Family fude..
September 27, 2001 1:19 AM Subscribe
posted by KimmishKim at 1:29 AM on September 27, 2001
I think it's sad that you feel people need to prove their devotion and loyalty to their nation by flying a flag. A flag is nothing - it's the people who make up the community. I think it's sad when people feel they need to fly a flag just so other people will believe they are a patriot. Conformity gets you nowhere. Just look at North Belfast these days - the worst rioting in 20 years, and they all so proudly fly their flags
posted by twistedonion at 1:56 AM on September 27, 2001
posted by netsirk at 1:58 AM on September 27, 2001
Kimmish, that's just a crap link. The "article"- such as it is- is full of strawmen and ad hominem attacks and cheap shots and other lousy rhetorical devices of the weak and insipid. These Nationalistic Review yahoos ("Ann Coulter, call your office") are publishing this crap daily- pretty much the whole right-wing cabal from Michael Kelly to the Washington Times (whose Greg Pierce slammed this same Katha Pollitt op-ed in Tuesday's Washington Times- these right-wing jihads are well-organized!) is up in arms over any signs of dissent or debate. It's absolute jingoistic Nationalist bullshit, and unthinking uncritical worship of one's national leadership or cheap symbolism and platitudes is stupid and dangerous. It pisses me off obviously....
and that she'd try to inforce thoes ideas on her
"Inforce thoes [sic] ideas"? She's her freakin' mom, what else is she going to do?
In the end, mercifully, a mother-daughter compromise ensues: "I tell her she can buy a flag with her own money and fly it out her bedroom window, because that's hers, but the living room is off-limits." How's that for tolerance?
Pretty damn good, I'd say. Her mom did say her daughter could buy her own flag, and fly it in her own bedroom (even though of course it's her parents home)- I'd say that's the perfect tack to take with a child whose views differ from your own. Give them the freedom to express those views but you don't have to subsidize it or support it as if you agree or approve, or that something's wrong in the universe if every single person doesn't agree 100%- a good lesson to teach, methinks.
posted by hincandenza at 2:04 AM on September 27, 2001
Let me rephrase that: your decision to link it wasn't crap; rather, I mean that the article itself is crap. Re-reading what I just posted, I wanted to clear that up so there are no hurt feelings. Not attacking you, KK, just those doofuses at National Review et al. :)
Completely unrelated aside: has "jingoistic" become the new "gravitas" (that must-have buzzword in favor for the next week or two)?
posted by hincandenza at 2:10 AM on September 27, 2001
hahahaha! i think you are right, hincandenza!
posted by netsirk at 2:23 AM on September 27, 2001
> new "gravitas" (that must-have buzzword in favor for
> the next week or two)?
Use chauvinistic for spice, and to remind people that male chauvinism is just one kind of chauvinism.
[And buzzword is a buzzword.]
posted by pracowity at 2:24 AM on September 27, 2001
It's the new paradigm!
posted by revbrian at 2:30 AM on September 27, 2001
posted by Postroad at 2:45 AM on September 27, 2001
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:39 AM on September 27, 2001
On another note, I did not at all like the implication in the article that, since the mother wanted to wear a symbol of global unity, there was 'no hope' for her. Sad.
posted by toddshot at 4:15 AM on September 27, 2001
posted by johnnyboy at 4:17 AM on September 27, 2001
There's a reason for that, Postroad...We can't pay Americans $.10/hour to make flags here.
posted by dogmatic at 4:32 AM on September 27, 2001
Hmm...I was actually getting tired of all the insipid media attention being spilled out over our own homegrown flag makers.
I had also forgotten that flag sales are usually tax-exempt.
Those interested in more vexillogical discourse can go here.
posted by piskycritters at 6:00 AM on September 27, 2001
posted by espada at 6:05 AM on September 27, 2001
::: looks around and wonders if you realize where you are :::
posted by rushmc at 6:23 AM on September 27, 2001
Very well, then. I will.
posted by Fenriss at 7:20 AM on September 27, 2001
Actually, a flag is something. Something huge. It's a symbol - and symbols are all about what people invest in them.
Just think about the bald eagle - is it a noble animal that presents a majestic image for a mighty nation, or is it just a carrion eater that feeds in large part by robbing other birds?
posted by Irontom at 7:41 AM on September 27, 2001
posted by wackybrit at 7:41 AM on September 27, 2001
posted by normy at 7:44 AM on September 27, 2001
posted by chino at 8:06 AM on September 27, 2001
We don't get paid for it, though ;)
normy: the National Review exists for lesser right-wing hacks to rehash articles from The Nation in a sarcastic tone of voice. That's all.
posted by holgate at 8:07 AM on September 27, 2001
I can't stand Usenet anymore. I used to frequent a group called alt.true-crime, which had interesting stuff on, well, true crimes, then Chandra/Condit came around, and that brought in a lot of new people who started crossposting to alt.politics.rush-limbaugh and other places, and now it's 60% bloviation on the war -- nothing to do with crime at all. None of the extremists (on either side) seem to care that they've trashed another group and expanded the ditto universe to yet more unwelcome territory.
There was another web forum that seemed to have a good balance of politically savvy people but since the attacks it's become Yet Another Free Republic Outpost and I just got done with a thread trashing Chelsea Clinton -- who never did anything to any one of these f*cks -- with the most obscene commentary about her parentage and sex life (and they call us Bush-haters). The very concept of taking a powder on all this partisan stuff is cast aside -- there's a war on! Salute and shut up with your opposition stuff! The Democrats will be swept away in the upcoming elections now that they've proven how craven and untrustworthy they are! Remember this whole terrorist thing was Clinton's fault! Hey, stop criticizing the US, the US military, or any aspect of our foreign policy, you traitor -- oh, wait, you're blaming Clinton, well have at it!
In other words, it's getting to be a pretty damn ugly world out there.
posted by dhartung at 9:54 AM on September 27, 2001
posted by Fofer at 12:09 PM on September 27, 2001
posted by grrarrgh00 at 2:11 PM on September 27, 2001
Like half the country, I saw it all live and have been glued to the TV, radio and the Net ever since. The way the rightwingers have all crawled out from under a FreeRepublican rock to slag the Clintons and the liberalsis just repulsive. Ann Coulter--the last word in Republibimbo Feminazi--couldn't eulogize Barbara Olson without taking another cheap shot at Hillary. I have no love for Wm. J Clinton, the previous (Eisenhower) Republican incumbent, but, please...
I checked out the Smudge Report right after the attack and all the Bush bashing sites had gone down or were flying the flag--while over at Free Republic they were still obsessing about the Clintonian weiner. Cri-yi...
And you ought to see how they're howling about Susan Sontag's piece over at The New Yorker forum.
And on Art Bell, the insomniac trucker/trailer trash verdict is in: it's them Ay-rabs...While Mr. Paranormal Doomsday Du Jour lines up the year's supply of food and batteryless radio. ads...again...America: love it or lump it, by Jingo!
posted by y2karl at 9:39 PM on September 27, 2001
Okay, I'll bite. Where do the quality right-wing writers go?
posted by aaron at 12:59 AM on September 28, 2001
Name some.
posted by pracowity at 1:11 AM on September 28, 2001
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posted by KimmishKim at 1:28 AM on September 27, 2001