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?

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.