Making Fun of the Right
Some of you might be tempted to rubberneck the street brawl, Adam’s Morgan-style, between TNR and Daily Kos. I highly encourage this. Matt Yglesias is even keeping score. But for something a little more edifying from Marty Peretz’s young progressinerds, read Eve Fairbanks’ essay on her experience with conservative dating websites. Oh yes, you will scorn the right, and you will laugh. Also in the amusing stereotypes of southern conservatives department, read David Cross’ Open Letter to Larry the Cable Guy. Cross is cruel, crude, petty, elitist, hateful, unrepentantly vulgar--and one of the funniest stand up comics working today.
posted by Peter @ 6/24/2006 12:53:00 PM
2 Comments:
Interesting blog. I will be visiting it often. Like you I have a morbid fascination with film and love watching, talking, reading and writing about movies. And, I prefer to go to matinees. I, however, can think of nothing more intellectually stultifying than following the dust-up between Marty Peretzzzzz’s gang at TNR and the Kossacks. If this is the battle for the soul of the Democratic Party, then I might opt out entirely and just become a Republican. Their fights tend to have more intellectual heft to them.
I’m not sure terms like “liberal” and “conservative” matter much any more. The Eve Fairbanks thing illustrates that. She is shocked to find that the self-described “conservatives” she surveys don’t conform to her stereotypes. Might I suggest that her experience indicates that there are problems with her view of conservatism and that she could more fruitfully direct her energies toward re-examining her pre-conceptions than putting down her dates’ sartorial preferences. Snark is easy, just plain silly, and not a bit funny any more.
David Cross is indeed a funny guy, and he is also everything else you say he is. That is why I can no longer watch him.
I will, however, be reading you.
This is months later, but your commenters are both on point. The article might have sounded like a funny prank when she first thought of it, but let's face it, her dates were just regular guys looking to meet a nice girl. And then they found out what she'd done. It's funny and all when you read her piece, but when you get a wider view of what actually took place, she doesn't come off ver well.
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