One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later), by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise

October 2, 2010 Martha Thomases 7 Comments

Despite (or maybe because of) my strong opinions, I actually enjoy talking with reasonable people with whom I disagree.  For example, there was a period of time about five years ago when I ran into Monica Crowley at various events, and I enjoyed our conversations.

Monica, however, used facts to bolster her opinions.  I, too, tried to use facts.  We might reach different conclusions from our perceptions about real events, but we were talking about real events.  That was the interesting part.

And then there’s James O’Keefe.  You may remember him as the guy who set up ACORN by pretending to be a pimp (with his collaborator dressed as a prostititute) and asking for advice on scamming the government.  It was later revealed that the video he sent out was so heavily edited as to be misleading and deceitful.  At that point, however, ACORN had been defamed and defunded.

Later, O’Keefe was caught trying to tap the phones of Louisiana senator Mary Landrieu.

Most recently, he tried to set up a reporter at CNN.  He wanted to lure her into a situation in which she would be alone with him on his boat, surrounded by various sexual paraphernalia, and then video himself having sex with her.  Aside from the ego of this guy thinking, he’s so attractive, there are more disturbing elements to this plan.  I quote:

“If they go on the attack, you should point out the hypocrisy in CNN using the inherent sexuality of these women to sell viewers and for ratings, passing up more esteemed and respectable journalists who aren’t bubble-headed bleach blondes and keep the focus on CNN.”

His assumption is that CNN hires their women reporters only for their appearance.  They can’t possible be competent, because then they wouldn’t be women.  Similarly, people on welfare must be pimps and whores.

He’s not the only person to make assumptions like this.  Andrew Breitbart took a video of Shirley Sherrod and assumed she must be racist.  Again, I think he projected his own fears and prejudices on someone else.  And again, he had to lie through editing to make his point.

“What’s the matter,” says the fictional straw man I’m creating to make my point.  “Can’t you take a joke? You like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. “

First of all, those shows don’t precisely mirror my politics.  Second, they go out of their way represent themselves as fake news.  What they do is entertainment, not journalism.

And they don’t make their points with deceptive editing.  I’d cite this example.  Laura Ingraham (a woman who bleaches her hair blonde, yet is accepted on Fox News) wanted to be on Colbert’s show. I’m sure she thought landing the spot was a coup, since the show sells a lot of books.  And yet, in just a few minutes, she reveals herself to be profoundly racist and humorless.

What’s next for O’Keefe?  Maybe he’ll try to sell arugula at the Union Square Green Market, in order to point out what elitists we are in Manhattan (because only elitists would like vegetables named after the noise an old-fashioned car horn makes). Will he try to entrap Barney Frank, perhaps by asking him to re-decorate O’Keefe’s office?

I think the joke is on him.

Martha Thomases, Media Goddess, will miss Greg Girald.  He was really cute and funny.