The response by conservative cultural and political writers to the subject of race and gender at last night’s 87th Academy Award ceremony was, to put it lightly, less than ideal…. When racism failed, conservatives had some other old saws to rely on. National Review’s Jonah Goldberg apparently didn’t get Reese Witherspoon’s memo that people should focus on more than a woman’s appearance, as he spent much of the evening commenting on exactly that[.]
As a rule, I don’t watch movie, TV, or music awards shows. I hate the idea of art being reduced to a competition, so my personal protest is to avoid the shows altogether. Judging by the response, I’d say I’m a pronounced minority…but I digress.
I know little about what actually transpired at the Oscars (and care even less), but I was struck by the (typically and unfailingly) mean-spirited and self-superior tone struck by several Conservative pundits and their knuckle-dragging acolytes. That the sum total of the childish maroons was almost exclusively White and male is indicative of something not so very positive. When you behave like the nerdy kids who couldn’t get a date in high school to save their lives, you can’t expect to be taken seriously. Apparently too enthralled by their own self-ascribed brilliance and cultural cachet to recognize that they have nothing of value to add to the public discourse, they held forth anyway. As a very wise man once said, ‘Tis better to be suspected a fool than to tap away at the keyboard of your laptop, hit ENTER, and remove any lingering doubt.
To decry racism by highlighting the ugliness of your own racism is prima facie absurd. I’m not certain what the trolls thought they were accomplishing or who they felt were more “deserving” of awards. It’s quite possible, perhaps even likely, that they were simply doing what they do in order to garner attention. It seems they hate being ignored more than being despised, and so they attract attention to themselves in the only way they know how: by being dicks.
Mama must be SO proud….
When they became bored with racism, the trolls moved on to sexism, proving that they despise ANYONE not White, male, and Conservative. I can’t imagine why they’d think that displaying their racism, sexism, and all around jackass-level ignorance for all to see seems like an acceptable way to attract attention. Then again, these are people who believes that the rules they expect others to live by don’t apply to them, and that being White and male allows them the right to pass judgment on those they deem “less than.”
While I’m normally loathe to give trolls my time, energy, and column inches, I can’t help but wonder why the idea of treating people with respect and dignity seems so foreign to them. Do they just lack the maturity to deal with the world with anything more than an 8th-grade boys locker room mentality? Did their parents never teach them the Golden Rule? Were their childhoods so traumatic that they’ve resolved to assuage their hurt and anger by taking it out on others in order that they, for at least a little while, might feel superior and important? Or do they really, really just need to get laid?
Those who feel it appropriate to engage in sexist and racist ad hominem attacks do nothing to advance their cause or to change hearts and minds. All they do is preach to a choir comprised of angry, generally poorly educated White males who can only feel complete or relevant by tearing other people down.
Pretty pathetic, don’tchathink?
