I’ve made the mistake of reading hundreds of right-wing blogs over the past few days. They’re all abuzz/atwitter/whatever over my MSNBC appearance and, by extension, The Anti-American Manifesto. I have drawn three conclusions about right-wing blogs and their followers:
1. I would not at all be surprised to learn that many of them are astroturfed by major corporations and/or the GOP. I noticed that many of the posts are not only identical (though on different blogs). At first I thought they were just ripping each other off, cutting and pasting. Then I saw that they have identical post times. How could that be? Maybe there aren’t really that many right-wing bloggers. They’re just using codes to automatically circulate blogs on WordPress and Blogspot.
2. Right-wingers don’t think right. One common talking point is that, if a right-winger were to say this sort of thing, he would get into trouble. But they do. And they don’t. And anyway, they wouldn’t get into trouble from ME. So what’s their point? They also say that “us liberals” don’t like guns. Well, um, I do. Again, what are they talking about? Finally, they say that, in a fair fight, the Right will kick the Left’s asses because they’re more hostile and better-armed. Which brings me to…
3. The Right *are* better-armed and more hostile than the non-existent Left. Which I say in my book. In fact, it’s the central thesis: fascist assholes are poised to step in when the system collapses, and rather than allow that to happen, the Left had better get its act together. Which these guys would know, except for the fact that…
4. They’re commenting on a book they haven’t even read!
I can’t get much past 4.
If you haven’t read something, shut the fuck up about it. I just received my copy of Bush’s new book, and I’m going to actually read it, with an open mind, before I comment.
Only in American politics is it considered OK to mouth off about shit you don’t know anything about.
