Posted by: McQ on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 I've thought about the "shoe thrower" for a couple of days and come to the conclusion that he's pretty representative of a type of person we see more of today through out society at large. The emotionally and politically immature. They're characterized by no self-discipline, no respect for anything other than their own feelings and acting them out. What our shoe thrower did was throw a well publicized tantrum, not much different than a 2 year old tossing his oatmeal bowl at a mom who, tyrant that she is, makes him eat that horrible stuff for his own good. You'd wish Matt Yglesias might be above such emotional and political immaturity, but given the guy has never really done anything in his life except write about what others have done and offered his opinion, maybe not. As such, and careful to preserve his troop lovin' bona fides, Yglesias praises the troops before throwing this metaphorical shoe: The harsh reality is that this was not a noble undertaking done for good reasons. It was a criminal enterprise launched by madmen cheered on by a chorus of fools and cowards. And it’s seen as such by virtually everyone all around the world — including but by no means limited to the Arab world.Now, of course, this blog has taken all the reasons for the Iraqi war apart and inspected them from head to toe (I don't have time to link to all of them but the archives are there to prove the point). So have other more august bodies. None of them have found anything to suggest, hint or imply that it was a "criminal enterprise" launched by a "madman". In fact the Iraq war was a duly approved use of force by the Congress of the United States and executed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States. Calling it a "criminal enterprise" and Bush a "madman" is simply a form of rhetorical tantrum thrown by a emotionally and politically immature writer who chooses to ignore that. Same with his all encompassing charge that it was "cheered by a chorus of fools and cowards". This is an example of how the politically and emotionally immature find it necessary to characterize those who disagree with them. Those the disagree with couldn't possibly have sound or respectable reasons for supporting the war. Characterizing them as Yglesias does allows them to be marginalized, just as he marginalized Bush above ("madman"). With marginalization comes dehumanization and dismissal. When supporters are all "madmen", "fools" and "cowards", anything they might substantively offer in support or rebuttal can be safely ignored. And so can the actual facts concerning the war and its apparent outcome. Of course, the "madman" - as well as the "fools and cowards" - get the final laugh on the Yglesias types. And that rankles as well. Iraq appears on the road to success and a couple of the madman's "fools and cowards" are being named to or retained in very high office to ensure that remains the case. Just like the shoe thrower in Iraq, Yglesias is left bitter by the fact he can't have an "I told you so" moment. So he, much like the shoe thrower, is reduced to lashing out at those who have by calling them names. For we "fools and cowards" it is a sublimely enjoyable moment. When one of your ideological foes is reduced to such childish rants as Yglesias or acts, such as those of the shoe thrower, you can finally appreciate how impotent their rage really is. |
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