A Job As Needs Doin'

I have no idea what psychosis drives me to view the more unseemly and unreasonable elements of the online world.  It has been well established that I spend much more time among the right-wingnut's websites than many of my Montana brethren.  (I don't do it as much as I used to.  Most of the wingnuts/warbloggers/fake libertarians have just gone off the deep end.  I still read Michelle Malkin though, only so that I know what BullShitCairn will post later in the day.)  I occasionally lurk amongst the racists (the real ones, not the commenters of Professor Chaos. )  Ultimately, I think that it's a fascination with the unreasonable, the illogical, that drives me to wonder how and why people can so easily believe the ridiculous.

I do shy away from applying that curiosity to friendlies, for the most part.  I remain boggled as to how I can write nearly anything, and MarkT will simply read what fits his bias.  But ultimately, it isn't fascinating enough for study.  Our ongoing argument concerning how useless Ralph Nader was in his efforts will likely never be resolved; nor will it change jack-squat.  He will maintain the fiction of his other-reality predictions, I will retain the sadness that we never got to find out.  It's a humorous engagement, but has no pragmatic value for either of us.  Bush remains President.

However, there is a new angry movement afoot, and that draws me like a bee to nectar.  The Democratic primary campaign is over ... or is it? Dah dun DAH!!!  There are those out there who are seriously unhappy with the results of the primary, and they are organizing.  They call themselves PUMA's.  That stands for 'Party United? My Ass!'.  Officially, the acronym stands for other than that, but Ive been watching for some time and I see no reason to sugarcoat the bile in this formation.  They are angry.  They've been cheated.  No one official supports their special snowflake-ism.  They are 18 million strong (probably more like 1800, but who am I to quibble?)  Oh, and, Obama sucks.

Most of the Lefty-sphere is ignoring these folk, and much probably rightly so.  But they don't share my unique psychosis.  I find the PUMAs fascinating.  Over the coming weeks I will review, study and comment on these people.  Call it an effort of online anthropology if you will.  But there is a lot to behold in that forest of illogic, and I just can't resist.  Just so that we're clear on PUMA belief, they hold that a conspiracy between a particular campaign, the DNC, the EmmEssEmm and 18 million brainwashed idiots robbed the Democratic candidacy from Hillary Clinton.  Oh, and ... SEXISM!!!!1!  They want the media fired, Howard Dean fired, Obama prosecuted or at least made to seem icky and their place in the sun (an odd choice for special snowflakes).

Now here's the harsh part.  I really want to blog this.  But I am tired of blogging; almost Ed tired. It might just be the season.  I don't know. I had planned to give this up right after the primary.  But, the best laid yadayada.  I like the idea of engaging the PUMAs.  I am not a sexist, and I clearly see their circular reasoning.  To me, this is strangely ... fun.  All I'm asking of you, gentle reader, is not to expect too much too soon.   I'll get to it as I can.

Comments

[Rebecca]

How unfortunate they've chosen an animal so close to a cougar.

[Mark T]

My reference to you that you link to above was meant to be humorous, if you caught the drift of it. But I knew as I wrote it that you would object that you never said any such thing. But where are we if we are left to taking people at their word? If we can't impute motives and cut through clutter, then we never get to have any fun, and no one ever says what they really mean anyway.

Anyway, I go by James Burnham's maxim: He who says A must say B. You've said A plenty, and I finished by saying B for you, thereby saving trouble.