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March 07, 2007
Looking Stupid
Posted by Frank J. at 07:26 AM | View blog reactions | Comments (14)
After a few years of blogging, I've hit on one essential truth: there are millions of cowards willing to say things about you online that they'd never say to you in a bar. That's the baseline definition of snark: catty words spewed on a screen but never uttered to a face. Blogging has created a chorus line of cowards -- coin-throwers who would never take the stage or put themselves in the line of fire. The World Wide Web has revealed, sadly, that as a country we're losing the will to fight real wars, preferring instead to be nonproductive wusses, incapable of delivering anything more than a snide aside to the outside world, via the "send" button.

They let Greg Gutfeld write for The American Spectator, and it's actually pretty good. I would have expected entertaining, but this is more than his blog posts on HuffPo. He also hits on an essential truth that is not mentioned enough: It takes courage to be willing to look stupid.

Of course, the counter-point to that is sometimes all it takes is stupidity.

Rating: 3.5/5 (1 vote cast)

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14 Responses To "Looking Stupid"

Of course, the counterpoint is true.
That is why there are so many Leftie bloggers, lurkers and snarks. They can use Gutfields "explanation to feel good about themselves without acknowledging the obvious counterpoint.

#1 - Posted by: Writer on March 7, 2007 08:19 AM

Now I'm confused, did you just insult me?

#2 - Posted by: Veeshir on March 7, 2007 09:04 AM

Good article. I liked when Mrs. Hamburger kneed the coward in the groin.

#3 - Posted by: spacemonkey on March 7, 2007 10:09 AM

Good morning conservative peeps. Here are my writings for today.

Bush is stupid. He probably has holes in his brain from pounding hard alcohol every morning until he was like 40. Bush: "Yee haw. It's morning time. I think I'll have me some hard liquor." Then he was born again and he bought a fake ranch (so people would think he was Reagan even thought he can't ride a horse) and the religious right helped him become president. That really sucked when that happened. But information spread quickly around the Internets and fortunately the Bush peeps got their butts kicked in the last election. Everyone knows (even the right knows) that Hillary will win in 08. BUT there is a chance Bush will kick out the clotty Cheneylicious and appoint his brother to the VP spot so Jeb can run as the incumbent. That would be more effective but Hillary will still win.

#4 - Posted by: Sarcasm Man on March 7, 2007 11:27 AM

"fake ranch"

uh, OK, well, thanks for playing, we do need these constant reminds of the dangers of BDS

#5 - Posted by: pete in Midland on March 7, 2007 12:07 PM

Re: Counterpoint

Oftentimes it takes years of study in a Ph.D program to truly become a master of teh stoopid.

#6 - Posted by: Brian The Adequate on March 7, 2007 12:25 PM

"fake ranch"

uh, OK, well, thanks for playing, we do need these constant reminds of the dangers of BDS

Pete,

The ranch is not something Bush has always owned.
Bush bought the Crawford ranch in 1999 because he wanted to look more like Reagan and win the election. It was pretty effective and fooled a lot of people (including gullible Pete) into thinking he is some kind of genuine rancher. Bush is no rancher. He's just a spoiled rich kid like the majority of our presidential candidates.

#7 - Posted by: Sarcasm Man on March 7, 2007 12:33 PM

Trollin', trollin', trollin', keep on snarkin' an' trollin' - be snide. (apology to Rawhide)
Time I think to cull the herd. Or as the Great Communicator would have said, "Well, there you go again."

#8 - Posted by: seanmahair on March 7, 2007 01:19 PM

If all it takes to prove courage is a willingness to look stupid, I have to be one of the bravest people on this whole inter-webby thingamajig.

#9 - Posted by: Bile, Snark, and Sneer on March 7, 2007 01:25 PM

//...there are millions of cowards willing to say things about you online that they'd never say to you in a bar.//

Is there any evidence of that here? (Sarc Fluffer, I'm glancing your way)

#10 - Posted by: AlanABQ on March 7, 2007 01:35 PM

"The U.S., in fact, as a nation, needs to start acting like fools. We need to be ridiculous. We need to be scary. We need to keep our enemies up at night and make them squirm for a change. When we hear those two competing voices in our heads, we need to listen to the one that dares us to look stupid. Because it's better than looking dead."

Hmm, Someone I know wrote an essay that sounds somewhat like this.

#11 - Posted by: DesertElephant on March 7, 2007 01:37 PM

Oh no, conservative bloggers are snarky ( using catty remarks against those they disagree with). What will civilization do? How dare they? Why can't they spew obscentities like unto The Democratic Underground, Shakespears Sister, the Daily Kos and other liberal rancid liberal rant-fests? Why don't they make up or fail to tell the real story, like the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, ABC, NBC, CBS, Reuters, AP and the rest of the Drive by Media.
I'm about ready to pass right on by snarky and grab hold of snitty, nasty and engage in a fit of down right pique.

#12 - Posted by: seanmahair on March 7, 2007 10:48 PM

Oh no, not pique!!

#13 - Posted by: Veeshir on March 8, 2007 09:15 AM

Wasn't Pique banned by the most Recent Geneva Convention? For shame! What will France say????

#14 - Posted by: DesertElephant on March 8, 2007 12:37 PM
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