Of daughter’s apartments and racist frogs

There are certain types of articles I typically ignore (and now as I proceed to not ignore them): This and this.   This as well.  The last one is simply bait for those who can’t remember back more than three days.  Anyone older than 20, or with an active memory, knows full well that the health and age issue was  a major talking point in 1984 (Reagan), 1992 (Bush, esp. after his much covered and debated fainting episode in Japan), not so much 96 (Dole was simply too respected on both sides of the aisle, besides the Dems had Gingrich), and in double doses during the 2008 campaign (McCain).  The idea that obsessing about, much less merely discussing, Hillary’s health is somehow sexist means you’re going to see sexism in anything and everything that doesn’t constitute obedience and praise.

The former two, however, are just stupid.  I’m sorry, but those are bloody, red, raw meat for the partisans.  I have never cared for that sort of thing.  Hence my aversion to the idea that telling a woman to smile is somehow sexist, or jumping all over an edited audio tape of someone on 9/11 who might have been as stunned as I was.

I think this comes from my days as a proud, liberal agnostic in the hazy, crazy days of the 1980s.  One of the selling points for liberalism was that, as opposed to those old time right winger stereotypes, liberals were about mature debate.  Unlike those conservative and fundamentalist types who read between every line and played every record backwards to find some hidden call for teens to worship Satan, liberals were about elevating the discourse.  None of that worrying about Tinky Winky being a secret, homosexual sign for children rubbish.  That was for those old gray haired religious conservative types.  Us liberals were well beyond that.

That’s why I typically don’t spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about where a sick candidate went to recuperate or the how the latest Internet frog meme, when interpreted correctly, is really a super-double-secret-probation signal to all white supremacists.  Perhaps those liberals of old taught me too well.