"...it's burlesque that isn't funny anymore..."

[ewagner]

That's a quote from Studs Turkel when he was being interviewed by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! this morning. We're replaying it over our local cable access and I just saw it a few minutes ago.

That quote comes from the question Amy asked Studs to comment on Bill O'Lielly's call for the assassination of the President of Syria and that quote: "...it's burlesque that isn't funny anymore..." hit me like a bucket of cold water thrown over my face.

Why?

Because it explained ALL Right Wing Talk Radio/TV to me in one simple phrase. It IS like burlesque. It's where the public can go to be intellectually promiscuous ! It's a place you can go and escape the drudgery of thinking...any kind of thinking because the host/hostess will do all your thinking for you.

You can be racially promiscuous because, see, the hosts tell you that it OKAY to be so. You see, self-reliance is American, and people (especially if they are a different color) who are no self-reliant are un American.

BURLESQUE.....INTELLECTUALLY PROMISCUOUS...that's O'Rielly...that's Limbaugh...that's Coulter....that's Hannity...that's the basis of RW punditry.

[atommom]

1. It's a grotesque burlesque. That's a very good description.

What does this say about human nature?

[TallahasseeGrannie]

2. Or it is like watching

Def Comedy Jam. You laugh for a minute or two and then you start feeling sick to your stomach.

[Moochy]

3. Here is the link to people who want to stream it!

Worth a watch, quite a treat!

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/05/1326215

[ewagner]

5. Thanks Moochy

I regret not having posted the link initially. :hi:

[ErisFiveFingers]

4. Something about bread and circuses?

Hm... Stimulating the masses with bloodthirsty combat images, sacrificing citizens to lions, pseudo-intelligent debate which is little more than verbal combat, all wrapped up in zooming and swishing production banners and "crawls"...

Ah yes, that's why I'm one of "those people" who doesn't own a TV. I can't stand the burlesque, the circus, the verbal "professional wrestling" of modern media.