BARKING MAD…
First thing I read in the Sunday NY Times was the cover story on the magazine, Being Glenn Beck. There he is, chipmunk cheeks and all, the big crybaby, national liar no. 1. I wanted to get it over with.
a k a Mister Crybaby
Now, this guy is barking mad, no doubt about it, and I find him very dull. All he does is make things up, pretending to use logic and deduction to develop ideas and conclusions, but he’s really just breaking down in public. Think of Britney Spears. Remember how fascinated everyone was with her very public mental breakdown? It wasn’t cool, but it was great TV and the digital media took to it like fire to gasoline.
A lot of decibels and special effects signifying nothing? In GB’s case, not quite.
I think there are strong parallels between the national convulsive obsessions with celebrity meltdowns in public & the phenomenon of GB’s rabid base of support. We’re experiencing a wave of mass hysteria that is in tune with Beck’s mental unraveling. He claims to be a recovering alcoholic & “former dirtbag” but he is obviously still totally mentally unbalanced, as proven by his pathological lying and spreading of myth & libelous falsehoods. It’s as if those millions of fans of his are all taking a hit of crack at the same moment he does, and the same crap erupts from their skulls.
LIAR, LIARS
I hate to bring up Hitler, since GB & the righties are constantly wetting themselves with comparisons of Mr. Mustache, Stalin, Lenin, Mao, etc. to our fine President Barack Obama. None of which make any sense at all, particularly if one has a ninth grade education or the simple ability to look up and absorb any informative accounts of fascism, socialism, etc. The tactic they have adopted is “Tell the biggest lie you can think of, not just an exaggeration, and people will be so stunned they will tend to believe it… or at least, a few of the weak-minded will do so. And once that starts, it’s contagious. Because, let’s face it, panic is one way to escape the doldrums of your daily life.
THE EXPLODING TALKING HEADS
Sarah Palin is another one of these characters, along with Sharon Angle, Christine O’Donnell, Carl Palodino and, here in Texas (it’s hard, really hard to pick just one, but this one comes to mind) Dr. Donna Campbell, who are not only over-the-edge right wing meanies, but who genuinely seem to need psychological help. Watching them, one truly expects them to begin barking and biting people at any moment, and THAT is probably one of the big keys to their success.
FOX IS WORRIED, WORRIED…
Anyway, that’s what I got out of the NYT Magazine piece. It could have been a lot more cutting. It was interesting to learn, as the article states, that many inside Faux News are actually embarrassed by GB and they worry that it damages the network’s “credibility.” Go ahead, smile when you read that, especially when the word “credibility” appears in close proximity to Faux News. I did.
PS. I just found Wednesday’s (Oct. 29) Village Voice, which says all the above much better than I could. See WHITE AMERICA HAS LOST ITS MIND.
