So maybe it’s not swine flu, but the nation seems to have come down with a serious case of impulse control disorder.
Symptoms include (but are not limited to) Kanye West snatching Taylor Swift’s moment at MTV’s Video Music Awards; Serena Williams threatening, with expletives, to cram her ball down a lineswoman’s throat at the U.S. Open; and Rep. Joe Wilson’s inability to contain the urge to denigrate President Obama while the president was in the middle of addressing the nation on a topic of critical importance.
Wilson’s House colleagues formally chastised the South Carolina Republican on Tuesday.
In the wake of these high-profile outbursts across disciplines — politics, entertainment and sports — many Americans have found themselves asking what is going on. To some, it’s not a coincidence but rather the manifestation of a deepening social dysfunction.
“It’s extremely regrettable, but not shocking,” said Pepper Schwartz, a University of Washington sociologist. “And there is a viral element to it. It’s like Malcolm Gladwell’s book ‘The Tipping Point.’ You get to a critical mass of something and it spreads like wildfire.”
MTV kicked Kanye out of the Awards. One of the late night talk shows had the joke: It’s official, MTV has a lower tolerance for outbursts than the U.S. Congress.
I remember the 60s – riots, ideologically driven thefts, kidnapping, and other crimes, and general mayhem. Times are good when “you lie” is the standard of civil disorder.
RE: “It’s official, MTV has a lower tolerance for outbursts than the U.S. Congress.”
Indeed, Congress hands out awards, in fact. Joe Wilson received an incredible frame-worthy honor just two days ago. I sense t-shirts in the works.
We’ll see what the House’s admonishment may mean; it’s far to early to tell.
I recall years ago when the U.S. Senate censured Joseph McCarthy. I was in the Senate gallery a few months afterwards. Senator McCarthy had introduced a bland resolution supporting President Eisenhower who was about to depart for a historic summit in 1955. In the debate on the Senate floor it was obvious that the resolution would be defeated solely because it had been introduced by Senator McCarthy. Eventually he withdrew his resolution lest it appear that the Senate was refused to support the President at the summit conference.
The House admonishment may mean nothing. Or it may mean that Wilson will be a cipher in the House, and eventually leave either voluntarily or by his constituency.
RE: “The House admonishment may mean nothing.”
Oh, I think it already means [i]something[/i], judging by the responses that I’ve heard of so many conservatives around here and in other states.
As I said above — the House handed out a great honor, I believe.
And that will be the way it’s perceived by many many conservatives. Not by some — but by many. Reminds me of the “Wall of Fame” that a certain other institution has for all the clergy depositions that ex-TEC clergy have received.
The vote along party lines tells the tale as to whether Wilson will “be a cipher in the House.”
He’ll be toiling away as the minority, just as he’s been . . . and if or when the House is regained he’d be in the majority. As he said on the floor — it’s good to have the support of his friends and allies in the House and his conservative constituents.
The rest . . . simply doesn’t matter.
What’s with all the public outbursts [i]now[/i]? Where has this author been the last 8 years of the W. Bush administration???