Comments on: “Frothy mixture” definition hurts more than Santorum campaign

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 13:37:22 +0000

Well, sorry for Mister Santorum. I also thought this whole attack on him was at the ‘nasty’ end of the spectrum, but I think the feeling of revulsion people feel when confronted by the new definition of ‘Santorum’ is matched by the feeling of revulsion most thinking people feel when Mister Santorum proposes invading women’s vaginas with an instrument and forcing them to ‘think’ about adoption when attempting to get a fully legal abortion.
I understand he doesn’t believe in allowing women the choice. I understand that the women who agree with him do not want other women to have the choice THEY had, if it means they would choose differently.
But, when, at this point, the right and their rabble have brought schoolyard name-calling to epidemic proportion, it is laughable to bring the left to task. Just look at any comments section. It could be an article about how cute puppies are, and within 5 minutes, we have 3 thousand comments saying Obama wants to kill all puppies to feed his secret Islamic army he has hiding in the whitehouse. But of course, he isn’t ‘Obama’ or ‘President Obama’ or even ‘The President’.
Nope, he is referred to as any number of racist stereotypes (even depicted as a monkey and an african witch doctor in some republican fund raising emails) or literally 3rd grade mashups of his name, like : Odumbo, Nobama, Obammy, etc. Just ignorant.
Where are the people who told the left “Well, like it or not, he IS your POTUS, and you should respect him of you are a traitor!!!! Rawr!!!”? Oh, they’re the ones trying to secede and throwing daily tantrums over whether Michelle Obama rolled her eyes, etc. Oh, and calling her ‘Moochelle’, I’m sorry is she fat? I’ve heard her referred to as fat, but I just don’t see it.
First ladies typically choose a public health issue and campaign to help out, Like saying ‘no’ to drugs, ‘no’ to sex, etc. She tries to help our kids eat better food and be healthier and she gets attacked in such a truly vicious fashion, it shocked me, even though it s waht I come to expect.
And let me be clear, on the right, it isnt JUST the ignorant masses they have cultivated as a base, or the rich that power it, or the mid levels that want a piece of that righty pie, no, it is ALSO the politicians themselves, every time they let some internet conspiracy presented as fact be held up in front of them without condemnation. On the left, we pretty much have a few wannabe shock comedians saying sme really nasty stuff, but it’s waht they do, and noone is surprised. they do it for ‘buzz’.

By: Foreigner

Foreigner — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 08:55:43 +0000

Santorum’s gay bashing statements smears not only the former senator, but his parents, siblings, and children. In addition, children should be able to Google search a contender for President’s last name without unwittingly finding content that is entirely degrading of human beings, as Santorum’s gay bashing statements are.

By: ethan davidson

ethan davidson — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:21:59 +0000

Sorry, my father was an Ultra Orthodox American Jew who, back in the twenties, was named “Adolph.” When a certain man took over Germany, he changed his name and kept his original name a secret for the rest of his life. All I’m saying is: stuff hapnes, and the meanings of words, and names, change, and we have to roll with it.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 01:23:00 +0000

Well stated. It doesn’t matter on which side you fall politically, this is an irresponsible way to push one’s political beliefs and an inane distraction. Thank you for your thoughtful post.

By: Patty

Patty — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:45:47 +0000

I think this is a very sensible take on this. I was offended by Savage’s attack on Santorum, but really didn’t think much more of it than a typical, out of bounds political attack. But, actually, as you note, it really is. No one should be ashamed of their last name like that and, unfortunately, as Santorum’s name recognition grows, so will knowledge of the obscene connotation and the jokes related to it.

It also struck me that Santorum’s name is “ethnic” that is, it’s an unusual Italian-American one which lends itself to more abuse than a name like “Paul” or even “Romney” which are typical Anglo-american ones. For instance, remember Bob Kerry’s suggestion that Santorum was “Latin for a#$hole”. That joke, in my mind, is funnier than Savage’s but similarly bad because it encourages literal name calling and abuses the “foreignness” of a person’s last name. Because the name is uncommon and unfamiliar, it’s easy to “re-define” it.

Thanks for the thoughtful post,
Patty

By: Vox Populi » This Week in the Voice: March 15, 2012

Vox Populi » This Week in the Voice: March 15, 2012 — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:02:15 +0000

[...] finally in Voices, Connor Jones criticizes both Rick Santorum for his over-the-top language on gay marriage and his opposition for [...]