Blago

I had a particularly grueling day at work today. That's why I decided to come home and treat myself to an evening of sitting on the couch watching MSNBC.

But I'm finding myself disturbed. Two things:

1. It's a tinse offensive how funny some commentators seem to think it is to call Blagojevich "crazy." Some schmuck on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue practically begged the two psychologists that he interviewed to call Blago "insane." I mean, the audacity that the Governor showed slipping that line about wire-tapping and the Nixon era is for sure shocking. The type of arrogance he's displayed violates social norms of relative humility and carefulness to the extent that it's for sure kinda funny. In a sick, sad way. But mental illness isn't funny. And hey, 1600-Pennsylvania-Avenue-guy, when you badger two psychology professionals to joke about the supposed insanity that you, some jackass with no psychological background, are assuming, you are being an irresponsible journalist. You're being a moron, actually. It's preposterous to try to use Blagojevich's meticulously blow-dried hair as evidence for insanity. What a lack of compassion you're showing for people who are mentally ill and those who love them. Substitute "crazy" with "retarded." See... not funny, huh?

2. It's a little bit unsettling how much attention is being given to Blagojevich's swearing. The dimwit highlighted above even tried to get those two psychologists to infer Blago's insanity from his frequent use of the word fuck. It's also the subject of some of the critique of Blago's wife's involvement with this scandal. ("She's got a fairly dirty mouth!" "She's a pitbull!" They might as well be saying, "Oh so unladylike!")

(I mean, fuck, I use that word all the time. Take today, for example, what I wanted to say to one of my students was, "Hey, quit fucking around. Cut the shit. You're being a dick." I decided, though, that that was not an ethical thing to do. Instead I said, "Alright, you can either get to work or you can see your dean, but you will not continue to speak disrespectfully to me or anyone else in the room." One of my colleagues that I respect the most -- for his intelligence and his commitment to socially just education practices -- often stops by my classroom after meetings just to say, "Um.. what. the. FUCK.")

Using the word "fuck" doesn't make you "crazy." (See #1.) Nor does it mean you're unethical. Attempting to sell a Senate seat does (mean you're unethical, not insane.) So does trying to get people fired because they disagree with you. (Again, unethical, not insane.)

Can we focus on what's important here? The total disregard for the principles of democracy and the lack of gratitude for the privilege of serving? No?


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On an admittedly super-snooty note, the commentator who kinda sent me over the edge was the one who segued from Blago to Obama with "Ok, moving from psychoanalysis to political analysis..." Um, all discussion of psychological issues is not psychoanalysis, FYI. Psychoanalysis refers to a specific method of thinking developed by Sigmeund Freud. Cut the cutesy shit and stop being stupid. It's annoying.