The Treacher Thesis

June 13 2009, 20:35:06 UTC 2 years ago

I think I need to sit on my porch in the old wooden rocking chair my grandfather carved and think of simpler times when I had no idea who Sarah Palin was.

taliesinsmuse

June 13 2009, 21:29:21 UTC 2 years ago

Sarah Palin is an opportunistic moron who can't be bothered to at least have someone else check her facts, if she can't do it herself, before she starts spewing her ignorant rhetoric.

The fact of the matter is, Sarah is a hypocrite, supporting abstinence only sex education while her own daughter proves that this doesn't work (provided, of course, that the policies Palin supports for other people's children are also valued in her own home). Yet she still insists this was not the norm. When her hypocrisy, and the error in her own judgment, is pointed out in a satirical fashion, she gets all up in arms. Okay then... stop insinuating the president is not an American citizen, and we'll stop insinuating your daughter is a tramp, according to your system of beliefs.

I really can't wrap my mind around far-right thought.

Anonymous

June 13 2009, 21:46:56 UTC 2 years ago

Wait, you can get pregnant without having sex?

So, abstinence *can* make you pregnant? I thought sex made people pregnant. Like Barack Obama's mom, Letterman's baby momma, and Edwards's mistress. I haven't ever gotten pregnant when I wasn't having sex. Not even once.

But, then, I'm not up on the latest sex ed talking points. Still, I think you shouls check your thesis. Sex causes pregnancy.Even safe sex! Do you believe differently?

I can't really wrap my mind around ... whatever kind of thought you had.

As for the president: dude, he was running for president. That kind of makes him political fair game. There are a lot of Birthers out there, but I don't think Palin was one of them. So, some Joe Blogger spreads rumors about the president's birthplace, and that makes it okay for you to call a teenage girl a tramp for having sex.

Not that there's anything wrong with teenage sex! That's the whole point of sex ed! But because you dislike her mother and someone unrelated started rumors about a guy who has nothing to do with Bristol (or Willow) Palin, it is okay for you to call them both dirty whores and for people to wear t-shirts that call their mom a c*nt.

No offense, dude, but you really suck as a person. And you're not very logical.

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

June 13 2009, 21:36:42 UTC 2 years ago

Also, he hasn't apologized to the 14-year-old girl who, purportedly, was only in the way

But so what, right?

Anyway, I realize you don't like me because you disagree with me, but I really am a fan. I even liked you on Kidnapped! So, no hard feelings, and keep up the good work.

Comic Book Guy, AKA Jim Treacher

June 13 2009, 23:06:57 UTC 2 years ago

Re: Also, he hasn't apologized to the 14-year-old girl who, purportedly, was only in the way

He spent eight minutes clarifying that he wasn't talking about her, he was talking about someone else. What's there to apologize about, sir?

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

craigjclark

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

drd2001

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

stickeenotes.wordpress.com

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

June 13 2009, 21:44:16 UTC 2 years ago

Letterman

I love freedom of speech. My fondness extends well beyond that of most, in that I actually embrace a belief in near absolute free speech. However, I still have a sense of decency. Mocking groups and public figures is fine by me. One issue where I personally draw the line is the targeting or use of children in order to mock and/or deride an adult.

Recently David Letterman decided to target Sarah Palin on his show. He chose to use her daughter in his sad attempts at humor. Letterman’s first attempt is far from shocking given his clear disdain for Governor Palin. Letterman said,

“One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game, during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.“

Sadly, the child who accompanied Sarah Palin to the Yankee game was her 14 year old daughter, Willow. She will now get to go home and deal with awkward looks from classmates and cruel snickers. Letterman may have been targeting Bristol Palin, who is barely 18, but his joke landed squarely on Willow. Letterman implied, through his joke, that Willow was a slut who was statutorily raped by the Yankees star. Willow Palin never asked for the public spotlight and did nothing to deserve such treatment from Letterman. She’s just a 14 year old girl trying to live her life. Say what you will about her mother, she’s an adult and a public figure, but leave her child out of the attacks.

Letterman was not satisfied with his initial foray into humor at the expense of a 14 year old girl. He raised the stakes by yet again referencing Governor Palin’s daughter. Letterman’s remark, “The toughest part of her visit was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter” is yet another thinly veiled slight against a 14 year old child. Spitzer is notorious for his relationship with prostitutes and to imply that he’d be after Willow is to imply that she is in fact a prostitute. She’s a 14 year old child.

Letterman’s jokes crossed the line of decency in my judgment. To use, and harm, a child for a cheap joke is rather disgusting. I embrace edgy humor to a greater degree than most, but taking shots at children is where I draw the line. I’m going to violate my own ethical beliefs and venture into Letterman territory in order to make a point. I don’t do this lightly. I do this in order to make clear to Letterman and his defenders, just how abhorrent his actions truly were.

"So David Letterman is in trouble with his wife again. It turns out he let Michael Jackson baby sit his son, Harry. Now Dave has to figure out how to get Boone’s Farm and semen out of a little league uniform."

That joke is disgusting and I hope it doesn’t extend beyond this page. But, though my joke may seem worse than Dave’s, it’s actually better. I’m not implying that little Harry is a whore or slut. I’m implying that Dave is an idiot and Michael Jackson is a pedophile. But none the less, Harry is tainted by my joke. A 5 year old boy is implied to have suffered something horrible for the sake of a joke aimed at Letterman.

There’s a reason we expect people to leave the kids of celebrities and politicians alone. They didn’t sign up for the harsh treatment of public life. They have their entire lives ahead of them and they don’t deserve to be targeted by powerful adults. She is a 14 year old girl with her whole life ahead of her. She’s going to have a difficult enough time growing up in her current circumstances. She doesn’t need David Letterman’s help in making her life even harder.

June 13 2009, 23:18:39 UTC 2 years ago

Re: Letterman

Or if you're just a casual observer you assume it's about Palin's daughter who got pregnant because most people didn't know the details of which daughter Sarah Palin went to the game with. Now I'll give the benefit of the doubt that Letterman may have known which daughter it was because that is a possibility. However, I do believe the joke was told in a way that would lead most people to believe it was about Bristol. If you watch a lot of opening monologues on late night shows you'll notice there's a lot that appeals to a broad audience; jokes that deal with generic details most people are familiar with. I see no reason to believe that this joke is contrary to this trend and is meant to address Bristol. I think Letterman just left out her name because many Americans wouldn't know her name and would only know that Sarah Palin has a daughter who was impregnated at an early age.
If it helps my case at all, I'm not a Letterman fan and I find don't the jokes in question funny.

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

mondragon

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

June 13 2009, 21:55:24 UTC 2 years ago

Just so I have this straight

Dave makes a joke about Palin's daughter getting knocked up at a baseball game.

* "He's talking about the daughter who had a kid last year but was nowhere near the baseball game" = the obvious and undeniable conclusion that any reasonable person would come to, and btw Palin sucks.
* "He's talking about the daughter who was actually at the baseball game" = ZOMFG ILLOGICAL CRAZYTALK WINGNUTS!!!!!!11

Is that about right?

mimitabu

June 13 2009, 22:50:06 UTC 2 years ago

Re: Just so I have this straight

yup, that's right. talk show hosts don't make up accusations, they take news stories and turn them into jokes/insults. for example, he wouldn't make a joke about bristol or willow being murderers, because there's no accepted joke about them murdering. however, if he makes a joke about promiscuity, it's a safe bet he's talking about the daughter that got pregnant, not the child. anyone incapable of coming to this conclusion lacks the social/mental acumen even to watch and understand talk shows, which is pretty heartbreaking.

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

mimitabu

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

June 13 2009, 22:40:53 UTC 2 years ago

If we ever decide to be honest with ourselves (but this is the Internet), we will realize that the joke was not about Willow, or Bristol or any other pregnant teenager. The joke was about their irresponsible parents: the Palins and anyone else who teaches abstinence-only sexual "education". It is also to a far lesser extent about Alex Rodriguez's personal indiscretions (which we aren't offended by at all for some reason).

Anonymous

June 13 2009, 23:06:24 UTC 2 years ago

Sarah Palin also believes in teaching birth control

So that would make her both abstinence-only and abstinence-and-other-stuff-only, DOES NOT COMPUTE

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

outintospace

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

outintospace

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

berkeley314567

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

firmw2

June 13 2009, 23:53:42 UTC 2 years ago

Wow dude, incredible.

June 14 2009, 00:15:09 UTC 2 years ago

2012 is going to be even weirder than 2008. By then, the Willow Palin jokes may have some basis. Such is the life of reality-show gubmint folks.

Anonymous

June 14 2009, 01:11:03 UTC 2 years ago

Some basis?

How do you figure? And how do you figure that's okay?

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

June 14 2009, 00:29:46 UTC 2 years ago

And all this is distracting from the better show, The Tonight Show with Conan O'brien. (No I'm not a Dave hater, just always loved Conan)

xoynx

June 14 2009, 01:03:37 UTC 2 years ago

Conan peaked with "The Simpsons."

craigjclark

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

xoynx

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

jasonbr

June 14 2009, 02:24:25 UTC 2 years ago

First of all -- When someone remarks about Sarah Palin's daughter I think ONLY of Bristol (as do most people, I bet). I didn't see any pictures of them at the ballgame but did hear about the Palin family being in New York. So, the joke worked fine with me. Yay for me.

jasonbr

June 14 2009, 02:26:54 UTC 2 years ago

I am confused and amused at the 'rules' of comedy the right-wingers follow.
Palin also said the "Bought makeup at Bloomingdales to update her 'slutty flight attendant' look" was stupid because she didn't even go to Bloomingdales. Seriously.

jasonbr

June 14 2009, 02:29:16 UTC 2 years ago

I can't explain it but I've stopped wanting to have some kind of sex with most of these people : (

June 14 2009, 02:44:17 UTC 2 years ago

I can fully understand why people are furious with Letterman. Letterman's humor is easy to misinterpret when you lack the ability to mentally digest his multi-layered brand of satire and sarcasm.

Letterman jokes always hit on two levels, where the subject isn't always the target. These aren't jokes about Bristol. These are jokes about A-Rod and Spitzer. And they're hilarious if you're smart enough to get them.

But if you're more of a, say, Leno kind of guy, then this stuff is going to go right over your head and piss you off because you're used to the one-dimensional face-value digs that Leno makes.

The great part about being smart enough to get Letterman jokes is that outraged citizens just become an extension of his humor by virtue of the fact that they can't get it. And it's okay to laugh at those people because they're hysterical, too.

Anonymous

June 14 2009, 08:22:00 UTC 2 years ago

Please don't ever have children.

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

chapel976

June 14 2009, 02:51:36 UTC 2 years ago

freedomofspeechmode onI kinda wished some rat bastard yankee had felt up the 14 year old...freedomofspeechmode off

just sayin ;)

fuck Palin. I'm so sick of her Bobby's Mom Voice.

June 14 2009, 03:55:23 UTC 2 years ago

I always thought she sounded more like Principal Victoria from South Park.

"I'm just concerned for your little well-being, there!"

ladypeculiar

June 14 2009, 03:42:50 UTC 2 years ago

The thing is . . . it's a tasteless joke regardless of which daughter Letterman made the joke about. It's a very cheap shot, and his cheap shots are generally better phrased than this one.

Palin remains a disgusting and hypocritical figure who uses pot-shots made about her family to gain media coverage, which is similarly tasteless.

I think nobody wins this time around.

June 14 2009, 05:18:36 UTC 2 years ago

Oh whatever. Who are you to make the final decision that the joke is cheap and tasteless?

I thought the joke was clever and hysterical, as did Letterman's audience, and all the other reasonably intelligent people in the public who have a basic understanding of satire.

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

drd2001

June 14 2009, 04:08:09 UTC 2 years ago

Personally, I just took it as a bad joke (kind of like the bad joke McCain played when he picked Palin to be his running mate). I think Letterman and other comediens should try to not make jokes about the kids of such public figures (unless the kid goes out and does something stupid to warrant media attention). It's not the kid's fault that they have ended up in the public eye this way. The same goes for the kids of Michael Jackson and Britany Spears. I feel sorry for them. They don't deserve these jokes.

At the same time, I feel Palin needs to quit beating this dead horse and lighten up. She knows full well how the joke was intended and what it meant. It will not serve her well as as she tries to whore up to the media again with this as her soapbox. And the fact that she has chosen to latch onto the term "statutory rape" (which she uses ad nausium) amuses me since I doubt she used it when Bristol was having under age sex.

The worst is yet to come, however, as we shall see in 2012.

June 14 2009, 05:20:41 UTC 2 years ago

Well of course Palin knows how the joke was intended and what it meant. She's counting on her army of satire-impaired followers who are incapable of getting the joke to prop up a new crusade for her.

This is what makes her worse than Hitler.

berkeley314567

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

Anonymous

2 years ago

link
Collapse
Expand
New comment

youngfreud

June 14 2009, 07:06:08 UTC 2 years ago

So, Palin had a daughter that was dating a guy over 18? Doesn't that make her a bad parent?

(sorry, I'm a little biased)

June 14 2009, 07:43:13 UTC 2 years ago

Sounds about right to me.

xzarakizraiia

June 14 2009, 08:48:14 UTC 2 years ago

You don't have to be a conservative to think it was a tasteless joke- it was. It bothers me that in liberal circles, slut-shaming is a-okay if it's against the opposition. It doesn't matter which daughter the joke was about, it was misogynist and I don't think it's a bad thing to point that out.

However, that the conservatives only care about misogyny and rape jokes (whether it is a rape joke or not) when it benefits them politically pisses me the fuck off. I don't know who the hell this blogger is, so maybe he isn't like the many conservatives I've met who are dismissive of rape--I'm giving him as an individual the benefit of the doubt--but I wouldn't be surprised if plenty of the people raising these 'concerns' are hypocritical fuckwads.