Rumors, Hypocrisy, and Rightwing Fringe Gossip

Le.gal In.sur.rec.tion: Don't Link To Nude Photos of Obama's Mother, and in particular, a comment by Cynthia Yockey, justifying the posting of nude photos, rumored by a few on the right to be Obama's mother:

Prof. Jacobson,

With respect, pay attention to the fact that it is conservative women linking these photos. They are NOT being linked for the porn value. We are linking them because they say something voters need to know about the people who raised Obama to help them make sense of how a man with such a sweet smile can do terrible things he is doing and that he will do even more terrible things if people do not get a really good grip on who and what he is. These photos are for the Doubting Thomases who must touch the wounds, so to speak, before they can believe.

Really, professor. Please change your mind about this. It is conservative women who are leading this charge. It is not about porn. It is about showing people how and why Obama is the troubled and duplicitous man he is, raised to hate democracy and capitalism and now in command of the perfect circumstances to destroy them.

Cynthia

August 2, 2009 2:57 PM

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Last time I backed Cynthia... This time you're correct, William. And of course, some got it wrong, both times... (Sometimes I wonder whether conservatives take turns with the few consistently moral brains in the room.)

It isn't just the "porn" angle, Cynthia... It's spreading what amounts to unsubstantiated gossip about people, for partisan gain. Sure it's titillating to imagine that Sarah and the Dude are splitting up, or to spread rumors about Obama's dead mother, but whether or not they are, and whether or not she did, it's hurtful to the people involved and to their families, and true or not, it didn't, doesn't, and likely never will have any impact on them politically, or on the American people in any way.

It's just netyard gossip, and it isn't even particularly good netyard gossip.

The way Ms Geller & Dr. Douglas went about this is particularly unpleasant, because they simultaneously decried the rumor mill on the left, and ginned up the rumor mill on the right, in the very same posts, obviously and admittedly for payback.

Either one believes that spreading unsubstantiated rumors and gossip for partisan purposes is wrong, or one does not. It's hard to take people seriously when they decry something done to them, and praise the same thing done by them. YMMV...
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Submitted for approval 8/2/09, 5:54 PM (Immoderate Monk blog time, since I missed checking Legal Insurrection time before submitting)