Liberals and Profanity

I swear.  Karen hates it.  But I usually do it when I'm angry with myself or, more typically, at inanimate objects that refuse to cooperate with me.  Rare is it that I swear at someone, although if provoked sufficiently, I have been known to unleash a torrent of invectives that would make a sailor blush.  I can even swear in two languages, three if you count the scant Irish swearwords I know.

Use of profanity is frowned upon in polite society, and I do my best to keep a lid on it when in mixed company or when I'm in a place for which its usage is ill-suited.  Church, school, court -- those are safe zones as far as I'm concerned.  On the other hand, I see nothing wrong with letting a few choice words fly in a locker room or a garage.  So long as the faint of heart aren't around, or ladies, I see nothing wrong with the expressiveness and the color of blue language.

That being said, what's passing for political commentary on the Left is atrocious.  A few years ago, Martin Bashir, on the eminent network MSNBC, criticized Sarah Palin (perhaps legitimately, I don't know; I didn't hear any of her comments, but she's not exactly a founder of Mensa) for having said some things about slavery that he considered ham-fisted.  Assuming for the sake of argument that Bashir was correct about Ms. Palin's comments, he veered, nevertheless, into the tawdry by referencing a particularly sadistic slaveholder's diaries that described what he called Darby's Dose, which involved a punishment of one slave exacted by having another slave defecate in the first slave's mouth.  Not satisfied with the reference, Bashir suggested that perhaps someone should give her a Darby's Dose for, inferentially, being a world-class idiot.

Even assuming, for the moment, that Ms. Palin was out of line -- and I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with the premise -- that Bashir felt it was not only fitting but appropriate to say that to a national television audience.  When the expected outcry ensued, Bashir took a leave of absence for a couple of weeks before resigning, but MSNBC remained curiously silent, as if to bless what Bashir did and said.

Now we have Stephen Colbert, the darling of self-proclaimed liberals everywhere.  The other night, in response to Donald Trump abruptly ending his interview with the closet propagandist John Dickerson of CBS News, ranted about Mr. Trump being some sort of sexual toy of Vladimir Putin.  Whether one believes that a covert relationship existed and continues to exist between Mr. Trump and Putin, the comment was in bad taste at best.  Especially since, when given the opportunity to recant his statements, Colbert stood by them.  And as with MSNBC, CBS has done and said nothing in opposition to Colbert's crude comments.

If we play Sharyl Attkisson's replacement game and put a conservative celebrity in Bashir and Colbert's shoes, and make Sarah Palin Elizabeth Warren and Donald Trump Barack Obama, the outrage and indignation would swamp the airwaves.  Instead, there are mostly yawns when people aren't defending Colbert's First Amendment rights to say whatever he wants.  And in this case, I agree:  He can say whatever he wants.  But let's not forget:  The First Amendment only applies to government infringement of speech.  Both MSNBC and CBS can take whatever action they want because they are private institutions.  But neither network would dare silence or in any way punish a liberal pundit taking on a conservative politician, although it wouldn't wait to punish a conservative pundit taking on a liberal politician.  If that sounds unbelievable, think about some people who have lost their jobs or positions because of their actions:  Curt Shilling and Sage Steele come to mind.

So in this age of faux enlightenment, don't just listen to the offensive language spewed by the liberal talking heads.  Listen for the reactions not from the aggrieved conservatives but the relative silence from the liberal supporters.  Then imagine how it would play out if the roles were reversed.

It's not hard to imagine how different things would be.

(c) 2017 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles