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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Friday, June 01, 2018

Barr and Bee, Sitting in a Tree ...

I consider Donald Trump an authoritarian hellbent on destroying our democratic institutions. I never liked him. But his family is another story. I think most people are disgusted by cheap personal attacks aimed at the family members of prominent people, whether it is Michele Obama or Ivanka Trump. They are often treated unfairly. So certainly, I was disgusted at Samantha Bee's vicious remarks about Ivanka Trump, in which she called her a "feckless c---t."  No woman I know has ever regarded that pejorative as a compliment. The White House is demanding that Bee's show be canceled, and that may be entirely appropriate. But there are differences between what Barr and Bee said.

In both cases, the language used was entirely hateful and vitriolic. These kinds of attacks have increased markedly since Trump became President. It has brought out the worst in a lot of people.

Barr engaged in the same kind of racist rhetoric that has been used since the days of slavery  Her simian comparison is one I've heard too many times about black people  It is an attempt to dehumanize black people in order to justify treating them as inferior.

Bee's remark, which essentially disparages Trump because of her sex, should be offensive to any woman. It is an attempt to objectify them. Donald Trump's remark about women was also disgusting, but he made that in what he thought was a private setting. Bee's bluster was on national TV. Though she herself is a woman, Bee engaged in misogyny.

So we have two entertainers, one conservative and the other liberal, making racist and vulgar sexist remarks for which both apologized

Yesterday, in my post about Barr, I warned a reader that I did not want to discuss Bee and Barr together. I think doing so takes away from the offensive nature of both kinds of attacks. That reader responded with her own vulgarities and attacks.

That's the real problem. We've become an ugly people who somehow think we have the right to shove our hate down everyone's throats. We don't.

Ironically, the theme of yesterday's Mass was love. This passage from Paul was read:
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.
Neither Barr nor bee did a very good job of following this advice. Nor did reader "Jamie Kelton." Nor do I at times.

20 comments:

Trumpster said...
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Trumpster said...

hydrocarbon = hypocrisy apologies, stupid spell checker.

Anonymous said...

Whataboutism, with a healthy dose of unsourced, made up "news". The usual Trump supporter response. "... it has been reported... " Trump's favorite: "Many people are saying ..."

Anonymous said...

It should also be noted that Barr's remark was made by her as an individual on her twitter service.

While Bee's remark was part of a script on a recorded program. That program was edited and approved for broadcast by a TBS network producer, and presumably by the programming director of TBS, which is responsible for all of the programming that airs on the network.

One would believe that Bee's remark would have been edited out due to standards and practices, however it was allowed to air in all of its vulgarity.

That, is, a clear double-standard where what Bee said was approved by TBS management. Also, both Barr and Bee issued apologies. Barr apologized for her own actions I suspect when she realized how badly she fked up. Bee's apology was more likely written by TBS lawyers, due to the uproar by the general public who didn't think it would draw any more attention than her normal vulgarity on the show had done in the past.

Anonymous said...

Re: the C word. "No woman I know has ever regarded that pejorative as a compliment." Check out actress Sally Fields regard for the word in the context of Bee's use of it in reference to Trump.

Anonymous said...
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LVCI said...

I read countless comments on many sites. Here's what all have in common. The longer they go on (without exception) it devolves into political bashings coming from both sides. It's impossible anymore to have reasonable discussions. You could talk about flowers and the first thing people want to know is whether they are red or blue ones.

As far as Roseanne or Bee they both belong working on a fishing boat somewhere in the Artic Ocean. Them and dozens more like them. Including the countless divisive pundits stirring up weak minded people.

Whatever happened to self deprecating humorists like Rodney Dangerfield, Carol Burnette and numerous others who made themselves look silly? We're living in some dark times right now.

Jamie Kelton said...
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Anonymous said...

The incest suggestion was made by Trump himself on Howard Stern's radio show with Ivanka present. All three had a great laugh over it. Your president is disgusting.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

@8:14 I don't believe that is an apples to apples comparison. Sasha and Malia were both minor children. Ivanka Trump is an adult child who works in the White House. She does not get to escape valid criticism of her father's policies. If Samantha Bee was truly concerned with immigration policy she really went about championing that issue in a disgusting and ineffective way.

What Samantha Bee said is vile and however her employer chooses to punish her is up to them - ABC took swift and immediate action. Roseanne was probably on a short leash to begin with due to her past indiscretions.

Jamie Kelton said...
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LVCI said...

"The Double Standard between Democrats who embarrass themselves with vile, disgusting remarks, as the "C-Word",

Will you ever stop this partisan bullshit!

Here's another double standard. It's the same word Ted Nugent used describing Hillary on a radio program in 2016. Difference is Ted was invited to the oval office where he and Trump shook hands.

What we have here isn't a battle of wits between the left and right. It's a fight between good and evil. Evil doesn't give two hoots who or how it expresses itself. Which side are you on?

Trumpster said...
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Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Both sides are hypocrites, clutching their pearls and wetting their pants at every perceived slight or insult directed towards their team, which is inevitably followed by a counter volley of semi related accusations/examples of when the other team did the same thing.

Clearly there is a lot of good in social media and message board commentary, but its heavily outweighed by people who can't resist the impulse to defend their own opinions to an audience that mostly doesn't give a shit about their opinions and then gets offended by the responses to that opinion.

We're slowly on our way to actually living out the movie "Idiocracy".

Also - lets retire "Political Correctness" as a phrase and what it's come to represent since many people - to steal a phrase - "On both sides" seem to wear it as a badge of honor to be considered Politically Incorrect. How about we just use "Decent Human Being" instead?

Bernie O'Hare said...

Jamie Kelton, you have lost posting privileges here for at least the next month. I am not going to alllow younto think you can be just as disgusting as the celebrity you attack.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I have also deleted every single comment from people who are simply incapable of discussing this mattter without blaming the left or the right. It simply disgusts me how ugly so many of you are. I have no obligation to host this constant hate and have decided to disable commentary on this thread.