Friends and Faux.
Who could have guessed that Rod Dreher so liked people who define themselves by their affectations? First there was his defense of Dan Rather -- "Courage" -- and now we learn that Dreher loves Borat.
(Though superficially similar, one can see a stark contrast between Rather and Borat by noting that Borat's comedic value is deliberate and that even Dreher knows that Borat isn't a real journalist.)
In the comments, Dreher asks us implicitly to forget his love of Cuban music and California wines, his disinterest in college football and other sports, and his old job as a New York movie critic when he assures us that he is -- and I quote -- "a Southerner to [his] fingertips."
How Southern is he?
What's the "we" business?
In reading his accusing mainstream conservatives of being godless materialists and his accusing rank-and-file Republicans of being homophobes for holding the exact same position he does, and in watching him first ignore then insult those who offer substantive criticism, it never occurred to me that Dreher was trying to avoid being unpleasant.
On the contrary, it's quite obvious that at best he doesn't care about civility -- and, at worst, he outright indulges in contempt -- when encountering those on the right with whom he disagrees.
But, gosh, he's as Southern as SEC football, and doesn't his genteel demeanor just prove that?
I think I now understand why he defends Rather and loves Borat; he is in awe of those who are actually successful at creating an artificial persona, which is a funny goal for a man who apparently so values authenticity.
(Though superficially similar, one can see a stark contrast between Rather and Borat by noting that Borat's comedic value is deliberate and that even Dreher knows that Borat isn't a real journalist.)
In the comments, Dreher asks us implicitly to forget his love of Cuban music and California wines, his disinterest in college football and other sports, and his old job as a New York movie critic when he assures us that he is -- and I quote -- "a Southerner to [his] fingertips."
How Southern is he?
Southerners are really impossibly nice people, but I can understand why it's so difficult for Yankees to deal with us because in general, we will bend over backwards to avoid being unpleasant -- even to the point of not telling you what you need to know. [emphasis mine]
What's the "we" business?
In reading his accusing mainstream conservatives of being godless materialists and his accusing rank-and-file Republicans of being homophobes for holding the exact same position he does, and in watching him first ignore then insult those who offer substantive criticism, it never occurred to me that Dreher was trying to avoid being unpleasant.
On the contrary, it's quite obvious that at best he doesn't care about civility -- and, at worst, he outright indulges in contempt -- when encountering those on the right with whom he disagrees.
But, gosh, he's as Southern as SEC football, and doesn't his genteel demeanor just prove that?
I think I now understand why he defends Rather and loves Borat; he is in awe of those who are actually successful at creating an artificial persona, which is a funny goal for a man who apparently so values authenticity.
posted by Anonymous at 5:22 PM
4 Comments:
Bubba
You should be married by now if I recall. If so best wishes and congratulations to you and Mrs. B.. I wish you great prosperity and happiness to you and your family. If I’m mistaken apologies.
I heard about Ali G. at work. When I saw this post today I watched the video out of curiosity. I thought it is was awful. I did not laugh.
I did not laugh because I don't like cruelty and humiliation. You don't know how many of those folks in the crowd were ringers to get the audience singing. You also don't know how many people were laughing at him and not singing with him.
As far as Rod goes, I can’t really say because I am not from the south. I know nothing about the real south. I’ll leave that between you guys.
We report.
You decide.
Here's what else is faux -- RayRod is constantly justifying his ignorance of things because of his job. "hey man, any inconsistencies here are not my problem, i'm just a writer ... I don't know about [fill in the blank]. " like his being a writer absolves him of having to know anything, or God forbid, learn anything new.
He seems to think it a point of pride that he is paid just to write, while having nothing substantive to say. Like we would all get away with ignorance if only we could get paid to do so. Recently he said, "Hey, I'm just an opinion monger [it's not my job to know X.]" of course, if he is a self-proclaimed know-nothing, then precisely why we should buy the opinions he is mongering escapes me.
does dreher also mean to imply that ignorance a great tradition of the south?
I've often thought about writing a story, but felt I needed to do a lot of research about the time period I wanted to place it in. So now I can just say, for example, "Hey, it's not my fault I have Charlemagne driving a car! I'm just a writer!"??
Post a Comment
<< Home