i strongly dislike this woman.
michelle malkin.
i was taught by my mother that hate is a strong word, so i will not say that i hate this woman. instead, i will just say that i strongly dislike this woman. granted, in the grand scheme of things, there are others that are higher up on the strongly dislike list that have done far worse things than write fallacious arguments that i don't agree with (ahem, DUBYA!). but after reading a few of her outrageous columns, i just had to say something.
in particular, this article.
in one sense, i could possibly feel her argument that there needs to be diversity of ideas at a diversity conference (in this case, UNITY. i know i've been talking a lot about this conference lately, but bear with me). but after mentioning that UNITY politely declined her offer to sit on one of their panels (no doubt to plug her new atrocious book on why the japanese internment and racial profiling is good), she goes on this tirade about how minority journalists (or at least those that are in charge at UNITY) are closed minded liberals. to prove her point, she writes out a "media diversity checklist:"
this is ridiculous. malkin complains about the higher ups at UNITY putting all minorities in one box, but then makes a sweeping generalization about what all "liberals" aren't by writing this "list." notwithstanding the absolute title of "liberal" that she loves to throw around, as all conservatives of her ilk seem to like to do, parts of her list have nothing to do with political ideologies.
for example, as a black gay female who typically votes for democrats, i would probably fit under malkin's idea of a liberal. and as a "malkin liberal", there are some things on this list that include me:
12. I shop at Wal-Mart.
what does shopping at Wal-Mart have to do with being liberal, conservative, republican, democrat, independent or otherwise? while i believe that gay marriages should be legal and that dubya's selection was one of the worst things that happened to us, i like to shop at walmart. you can get almost anything there and for cheap. almost everyone likes to save money.
13. I enjoy talk radio.
some talk radio is fun, even listening to people like rush limbaugh and dr. laura (it's nice to listen to the opposition sometimes).
15. I do not believe the phrase "a chink in the armor" is offensive.
"chink" is offensive when you refer to a chinese person or someone of asian descent. any reasonable person knows that the phrase "a chink in the armor" refers to a dent. many "liberals" are reasonable, contrary to what malkin seems to think.
16. I eat meat.
i respect those who chose to forgo eating animal flesh, but damnit, i like being at the top of the food chain. i like a good burger or a slab of ribs as well as some barbecued tofu. but more importantly, what do my eating habits have to do with my ideology?
17. I believe O.J. Simpson was guilty.
believe it or not, there are lots of black people (and "liberals") that think that o.j. simpson was guilty in some form or fashion. i don't think that he actually killed nicole and ron, but i believe he hired someone...
18. I cheered when I learned that Saddam Hussein had been captured.
i may not have liked how all that shit went down, but i was happy at any rate, that saddam was thrown from power. he was a man who did bad things, just not the things bush sent us to war for.
i just think that it's amazing that as a brown person (aka person of color), she could stoop to put people ("liberals," media professionals of color) in boxes when brown people of all professions already have to deal with others putting them in boxes. it's that kind of pigeonholing and broad statements that malkin furthers in this column and others that has contributed to the polarization of this nation.
i'm through.
i was taught by my mother that hate is a strong word, so i will not say that i hate this woman. instead, i will just say that i strongly dislike this woman. granted, in the grand scheme of things, there are others that are higher up on the strongly dislike list that have done far worse things than write fallacious arguments that i don't agree with (ahem, DUBYA!). but after reading a few of her outrageous columns, i just had to say something.
in particular, this article.
in one sense, i could possibly feel her argument that there needs to be diversity of ideas at a diversity conference (in this case, UNITY. i know i've been talking a lot about this conference lately, but bear with me). but after mentioning that UNITY politely declined her offer to sit on one of their panels (no doubt to plug her new atrocious book on why the japanese internment and racial profiling is good), she goes on this tirade about how minority journalists (or at least those that are in charge at UNITY) are closed minded liberals. to prove her point, she writes out a "media diversity checklist:"
- I have never voted for a Democrat in my life.
- I think my taxes are too high.
- I supported Bill Clinton's impeachment.
- I voted for President Bush in 2000.
- I am a gun owner.
- I support school voucher programs.
- I oppose condom distribution in public schools.
- I oppose bilingual education.
- I oppose gay marriage.
- I want Social Security privatized.
- I believe racial profiling at airports is common sense.
- I shop at Wal-Mart.
- I enjoy talk radio.
- I am annoyed when news editors substitute the phrase "undocumented person" for "illegal alien."
- I do not believe the phrase "a chink in the armor" is offensive.
- I eat meat.
- I believe O.J. Simpson was guilty.
- I cheered when I learned that Saddam Hussein had been captured.
- I cry when I hear "Proud To Be an American" by Lee Greenwood.
- I don't believe The New York Times.
this is ridiculous. malkin complains about the higher ups at UNITY putting all minorities in one box, but then makes a sweeping generalization about what all "liberals" aren't by writing this "list." notwithstanding the absolute title of "liberal" that she loves to throw around, as all conservatives of her ilk seem to like to do, parts of her list have nothing to do with political ideologies.
for example, as a black gay female who typically votes for democrats, i would probably fit under malkin's idea of a liberal. and as a "malkin liberal", there are some things on this list that include me:
12. I shop at Wal-Mart.
what does shopping at Wal-Mart have to do with being liberal, conservative, republican, democrat, independent or otherwise? while i believe that gay marriages should be legal and that dubya's selection was one of the worst things that happened to us, i like to shop at walmart. you can get almost anything there and for cheap. almost everyone likes to save money.
13. I enjoy talk radio.
some talk radio is fun, even listening to people like rush limbaugh and dr. laura (it's nice to listen to the opposition sometimes).
15. I do not believe the phrase "a chink in the armor" is offensive.
"chink" is offensive when you refer to a chinese person or someone of asian descent. any reasonable person knows that the phrase "a chink in the armor" refers to a dent. many "liberals" are reasonable, contrary to what malkin seems to think.
16. I eat meat.
i respect those who chose to forgo eating animal flesh, but damnit, i like being at the top of the food chain. i like a good burger or a slab of ribs as well as some barbecued tofu. but more importantly, what do my eating habits have to do with my ideology?
17. I believe O.J. Simpson was guilty.
believe it or not, there are lots of black people (and "liberals") that think that o.j. simpson was guilty in some form or fashion. i don't think that he actually killed nicole and ron, but i believe he hired someone...
18. I cheered when I learned that Saddam Hussein had been captured.
i may not have liked how all that shit went down, but i was happy at any rate, that saddam was thrown from power. he was a man who did bad things, just not the things bush sent us to war for.
i just think that it's amazing that as a brown person (aka person of color), she could stoop to put people ("liberals," media professionals of color) in boxes when brown people of all professions already have to deal with others putting them in boxes. it's that kind of pigeonholing and broad statements that malkin furthers in this column and others that has contributed to the polarization of this nation.
i'm through.
posted by maryann at 8/12/2004 06:05:00 PM
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