6.17.2009

My one and only comment about the whole Letterman brouhaha

I am not going to defend David Letterman for his joke about Bristol Palin and Alex Rodriguez (which, if you don't know about by now, I hope you've been enjoying your timeshare in a cave on Mars). It was tasteless and mean-spirited, and I think his apologies have been appropriate. (Pace Official Bleakonomy Gadfly John, I take him at his word that he was referring to the older daughter, and did not know that the younger daughter had attended the game. The assertions that the joke was about rape are ridiculous, and if you disagree then I politely refer you to the title of a certain recent block-buster film.)

I wonder, though, about those angry, angry people calling for Letterman's head. I wonder how loudly they protested the appalling cruelty Chelsea Clinton endured while her father was in the White House. I wonder if they protested NBC when the obese Chris Farley portrayed her in drag. I wonder if they protested Rush Limbaugh's joke about her being the family dog. I wonder if they thought John McCain's joke about her being so ugly was funny, and if they even remembered it when he was the GOP candidate for POTUS last year.

I wonder. Because it seems like some of them have forgotten all about it.

3 comments:

  1. I remember the abuse Chelsea took when she was only 13, and it was much worse than Letterman's joke, although I am glad he apologized. Even Limbaugh's mother raked him over the coals for his nasty remarks.

    Barbara

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  2. First, all sexual activity between an adult male and a minor child are legally rape. Consent cannot occur. So, yes, rape it is.

    Second, hell yes, I objected to the Chelsea Clinton jokes, and I am appaled that Mr. Limbaugh called her a dog. I condemn it without hesitation. Same for Mr. McCain. But please, there is a difference between calling someone ugly and wishing someone were raped. The first is vicious and despicable, the latter is far, far worse. IMHO.

    Oh, and fire Letterman. It'll be a great lesson on the consequences of hate speech.

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  3. John, you are begging the question. You clearly believe that Letterman was referring to Palin's younger daughter, and not to her older (and famously knocked-up) one. Fine, you're not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I am, and believe his protestations to that effect are sincere. I don't for one second believe that he "wished" anyone be raped.

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