ugly is as ugly does
I disagree with plenty of celebrity pundits. I've written about them, made fun of them, even Photoshopped pictures of them. Viggo, Sheryl Crow, Sean Penn....it's a long list and I've made plenty of jokes at their expense.
There are two things I've never done in regards to biting back at a celebrity who challenges my political views or harshly criticizes the country, the president, the war or what not.
One, I don't boycott the actors or musicians who make what I consider to be idiotic statements regarding world affairs. If I did that, my DVD and CD collections would dwindle to nothing. You have to have the ability to separate the art from the artist sometimes, or you lose out on some good art.
Two, I have never, ever written to a celebrity to take them to task for their views. And if I ever did feel the need to write to one of them, I would do it in such a way that I didn't come off as a blithering, moronic, mouth-breathing spit-talker.
Granted, Margaret Cho said some things that would rile up even the most casual supporter of this country's policies. But from where I stand, Cho did not deserve the insults and ugly, ugly words that were heaped upon her in email. Sure, I have may called Michael Moore a big, fat asshole a few times but somehow these letters to Cho don't sit right with me. They are scary. Examples:
the people who adore you have AIDS for a REASON
take your fat slant eyed head and go back to China
I am hoping you develop breast cancer
Lovely. Just lovely. Most of the emails are filled with horrible grammar and more spelling errors than a first grade essay contest. Things like this is why the right is often considered to be hateful, racist, ignorant trolls.
I'm not defending Cho's politics. I'm not defending her behavior or her language. Hell, I'm not even defending her comedy because I never found her to be funny. However, she has a right to all that. She has a right to say what she wants, where she wants and when she wants. That's America. And you have just as much right to refute her or speak out against her. But for god's sake, people. Stop making idiots out of yourselves. And stop using "we" and "us" in your emails. You don't speak for the entire right, for all Republicans, for every conservative.
I certainly don't want to be associated with people who wish cancer on someone just because they have a different world view than you. You make me sick, just as much as the far left makes me sick.
If you want to out yourself as an illiterate cretin, go right ahead. Don't drag the rest of us down with you.
Comments
Honey, those are freepers. Their Democratic equivalent can be seen on the Democratic Underground.
In each case, they are the dregs of Repubs and Dems. I loathe them equally.
I don't agree with all of Cho's politics, but just reading this transcript of her routine that night had me roaring. I find her to be hilarious. And she even has one bit in which she and Andrew Sullivan are on the same page:
They keep using the argument [against gay marriage] that marriage is sacred. No it's not! Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman got married. Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson got married. Britney Spears and some guy that nobody knows got married.
Her bit on Rush Limbaugh's drug addiction is priceless.
Posted by: Meryl Yourish | January 19, 2004 12:38 PM
I'm with Meryl. Don't share her politics, but I think she's really really funny.
Posted by: Allison | January 19, 2004 12:49 PM
Britney Spears married Jason Alexander. Unfortunately it wasn't THAT Jason Alexander...
It would give hope to us hairy little Jewish Dweebs to imagine Britney with "George". Besides Britney doing Duckman would be proof of the sanctity of marriage!
Posted by: Josh Scholar | January 19, 2004 12:57 PM
Sorry, I keep waiting for her to be funny. She stopped a long time ago, and I keep waiting.
I think Ms. Cho is very talented, but she seems to rely on being a fag-hag to get laughs. Sorry, not funny.
Funny, was about her family and her own personal exploits. 'Not Funny' is what she chose to go with. Sad, not funny.
Posted by: Bubbles | January 19, 2004 01:06 PM
I have this fantasy that Free Republic and DemocraticUnderground.org are run out of the same basement computer owned by some guy named Dwayne. I don't know why.
Posted by: Andrea Harris | January 19, 2004 01:07 PM
Thank you for this post Michelle.
Funny or not I think the crap Cho has recieved is horrid.
Posted by: Ken T | January 19, 2004 01:25 PM
Andrea, somehow I wouldn't be surprised if you were right. If we could compare IP addresses from emails like that to the trolls with their IPs banned from blogs, I bet we'd find a lot of correlation.
Personally, I don't agree with Cho politically and didn't find her routine the least bit funny or original. But I would NEVER THINK of sending even an intelligently critical email to a comedian. Artists--regardless of which causes they support--are relentlessly clueless about politics, and I try to follow the same example as Michele: ignore the politics, enjoy the performances, and leave it at that. Comedians are even worse, because they only read/listen/watch as long as they need to come up with a joke, and it seems that's often not long enough to form an informed opinion.
Posted by: Steve Gigl | January 19, 2004 01:30 PM
"Kids! Kids! Let's go to Montgomery Ward!"
Posted by: Ryan | January 19, 2004 01:33 PM
Personally, I have always found Cho singularly unamusing--and her politics misguided. That being said, the asinine comments she has received from the Troglodytes is depressing and misguided itself. As you said, this type of thing paints conservatives and Conservatism with an ugly broad brush. It creates strong obstacles for any attempt to convince independent thinkers, or those still developing an ideology, of the truth, sanity, and decency of conservative thought.
Posted by: DBW | January 19, 2004 02:12 PM
Don't these dorks realize how bad they look when someone like Cho reprints their letters? Really, it's just like taking on someone who owns a weblog by sending them vicious comments. It just backfires on you.
There is an old adage in the newspaper business: "never pick a fight with someone who buys his ink by the barrel." In other words, picking a public fight with a newspaper owner or editor is only going to make you look stupid.
Same with people who run web sites. Careful what you say, it may just be reprinted.
Posted by: Dean Esmay | January 19, 2004 02:19 PM
When MoveOn.org describes Bush as Hitler all bets are off. Last I checked hate in and of itself is not a crime. Are those comments juvenile? Of course, but to all of you offended I have only one suggestion, get a spine implant.
Posted by: CJ | January 19, 2004 02:48 PM
I think she's right when she says "you reap what you sow".
If you want to make personal attacks part of your comedy routine, don't cry about it when someone tells you you're a fat unfunny idiot.
Posted by: Geoffrey | January 19, 2004 02:59 PM
I'm with Geoffrey on this.
Posted by: Gennie | January 19, 2004 03:29 PM
And how fitting, a Christian throwing boulders instead of stones. Typical? Hmmm.... I think she's brilliant by the way. I'm not looking to fuck her so I could care less if she's fat. She's not an idiot, she's actually pretty well spoken.
Posted by: Joe | January 19, 2004 03:38 PM
Likewise. Insults can be hilariously funny, but (in my experience) only when done with wit, taste, and a near-total lack of invective.
Margaret Cho failed on all counts. I'm afraid my main objection to the hate mail she received is that it permits her the delusion that there's someone on earth she's better than.
Posted by: McGehee | January 19, 2004 03:40 PM
The "likewise" in my comment was agreeing with Gennie, who was agreeing with Geoffrey.
Joe, Christians can throw boulders because we -- the males anyway -- have 'em.
Posted by: McGehee | January 19, 2004 03:41 PM
Those are sick and racist comments, but what do we expect from the worst of the Freepers? As for Cho, when she compares Bush to Hitler and says she'd like to anally rape the Pope, I'm finding it really hard to be sympathetic. All I feel like saying is that it reinforces my low opinion of FreeRepublic.
What annoys me about this is that some liberals are insisting that "right-wing" bloggers should be condemning the Freepers for their behavior, as if "we" would demand that they condemn every bit of Indymedia nastiness.
I guess next time Latuff posts soldier assassination porn, I should make a list of every lefty blogger who hasn't condemned it. Heh.
Posted by: Matthew Stinson | January 19, 2004 07:51 PM
We see this general issue over and over again, and after the thousandth time it starts to get really tiresome.
I don't care how much you may think "your" side has been provoked by the opposition side, saying something like "I hope she gets cancer" is both cretinous and wholly ineffective. No matter which side you're on, NOBODY will ever be swayed toward your side by that sort of rhetoric.
Even if you think it's peachy-keen to say horrible things because the other side provoked you with something equally bad or worse, as a practical matter it will result in a net loss of supporters for your cause. And many people will choose to ignore both sides and opt out of the political process altogether. So if you're just unbearably hot to harm your own cause, by all means go right ahead and spew out invective to your heart's content.
Posted by: MikeR | January 20, 2004 01:49 AM
Extremists driven by their toxic emotions have struck again. Trolls are not as sanctimonious as impassioned activists, but have about the same likeability.
I am not a fan of Cho, and I think George W Bush is a liberal, but I still believe in tastefulness. Even if you want to insult her, there are better ways. Besides, she's Korean and from California, so telling her to come back where she came from or go to China shows your lack of research. Even a nasty commie-bating crack like calling her a fan of Kim Jong Il is a step above those insults.
Posted by: Green Baron | January 20, 2004 04:50 AM
I actually got banned from Free Repblic for being reasonable.
Posted by: Bob King | January 21, 2004 08:03 PM