OK - well, I do agree with you there in part, but I think that "enjoyment" extends well beyond making fun of the situation. Still, I think there are very few situations in which there isn't room for humor and (for me) this isn't one of them.
Is it morally tenable to make fun of a man getting shot in the face? Of course not. Is it morally tenable to satire and ridicule the second-in-command of an administration that promised to restore integrity to the White House, who then shoots a man in the face accidentally and doesn't disclose it to the media? Absolutely.
Even the joke Limbaugh cites is one which ridicules Cheney, not the victim and the argument that liberals are reveling in the situation is exactly the same one conservatives made when liberals (and moderates and libertarians) lambasted the administration for its failure to respond adequately to Katrina. Their (conservatives) anti-politicization is just as reprehensible if not moreso.
So, while I agree that there is something morally upsetting about making fun of the gunshot victim (whose name I cannot remember), to say that it plays right into Rush Limbaugh's hands is perhaps too critical: his stance is one the conservative spin machine cooked up a long time ago and gets trotted out regardless of the situation and the gravity of the response.
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-14 11:34 pm (UTC)Is it morally tenable to make fun of a man getting shot in the face? Of course not. Is it morally tenable to satire and ridicule the second-in-command of an administration that promised to restore integrity to the White House, who then shoots a man in the face accidentally and doesn't disclose it to the media? Absolutely.
Even the joke Limbaugh cites is one which ridicules Cheney, not the victim and the argument that liberals are reveling in the situation is exactly the same one conservatives made when liberals (and moderates and libertarians) lambasted the administration for its failure to respond adequately to Katrina. Their (conservatives) anti-politicization is just as reprehensible if not moreso.
So, while I agree that there is something morally upsetting about making fun of the gunshot victim (whose name I cannot remember), to say that it plays right into Rush Limbaugh's hands is perhaps too critical: his stance is one the conservative spin machine cooked up a long time ago and gets trotted out regardless of the situation and the gravity of the response.