtual camera 3)!
i know what you mean, sds. eleanor (of how the hell did i end up here?) was so mad at me after i replied to one of her comments, because i assumed that she knew whom i was talking about when she didn’t. thankfully, she came back and read my explanation, and we are now the best of buddies. i can’t tell you how glad i am that you, elizabeth, and john were so willing to forgive and move on.
no wonder jon stewart likes to use camera 3. it’s very helpful! 😉
All is resolved! Ponies for everyone!
😀 i’m going to the middle east next to get that all straightened out. 😉
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