Kathleen Parker kinda/sorta proclaimed that southerners are dumb...well, at least not "sophisticated" The clip doesn't really help her case either. She kind of just rambles through her talking point anxiously looking to hand it off to the guy to her left. Had it not been for a transcript, I wouldn't have a clue as to what she truly said. So you can kind of understand why people, especially Southerners, would be upset about this comment.
Well, never fear! She decided to do a little backtrack by proudly rolling out her Southern bona fides.
But how much damage control did she really expect to do? I mean millions or people purportedly watch Meet The Press every Sunday, I imagine a tiny fraction of those people actually READ a Kathleen Parker article.
The major bone I have to pick with Ms. Parker is mostly over her southern bona fides. I'm never surprised at anything she says anymore, and I'm more ashamed of the corporate media for tapping her for any sort of on opinion, knowing full well she's full of shit. Was she brought on to Meet The Press because the clip was Southern person adjacent, and the producers thought "Hey, do we know anybody remotely Southern?" Then some shaky handed intern typed in to the internets: "Pundit that claims to be Southern and Lives Withing 20 Miles of Studio" and up popped Kathleen Parker?
What's more, it's never clear how Ms. Parker delinates what makes her Southern. Is she a Southerner because she grew up in Florida, in a nearly 100% white population (which arguably could be a Southerner construct)? That she was also educated in Florida, and got degrees in Spanish Literature? She doesn't share any of that in her bona fides article. Instead, she leans back on the local flavor, and the fact that her family has been based in South Carolina since 1670!
My land! 1670 is a long time ago.
She begins her article by trying to rewrite history. Which I applaud her effort. If she could have just been as eleqouent on television as she is in this opening salvo, things could've been different. But she's Kathleen Parker. Also, she is a Southerner (her words). So she's using the "I have a black friend" argument to talk mess on fellow Southerners? On top of that, she's continuing her useless war against the internets by also asserting that "[...] at least one person with a laptop was offended [...]" and she was beset upon by ALL of social media.
At least she does admit she didn't really answer David Gregory's question on the ad and instead, tore off on her own by reacting to "[...] something that has irked me for years — the media stereotype of the Southerner as a befuddled hayseed [...]" To which no one was asking her to, A. And really didn't come across in that mumble/ramble that she assumes was a "reaction", B.
Funnily enough, she blames those who are unfamiliar with her "body" of "work" (defending Southerners?) for taking her out of context and being offended (on top of a failed "bird brained/flock mentality" dig). This coming from the same woman who armchair quarterback's 90% of her columns about the Beltway from her home office, in South Carolina. Most of her body of work is taking things people say out of context and just flip-flopping around on the topic until she runs out of column space. She's also a follower of the pundit class pack to the utmost. And she's taking people to task for doing the same to her?
Even if that was the case, you can tell it got to her enough that she felt compelled to roll out her bona fides, even though it does nothing to dispel her stupid "reaction" on Meet The Press. No one cares that you live in South Carolina, married a Southerner, that your great-great-great-grand pappy settled the land, and when compelled can speak with a Southern accent Kathleen Parker. Further, the self-deprecation isn't a flattering look on you either. No one's really buying it.
Well, she tried and failed. And as they say in the South: Well, bless your heart
No comments:
Post a Comment