Technically, I shouldn't be here.
My genetic predisposition for poor eyesight should have rendered me helpless in the face of nature and eliminated me from the gene pool a long time ago. But the advent of civilized society (and contact lenses) made it possible for the physically challenged such as myself to not only survive in life... but excel.
The problem is that the same society which allows the ocularly-challenged to thrive, also allows the mentally-challenged to run for President of the United States of America... eventually...
Now, before I get lynched for playing sexist, partisan politics here, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that I have actually defended Sarah Palin in the past. For the most part, I think she is treated unfairly by the press and those outside her fan-base. She is crucified for even the most innocent mistakes, which I think is pretty pathetic. Mostly because it distracts from bigger issues with respect to her deplorable politics, but that's just me. Yes, she's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but she's made the most of what smarts and charisma she has, and gone farther than most people could ever dream of. That demands some measure of respect, regardless of how you feel about Sarah Palin, her history, her beliefs, or her political positions (assuming you can understand what they are this week).
Today was a typical example of exactly the type of ruthless douchbaggery that people unleash when Sarah Palin makes a minor mistake on Twitter...
Now, first of all, you have to remember that Twitter only gives her 140 characters to make her point. It's a restriction even the smartest person has to struggle with, and often results in bizarre grammar and stupid TXT-SPEAK style abbreviations. So when Sarah Palin was expressing her dismay at the idea of a mosque being built near Ground Zero, it's understandable that it's going to be questionably phrased. But it's the fact that she misspelled "repudiate" that caused most of the Twitterverse to lose their mind.
Not the fact that she apparently thinks all Muslims are responsible for 9/11 and would defile the ground with their mere presence. And, if you claim to be a peaceful Muslim, you'll agree with her.
But whatever. I'm a certified, MENSA-level genius, and I make an occasional spelling mistake on Twitter. It's easy to do when you're typing on a frickin' PHONE for heaven's sake! And even if she didn't know it was pronounced/spelled "repudiate," is it really worth such venom? People knew what she meant. I mean, jeez, give Sarah Palin a frickin' break! All she had to do was make a followup-Tweet once the error was pointed out to her and say "Oops, that should have been 'repudiate' in that last Tweet!" and it would have been all good.
Instead she deleted the Tweet and reposted it with entirely different phrasing. Fair enough. That happens all the time, I'm sure. But the Twitterverse wouldn't leave it alone. They kept making fun of her for using a non-word, and she finally decided to address it...
Annnnnd... there's no way for me to defend that flash of brilliance.
What a fucking idiot.
So, I guess what she's saying here is that when you are ignorant as to a word's spelling and/or meaning and/or existence... just make shit up. Because that's what Shakespeare did!*
Something tells me she won't be running as "The Education Candidate" come 2012.
Call me an elitist snob, but I feel our leaders should be trying to elevate language and encourage people to express themselves well. Not make shit up and be illiterate. Especially when you are advocating English as this country's "National Language," because anything less would make you a hypocritical douchebag.
But that's pretty much how I see Sarah Palin in a nutshell. Crap like this only confirms it.
I am totally ready for a woman to become president.
But please don't let it be this vapid joke.
*On the contrary, Shakespeare was a master of the English language, used the largest vocabulary of any English writer in history, and consistently penned his words in clever and exciting ways. When scholars of the Shakespearean Era did add words to the English language, they were built from linguistic roots in other languages (like Latin)... or otherwise crafted with some semblance of reason and intelligence. They didn't just pull a new word from their ass out of ignorance. Especially when there's already a word with that meaning in existence! To imply otherwise is just plain stupid. But you knew that already.
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Is that what the todo was about yesterday?
Apparently. If she did something even worse, I don’t want to know about it! 😀
I don’t know what’s worse:
That someone with such a paltry education actually has a shot at the highest office in the land; or
That there is a horrifically large segment of our population who are besides themselves with delight to have a heroine who is just as stupid as they are.
When you consider the growing percentage of undereducated and downright lazy (and I mean this in terms of education and the desire to better themselves, not in regards to their work ethic) people we have in this country, I think we’ll see a lot more candidates like Palin in the future. They’re already running for – and winning – in their home states and in Congress.
Stupidity has voter appeal. Frightening thought.
But the worst part is that she’s driving people there. By saying it’s okay to be illiterate and just make shit up when you don’t know it, she’s basically encouraging stupid. Which probably makes her the smartest person on earth, because stupid people won’t call her on her bullshit.
Our leaders should be challenged. MUST be challenged.
If they’re not up to the challenge of defending their ideas in a literate and comprehensive manner, they’re not worthy of leading in the first place. Not everybody is gifted with intelligence, but that’s no excuse to be stupid.
That being said, I fear you’re right. 🙁
A drunk person has better speech patterns than her. At least the underlying thought in the drunk person’s head is a real word… whether it comes out slurred or not! (Of course, I don’t speak for all drunk people here… some of them are just as big a moron as Sarah Palin.)
For the most part, I don’t think that intelligence is the sole factor in determining a person’s value. Everybody contributes in their own way, and most people have skills which compensate for not having “book smarts”… Sarah Palin obviously has considerable skill in dealing with the public, or she wouldn’t have gotten to where she is.
But to actively encourage illiteracy in EVERYBODY so you can drag them down to YOUR level is a sign of REAL idiocy. Drunk people have the excuse that their senses are impaired. I have no idea what Sarah Palin’s excuse might be… except she’s stupid.
I can’t even imagine that a politician’s people/handlers/publicists would let said politician even own a Twitter account. Especially a politician who has been known to speak before she thinks on occasion.
Twitter may be a lot of things, but it can have that lower common denominator vibe at times. Especially when it comes to the haters.
Isn’t that the truth. The 140-character limit is a blessing and a curse. It encourages brevity (yay!), but lowers everybody to writing as if they were on crack (boo!).
As I said, I am perfectly willing to cut Twitterers some slack because they are working under some pretty heavy restrictions, and I think it’s pathetic to call somebody out on a small error when their meaning was clear… but encouraging people to be illiterate is crossing the line. Especially for somebody who is supposed to be setting an example.
But she’s HHAAWWWTTTT.
Yes. Yes she most certainly is. If she gets into office, she’d definitely be a PILF!
See, THAT is what I can’t stand about Sarah Palin – when she screws up royally, she just laughs it all off like, “Hee hee! I goofed up! Oh well! *wink wink*”. It’s that brief acknowledgment and then just laughing it aside that makes me nuts. So very frat girl.
Well, that, and she is an ignorant bitch.
🙂
Which would be really comforting if she accidentally nuked Canada.
Usually, I don’t mind her laughing off her mistakes… I just laugh with (at?) her. But in THIS case, she’s saying she DIDN’T make a mistake, she’s saying she INTENDED to make up a non-word because she’s some kind of Shakespeare-level master of the English language or something.
If it was anybody else comparing themselves to Shakespeare, I would think they are joking. But Sarah Palin’s just not that smart.
Just think of what it means, when you remember that axiom of democracies and republics: “the people get the government they deserve.” Kinda scary.
What could we possibly have done to deserve THIS?
I agree with “Barnmaven”. I realize it’s paternalistic to say so, but Sarah Palin is dangerous precisely because so many people love her despite her “faults”. Therefore anything, however trivial or petty, which highlights her stupidity is fine with me. It was the same with George — people wanted a leader “like me” and the more anti-intellectual the better. Politicians with that type of appeal can’t fucking lose and that’s terrifying. It makes me wonder if there might be something seriously wrong with democracy. Or maybe I’m just a snob.
I love the smart ass cartoon. It’s a really strange time in our history. Our candidates are being grabbed out of a pool of people that only seem to have minimal likable characteristics. The days of heroes are gone and we are left with yes men and women that look good on camera. And they play up to whatever idea they think is socially cool for the crowd they are addressing. It’s like watching bad comedians becoming government leaders. If the Republican party had any sense they’d get her the hell off of everything. But then again, any press has been known to be good press, people forget.
Defending the use of a made up word, when it was obvious to those with more intelligence that the ‘f’ should have been replaced with a ‘p’, was the real gaffe that got Twitter all ablaze. Your post explained this very well.
Even fan boys of Palin need to wonder where her entourage is that is there to do damage control.
Like you, I really would like to see a woman president someday. But I want some that truly represents all women in a positive manner.
“refudiate” is obvious built around the root word “fud” — short for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. And thus she meant “Peaceful Muslims, pls piss yourselves at the thought of me in office.”
She reminds me of Oswald Bates – the In Living Color character who spoke with made up words and malapropisms.
I think if she’s trying to be a political candidate and a serious commentator on issues, it’s not at all too much to make fun of her for misspelling in a tweet. When you make a typo, I bet you realize it if you look back at it. It sounds like unless people call her on it, she has no idea. It’s not like the “p” and “f” are anywhere near each other on any keyboard.